WASHINGTON – Three huge hits in the late innings lifted the Phillies to a 8-7 win in 10 innings over the Washington Nationals in the second game of a doubleheader Friday night.
The Phils swept the doubleheader. They won the first game, 5-3.
In the nightcap, the Phils trailed by two runs with two outs in the top of the eighth.
Bryce Harper, who did not start the second game, came off the bench and drove a game-tying, pinch-hit, two-run double to the gap in right-center to tie the game. The hit came after Kyle Finnegan, clearly pitching around Harper, threw three straight balls to the Phillies slugger. The fourth pitch was out of the strike zone but called a strike by home plate umpire Clinton Vondrak.
Finnegan’s next pitch was a strike and Harper unloaded on it to tie the game.
The Phils took the lead on a solo homer by Matt Vierling in the top of the ninth against Tanner Rainey. It was Vierling’s second homer of the game and his second late-game, go-ahead shot this month.
The Phillies went deep into their bullpen on the day. Corey Knebel, Jeurys Familia and Andrew Bellatti got important outs in the nightcap and Jose Alvarado was on the verge of closing out a one-run win in the ninth when shortstop Didi Gregorius committed a two-out throwing error that allowed Washington to tie the game.
The 10th inning opened with a runner, Kyle Schwarber, on second base. Rhys Hoskins walked and Nick Castellanos advanced the runners with a right-side ground ball.
J.T. Realmuto then delivered both runners with a base hit up the middle. There was some controversy as Washington shortstop Luis Garcia was called for obstructing Hoskins’ path to third base. Phillies third base coach Dusty Wathan alertly sent Hoskins home on the play and the run was counted as good.
Alvarado stayed on for the bottom of the 10th, allowed an unearned run, but hung on for the win.
The Phillies are 14-2 in June and 13-2 under new manager Rob Thomson. They are a season-high four games over .500.
The Phils have won the first three games of this five-game series, which continues Saturday afternoon and concludes Sunday afternoon.
This was just the Phillies’ second sweep in their last 28 doubleheaders and first since September 2020 against Toronto.