Final Score: Phillies 3, Nationals 2
After only scoring two runs through eight innings on Friday night, the Phillies found themselves realizing they needed more. It didn’t seem that way through eight innings, though. Aaron Nola, Matt Strahm and Jeff Hoffman combined to pitch eight scoreless innings. But in the ninth, the Nationals tied the game after scoring a pair of runs off Carlos Estévez.
Strahm and Hoffman both got out of jams in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively. Strahm entered the game with runners on second and third with two outs in the seventh. He got Alex Call to fly out to end the inning. Then Hoffman entered the game an inning later with one out and a runner on second. The right-hander induced a pop out and struck Keibert Ruiz out looking to end the frame.
In the ninth, Estévez gave up back-to-back singles to put himself in a jam. A José Tena single and Jacob Young ground out later, the game was tied at two. Estévez got out of the inning with back-to-back strikeouts of Call and CJ Abrams, turning things over to the Phillies’ lineup for the bottom of the ninth.
Brandon Marsh, who entered the game as a defensive replacement in the top of the inning, started the bottom of the ninth with a single, advanced to second on a throwing error and advanced to third on a perfect bunt by pinch-hitter Cal Stevenson. Kyle Schwarber was then walked to get to Trea Turner, who before Thursday had been struggling.
After going 3-for-5 on Thursday, Turner stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth on Friday with the bases loaded and three more hits to his name. Then, he worked himself into a 2-2 count, fouled off two straight pitches and proceeded to drive a ball to deep left field to walk things off, giving the Phillies their 72nd win of the season.
Highlights
- Nick Castellanos drove in the first run of the night with a two-out RBI single in the third inning.
- Castellanos then stole second, which allowed him to score on a J.T. Realmuto single.
- Bryson Stott made an impressive play in the top of the fourth, potentially keeping a Nationals’ run off the board.
- After throwing out a would-be base stealer in the second inning, Realmuto threw out another in James Wood in the sixth.
- The two singles Estévez gave up to start the ninth came on a grounder that got through the left side of the infield and a blooper that landed in the outfield grass.
- Tena’s single drove in Luis García Jr. from second and advanced pinch-runner Nasim Nuñez to third, who scored on Young’s groundout to second base.
Notes
- Alec Bohm extended his on-base streak to 33 games on Friday with a single in the first inning.
- Before Friday’s game, Rob Thomson provided updates on Austin Hays and Ranger Suárez. Both players are making progress in returning from the injured list and are scheduled to participate in a simulated game at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Saturday, August 17 vs. Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park
- 6:05 p.m. ET
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
- Spanish Radio: WTTM 1680
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GeoProf
August 17, 2024 at 9:21 am
A pitcher who blows a save should NEVER get the win.
Major League Baseball should have eliminated that stupidity decades ago.