Nola earns 10th win as Phillies defeat Nationals

By: Rebecca Serad, Sports Talk Philly Staff

Final: Philadelphia Phillies 4, Washington Nationals 3 ❖ Attendance: 25,026

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — It got a little too close for comfort in the ninth inning, but the Philadelphia Phillies (43-36) pulled out a win over the Washington Nationals (41-38). Phils starter Aaron Nola was magnificent yet again. Over seven and 2/3 innings, the righty allowed one run on five hits while striking out eight. This marked the first time that Nola has pitched seven or more innings since May. In addition, he reached a new career high in pitches with 114. Nola is now the third pitcher in the National League to reach ten wins for the season.

While there were plenty of opportunities to do more damage, the Phillies managed to score enough runs to win the game. Rhys Hoskins had another big night at the plate with three hits. He was only a triple shy of the cycle. Maikel Franco and Jorge Alfaro picked up two hits apiece. Nick Williams ended his 0-9 stretch with a single in the third inning.

WP: Aaron Nola (10-2, 2.48 ERA) ❖ LP: Tanner Roark (3-9, 4.10 ERA) ❖ SV: Seranthony Dominguez (6)

Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next

Game Summary

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
WSH	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	7	1
PHI	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	0	X	4	9	0

The Nationals struck first in tonight's ballgame. Trea Turner led off the top of the second with a single. He moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt by Michael A. Taylor. Catcher Pedro Severino followed with a double down the left field line, easily scoring Turner from second. Nats starter Tanner Roark was retired on a groundout to short that kept Severino from advancing to third. Wilmer Difo was retired on a fly out to end the inning.

The Phillies tied it up in the bottom of the second. Maikel Franco led off the inning with a double to left field. Jorge Alfaro followed with a single to center. Originally, Franco was going to stay at third. However, a fielding error by Taylor in center allowed Franco to score and tie the game. Phils starter Aaron Nola was retired on a sacrifice bunt for the first out; Alfaro moved up to second. Unfortunately, Alfaro was stranded at second, as Cesar Hernandez and Rhys Hoskins were retired on a strikeout and a flyout, respectively, for the final two outs of the frame.

The Phils took the lead in the third. Odubel Herrera was hit by a pitch to get things started. He advanced to second on a long flyout by Carlos Santana. Right fielder Nick Williams singled to center field to put runners on first and third with one out. Scott Kingery hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Herrera and give the Phillies a 2-1 lead. Franco popped out for the third out.

The Phillies extended their lead in the seventh off of a former Phillie. The Nationals brought in Ryan Madson to face his former ballclub and it worked in the Phils' favor. Hernandez led off the inning with a single to center. Hoskins followed with a homer to left-center field to double the Phillies' run total. Madson retired Herrera and Santana, but the Nats opted to make another pitching change and gave Sammy Solis the ball. Solis hit the first batter he faced, which was Williams. However, Kingery grounded into a force out to end the inning.

The Nats attempted to make a last minute comeback in the ninth against Phils reliever Tommy Hunter. Turner led off the inning with a single to center. Taylor followed with a double into the right field corner, which allowed the speedy Turner to score from first. Pinch-hitter Adam Eaton was retired on a groundout to first, on which Taylor advanced to third. The Phillies then opted to remove Hunter in favor of Seranthony Dominguez. He struck out the first batter he faced, pinch-hitter Mark Reynolds, for the second out. During the at-bat of Difo, a passed ball allowed Taylor to score from third. Dominguez struck out Difo looking to end the game and secure the win for Nola and the Phillies.

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