By: Brandon Apter, contributor 
Final: Nationals 4, Phillies 3 ❖ Attendance: 21,993
Philadelphia, PA – Despite a stellar outing from Jeremy Hellickson, the Phillies lost their fourth straight game tonight with a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the NL East leading Nationals. Philadelphia has now dropped six of their last seven games.
Leading 2-1 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Emmuanel Burriss came in to pinch-hit for Jeremy Hellickson with no one on base. Hellickson had thrown just 79 pitches through seven innings of one-run ball, but Pete Mackanin opted to go with his back-end combination of Hector Neris and Jeanmar Gomez. The move backfired as Neris allowed three runs to score in the eighth. Neris walked three in the inning after walking just three during the entire month of May prior to tonight.
The Phillies hit back-to-back doubles to climb to within one in the ninth against Jonathan Papelbon, but were unable to complete the comeback.
Aaron Nola will get the ball for the Phillies on Tuesday night. He'll be opposed by Washington's Joe Ross.
WP: Tanner Roark (4-4, 2.70 ERA) ❖ LP: Hector Neris (1-2, 2.20 ERA) ❖ SV: Jonathan Papelbon (14)
Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| WAS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| PHI | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
After stranding a runner on third in the bottom of the first, the Phillies captalized in the second. Cesar Hernandez walked, stole second and advanced to third during Tyler Goeddel's at-bat, which also resulted in a walk. Jeremy Hellickson placed a perfect bunt down the first base line to score Hernandez and give the Phillies an early 1-0 lead.
Daniel Murphy got that run back with one swing of the bat in the top of the fourth with a solo homer. Freddy Galvis gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead in the sixth with a towering home run to right-center.
In the seventh, Bryce Harper was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Daniel Murphy followed with a fly out to Tyler Goeddel, who threw a laser back to first base to nab Harper and complete the 7-3 double play. This year's Rule-5 selection for the Phillies has come a long way in earning the starting left field job and his bat and defense continue to improve with consistent playing time.
Jeremy Hellickson was pulled after throwing just 79 pitches tonight. Hector Neris came in relief of Hellickson and got a strikeout before his struggles began. After walks to Danny Espinosa and Ben Revere, Jayson Werth smacked a two out RBI-single to left, tying the game at two. Daniel Murphy followed with a two-run single, giving Washington a 4-2 advantage.
Jonathan Papelbon came in for the save in the ninth and allowed a lead-off double to Maikel Franco. Ryan Howard followed with a double of his own, plating Franco and cutting the lead to 4-3. Tommy Joseph pinch-hit for Carlos Ruiz, but struck out swinging. Papelbon got Cesar Hernandez to go down on strikes before Goeddel lined out to second to end the game.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tanner Roark | 7.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2.70 |
| Jeremy Hellickson | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 3.68 |
Nationals
- Daniel Murphy: 3-4, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI, .395 AVG
- Ryan Zimmerman: 1-4, 3B, K, .244 AVG
- Danny Espinosa: 0-3, R, BB, .198 AVG
Phillies
- Freddy Galvis: 2-4, HR, R, RBI, .257 AVG
- Maikel Franco: 1-4, 2B, R, .253 AVG
- Ryan Howard: 1-4, 2B, RBI, 2 K, .157 AVG
Nationals
- Felipe Rivero: 1.0 IP, 2 K, 3,75 ERA
- Jonathan Papelbon: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 K, 3.05 ERA
Phillies
- Hector Neris: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 2.20 ERA
- Jeanmar Gomez: 1.1 IP, 2.33 ERA
What's Next
- Tuesday, May 31, 2016: vs. Washington Nationals, 7:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park
- RHP Joe Ross (4-4, 2.52 ERA) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (4-3, 2.86 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
- Citizens Bank Park
