clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Washington Nationals walk off on Philadelphia Phillies on Bryce Harper homer in ninth, 6-4 final...

It was tied at 4-4 after eight and a half in the nation’s capital, but the Washington Nationals walked off again, beating the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-4 on a Bryce Harper home run.

MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Tanner Roark wasn’t particularly sharp tonight in the nation’s capital, in his third start of the season against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Roark gave up six hits and four earned runs on 110 pitches in just 4 23 innings pitched, but his Washington Nationals teammates picked him up, rallying to tie things up at 4-4 in the fifth, before going on to win the series opener in D.C., 6-4.

Trea Turner hit a two-run home run to center off Philly righty Nick Pivetta in the top of the fifth and Ryan Zimmerman hit an opposite field, two-run double to right-center to tie things up at 4-4 after five.

It stayed that way until the bottom of the ninth when Bryce Harper took Philly righty Edubray Ramos deep to center for a two-out, two-run walk-off home run to center.

Nationals now 23-12

HERE’S HOW IT HAPPENED:

Tanner Roark worked around the runners he let on in the first few innings, but a leadoff walk (one of two walks in the fourth) came around to score on a two-out RBI single by Michael Saunders, as the Phillies jumped out to a 1-0 lead.

Maikel Franco singled to left after Saunders’ hit, loading the bases on Roark’s 30th pitch of the fourth, and Cameron Rupp worked the count full in the next at bat and singled to center on Roark’s 36th pitch of the inning, driving in two more for a 3-0 lead.

Nick Pivetta tossed four scoreless on a relatively efficient 60 pitches and connected for his first major league hit, after giving up nine hits (three home runs) and four runs total in five innings of work against the Nationals earlier this month in Citizens Bank Park.

Roark was done after 110 pitches in just 4 23 innings, with Joe Blanton coming on after a walk to Aaron Altherr to put two on with two out in the top of the fifth.

• Tanner Roark’s Line: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 Ks, 110 P, 63 S, 3/2 GO/FO.

Blanton gave up an RBI single by Tommy Joseph on a 2-2 slider in his first matchup of the night, 4-0 Phillies.

Trea Turner hit an 0-1 pitch to the right of center field in the fifth, taking a 96 mph fastball from Pivetta out of the park for a two-out, two-run home run that cut the Phillies’ lead in half, 4-2. Turner’s 3rd.

Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper took back-to-back, two-out walks after Turner’s blast, and Ryan Zimmerman hit a 97 mph 1-2 fastball to right for an opposite field, two-run double that tied things up at 4-4 and ended Pivetta’s night.

• Nick Pivetta’s Line: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2ER, 4 BB, 5 Ks, 1 HR, 87 P, 46 S, 4/1 GO/FO.

Jacob Turner tossed a scoreless, 11-pitch sixth. Enny Romero retired two batters after giving up a leadoff double in the Phillies’ seventh and Koda Glover came on and worked around a walk to keep it tied after six and a half.

Glover came back out for a 12-pitch, 1-2-3 top of the eighth. Shawn Kelley worked around leadoff and one-out walks in a scoreless ninth.

Adam Lind singled to start the Nationals’ half of the ninth, and two outs later, Bryce Harper hit a walk-off winner off Edubray Ramos. 6-4 final.

NATIONALS PREGAME NOTES:

  • Washington was 14-5 against Philadelphia last season with an 8-1 record in Citizens Bank Park and 6-4 mark in Nationals Park.
  • Washington’s 22-12 record heading into tonight’s game is the NL’s best, and is tied for second-best in the majors.
  • The Nationals started the night with wins in 17 of their last 22 games with the Phillies, over which they’ve outscored their NL East rivals 98-76.
  • Washington’s offense started the night leading the majors in runs scored (209), AVG (.283), OBP (.359), SLG (.486), hits (343), doubles (74) and RBIs (205).
  • Ryan Zimmerman started the night leading the majors in AVG (.393), SLG (.820), RBIs (34), hits (48), multi-hit games (16), and extra base hits (26).
  • In today’s Philly-themed Fun with Arbitrary End Points segment: Phillies’ outfielder Aaron Altherr started the night with an eight-game hit streak and he’d reached base safely in 20 of 37 plate appearances in May (.541 OBP).
  • In today’s Nationals-themed Fun with Arbitrary End Points segment: Tanner Roark began the night with a 0.96 ERA in 47 IP against the Phillies... since the start of the 2016 campaign.
  • In a bonus Philly-themed Fun with Arbitrary End Points segment: Phillies’ first baseman Tommy Joseph has put up a .314/.397/.588 line... since April 20th.

Nationals now 23-12