Aaron Nola was the man Gabe Kapler wanted on the mound with Manny Machado at the plate and the tying run on third base.
It was the right move.
Nola stuck out nine in seven splendid innings Nate Davis Jersey , Nick Williams hit a two-run homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 Wednesday to sweep a two-game interleague series.
Nola (11-2) gave up one run and seven hits to win his fifth straight decision.
He escaped a jam on his 103rd pitch when second baseman Cesar Hernandez made an outstanding, over-the-shoulder running catch on Machado’s shallow fly to right with two outs and runners on first and third.
”That’s awesome,” Nola said of the play.
Kapler, who was heavily criticized for pulling Nola after 68 pitches in the season opener at Atlanta, visited the mound before letting his ace face Machado with a 2-1 lead.
”We knew he was the best option,” the first-year manager said. ”He always makes us feel confident.”
Nola said he would’ve lobbied to stay in but didn’t have to say anything other than he felt fine.
”I want to go deep in the game,” he said. ”I want to get through that inning.”
After five consecutive losing seasons, the Phillies are on the rise under Kapler. They pulled within 1 1/2 games of NL East-leading Atlanta and moved 10 games over .500 for the first time since finishing the 2011 season with a franchise-record 102 wins.
”It’s a nice milestone, one we can celebrate Tytus Howard Jersey ,” Kapler said.
Making his second career start and third appearance, Orioles right-hander Yefry Ramirez (0-2) retired 13 of his first 14 batters before running into trouble in the fifth. Ramirez gave up two runs – one earned – and one hit in five innings.
”I was really proud of Yefry. You couldn’t ask for much better,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.
Williams connected off David Hess in the seventh, sending a 409-foot shot into Philadelphia’s bullpen in right-center and extending the lead to 4-1.
Victor Arano tossed two scoreless innings for his first career save.
Ramirez didn’t allow a hit until Scott Kingery ripped a one-out double to left in the fifth. Williams, who walked, advanced to third on the hit.
Jorge Alfaro followed with a grounder down the first-base line. Chris Davis moved a few steps to his left, took his eyes off the ball to look at Williams running halfway down the line, and the ball knuckled under his glove. Both runners scored on the error.
Adam Jones lined an RBI double to left-center in the third, giving the Orioles a 1-0 lead.
WELCOMING MANNY
For the second straight day Gary Jennings Jr. Jersey , fans clapped each time Machado was introduced. They also chanted ”We want Manny!”
The three-time All-Star is set to become a free agent after the season and the Phillies are among the teams interested in acquiring him before the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31 or signing him in the offseason.
Machado told reporters before the game he wants to play shortstop wherever he goes and he wouldn’t be surprised if Philadelphia aggressively pursued him. Phillies team president Andy MacPhail held the same position in Baltimore when the Orioles selected Machado No. 3 overall in the 2010 amateur draft.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: OF Joey Rickard was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to replace OF Colby Rasmus, who was placed on the restricted list before Tuesday night’s game.
Phillies: RHP Jerad Eickhoff was scheduled to throw another live batting practice at Single-A Clearwater. Eickhoff has nerve issue in fingers and hasn’t pitched this season.
UP NEXT
Orioles: RHP Andrew Cashner (2-8, 4.48 ERA) starts the opener of a four-game series at Minnesota on Thursday night. Cashner had a 3.21 ERA in five starts in June but didn’t earn a win.
Phillies: Nick Pivetta (5-7, 4.66 ERA) takes the mound at Pittsburgh for the start of a three-game series on Friday. Pivetta earned the win in a scoreless inning of relief in Philadelphia’s 13-inning victory over Washington last Sunday.
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C.J. Anderson, playing five days after he was signed by Los Angeles, rushed for 167 yards — one shy of his career high — and the Rams bounced back from a pair of losses to beat the troubled Arizona Cardinals 31-9 on Sunday.Anderson, playing in place of the injured Todd Gurley, had a 4-yard touchdown run and other runs of 46 and 27 yards as the Rams (12-3) rushed for 269 yards, most allowed by Arizona on the ground this season.With the victory Ugo Amadi Jersey , Los Angeles held on to the second-best record in the NFC with one game to go.Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald, in perhaps his final home game, threw the first touchdown pass of his career, a 32-yard toss to David Johnson.But it was the only trip to the end zone for the Cardinals (3-12), who at 1-7 had the worst record home since they moved to Arizona in 1988. A loss in their season finale at Seattle would leave them 3-13, matching the worst record since that move from St. Louis.All this leads to speculation that Steve Wilks’ rookie season in Arizona as head coach might be his last.Jared Goff completed 19 of 24 for 216 yards for a touchdown. He also ran for a score on one of three consecutive TD drives for Los Angeles in the first half.A Rams turnover gave Arizona its chance to score early and take its only lead. Goff, under duress, fumbled and Deone Bucannon recovered for the Cardinals at the Rams 41. Rookie quarterback Josh Rosen scrambled for 15 yards and threw three short passes to Fitzgerald to set up Zane Gonzalez‘s 36-yard field goal.But Los Angeles methodically mounted touchdown drives the next three times it had the ball.The Rams needed only 3:08 for a seven-play, 75-yard scoring drive Devin White Jersey , Robert Woods scoring from 4 yards on an end around.Anderson’s 27-yard run up the middle highlighted the 11-play, 84-yard drive, Goff scoring on a 1-yard run to make it 14-3.After Arizona’s unlikely TD, with Fitzgerald dropping in a perfectly thrown 32-yard touchdown pass to Johnson, the Rams took the kickoff and used up 7½ minutes in another 75-yard drive. Anderson scored on a 4-yard run and Los Angeles led 21-9 with 2:10 left in the half.Both teams failed on long field-goal tries in the second quarter. Gonzalez missed from 54 yards and, as the half ended, Greg Zuerlein’s 57-yard try bounced off the left upright.In the third quarter, Rosen appeared to fumble and Nickell Robey-Coleman returned it 27 yards for a score. But after a video review, Rosen’s arm was ruled to be moving forward and it was only an incomplete pass.FITZ FINALE?Fitzgerald isn’t saying whether this L.J. Collier Jersey , his 15th NFL season, will be his last. But if this was his final home game, he had a good one.At the top of the list was the throw. After Rosen’s 16-yard run to the Los Angeles 32, the Cardinals ran a play with Rosen tossing a lateral to Fitzgerald, who then tossed to the wide open Johnson for the touchdown. Fitzgerald is 2 for 4 in his NFL passing career for 53 yards — and one touchdown.NO GURLEYCoach Sean McVay, and even Gurley himself, had talked as if they expected the prolific running back to play. But Gurley didn’t practice all week with left knee inflammation and it was announced a couple of hours before the game that he wouldn’t play.But in the end they decided it made no sense to push it considering the opposition and the bigger games ahead.UP NEXTRams: host San Francisco next Sunday.Cardinals: play at Seattle on Sunday.