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The Philadelphia Phillies went into the top of the ninth inning down 8-6 to the Washington Nationals after Orion Kerkering gave up a three-run home run to blow the lead late in the game.
All momentum was washed away, and that was even more the case when the first two batters for Philadelphia struck out to begin the ninth inning. Trea Turner, the team’s trusty veteran shortstop was down to his final strike, as it appeared the Phillies were going to fall to their NL East rival.
But the fat lady wasn’t singing at Nationals Park for the Phillies. In fact, Trea Turner kept the game alive with a single to center field.
What ensued wasn’t just a rally to tie the game. Brandon Marsh did that in the next at-bat with a two-run homer. Instead, Marsh’s bomb opened the flood gates for the Phillies to score eight runs in the top of the ninth inning to absolutely stun the Nationals and its home crowd in a miraculous 14-9 victory on Tuesday night.
It was the Phillies’ highest-scoring ninth inning since Sept. 27, 2015, when they also scored eight runs against these same Nationals. What made this rally especially remarkable, however, was that every run came with two outs.
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After Marsh’s home run, Bryce Harper kept the rally alive with a single, as the Phillies looked to take the lead. Then, Derek Hill added a single, which brought up Bryson Stott with the chance at accomplishing that goal for the first time since the top of the eighth when Philadelphia scored three.
Stott couldn’t have been more clutch in the moment, smashing a ball down the left-field line and leaning to his left in hopes that it would stay on the right side of the foul pole. It did exactly that, and Stott’s three-run home run took the air out of the crowd, as the Phillies went up 11-8.
But the onslaught wasn’t done. The Phillies couldn’t stop rallying, as Edmundo Sosa drove in two more runs to make it 13-8, and Turner got to bat again where he singled home Sosa.
Finally, Marsh struck out to end the inning, but the Nationals and its fan base were completely dejected entering the bottom of the ninth. Luis Garcia Jr. hit a solo home run to pad his own stats, but the Nationals fell after a dramatic collapse they will wish to forget very quickly.
The Nationals allowed 10 consecutive batters to reach base, eight of them via hits, including three extra-base hits and the two pivotal home runs. J.T. Realmuto and Justin Crawford also drew walks during the rally.
While it is still early in the season, it was a pivotal game in terms of NL East standings, as the Phillies now sit 43-36, six games out of first place, which is held by the Atlanta Braves. However, the Nationals are not too far behind, sitting only 2.5 games back of the Phillies at 41-39. The Miami Marlins hold the same record as Washington.
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Baseball is a game of momentum, but what the Phillies showcased in the nation’s capital was much more than that. They took the “not until the last out” mantra and ran with it for a crazy eight-run ending the team will be talking about for quite some time.
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