Cole Hamels labored through five innings for the Phillies and hit an RBI single off Jason Marquis in the fourth that gave the two-time reigning NL champions a 3-2 lead.
After Washington tied it on rookie Ian Desmond's RBI double, Marquis failed to get an out in the fifth, departing after allowing Placido Polanco's double, Chase Utley's RBI single, and Howard's drive to right-center. Howard also homered in Monday's opener, an 11-1 victory for Philadelphia.
Hamels (1-0) needed 103 pitches to get 15 outs and did not have a 1-2-3 inning. He gave up five hits and three runs, two earned, including Desmond's solo homer to straightaway center in the third inning. The lefty also walked four and struck out five.
As up-and-down as his outing was, it was far more successful than Marquis' performance. The Nationals brought Marquis in to be a veteran presence in a young rotation, signing him to a $15 million, two-year contract as a free agent.
His debut in Washington was hardly auspicious, though: a 15-minute top of the first inning that included three walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch - not to mention two runs. Things didn't end well for Marquis (0-1) on this night, either: He allowed hits to six of the last seven batters he faced.
Philadelphia led 7-3 after seven but its bullpen made things somewhat interesting. Danys Baez allowed Cristian Guzman's leadoff triple in the eighth, Adam Kennedy's sacrifice fly and Willie Harris' double. Baez was replaced by Antonio Bastardo, who got one out, and then Ryan Madson recorded the last four outs for the save. Madson let the Nationals get two baserunners in the ninth before getting Ivan Rodriguez to ground into a game-ending double play.
Guzman entered in the top of the eighth to play right field, his first regular-season appearance in the field as anything but a shortstop in an 11-year major league career. Each of the first two batters hit the ball in his direction - a single and a fly ball - and Guzman had no problem with either.
He lost his starting shortstop job to Desmond in spring training, and Nationals manager Jim Riggleman wants to get Guzman's bat in the lineup somehow.
NOTES: After an announced sellout of 41,290 for Game 1, the Nationals drew 27,240 fans for Game 2. ... Washington's Mike Morse started in right; he's part of a group who will share playing time there, along with opening-day starter Harris, Guzman and Willy Taveras. Riggleman said Guzman "will start at shortstop probably here in the next day or two" and "pretty soon" will get a start in right, too. ... The Phillies claimed RHP Nelson Figueroa off waivers; he was designated for assignment by the New York Mets. He went 3-8 with a 4.09 ERA in 16 games, including 10 starts, for the Mets last season. Figueroa is expected to report to the Phillies for Thursday's game at Washington.
