Going into Thursday night, the Philadelphia Phillies looked to push their win streak to five games and sweep the Washington Nationals out of town.
Through 5 innings, the game looked normal, albeit a low-scoring affair. Taijuan Walker looked great on the mound. He’d allowed just a single and two walks until that point on just 58 pitches. In the first inning, he made a certified web gem of a play, glove flipping a ball just in time to first base.
Since 2020, Taijuan Walker is 2nd in Defensive Runs Saved by a pitcher behind his teammate Zack Wheeler.
In the bottom of the 5th, the Phillies found their first run. Max Kepler kept his hot streak going with a double in the leftfield gap. Alec Bohm singled him in for the 1-0 lead. A Johan Rojas walk put runners on first and second, but the Phillies failed to bring another run home.
Phillies Lose Lead Late
Things got weird in the 6th inning. After a leadoff double by CJ Abrams, Walker took a 103.9 MPH comebacker off his thigh. He got the out at first and stayed in the game. After an RBI single by Nathaniel Lowe, Bryce Harper inexplicably allowed a ball to go through his legs and down the line. Keibert Ruiz got to third on the error. After a Luis Garcia single, Rafael Marchan got fooled on a double steal with two outs, throwing the ball to second and allowing the runner at 3rd to score. Orion Kerking came in to get the 3rd out.
All told, the Phillies allowed four runs, three of which were unearned.
The Phillies had back-to-back singles by Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to start the bottom of the inning. Nick Castellanos drove home Turner, but the Phillies failed to add: 4-2, Nationals.
They had another chance in the 8th inning. Turner led off with a single and, with 1 out, Kyle Schwarber walked. The walk pushed Schwarber’s career-best on-base streak to 37 games. Castellanos followed with a double play.
With two outs in the 9th, Johan Rojas lined a triple down the leftfield line. Marchan lined out to center to end the game. Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan recorded the save.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
