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Asher, Phils keep Nats’ magic number at 15
- Updated: September 9, 2016
WASHINGTON — Right-hander Alec Asher, making his first start of the season for the Phillies, proved to be too much for the Nationals as Philadelphia won the series opener, 4-1, at Nationals Park on Thursday night.
Washington’s magic number remains at 15 to win the National League East. The second-place Mets had the day off on Thursday.
Asher’s counterpart, A.J. Cole, pitched five innings and allowed four runs on five hits. All four runs were scored in the third inning, on homers by Peter Bourjos and Ryan Howard.
Asher, who pitched six shutout innings, retired six of the first seven hitters he faced. The only time the Nationals had runners in scoring position against the right-hander was in the third inning. Washington had runners on first and second with two outs, but Daniel Murphy flied out to left field to end the threat.
Washington would finally put a run on a board in the eighth inning off reliever Hector Neris. With the bases loaded, Murphy hit a sacrifice fly to left fielder Aaron Altherr, scoring Stephen Drew.
MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDAsher impresses: Asher returned from an 80-game suspension earlier this week after testing positive for oral turinabol, …
