"After a two-out base hit in the eighth inning, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel emerged from the dugout to check on his starter.

Manuel has made the trip to the mound to visit Roy Oswalt too many times this year. Through four months of the season, Manuel knew Oswalt was in pain, and so he'd walk to the mound to give his pitcher a chance to opt out, to get off his feet and rest his aching back.

Saturday, Oswalt wanted no relief. This was his most impressive start of the season, and Oswalt wasn't about to leave early.

"He said, "I want to get this guy,' " Manuel said. "He was pretty much sure."

After Oswalt induced Michael Morse into a ground ball for the third out of the frame, he sauntered to the Phillies dugout as a contingent of fans offered a standing ovation.

For four months, Oswalt did his best to ignore the pain and stay in the rotation. Saturday, it was clear: The fourth ace was back.

Oswalt pitched eight shutout innings, and Wilson Valdez and Jimmy Rollins each drove in two runs in the Phillies' 5-0 win over Washington. Oswalt threw a season-high 115 pitches and struck out nine batters, the most since he joined the Phillies 13 months ago."