With the Phillies trailing by two runs and down to their final strike in the ninth inning, shortstop Trea Turner scraped at the dirt inside the batter’s box at Nationals Park, anxiously awaiting a pitch he could put into play from Nationals’ closer Brad Lord. He got just that – an upper-middle fastball that Turner cracked to left-center field, kick-starting an epic comeback in Washington.

Brandon Marsh stepped up next, tying the ballgame at eight on a two-run homer that caromed off the facing of the second deck in right field.  Three batters later, Bryson Stott busted the game open on a three-run home run that hugged the first-base line, putting the Phillies in front for good in an eventual 14-9 victory in the nation’s capital. 

Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo finished the contest with one of the weirder pitching lines in recent memory for a pitcher. The 28-year-old received a no-decision after 6 ⅔ innings, allowing six hits, five earned runs, and tying a career-high with 13 strikeouts. For those not so good at math, Luzardo acquired 65% of his outs via the punchout on Tuesday night; however, a four-run inning for Washington in the bottom of the fourth appeared like it would be enough for the Nationals to overcome the talented Phillies starter and be poised for victory heading into the final frames of the contest. 

Washington held a 5-0 advantage heading into the fifth inning before Philly got back two runs on Edmundo Sosa’s fifth round-tripper of the season to slice the lead to 5-2. The game stayed that way into the seventh inning when Sosa added another RBI to his total on a fielder’s choice to narrow the Washington lead to two runs at 5-3. 

Philadelphia’s offense brought the sparklers in the eighth inning before unleashing the real fireworks in the ninth. Marsh doubled to right field, Alec Bohm walked and Stott was hit by a pitch to load the bases full of red helmets with a giant white P on the front.

J.T. Realmuto stepped to the plate and smashed a sinking line drive at Nationals’ right fielder James Wood, who dove to make the catch but lost the ball when he collided with the ground, allowing all three runs to score as the game swung in Philly’s favor and the frame closed with the score at 6-5. But this game was far from over, despite only nine total outs remaining in D.C. 

Orion Kerkering tried to lock the game down in the eighth inning, but the 25-year-old ran into trouble after a lead-off walk and a hit by pitch. After failing to lay down a bunt on the first pitch of the at-bat, Washington’s Jorbit Vivas pounded a home run to straightaway centerfield to reclaim the lead at 8-5 in favor of the home squad. It would be the last bit of joy Washington’s home crowd enjoyed on the night. 

An eight-run ninth inning led to another emotional swing and catapulted the Phillies to victory. Marsh’s homer tied it, Stott’s long trot gave Philly the lead and a slew of baserunners followed him to continue to change the crooked number on the scoreboard at Nationals Park. Kerkering picked up his first blown save of the 2026 campaign, but he also received credit for the win to push his record to 4-0 on the season as the Phillies would eventually win 14-9. 

Philadelphia remains in Washington for Wednesday and Thursday night contests, with both games scheduled for 6:45 pm ET. Aaron Nola seeks his fourth win tonight, while Cristopher Sánchez is scheduled for the series finale.

With the Atlanta Braves struggling to a 3-7 record over the last 10 games, Philly is slowly closing the gap on Atlanta in the N.L. East, a lead that is down to just 5 ½ games entering play on June 24. It is certainly too early to start watching the standings, but keeping the Braves within reach ahead of the 2026 MLB All-Star Game is a good sign following the Braves’ lightning-quick start to the season. 

Keywords

Phillies,

Phillies recap,

Nationals,

Jesus Luzardo,

Brandon Marsh,

Trea Turner,

Edmundo Sosa,

NL East standings,

MLB,

baseball