Edmundo Sosa and Justin Crawford Play Hero as Phillies Win Series Against Nationals
Apr 1, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Justin Crawford (2) reacts as he hits a walk off game winning RBI single during the tenth inning against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The Phillies needed two things from today’s game: A good start from their ace Cristopher Sanchez and for the offense to finally wake up. They got the start they needed from Sanchez, and the offense once again struggled to capitalize until the later innings once again. Down 5-1, they waited until the later innings to come back and tie the game, with Edmundo Sosa tying it and Justin Crawford winning it. They win the rubber match and their first series of the season in 10 innings, 6-5.
Sanchez got the job done for the Phils. He went 5.1 innings, struck out seven, but walked four on 97 pitches. The Nationals were able to work counts as he struggled a little with command, and get down bloop hits. He threw 33 pitches in the second inning, 22 in the third, and 20 in the fifth. He was still able to get out of jams, which was great to see, whilst only allowing one run.
And it felt like maybe the offense would wake up early. Trea Turner led off the game with a walk, and Kyle Schwarber lined a hard-hit ball to center field, which Jacob Young made a mistake diving for it, and it rolled all the way to the wall. Turner scored, and Schwarber was thrown out trying to extend a double into a triple, in which the Phillies challenged but were unsuccessful.
That challenge came back to bite them the next half inning. After a single and two walks, the bases were loaded with just one out. Drew Millas struck out on a changeup in which J.T. Realmuto lost the pitch, it got behind him, and it allowed Joey Wiemer to score. They tried to throw to 1st to get the runner there, in which it looked like he was out, but without a challenge, the Phillies couldn’t use that they couldn’t look at it.
Once again, the Phillies’ offensive struggles continued throughout the game. Nationals starter Cade Cavalli had his control in check. If Young doesn’t dive at that ball, the Phillies might’ve been held scoreless. But besides that one run, he pitched six quality innings, with only three strikeouts. They left the bases loaded in the second, and left two guys on 2nd and 3rd base in the fourth. Offense has to win you games with superstars, and you can’t rely on pitching forever.
That’s what happened in the sixth. After getting the first two outs easily, Young lined a single and stole second, which allowed Millas to drive in the go-ahead run. Then Brad Keller got two easy outs in the 7th before the Nationals started another two-out rally. Daylen Lile got an infield single, which was overturned after being ruled out first, Joey Weimer singled, and that set up CJ Abrams for a three-run home run, which, to most, felt like the nail in the coffin for another early Phillies loss. But a team that had 43 comeback wins the year prior knew they weren’t finished yet.
Realmuto started off the bottom of the seventh hitting his first home run of the year to cut the deficit to 5-2. One inning later, Bryce Harper finally hit his first homer in what could hopefully be the start of him breaking out of an early slump. The Phillies had made it somewhat of a game heading into the ninth inning, and after a scoreless inning by Jose Alvarado in the top half, the Phils had a chance.
After a single and two walks, Sosa lined a two-out, two-strike hanging sweeper from Cole Henry into left, which scored both Turner and Dylan Moore, who was pinch running for Schwarber.
Sosa then made a huge double play to get the Phillies out of the 10th inning. He leaped up into the air to steal a base hit away from Abrams and then threw to second calmly as Lile was way off the bag.
The Phillies ended this game in the bottom half of the frame, with the rookie Crawford continuing his small sample size of excellence during the homestand, with a walk-off base hit to center field. He also recorded the first extra-base hit of his career as well.
Crawford becomes the youngest Phillies player with a walk-off RBI since Scott Rolen on June 5, 1997. Both Crawford and Rolen were 22 at the time, and both were walk-off singles to right field in the 10th inning. Crawford also becomes the first Phillie since Luke Williams against the Braves in 2021 to collect a walk-off hit within the first five games of his career.
The Phils finished the homestand at 3-3 and will head out west for a six-game road trip, starting in Colorado at Coors Field on Friday, with the first pitch being at 4:05.
Andrew Glover
Andrew is in his first year covering sports for Philly Sports Reports. He is a podcaster and a digital content creator. Right now, he is in his second semester at Temple University pursuing a degree in Media Studies and Production. He has a certificate in Broadcast Journalism from the Connecticut School of Broadcasting in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
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