The Phillies beat the Nationals 4-3 in 13 innings, with their first walk-off home run in two years. The Phillies are now in control of second place in the NL East after taking three of four from Washington:
The Phillies completed their 42-game test with a 21-21 record and head into a well-deserved day off Monday with a 45-37 record and in second place in the National League East, three games behind the front-running Braves but also three games ahead of the heavily favored Nationals.
The Nationals continue to play very close games, but not win them. None of their superstars are playing up to snuff, and with Adam Eaton and Daniel Murphy back, there is little to blame on injuries at this point. (I don’t think Matt Wieters and Ryan Zimmerman would make much of a difference offensively.) Whatever magic Kevin Long worked with other teams is not helping here. Truthfully, I think they miss Dusty Baker.
Meanwhile, Gabe Kapler is being praised after his rough start:
Considering how much the bullpen worked over the past few games, Kapler’s decision to lift Arrieta in the fifth inning was daring. Two relievers — Yacksel Rios and rookie phenom Seranthony Dominguez — were unavailable, and Tommy Hunter was limited after throwing 38 pitches Saturday night.
But Kapler did it anyway, recognizing a rare opportunity to score against Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez. And with one out and runners on first and second, pinch-hitter Carlos Santana walked to load the bases. Cesar Hernandez walked, too, forcing home a run. Rhys Hoskins followed with a sacrifice fly before lefty-hitting Odubel Herrera reached down for a low-and-outside pitch and impossibly hooked it into right field for a game-tying single.
The Nationals are now chasing two teams not given much of a chance of challenging for the NL East title, and being a bit boring at the same time.
from baseballmusings.com https://ift.tt/2tVGMAG
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