WASHINGTON _ It was three outs from being the Phillies' most inspiring victory so far this season.
Instead, it turned into a demoralizing defeat.
After having survived 15 strikeouts against Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer and rope-a-doping the two-time defending Cy Young Award winner into a seventh-inning exit, the Phillies' bullpen blew up on Sunday. Luis Garcia, Tommy Hunter and closer Hector Neris combined to allow four runs over the final two innings in a 5-4 gut-punch before an announced crowd of 30,611 at Nationals Park.
Say goodbye to the prospect of a .500 record on the six-game road trip after dropping the first two games in Miami. And so much for moving into a first-place tie with the Atlanta Braves, who lost Sunday at home to the San Francisco Giants. Those possibilities went out the window with Wilfer Difo's bases-loaded single to center field against Neris in the ninth inning to score Howie Kendrick from third base.
Neris, who had converted 26 of his last 27 save opportunities dating to last season, inherited a one-run lead in the ninth. But he was in trouble immediately. He gave up a leadoff single to Matt Wieters, then threw wide of first base on a pickoff attempt, allowing pinch-runner Rafael Bautista to advance to third base.
After hitting Kendrick with a pitch and walking Michael A. Taylor to load the bases, Neris walked pinch-hitting Pedro Severino to force home the tying run. And while the Phillies brought Scott Kingery in from right field to be a fifth infielder and increase their chances of cutting down a run at the plate on a ground ball, Difo's line-drive single to center assured that they wouldn't get that chance.
Until then, the story had been the way the Phillies outlasted Scherzer.
Scherzer looms over everything at Nationals Park. A poster bearing his likeness hangs in front of a garage in center field. His two different-colored eyes form an intimidating sign in right field. And for six innings, Scherzer pounded away. He threw blazing fastball after blazing fastball, hard sliders to righties, nasty cutters to lefties, bat-slowing change-ups and the occasional curve. He punched out everyone in the Phillies' lineup save Maikel Franco, at one point whiffing seven in a row.
But as overpowering as Scherzer was, the Phillies made him work. Franco grinded out a nine-pitch at-bat in the second inning. Florimon had a pair of seven-pitch at-bats, both ending in strikeouts. Scherzer threw 26 pitches in the fourth inning alone, and by the time he walked to the mound to begin the seventh, his pitch count was at 104.
With Scherzer tiring and the Nationals leading by one run, Florimon opened the seventh inning with a single. He stole second, and after Jorge Alfaro struck out on Scherzer's 111th pitch, Nationals manager Dave Martinez turned to his bullpen. Pinch-hitter Nick Williams greeted Sammy Solis with a game-tying single, the start of a three-run outburst.
But the rally came at a price. Kapler had to pull Jake Arrieta, who gave up two hits, including a solo homer, and little else _ all on only 75 pitches. The bullpen entered in the seventh and was unable to hold the lead.
