WASHINGTON — Bring on the Mets.
One strike from heading into this weekend’s first-place showdown at Citizens Bank Park with a loss in the series finale here, the Phillies rallied to take the lead on two-run doubles by J.T. Realmuto and Rhys Hoskins, then held on for dear life in the ninth inning for a 7-6 victory over the Washington Nationals.
Not only did the Phillies take Aaron Nola off the hook, but they matched their season-high with a fifth consecutive victory and completed their first four-game sweep in Washington since 2009. Oh, and they picked up a fourth game on the swooning Mets in five days, shaving the NL East lead down to a half-game.
It’s beginning to feel like 2007 all over again, albeit a month early.
Trailing 5-3 going into the ninth inning, the Phillies’ rally began with Odúbel Herrera’s leadoff double and continued when Ronald Torreyes reached on a throwing error by Nationals third baseman Carter Kieboom. But young closer Kyle Finnegan struck out pinch-hitting Jean Segura, got Travis Jankowski to ground out, and worked the count full to Realmuto after falling behind 3-0.
Finnegan fired a 97-mph sinker, and Realmuto -- who flew out with the bases loaded two innings earlier -- unloaded a line drive that split the gap in right-center field to tie the game.
After the Nationals intentionally walked scorching-hot Bryce Harper, Hoskins lashed a double to left field. The dugout erupted, with backup catcher Andrew Knapp and others standing on the top step, leaning over the railing, and waving Realmuto and Harper home for a 7-5 lead.
Manager Joe Girardi tapped Archie Bradley -- not new closer Ian Kennedy -- to finish out the game. Bradley gave up a one-out double to Juan Soto, who scored on Josh Bell’s single up the middle and an off-balance throw by shortstop Didi Gregorius that bounced past first base.
But Bradley got Yadiel Hernandez to line out to left field and Kieboom to ground out. Hoskins pumped his fist after the ball landed in his glove, and the Phillies headed home to meet the Mets.
Nola struggles
The Phillies staked Nola to a 2-0 lead in the third inning. They trailed 5-2 when he left after the fifth.
Nola’s problem: a little of everything. He allowed the tying runs in the fourth inning on two hits, two walks, and a hit by pitch. The Nationals went ahead against him in the fifth on a single, a walk, and Josh Bell’s three-run home run on a two-strike curveball that stayed up and over the plate.
Semiquincentennial man
Harper continued his torrid stretch at the plate with a solo homer in the third inning to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. It also marked his 250th career homer, and it came only four days after he picked up his 250th career double.
Harper is the 220th player in the 250-250 club for doubles and home runs. But he’s the 35th to record both milestones in the same season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Mike Trout was the last player to do so in 2019.
In his last 26 games, Harper is batting .389 (35-for-90) and slugging .701 with with 16 doubles, four home runs, and a .505 on-base percentage.
Leatherheads
How’s this for an underrated play in the victory? The Phillies cut down a run at the plate in the eighth inning with glove work from second baseman Ronald Torreyes and a heads-up throw by shortstop Didi Gregorius.
Torreyes made a diving stop on a ball up the middle but delivered a late flip to Gregorius covering second. Gregorius alertly realized that Hernandez had rounded third and was trying to score, a la Chase Utley, and made a strong throw to the plate.
He’s Juan-derful
The Phillies held Soto to only four hits in the four games, but the Nationals’ star still managed to hurt them.
Soto drew a leadoff walk and scored on Kieboom’s RBI single in the Nationals’ two-run fourth inning. In the fifth, he laid off a full-count fastball from Nola that missed just low to work a walk before Bell’s go-ahead three-run homer.
But Soto’s biggest play came with his glove. He made a leaping catch in front of the Nationals’ bullpen in right field to steal a solo homer from Gregorius in the seventh inning.
