Myers Masterful In Phils Win

Brett Myers continued his second-half surge, throwing nine shutout innings as the Phillies claimed a 4-0 win over the Nationals Thursday night.

Myers scattered eight hits and struck out seven lowly Nationals, who dropped their 12th straight decision.

Since Myers' return from class-AAA Lehigh Valley, the right-hander has posted a 1.94 ERA in six starts. Overall, Myers improved to 6-10 on the year, lowering his 5.79 ERA upon his return to the bigs to 4.71 following Tuesday's performance.

The Phillies offense continued to show signs of promise. August has been a trying month for Philadelphia, which was batting only .197 prior to the Washington series.

Gregg Dobbs hit his sixth homer of the season, a two-run shot against Collin Balester to give the Phils a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning. Jayson Werth poked a two-out, run-scoring single to right field to account for the team's final run.

Myers' progression is a blessing for a Phillies rotation that continues to pitch very well while the offensive doldrums persist. The Phillies have won four of five games after getting swept in four games to the Dodgers last week.

The Phillies remain 1 1/2 games behind the Mets for first place in the division.

Notes

- Pedro Feliz was activated from the disabled list but did not play.

- Jimmy Rollins collected his first hit since returning home. Rollins was chastised recently for comments made regarding the Phillies fans.

-Chase Utley had two hits, including a double, that he stroked to the opposite field.