Washington wins its fourth in a row, beating playoff-chasing Philadelphia.
Daylen Lile has never had more confidence in himself. So when he stepped up as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of a tied ballgame with two runners on against the Philadelphia Phillies, he didn’t hesitate.
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He took the first pitch he saw — a down-and-away 90.5-mph changeup — and sailed it to center field. The result: a three-run home run, leading to a 6-3 home win for the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night and another milestone as he and the team try to end the season on a high note.
The win, the Nationals’ fourth in a row, comes after they were eliminated from playoff contention Sunday night. It wasn’t a surprise; they had been trending in that direction since mid-July. But the Nationals held on to the idea that a strong finish will set them up for an even stronger future.
“We’re setting our sights to create a sustained winner here,” Manager Blake Butera said. “I think that starts with what we’re doing right now.”
Lile knew he’d likely get a chance, even though he wasn’t in the starting lineup. That’s how the Nationals have operated all season, and it was especially true on Tuesday, when the Nationals started the game with Lile and fellow left-handed bats CJ Abrams and James Wood on the bench against National League Cy Young candidate Cristopher Sánchez.
And for most of the game, they weren’t needed. The rest of the lineup, including rookie Jackson Kent, held their own against a Phillies team racing toward the playoffs.
In his six major league starts, Kent has struggled to put hitters away. He had a shaky first inning on Tuesday, walking two and giving up a hit as the Phillies took a 1-0 lead. But Kent otherwise limited the damage, striking out Bryan De La Cruz to get the third out as the Phillies left two on base.
The Nationals managed to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning. Brady House and Yohandy Morales hit back-to-back doubles, and Jorbit Vivas added an RBI single.
The Phillies tied it up in the third inning. Trea Turner hit a single, then advanced to second on a groundout from Bryce Harper and scored on a double by Luis Arraez.
In the fifth inning, as Kent faced the top of the Phillies’ order for the third time, Kyle Schwarber hit a home run to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead. Kent’s day ended after the fifth inning, the rookie allowing three runs while striking out four and walking three.
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“There were still some ups and downs in it,” Kent said of his start. “The first inning, I wasn’t really attacking guys. The second inning, I was attacking. Third, kind of the same. But it was better than the last one, for sure.”
The Washington lineup, though, once again responded. Andrés Chaparro, who has become a regular fixture in the Nationals’ lineup in the six weeks since the last time these two teams faced each other, hit a solo home run in the fifth inning for a 3-3 tie.
Yovanny Cruz took over for the sixth inning. He needed just 10 pitches to retire the side in order, throwing half of his pitches over 100 mph. He came back for the seventh as well, getting two quick outs — with four more pitches over 100 mph — before Butera replaced him with left-handed reliever Richard Lovelady.
And while the bullpen did its job, the offense set itself up to take the lead. Harry Ford and Andrew Pinckney hit back-to-back singles to open the bottom of the seventh inning, and Sánchez was pushed out after recording just one out. With right-handed reliever Jonathan Bowlan coming out of the bullpen, Lile was called on.
Butera had a number of other options to pick from — even with Abrams dealing with neck tightness — but he ended up going with Lile, who rewarded his manager’s decision right away. It wasn’t necessarily the pitch Lile was looking for, but he trusted his eyes and connected anyway.
“It was very exciting,” Lile said. “I know there’s been a lot of moments this year where I didn’t come through for the team or just didn’t pass it down the line, but today felt good.”
Lovelady and Brad Lord each did their part to hold the score, while Erik Tolman came in for the ninth inning and earned his third career save.
Note: Cade Cavalli was scheduled to start on Wednesday but is being pushed back to Friday to give him an extra day of rest. It was a decision the coaching staff made, not one that Cavalli asked for, Butera said.
Jared Simpson will instead open what is now a bullpen game for the Nationals on Wednesday.
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