By: Tim Kelly, managing editor 
Final: Nationals 5, Phillies 4
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Having lost seven of their first 10 games in June, the Philadelphia Phillies sent lefty Adam Morgan to the mound against the Washington Nationals Sunday afternoon, hoping to avoid being swept before beginning a home-and-home with the Toronto Blue Jays.
After a slow start, Morgan and the Phillies settled in, only to lose the game in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the ninth inning.
WP: Jonathan Papelbon (1-2, 3.28 ERA) ❖ LP: Jeanmar Gomez (2-2, 3.13 ERA)
Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| PHI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| WAS | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
Through the first four innings of Sunday's game, the Nationals seemed as though they would cruise to an easy win. After loading up the bases in the first inning, Ryan Zimmerman and Wilson Ramos combined for back-to-back sac-flys, giving the Nationals a 2-0 lead. Danny Espinosa backed that up with a leadoff home run in the top of the second, giving the Nationals a three-run cushion.
The Phillies offense struggled through the first four innings, as Joe Ross seemed on pace to throw a complete game. Cody Asche cut into the lead in the fifth, however, as he hit an opposite field home run that barley made it over the fence to get the Phillies on the scoreboard. In the sixth, the Phillies tied the game when Freddy Galvis followed up an RBI double from Odubel Herrera that brought home Adam Morgan by singling home Herrera.
Things stayed at 3-3, before Maikel Franco smashed a hanging slider off of Jonathan Papelbon to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth inning.
However, in the bottom half of the ninth, Jeanmar Gomez wasn't able to hold off a Nationals rally, as Jayson Werth eventually hit a walk-off two-run single, giving Gomez his second blown save of 2016 and allowing the Nationals to sweep the Phillies.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Morgan | 6.2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 6.33 |
| Joe Ross | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 3.01 |
Adam Morgan looked very much the part of a pitcher who entered the day with an ERA over six in the first two innings of this afternoon's game. He allowed two sacrifice flys in the bottom half of the first inning, while throwing over 30 pitches. In the second inning, Morgan allowed a leadoff home runs to Nationals shortstop Danny Espinosa, looking as though he wouldn't last five innings.
Instead, Morgan lasted six and two-thirds innings Sunday, while striking out a career-high eight batters and throwing over 100 pitches. At no point did Morgan seem as though he would be in a position to be visibly upset when being pulled during the seventh inning of today's game, but that's exactly what transpired, as Morgan gave way to David Hernandez, who helped pitch the Phillies out of the seventh inning without any damage.
Joe Ross countered Morgan with a quality start of his own, striking out eight, while allowing just five hits and scattering three runs over seven innings. He left the game after seven innings with a no-decision.
Phillies
- Maikel Franco: 2-4, HR, 1 RBI
- Odubel Herrera: 1-4, RBI, 1 R
- Freddy Galvis: 1-4, RBI
Nationals
- Jayson Werth: 2-3, RBI, R
- Danny Espinosa: 2-4, RBI
- Wilson Ramos: 0-3, RBI
Phillies
- David Hernandez: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 1 S0, 0 ER
- Jeanmar Gomez: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 0 S0, 2 ER
Nationals
- Sammy Solis: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 S0, 0 ER
- Jonathan Papelbon: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 S0, 1 ER
- Monday, June 13, 2016: at Toronto Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m.
- Rogers Centre
- RHP Jerad Eickhoff (3-8, 3.68 ERA) vs. RHP R.A. Dickey (4-6, 4.15 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
