Phillies Fall in Extra Innings to Nationals, Ending Four-Game Winning Streak
Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner, left, throws to first after forcing out Washington Nationals' Jacob Young at second on a double play hit into by CJ Abrams during the fifth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
While the Phillies have been the comeback kids against the Nationals this season, Wednesday evening just wasn’t one of those nights.
2026 has been a good year for the Phillies when it comes to marking comebacks against the Nationals, and despite having late rallies in Wednesday night’s contest, the offense was too quiet all night long to mount a seventh comeback victory against Washington.
The Phillies mustered up just five hits on the night, with all five coming in just two innings out of the 11 innings played. Luis Arraez smacked his first home run as a Phillies, but the top of the Phillies order went a combined 0-for-10 with four strikeouts.
Despite that, the Phillies still managed to make it all the way to the 11th inning, completing the fist extra inning game at Citizens Bank Park since May 8, but a six-run 11th inning from the Nationals was the nail in the coffin, resulting in a 10-4 Washington victory.
Andrew Painter jogged out to the mound for his first start at Citizens Bank Park since June 17, and ran into some trouble right out of the gate. On the second pitch of the night, Painter hit CJ Abrams with a pitch, putting the leadoff man on, and Abimelec Ortiz singled to right, putting runners on the corners.
After a popout and strikeout, Painter couldn’t end the inning unscathed as Keibert Ruiz ripped a line drive base hit to right, scoring Abrams from third and giving the Nationals an early lead. One was all Washington would score, but unfortunately for Painter, he had another issue as, after a strikeout, he seemed to slip off the mound, but seemed to be alright.
The top of the Phillies order didn’t do much, as Bryce Harper hit into an inning-ending double play, but the following inning the newest Phillie once again came through in a big way. Arraez went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in his debut, instantly showing the Phillies that his impact was going to be huge for this team.
With the game tied, Arraez decided to show off his power, smacking a 385-foot solo home run down the right field line to tie the ballgame up at one apiece.
The offense didn’t stop there, as Alec Bohm singled to right field, and J.T. Realmuto followed with a single of his own to put runners on the corners. After a walk by Bryson Stott loaded the bases, Justin Crawford lifted a fly ball to deep center field, bringing in a run and giving the Phillies the lead.
Now with the lead, Painter locked in following the rough first, picking up a pair of strikeouts in the third and sending the Nats down in order in the fourth. However, in the fifth, after throwing only 63 pitches, Painter’s night was over as he was ruled out for the game with left hamstring tightness. He finished his second start since coming back up from Triple-A with four strikeouts over four innings and just one run allowed.
So the bullpen was tasked with finishing off the final five innings of the game, and Tim Mayza took care of business in the fifth, and Orion Kerkering did the same in the sixth. While the bullpen was looking good through their first two innings of work, the offense was struggling to create any kind of offense, not having a runner reach base since Stott’s walk.
In the bottom of the sixth, that streak ended as Harper worked a walk, but a double play from Arraez ended that scoring chance. Brooks Raley came on for his Phillies debut, and despite picking up the first two outs of his first inning in Phillies pinstripes, Brady House smoked an 0-1 sweeper deep into the right field seats to tie the game.
The damage wasn’t done there, as Jacob Young smacked a double to right and Abrams smoked a line drive single to left, scoring Young, giving the Nationals the lead once again. That lead didn’t hold for long, as in the bottom half of the inning Bohm worked a walk, Brandon Marsh singled, and Stott followed suit, smoking a game-tying RBI single to left, tying the game up once again.
With still only one out, the Phillies had a chance to regain the lead, but flyouts from Derek Hill and Trea Turner ended the inning. The eighth saw little action from both teams, and despite Jhoan Duran allowing back-to-back singles, the game remained tied heading into extra innings.
In the first extra-inning game at Citizens Bank Park since May 8, Jose Alvarado had the bump for the Phillies in the top half of the 10th. Like most Alvarado appearances, he started his inning with all-around random pitches, resulting in a pair of flyouts, a hit by pitch, and a walk to load the bases.
Nasim Nunez was up next, and Alvarado walked him on four pitches, bringing in a run for Washington, but managed to strike House out on three pitches to keep it a one-run deficit. In the bottom half of the 10th, Hill started at second base and stole third, and Turner smoked a liner down the right field line, but it was caught on a diving catch by Dylan Crews. Hill managed to score on a sac fly, but Turner just missed a potential go-ahead triple.
In the 11th, the floodgates opened up with the Phillies bullpen imploding. Caleb Kilian, in his second appearance with the Phillies, allowed a leadoff walk and a triple from Abrams, scoring two runs and putting another runner on.
A sac bunt from pinch-hitter Miles Mikolas scored Abrams from third; two more walks loaded the bases for Andres Chaparro, who smacked a ball down the left field line, scoring two more runs. Washington added a 10th run on a groundout, but the damage was already done, as the Phillies went down in order in their half of the 11th, losing to the Nationals 10-4.
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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