The first seven innings of Tuesday’s matchup between the Phillies and Nationals felt familiar to Phillies fans: Their team took a multi-run lead early, then the offense went quiet and the margin slowly but surely shrunk to become a close game.
Bryce Harper hit a monster home run on Tuesday. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire)
This time, though, the Phillies reignited the bats in the eighth inning, and their three insurance runs helped lead them to a relatively comfortable 6-2 win at Nationals Park to begin the three-game set.
The big inning came from some timely contributions off the bench — which the Phillies have not gotten a lot of this year. It also came one half inning after José Alvarado worked out of a bases-loaded jam in a one-run game while spiking the heart rates of Phillies fans everywhere — something the Phillies have gotten a lot of this year.
Chase Anderson gave the Phillies five plus innings of two-run ball and Odúbel Herrera had two doubles. Sam Coonrod, Brandon Kintzler, Alvarado, Connor Brogdon and Héctor Neris finished it off, surrendering one run in four innings to bring the Phillies two games over .500 at 19-17.
Top Plays
Somehow, baseball fans haven’t caught onto the fact that boos only fuel Bryce Harper — and that’s especially true for Nationals fans. Harper was given an unfriendly welcome to his old home and promptly placed a ball into the second deck in right field, 433 feet away:
Chase Anderson allowed back-to-back singles to the Nationals’ two best hitters in Trea Turner and Juan Soto, but he retired the next three hitters to leave the first inning unscathed.
Rhys Hoskins came through from the six hole in the lineup with a two-out RBI single in the third, scoring Bryce Harper. Brad Miller had kept the rally alive with a two-out knock of his own preceding Hoskins’ knock.
The Phillies manufactured a run in the fourth inning, as an Odúbel Herrera leadoff double, Anderson sacrifice bunt and Andrew McCutchen sacrifice fly put them up 3-0. Anderson was able to redeem himself after popping up a bunt in the second.
Jean Segura worked a 14-pitch at bat with the bases loaded in the sixth but ultimately lined out sharply to center, ending the inning. Joe Girardi’s decision to let Anderson bat with the bases loaded and no outs drew some ire from Phillies fans, as Anderson flew out and the Phillies were kept off the board in the inning.
Just the second sixth-inning pitch that Chase Anderson has thrown this season wound up in the seats in left center, courtesy of Turner. The 110-mph laser gave the Nationals their first run of the game.
Anderson was pulled after walking Soto, who eventually scored on a Kyle Schwarber RBI single with Sam Coonrod on the mound, bringing the Nats to within one.
J.T. Realmuto and Brad Miller walked to put two on with out in the seventh, but Hoskins flew out and Didi Gregorius struck out to end the threat.
The José Alvarado experience was out in full force in the seventh inning. Alvarado was double-switched into the game with two outs, walked Turner on 14 pitches and Soto on four to load the bases, then struck out Josh Bell swinging to keep the Phillies ahead 3-2.
Herrera hit his second double of the day — this one a flare down the left-field line — and Alec Bohm traded places with him off the bench for a 4-2 lead in the eighth.
Andrew Knapp came up clutch once again, driving in two with a bases-loaded knock to give the Phillies a 6-2 lead. The eighth inning was a welcomed signed for an offense that has notoriously struggled late in games this season. Knapp was pinch-hitting for Realmuto, who took a foul tip off his left knee in the bottom of the seventh.
Chase Anderson: 5+ IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 85 pitches
Anderson was able to give the Phillies at least some length, which is always welcomed. He worked into the sixth inning for just the second time this season, but each time he was pulled before recording an out. Anderson got away with a few mistakes, but he kept the Nationals’ bats relatively quiet, and two runs (one inherited) will play from the No. 5 spot in the rotation. His ERA decreased to 5.23.
Erick Fedde: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 87 pitches
Fedde was the definition of mediocre on Tuesday — perhaps slightly below. He particularly had trouble putting innings away; four of the Phillies’ five hits against him came with two outs. His ERA rose just 0.02 runs to 5.29.
Herrera’s two leadoff doubles each led to important runs for the Phillies. The center fielder is hitting .304 with a .478 OBP and three extra base hits in his last six games.
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