Three Two-Run Home Runs Rally Phillies To Third Straight Comeback Win Over Nationals
Brad Mills/Imagn Images
The comeback kid Phillies do it again in D.C.
After mounting comebacks in back-to-back games against the Nationals, thanks to ninth-inning go-ahead home runs, the Phillies decided to keep the trend going for the third night in a row, coming all the way back from being down 5-0, and defeating Washington 10-5 and taking the series in D.C.
This game was a tale of two halves, as through the first five innings, nothing was going the Phillies’ way on the mound or at the plate. The surprise of the night had to be that of Cristopher Sanchez, who struggled for the second time in his last three starts, allowing five runs in the first three innings of his start, with four coming during the first inning. Sanchez’s four runs allowed in the first inning were the most he’s allowed in any start this year, and the most he’s allowed in a single inning all year.
The offense did nothing until the sixth, when Brandon Marsh opened up the scoring with a two-run bomb. In the seventh, two singles and three walks brought three runs in to tie the game.
In the ninth, the Phillies blew the door of the game open, posting five runs thanks to two two-run home runs, one from Bryce Harper and another from Derek Hill, and an RBI double from J.T. Realmuto to will the Phillies to the win. The Phillies scored 15 runs in the ninth inning during this four-game set against the Nationals.
Things didn’t start off how the Phillies were hoping they would, as they were unable to capitalize on two early baserunners. Kyle Schwarber, who was back in the lineup after not starting for two games due to back spasms, singled through the right side, and Bryce Harper walked. Brandon Marsh grounded out, moving both runners into scoring position, but Alec Bohm went down on three pitches to end the inning.
After Sanchez got James Wood to ground out to start the following inning, Curtis Mead dug in for his first at-bat of the night. Mead and Sanchez were famously traded for each other seven years ago in what’s called one of baseball’s worst trades. However, Mead looked like he got his revenge as he lifted a solo home run to left, giving Washington an early 1-0 lead.
The runs didn’t stop there as Andrés Chaparro was hit by a pitch and singles by Dylan Crews and Daylen Lile brought another run in. With runners on the corner, a groundout from Jacob Young made it 3-0 Nats, and a single back up the middle by Nasim Nuñez made it an unprecedented four-run first inning for Sanchez.
Both teams went down in order in the second, but the Nationals’ high-powered offense came back for more in the third. Crews singled for the second time on the night, stole second two pitches later and then scored a batter later, thanks to another single, this one from Young, to make it 5-0 Washington.
No offense in the fourth and fifth innings kept it a five-run game in the sixth, as Nationals starter Cade Cavalli was coasting through his first five innings of work. With his pitch count nearing the 90’s, Blake Butera decided to send him out for another inning. Cavalli picked up one out on a strikeout from Schwarber, but after a single from Harper, Marsh smoked a changeup into the right-center field seats for a two-run home run.
An inning later, Justin Crawford and Trea Turner both singled to put two runners on, and a walk from Schwarber loaded the bases. Harper dug in for his next at-bat and worked a walk to bring in one run, and Marsh did the same for another run to make it 5-4 Nationals. Still with just one out and the bases still loaded, Bohm grounded a ball back up the middle but was able to beat the throw at first to break up the double play and tie the game at five.
With a new ballgame, the Phillies bullpen continued shutting down the Nationals’ offense, retiring the side in the seventh and working around a leadoff double in the eighth to keep the game tied.
In the ninth, Schwarber led off the frame with a single back up the middle, and up came Harper with a chance to give Philadelphia the lead. After taking a first-pitch ball, the showman did what the showman does best and delivered a go-ahead two-run bomb into the left field seats.
Now leading 7-5, the runs didn’t stop there, as Marsh singled to right for his second hit, and after two outs from Bohm and Bryson Stott, J.T. Realmuto smacked an RBI double to center to add an insurance run. Derek Hill, the hero of the previous night’s game, dug in for his next at-bat, and Hill, for the second night in a row, smoked a two-run homer to left to blow the game open.
In the bottom of the ninth, Tim Mayza came in to close out the game, with the Phillies electing not to throw Johan Duran for a third straight night. Mayza handled his duty, sending the Nationals down in order on 12 pitches to close out the game, with the Phillies winning 10-5.
“We’re coming, watch out,” Bryce Harper said postgame when asked what the last three nights of comeback wins have meant to the team. “Obviously, we’re a great ballclub; we knew we had it in us. We’re playing good baseball, and it’s a great ballclub that we have. We have a lot of fun, and we’re a great team. We just have to keep going.”
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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