WASHINGTON, DC -- This screen grab from tonight's Phillies vs. Nationals game in DC comes from none other than the Twitter account of Jayson Werth's Beard, who adds "I guess the smartest don't travel down here ;)"
I can't attest to the education levels of all the Philly fans that trekked down here this weekend, but I can say with 100% certainty there are a buttload of them and they were treated to a 5-0 Phillies victory on Saturday night. Holy crap, there are lots of Phillies fans here this weekend. And they are loud.
The sellout crowd and announced attendance of 44,685 was the most ever for a game at Nationals Park.
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Tonight's winning pitcher, Roy Oswalt, commented that the crowd in DC was "pretty much like a smaller Philly."
After Roy Oswalt was missing from last night's affair, he was the man of the evening on Saturday night. Lil Roy set a personal best with the Phils by striking out 9 Nats in eight innings of shutout ball. Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of his night was the heightened velocity on his fastball, which was consistently hitting 92-94 on the gun.
"I think mechanics is the best thing that happened tonight," Roy Oswalt said following the game. "I stayed back a lot better than I did times before, was rushing a little bit. It's coming back. It feels better and better everyday."
As Charlie Manuel said prior to Friday's game, when they get Oswalt pitching as well as he's capable of doing, this team truly has four aces -- a very rare thing in baseball.
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When asked following the game what he thinks the Phillies formidable aces-stacked rotation could be like if he's on his game like he was tonight come the postseason, "It'll be interesting," Roy responded.
It sure will.
Oswalt's 9 Ks were the most he's had since June 10th, 2010, according to Todd Zolecki.
As for the strange two days for Oswalt after being scratched last night due to the lenghty rain delay, Roy took it in stride.
"It was the first time I started two games back to back," Oswalt said. "I told them they keep doing that they're going to have to pay me more."
If he keeps pitching like he did tonight, it could be worth it.
The Phillies showed their support for Roy in the fourth and sixth innings. A Wilson Valdez triple in the fourth with two men on put the Phils up 2-0 and a Hunter Pence homer in the sixth, coupled with some poor Nationals pitching that eventually lead to a two-run single by Jimmy Rollins to put the Phils up 5-0 after six.
Mike Stutes came in to finish off Oswalt's night in the ninth and got things done, 1-2-3 style. The only thing this night was missing was some Harry High Hopes on the jumbotron and the centerfield bell-ringing we love so much at Citizens Bank Park.
Roy Halladay goes for the series victory Sunday afternoon.