On Second Try, Nats Get First Win
Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2005 10:18 am
And so it begins...again!
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar ... 5Apr6.html
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar ... 5Apr6.html
Wilkerson Hits For the Cycle, Guillen Homers: Nationals 7, Phillies 3
By Barry Svrluga
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 7, 2005; Page D01
PHILADELPHIA, April 6 -- All the pieces were there. The right fielder, acquired in the offseason because his former team was desperate to unload him, blasting the go-ahead home run. The third baseman, signed as a free agent even though others felt he couldn't produce away from Denver's thin air, knocking out four hits. The bullpen, which started last year by dropping 14 of its first 15 decisions, allowing just one of 10 hitters to reach base.
And the center fielder. Goodness, the center fielder. When Brad Wilkerson came to the plate in the eighth inning Wednesday night and promptly launched a pitch from Philadelphia Phillies reliever Aaron Fultz on a hop over the center field wall, the Washington Nationals had a bit of history. Check the scorecard. Wilkerson homered in the third, singled in the fifth, tripled in the seventh -- and there it was, the ground-rule double that gave him the cycle.