WASHINGTON — Another night, another ninth inning homer for the Phillies.
This time, it was Bryce Harper, who delivered a two-run, go-ahead home run that put the Phillies ahead for the 10-5 win over the team that drafted him.
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He silenced the “Tarps Off” section in the third deck at Nationals Park, made up of shirtless men waving their shirts and chanting — which had included expletives directed at Harper. As he rounded the bases, he appeared to gesture in their direction.
And before the Phillies were done in the ninth, Derek Hill blasted another homer of his own. By then, that section had mostly dispersed.
For the third straight night, the Phillies did most of their damage against the Nationals bullpen.
It helped them overcome an uncharacteristic start from Cristopher Sánchez. The lefty wasn’t as sharp as usual, and it seemed like Washington capitalized on every mistake he made. The Nationals jumped out to a four-run lead in the first inning.
Curtis Mead started it off. The infielder, a former Phillies prospect they traded to Tampa Bay in 2019 in exchange for Sánchez, blasted a homer over the bullpen in left field. Sánchez couldn’t rebound, hitting the next batter and allowing three singles before finally getting out of the first.
The defense didn’t help Sánchez, costing him quite a few pitches en route to his shortest outing — five innings — since April 7. J.T. Realmuto committed a throwing error in the third inning trying to catch Dylan Crews stealing second, and Alec Bohm booted a ball at third.
Sánchez struck out six batters, including four on his slider.
The Phillies slowly chipped away at the 5-0 deficit until breaking things open in the ninth inning. Brandon Marsh got the Phillies on the board in the sixth with a two-run homer off Cade Cavalli.
In the seventh, Don Mattingly left Justin Crawford in to face lefty Mitchell Parker, and the rookie rewarded his manager with a single that started a three-run rally that tied the game. The Phillies stayed patient, drawing four walks in the frame to go with two singles and an RBI groundout to tie things up, setting the stage for another big ninth.
Father’s Day will hit a little differently this year for Don and Preston Mattingly. After years of working in baseball for different teams, often on opposite sides of the country, they are together with the Phillies as the first father-and-son manager-and-GM combination ever. Preston Mattingly joins Phillies Extra to discuss working with his dad, as well as the Phillies’ decision to demote Andrew Painter to the minors and their preparations for the trade deadline. Watch here.
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