In what was possibly his final start of the 2015 season, Aaron Nola continued to show the poise of a future star. He worked around two difficult jams and held the Nationals off the board through five innings.
But Stephen Strasburg was better, and nearly held the Phillies completely off the board before a run in the eighth ended his chance for a win.
The Nationals still got the win four innings later in the 12th as Bryce Harper doubled home the game-winning run to give the Nationals a 2-1 win over the Phillies on Saturday at Nationals Park.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | R | H | E | |
| Phillies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Nationals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
WP: Matt Thornton (2-1, 2.23 ERA) LP: Colton Murray (0-1, 6.35 ERA)
It was a pitcher's duel for five innings as Nola and Strasburg worked five scoreless innings each. Nola worked around a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the fourth and a lead-off single and error that put a runner on second with no outs to start the fifth.
Nola finished after five innings, allowing six hits and striking out five.
The Nationals took the lead in the sixth. After a pair of walks to Harper and Jayson Werth and two wild pitches by Adam Loewen, Harper scored on a groundout by Ian Desmond.
Strasburg gave up a single to Darin Ruf to lead off the fifth inning and erased him on a double play by Andres Blanco.
Ruf singled to lead off the eighth, and this time was able to come around to score. After a sacrifice by Blanco, Brian Bogusevic drove him in with an RBI double to tie the game.
The game would go extras where in the 12th, Harper doubled to score Anthony Rendon and end the game.
Despite the win, the Nationals were eliminated from playoff contention as the Mets claimed the NL East title with a 10-2 win in Cincinnati.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Nola | 5.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3.59 |
| Stephen Strasburg | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 3.63 |
- Nola: ND; 67 pitches, 44 strikes; 6 groundouts, 1 flyout; 20 faced batters
- Strasburg: ND; 101 pitches, 73 strikes; 4 groundouts, 2 flyouts; 27 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Phillies
- Adam Loewen (6th): 1/3 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 7.94 ERA
- Jeanmar Gomez (6th-7th): 1 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 2.81 ERA
- Luis Garcia (8th): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 3.64 ERA
- Hector Neris (9th): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 4.03 ERA
- Jerome Williams (10th-11th): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 5.90 ERA
- Colton Murray (12th): 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 6.35 ERA
Nationals
- Jonathan Papelbon (9th): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 1.88 ERA
- Felipe Rivero (10th): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2.98 ERA
- Blake Treinen (11th-12th): 1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 3.78 ERA
- Matt Thornton (12th): 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 2.27 ERA
At the Plate
Phillies
- Darin Ruf: 2-5, R
- Brian Bogusevic: 1-5, 2B (3), RBI (4), 3 SO
- Freddy Galvis: 1-5, SO
Nationals
- Ian Desmond: 1-5, RBI (61), 2 SO
- Bryce Harper: 3-5, R, 2 2B (37), RBI (96), BB, 2 SO
- Jayson Werth: 1-4, BB, 2 SO
What's Next:
- Sunday, September 27, 2015 at Washington Nationals, 1:35 p.m.
- RHP Aaron Harang (6-15, 4.93 ERA) vs. LHP Gio Gonzalez (11-8, 3.94 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Kevin Durso is editorial assistant for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
