Phillies Crush Nationals in Powerful Offensive Display

The Philadelphia Phillies came out of the gate swinging on Saturday night.

After Ranger Suárez retired the side in the top of the first, Rhys Hoskins got the scoring started early. The first baseman slugged a solo shot to left field – his third first-inning home run in the past three days – giving the Phillies an early 1-0 lead, and the fun was just beginning.

Philadelphia sent 11 batters to the plate that inning, scoring six runs. Matt Vierling hit a three-run shot, and Bryson Stott hit a two-run triple. 

Washington Nationals starter Patrick Corbin was lifted before the frame was up. He faced ten baserunners, allowing five hits, two walks, one hit batsman, and six earned runs. He only recorded two outs. 

While Corbin may have been done for the day, the Phillies were not. They tacked on an additional three runs in the bottom of the second inning on a double from Alec Bohm, a triple from J.T. Realmuto, a single from Nick Castellanos, and a double from Edmundo Sosa. 

By this point in the game, everyone in Philadelphia's lineup had already reached base. The score was 9-0 heading into the third. 

Meanwhile, Suárez was cruising through the first five innings, before running into a little trouble in the sixth. After allowing a leadoff home run to Luke Voit, he gave up a walk and a double and was lifted from the game. Nick Nelson came in and allowed both inherited runners to score. 

Suárez's final line was still impressive – 5.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 K – though his streak of 21 innings without allowing an earned run finally came to a close. 

Nelson would go on to allow one more run, as would Andrew Bellatti the next inning, but it hardly mattered. The Phillies held a commanding lead the entire game. 

It also helped that Realmuto added some insurance in the bottom of the sixth, with a two-run home run. The catcher has been on fire for the past month, and has been especially good over the past two days – he hit both a home run and a triple in both games.