PHILADELPHIA _ For a few moments Sunday, between pitches in the eighth inning, Gabe Kapler vacated his usual position on the steps of the dugout to retrieve a cup of water. It was nearly 100 degrees on the field. Hydration was critical.
Surely, though, the Phillies manager could have used a beverage with slightly more kick.
The Phillies were nearing the end of a 42-game run in which they faced 10 teams with a combined winning percentage of .545. It was a grueling stretch of schedule, to be sure, one that tested the mettle of Kapler's roster, which represents the youngest team in baseball.
And Kapler was managing like it was Game 7 of the World Series. He pinch-hit for starting pitcher Jake Arrieta with the Phillies down three runs in only the fifth inning. He used six relievers in an exhausted bullpen that had worked 14 1/3 innings over the previous two games. He challenged a close call at first base in the fifth inning and got it overturned. He pulled more strings than a marionette puppeteer.
By the bottom of the 13th inning, the Phillies had already used a starting pitcher in relief. And when Andrew Knapp came to the plate to bat in the pitcher's spot, nobody was warming up in the bullpen.
It didn't matter.
Knapp slugged a solo homer to give the Phillies an improbable 4-3 victory and make all of Kapler's maneuvering pay off.
The Phillies completed their 42-game test with a 21-21 record and head into a well-deserved day off Monday with a 45-37 record and in second place in the National League East, three games behind the front-running Braves but also three games ahead of the heavily favored Nationals.
Knapp got the big hit, but the unsung hero was reliever Jake Thompson. He walked into the clubhouse at about 11 a.m. after getting called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley and tossed scoreless ninth, 10th and 11th innings. Victor Arano held down the Nationals in the 12th before starter Nick Pivetta pitched a scoreless 13th.
Considering how much the bullpen worked over the past few games, Kapler's decision to lift Arrieta in the fifth inning was daring. Two relievers _ Yacksel Rios and rookie phenom Seranthony Dominguez _ were unavailable, and Tommy Hunter was limited after throwing 38 pitches Saturday night.
But Kapler did it anyway, recognizing a rare opportunity to score against Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez. And with one out and runners on first and second, pinch-hitter Carlos Santana walked to load the bases. Cesar Hernandez walked, too, forcing home a run. Rhys Hoskins followed with a sacrifice fly before lefty-hitting Odubel Herrera reached down for a low-and-outside pitch and impossibly hooked it into right field for a game-tying single.
Until then, Gonzalez had cruised, allowing one hit through four innings. The Nationals scored first for the fourth consecutive game, with Arrieta giving up his majors-leading 15th unearned run in the fourth inning after a throwing error by catcher Jorge Alfaro.
Arrieta allowed two more runs _ of the earned variety, this time _ in the fifth on a two-out single by Adam Eaton to open a 3-0 Nationals lead.
