Ryan Zimmerman went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs Tuesday night, leading the Washington Nationals to a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, who are trying to reach the post-season for the first time since 1993.
The Phillies entered Tuesday tied with the Dodgers for the lead in the NL wild-card standings. Los Angeles was playing a later game at Colorado.
After Chase Utley's RBI-single _ his third hit _ off Nationals closer Chad Cordero drew Philadelphia within a run with two outs in the ninth, Ryan Howard flied out to deep center to end the game. Cordero earned his 29th save.
The Phillies left 10 runners on base.
Zimmerman lifted his RBI total to 107 with a run-scoring groundout in the first and a two-run double in the third, both off Brett Myers (12-7). The right-hander had been 8-1 on the road this season, including six consecutive winning decisions. Overall, he came in 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA in his previous six starts.
But each of Myers' last two losses have been to Washington. This time, he went seven innings, allowing six hits and three runs.
Washington starter Ramon Ortiz (11-15) was good enough to get the win, despite giving up 10 hits in his six innings. Philadelphia scored twice in the first on four singles, including Ryan Howard's first-pitch RBI-liner up the middle and Jeff Conine's full-count hopper to left.
But Ortiz was helped by Philadelphia's inability to come through in the clutch: The visitors left two runners on in four of the first five innings.
They stranded another runner on third in the seventh against relievers Billy Traber and Saul Rivera. Jon Rauch pitched the eighth, when Philadelphia sent up three pinch hitters, and pinch-runner Michael Bourn was thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning.
Zimmerman is only the third NL rookie in the last 50 years with 100 RBIs, joining Albert Pujols (130 in 2001) and Mike Piazza (112 in 1993). His double in the third gave him 47 for the season, tying him for second-most by a rookie in major league history. Johnny Frederick of the 1929 Brooklyn Robins hit 52.
With the Nationals last in the NL East, the only real intrigue involving the club is whether Zimmerman will beat a strong crop of rookies _ including a slew of Florida Marlins _ for that honor, and whether manager Frank Robinson will be back next season.
Robinson repeated before Tuesday's game that he'd like to continue in the job if the team wants him, but he hasn't heard anything from the Nationals.
The Phillies, meanwhile, are right where they were a year ago: In 2005, they came to RFK Stadium for a season-closing three-game series trailing the Houston Astros by two games. Keeping an eye on the scoreboard, the Phillies swept the Nationals _ yet still finished behind the Astros.
``This year, we've got a few more games to play,'' Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said, referring to his club's trip to play at Florida after leaving Washington.
``We've got to concentrate on winning tonight,'' he said before the game. ``We've got six games to go. We've got to concentrate on winning tonight, and then we'll see what the Dodgers did. But right now, we've got to worry about ourselves. We've got to play like we've got to (win) out.''
Notes: The Nationals skipped batting practice because they didn't get back to Washington until nearly 5 a.m. Tuesday after their chartered train from New York derailed. No one was injured. ... The announced attendance of 18,960 was the third-lowest at a Nationals home game. There were plenty of Phillies fans, some of whom booed LF Pat Burrell after he struck out in the fifth and popped out in the eighth. ... Regular 2B Jose Vidro made his second consecutive start at first in place of Nick Johnson, who broke his right leg Saturday. Vidro made a couple of nice plays Tuesday, including a slick pick of a throw by SS Felipe Lopez to end the seventh.
