Herrera and Harper atone as Phillies finally win a road series originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
For the first time since the final days of the 2019 season, the Phillies have won a road series of three or more games.
It wasn't easy.
Get Philly local news, weather forecasts, sports and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia newsletters.
And it wasn't necessarily pretty.
But they got it.
The Phils beat the Washington Nationals for the second straight night on Wednesday. The Phils scored three runs in the top of the 10th inning to win it 5-2.
Philadelphia Phillies
Complete coverage of the Fightin' Phils and their MLB rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Earlier, they tied the game at 2-2 on a solo homer by Odubel Herrera against Washington closer Brad Hand with one out in the top of the ninth.
Reliever Ranger Suarez had come up big for the Phillies the previous half-inning as he pitched over an error to get out of a bases-loaded jam and end the eighth.
Jose Alvarado also shined in relief. He got a double-play ball with runners on the corners to end the bottom of the ninth.
The Phillies had hits from Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, Nick Maton and Andrew Knapp in rallying for three runs in the top of the 10th. Hoskins' hit put them ahead. The hits by Maton and Knapp padded the lead for Hector Neris, who closed it out.
The win improved the Phillies to 20-17.
They will look for a three-game sweep of the Nationals behind Zach Eflin on Thursday afternoon.
Zack Wheeler delivered another strong start. He carried a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning but lost it when the Nationals' bats came alive and the Phillies' defense went bad.
Wheeler scattered eight hits and a walk and struck out seven while allowing just two runs in six innings. One of those runs was the result of poor defense.
Veteran Jon Lester, making his third start for the Nationals, held the Phillies to a run over six innings. The 37-year-old lefty has a 1.89 ERA in 12 career starts against the Phils.
Wheeler cruised through the first five innings, running his scoreless innings streak to 20 over three games.
The scoreless innings streak ended in the bottom of the sixth. Ryan Zimmerman opened the frame with a double and moved up on a ground ball by Kyle Schwarber. Starlin Castro then delivered a single up the middle, one of his four hits, to tie the game.
Alex Avila, the Nationals' No. 8 hitter, then lofted a fly ball to the warning track in right-center. It was a routine fly ball, one that should have been caught. Instead, it dropped in between right fielder Harper and centerfielder Herrera for an RBI triple and a 2-1 Nationals' lead.
It was not immediately clear what happened on the play. It appeared as if Harper may have had trouble seeing the ball. Or maybe Herrera wasn't aggressive enough. Either way, it was the latest defensive gaffe that has cost the Phillies this season.
Ultimately, both Herrera and Harper played huge roles in the Phillies being able to overcome the miscue.
The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Knapp, filling in for J.T. Realmuto, stroked an RBI single for his third RBI in two nights.
They did not score again against Lester. He allowed six hits and three walks over six innings, but the Phils could not generate a big hit against him. Or at least a big enough hit. Herrera tried to score from second on a hit to left by Harper with two outs in the top of the fifth. Schwarber, however, made a perfect throw to Avila to nail Herrera at the plate.
Injuries continued to mount for the Phillies during the game.
Shortstop Didi Gregorius left the game in the fifth inning with what the team called right elbow stiffness. Gregorius has some history with the elbow. He had Tommy John surgery in October 2018 and missed three games with swelling in the elbow earlier this season.
Realmuto did not play after taking a foul ball off his left leg on Tuesday night. He's day to day.
Subscribe to the Phillies Talk podcast: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | Watch on YouTube
