"Babe" Ruf Hits First Major League Home Run in Victory.

Final: Nationals 3, Phillies 6.

WP: Cole Hamels (16-6, 3.11 ERA) LP: Ross Detwiler (10-7, 3.28 ERA) SV: Jonathan Papelbon (37).

Darin Ruf got the nod to start his first career major league game in left field this evening, with the understanding that the Phillies are likely not going to clinch a Wild Card spot with minimal amount of games left to play. Boy, did he take advantage of the opportunity given to him. Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the second, Ruf tied the game with his first career home run & hit, which landed in the left-center field bleachers (See embedded video below). The Phils gave Ruf the friendly silent treatment, as many teams do to rookies. The Phils' clubhouse still has humor within its atmosphere, despite the disappointing season.

Starting Ruf in the outfield, who played in the minors primarily as an infielder, is just one of many experiments to Phillies plan to try out. Another is playing Utley at third-base, who is eager to prolong his career and saving his knees by moving away from the second-base position.

Ryan Howard singled in the bottom of the 3rd to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead. Carlos Ruiz followed by hitting a three-run home run, his 16th dinger of the season, which gave the Phillies a 5-1 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Domonic Brown tallied his fifth home run of the season, giving the Phillies a 6-3 lead.

Cole Hamels wasn't quite stellar, but he pitched efficiently enough to earn his 16th victory of the season, a single-season career high for the left-hander. He lasted just five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and one walk. 65 of his 99 total pitches were thrown for strikes.

Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 37th save of the season in the ninth, tying his most saves in a single season since 2010 with the Boston Red Sox.

Kyle Kendrick (10-11) starts in the second game of the series Wednesday evening against John Lannan (3-0). The game, starting at 7:05 pm EST, can be seen on CSN & ESPN 2 and heard on 94 WIP FM & 1210 WPHT AM.

Attendance: 42,304.

Starting Pitching Summary:

Ross Detwiler: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO, 2 HR, 3.28 ERA
Cole Hamels: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR, 3.11 ERA

In the 'Pen:

Washington

Craig Stammen (6th): 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 2.44 ERA
Michael Gonzalez (6th): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 2.41 ERA
Zach Duke (7th, 8th): 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR, 0.93 ERA

Philadelphia

Josh Lindblom (6th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 3.33 ERA
Justin De Fratus (7th): 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 1.17 ERA
Antonio Bastardo (7th): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 4.44 ERA
Phillippe Aumont (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 3.97 ERA
Jonathan Papelbon (9th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 2.26 ERA

Scoring Summary:

Top of the 2nd (Nationals 1, Phillies 0): Kurt Suzuki singles on a ground ball to center fielder John Mayberry. Danny Espinosa scores.
Bottom of the 2nd (Nationals 1, Phillies 1): Darin Ruf homers (1) on a fly ball to left center field.
Bottom of the 3rd (Nationals 1, Phillies 2): Ryan Howard singles on a ground ball to right fielder Jayson Werth. John Mayberry scores.
Bottom of the 3rd (Nationals 1, Phillies 5): Carlos Ruiz homers (16) on a fly ball to left field. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard score.
Top of the 5th (Nationals 2, Phillies 5): Bryce Harper singles on a ground ball to center fielder John Mayberry. Kurt Suzuki scores.
Top of the 5th (Nationals 3, Phillies 5): Ryan Zimmerman singles on a ground ball to left fielder Darin Ruf. Bryce Harper scores.
Bottom of the 6th (Nationals 3, Phillies 6): Domonic Brown homers (5) on a fly ball to right field.