The Washington Nationals have been able to get 26 outs against the Philadelphia Phillies, but the last one has proved difficult.
The Phillies have back-to-back dramatic wins in Washington, where they’ll look to post a series victory Thursday night when they wrap up a four-game set.
After falling 4-1 in Monday’s series opener, Philadelphia has been on the verge of losing the past two contests.
The Phillies trailed by two runs with two outs in the ninth inning on Tuesday, only to score eight times en route to a 14-9 triumph. Then on Wednesday, the visitors were down to their final strike before pinch hitter Derek Hill hit a two-run homer to propel Philadelphia to a 5-4 victory.
“It’s them understanding this game’s never over,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said. “If we keep it close, we’re down a couple runs in the seventh or whatever, it’s not like a game that’s over.”
Curtis Mead, a former Phillies farmhand, hit a two-run homer for Washington. Luis Garcia Jr. and Jorbit Vivas also went deep in a losing cause.
“Very similar to last night,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said. “Just frustration, disbelief, shock. You name it.”
The Phillies will look to continue their momentum behind ace Cristopher Sanchez (9-3, 1.80 ERA), who has been among the best pitchers in baseball for the second straight season. The left-hander, acquired by Philadelphia from the Tampa Bay Rays in 2019 for Mead, will face the Nationals for the second time this season.
Sanchez held Washington to one run in 5 1/3 innings on April 1, although he did issue a season-high four walks in his team’s 6-5 victory in 10 innings.
He is 3-2 with a 3.58 ERA in 12 career appearances (nine starts) vs. the Nationals.
Most recently, Sanchez is coming off a 15-3 win Saturday over the New York Mets in which he gave up one run over six innings. The Phillies’ offense took care of the rest of that night, as Kyle Schwarber smashed three home runs and Bryce Harper hit for the cycle.
“They stole the show from me tonight,” Sanchez said.
Washington will counter with right-hander Cade Cavalli (4-4, 4.07 ERA), who has a 5.60 ERA in four starts this month. He hasn’t logged more than five innings in any June start after doing so four times in May.
In his last outing, Cavalli gave up two runs and six hits — as well as three walks — in 2 2/3 innings in his team’s 4-3 win over the Rays on Saturday.
“Going into it, I had a little bit more confidence that this new grip was going to work, because they analyzed my slot, they analyzed my hand position, my spin axis,” he said.
Cavalli faced the Phillies on April 1 and held them to one run and five hits over six frames. He is 1-0 with a crisp 1.89 ERA in three lifetime appearances (all starts) against Philadelphia.
The Phillies are 4-2 against Washington this season. After Thursday, the teams won’t meet again until early August.
–Field Level Media
