Phillies fend off Nationals’ late rally for third straight victory
Final Score: Phillies 5, Nationals 4
You can never have too many insurance runs. The Philadelphia Phillies got just enough from their offense tonight in a one-run victory over the Washington Nationals.
For Nationals starter Patrick Corbin, he picked up right where he left off from his start against the Phillies last week. After giving up three home runs in that one, he gave up three more tonight. While Corbin was near perfect for most of the night, those three pitches ended up coming back to bite him in what would be a pitcher’s duel with Zack Wheeler.
The first pitch of the night was taken for a ride by Jean Segura, but through five innings, the Phillies had mustered just three hits. It looked like this game was going to be over in a little less than two hours until the Phillies offense finally made some noise. Corbin made two costly mistakes in the seventh inning which resulted in big flies from J.T. Realmuto and Ronald Torreyes.
Washington answered with two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but Bryce Harper got one of those back in the top of the eighth. At 107.1 mph, Harper crushed a loud home run to the left-center field to make it 5-2 Phillies. He took his time rounding the bases in his old ballpark and showed his appreciation for the boos.
The Nationals were not out of it just yet. Josh Bell made it a one-run game in the bottom of the eighth, making those insurance runs from Torreyes and Harper even more important. Hector Neris kept it at that in what was his fifth straight scoreless appearance. Then, Jose Alvarado closed the door as he made quick work of the Nationals for the save in the ninth. That should be a much-needed confidence booster for the lefty.
Wheeler’s next time out on the mound will likely be against his former team on Sunday. It will be the last time the Phillies face the Mets this year at home. With tonight’s win, the Phillies are just 1 1/2 games back of for first place in the NL East.
Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance
Patrick Corbin: 7 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO, 3 HR, 93 pitches
The box score won’t show how dominant Corbin was for most of the night. Besides the first-pitch home run, he was cruising. He worked with good pace and consistently pounded the strike zone with 24 first-pitch strikes to 28 batters. He looked like his 2018-2019 self. Then, he returned to his 2021 form and unraveled in the seventh inning.
Zack Wheeler: 7.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR, 105 pitches
Wheeler held the Nationals hitless through four innings and painted the corners all night long. He got into a bit of a jam in the seventh inning and almost worked out of it, but the second run he allowed came off of weak contact. Gerardo Parra found no man’s land between center field and the second base bag just out of Torreyes’ reach. Unfortunately, his 105th pitch of the night went into the stands to make it 5-4.
Phillies Nugget Of The Game
J.T. Realmuto is getting hot at the perfect time. In his last three games, he is 9-for-14 with three extra-base hits, seven RBIs and five runs scored.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Wednesday, Aug. 4 vs. Washington Nationals at Nationals Park
- 7:05 p.m. ET
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
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