Phillies win their first series of season in Washington
Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images
The Philadelphia Phillies began their first away series of the season in the nation’s capital as they took on the Washington Nationals.
Harper is all too familiar with Nationals Park as he won his first National League MVP award in Washington. Harper then in the winter following the 2018 season signed with the Philadelphia Phillies and Nationals fans have yet to let that go.
Boos were heard for every Harper at-bat but that did not matter as
Game 1
Game 1 of the series saw some crucial pitching backed by a strong offense during the entire game.
Brandon Marsh was able to secure the first run of the game in the 2nd inning via a sacrifice fly that gave Alec Bohm enough time to score.
Later in the 2nd inning, Kyle Schwarber, also a former Nationals player, put the Phillies even further ahead as he was able to score a two-run single in the second inning that gave some added cushion for Aaron Nola on the mound.
Nola only allowed a pair of hits through his shutout outing and was pulled from the mound after pitching 5 2/3 innings.
Harper was able to perform perfectly under the lights and chilling weather as he went 3 for 5, singling to right during the 7th he was able to draw in Schwarber to make the score 4-0.
The Phillies ended up taking the win in this matchup 4-0 as the bullpen was able to pull off a combined shutout easing some of the early season worries about the Phillies bullpen.
Game 2
The 2nd game of the series saw much of the same as the Phillies once again pulled away with the early lead.
In the 2nd inning, off of a triple sent out to right field by Alec Bohm, JT Realmuto was able to put the first run of the game on the board and put the Phillies ahead 1-0
In the top of the third with 2 outs, Bryce Harper stepped up with Trea Turner already on base but was intentionally walked setting JT Realmuto up for an at-bat with 2 outs and 2 runners on base. JT while down 0-2 in the count was able to launch a ball deep into left field extending the Phillies lead to 4-0.
Joey Gallo was able to finally get the Nationals their first run of the series in the 3rd inning as with Lane Thomas on base he sent a 415-foot home run to right center field closing the score to just 4-2.
In the top of the 9th, the Phillies looked to add some added protection to their lead as off of a Brandon Marsh single to center field, Bryson Stott was able to score a run and increase the Phillies lead to 5-2.
The final score of the game ended at 5-2 with Jose Alvarado taking home the save and Ranger Suarez collecting the win off of the 6 innings he pitched.
The Nationals did not quit as during the bottom of the 5th they broke the short-lived tie by way of a Riley Adams sacrifice fly that allowed Lane Thomas to bring in a run making the score 3-2.
Game 3
In the final game of the series, the weather was better as the first pitch was thrown at 1:35 PM.
Keeping to the theme of the series so far, the Phillies struck first on the scoreboard in the 2nd inning as Edmundo Sosa was able to drive in “Whiz” Whit Merrifield for a run giving the Phillies the early lead of 1-0.
The Nationals responded soon after in the bottom of the 2nd inning as Luis Garcia Jr. singled to left driving in Ildemaro Vargas to tie the game 1-1.
An inning later, in the bottom of the 3rd Joey Meneses hit a single buying enough time for Lane Thomas to score making it 2-1, and giving the Nationals their first lead of the game.
Soon after in the top 5th inning Edmundo Sosa once again came in clutch as he sent a rocket 412 feet to center field scoring his first home run of the season and tying the ball game at 2-2.
The Nationals did not quit as during the bottom of the 5th they broke the short-lived tie by way of a Riley Adams sacrifice fly that allowed Lane Thomas to bring in a run making the score 3-2.
After an attempt to pull off a rally in the top of the ninth, the Phillies eventually were put away and the Nationals took away the 3-2 win.
Takeaways
There is a lot to take away from this series as we have seen some hopeful and promising playing out of the Phillies bullpen.
It’s clear the team isn’t in perfect form just yet and that has been shown on the field recently. The Phillies seem to be having trouble making contact with the ball on offense after striking out 10 times in Game 3.
One last question stands and that is whether Cristopher Sanchez is the long-term option for the Phillies. His last two outings have ended in losses and he seems to struggle with letting up runs in the same way he did last season. I personally think it’s time to begin looking for another starter since Sanchez continues to prove time and time again he may not be the man for the job.
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