WASHINGTON (AP) — J.T. Realmuto hit a tiebreaking home run in the sixth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals 4-2 on Saturday to snap a five-game losing streak.
Realmuto, Bryce Harper and Josh Harrison each had two hits for the Phillies, who began the day tied with the Nationals for last place in the NL East.
Realmuto doubled and scored in the second inning before homering into the Phillies bullpen in left center leading off the sixth. Since his last two-hit game on May 17, he was 3 for 43 (.070) with one extra-base hit and no RBIs.
Philadelphia used seven pitchers in a bullpen game. Dylan Covey (1-1) worked two innings for the win and Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his eighth save.
Washington starter MacKenzie Gore (3-4) went six innings and gave up three runs and nine hits. He struck out six without a walk.
Harrison gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead when his second-inning single scored Realmuto. Trea Turner's double scored Edmundo Rosa to make it 2-0 in the third.
Consecutive singles by Joey Meneses, Dominic Smith and Keibert Ruiz plated Washington's first run in the fourth. CJ Abrams then grounded to first. Drew Ellis stepped on the bag to get Abrams, and Smith scored the tying run before Ruiz was tagged out to complete the double play.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of Rob Thomson replacing Joe Girardi as the Phillies manager and ultimately leading the team to the World Series.
“A lot of good and some bad,” Thomson said of the past year. “Last year’s run was pretty incredible really, and I think we all enjoyed it so much. And so far this year we’ve struggled a little bit to start the season, but I expect us to turn it around like we did last year.”
HELLO, OLD FRIEND
The Phillies' lineup featured four former Nationals. In addition to regulars Harper, Turner and Kyle Schwarber, Harrison played second base. He hit .291 in 123 games for Washington in 2020 and 2021 before being traded to Oakland in July of ’21.
UP NEXT
Phillies: LHP Ranger Suárez (0-2, 7.13) makes his fifth start since coming off the injured list May 13. On Tuesday, he pitched a season-high 6 2/3 innings against the Mets, allowing two runs on five hits.
Nationals: RHP Trevor Williams (2-3, 3.93) pitched six scoreless innings over two appearances – one start – against the Phillies in 2022.
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