Field Level Media
Sep 11, 2018
Juan Soto produced a crushing blow to the Phillies' playoff hopes, smacking a solo home run in the top of the 10th inning that gave the Washington Nationals a 7-6 win and a sweep of the teams' doubleheader Tuesday in Philadelphia.
In the first game, Spencer Kieboom hit his first major league home run on the first pitch after losing a tooth, and batterymate Erick Fedde collected his first big-league hit while also throwing 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball, lifting the Nationals to a 3-1 victory.
After the sweep, the Phillies (74-70) are 6 1/2 games behind National League East-leading Atlanta (81-64). The Braves beat the Giants 4-1 in San Francisco on Tuesday.
With a fourth straight win, the Nationals (73-72) closed within 1 1/2 games of the second-place Phillies with 17 games remaining.
Soto's heroics came after each team had rallied from three-run deficits to produce a 6-6 tie, with the Nationals getting three in the top of the ninth to extend the game.
Soto, who walked and scored as part of the ninth-inning rally, hit the second pitch he saw from Yacksel Rios (3-2) in the 10th over the fence in left-center for his second homer of the game and 18th of the season.
Wander Suero (3-0), who stranded the potential winning run at third base to end the bottom of the ninth, was credited with the win. Greg Holland managed his third save of the season despite issuing a pair of two-out walks in the bottom of the 10th.
Extra innings were required after Matt Wieters and Andrew Stevenson hit two-out, run-scoring singles against Phillies closer Seranthony Dominguez in the ninth before Trea Turner worked a full-count, bases-loaded walk off Luis Garcia to complete a three-run inning and forge a 6-6 tie.
Garcia then struck out Bryce Harper to retain the tie.
The Nationals got the jump on a sweep, taking a 3-0 lead in the nightcap on Soto's RBI double in the second inning and two-run home run in the fourth. Both hits scored Anthony Rendon, who had walked each time.
The Phillies rallied for five runs in the fifth. Asdrubal Cabrera got Philadelphia on the board with a pinch-hit RBI double, Cesar Hernandez made it 3-2 with a two-out single, and Rhys Hoskins drew the Phillies even with a double. Wilson Ramos then came through with a two-run single, giving Philadelphia a 5-3 lead.
Nationals starter Tanner Roark couldn't finish the inning, charged with five runs and 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out two and did not walk a batter.
Phillies right-hander Jake Arrieta threw five innings of three-hit, three-run ball. He walked two and struck out seven.
Jose Bautista padded the Philadelphia lead with what turned out to be an important run with a solo homer, his 12th of the season, in the eighth.
Soto scored three times, had three hits and drove in four runs for the Nationals, who recorded their second doubleheader sweep of the season. Rendon also scored three times for Washington.
Hoskins and Ramos had three hits apiece for the Phillies, who have lost four in a row.
Sixteen pitchers were used in a game in which the Phillies out-hit the Nationals 13-6.
--Field Level Media