Ageless Jamie Moyer pitches Philadelphia past Arizona 11-4 in matchup of division leaders
By ANDREW BAGNATO | Associated Press | May 5, 08 11:57 PM CDT in
Sports
Jamie Moyer pitched seven strong innings and had an RBI double as the Philadelphia Phillies routed the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-4 on Monday night in a matchup of division leaders.
Eric Bruntlett had a three-run triple and Geoff Jenkins and Carlos Ruiz both had three hits as the Phillies managed a season-high 17 hits.
In his longest outing this season, Moyer (2-2) allowed two runs and six hits, struck out five and walked none. Moyer, a career .141 hitter, singled and doubled for the fifth multi-hit game in his career.
The 45-year-old Moyer made his 558th start. Arizona's 23-year-old Max Scherzer made his first.
Scherzer was born on July 27, 1984 _ less than two years before Moyer made his debut with the Chicago Cubs.
The matchup offered a contrast in pitching styles, with the rookie firing 98 mph fastballs and the veteran serving up an assortment of pitches that topped out in the low 80s.
Guile prevailed on an 89-degree night in the desert.
Moyer kept the Diamondbacks off-balance all night, retiring 10 straight between the second and fifth innings. In the fourth, he struck out Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds looking on 81 mph fastballs, and they shook their heads as they walked back to the dugout.
Moyer won for the first time since April 8, a span of six starts.
Scherzer, Arizona's first-round pick in the 2006 draft, had made an impressive relief debut on April 29. He retired all 13 Houston Astros he faced, seven by strikeout.
His first start was a different story.
Scherzer (0-1) gave up a double on the second pitch to leadoff man Shane Victorino and hit Bruntlett with his third pitch.
Ryan Howard's sacrifice fly gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead.
The Diamondbacks tied it at 1-1 in the second on Stephen Drew's two-out triple.
Philadelphia came up with four runs in the third, with Moyer doubling down the left field line to cap the scoring.
Scherzer went four innings, allowing five runs, two earned, and seven hits. He walked two and struck out five.
Bruntlett's bases-clearing triple off Edgar Gonzalez made it 8-1 in the seventh.
Chris Snyder hit a solo homer off Moyer in the seventh.
Notes:@ The Phillies didn't need closer Brad Lidge, who was unavailable Monday night after pitching in four straight games. Lidge has not allowed an earned run in his last 16 appearances dating to his final game last year. ... Scherzer took LHP Doug Davis' turn in the rotation. Davis, who had surgery for thyroid cancer on April 10, threw 65 pitches in a simulated game on Monday and is set to start in Triple-A Tucson this weekend.
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