At the end of a sweltering afternoon Youth Mike White Jersey , Andrew Knapp kept the Philadelphia Phillies on a red-hot streak.
Knapp hit a game-ending pinch-hit homer just inside the right field foul pole in the 13th inning as the Phillies came from behind to beat the Washington Nationals 4-3 Sunday.
”That was cool,” Knapp said. ”That was a huge team win – huge team series.”
The win was the Phillies third in this four-game set with Washington. All the wins have come by one-run margins. Over the past two weekends, Philadelphia has gone 5-2 against the two-time defending National League East champions, increasing their edge on the Nationals to three games for second place in the division.
”It shows we’re here to stay,” Knapp said. ”Obviously, there’s a lot of games left, and we have to keep playing well. But we’re up there with a lot of those teams. This was a huge series win for us, especially coming off the series win in Washington. They wanted to come here and sweep us. For us to take 3 of 4 was cool.”
The Nationals are now 6-15 in their past 21 games dating back to June 8. Washington is six games behind Atlanta for the lead in the NL East.
On Sunday, Washington managed only four hits in eight innings against the Philadelphia bullpen, never moving a baserunner past second base in that stretch while striking out seven times.
”We’ve got to start striking out less, putting the balls in play, driving in runs when we have the ability to drive in runs,” Washington manager Davey Martinez said. ”But it’ll turn. Our offense is good. I know it’s good. And I truly believe that it’ll turn around.”
Knapp ended the game when he turned on a Justin Miller fastball and lofted it into the bleachers in right field. Miller (5-1) gave up the run in 1 1/3 innings of work.
Nick Pivetta (5-7) got the win pitching a scoreless inning. Pivetta- normally a starter- was roughed up for seven runs in 1 2/3 innings of work on Friday night. He entered the game as the final pitcher that Philadelphia had available.
”He wanted the opportunity bad,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. ”I asked him and pushed him to make sure that this is something that he was going to fight for and he did.”
Washington jumped out early, scoring an unearned run in the fourth on an Anthony Rendon sacrifice fly. In the fifth, the lead expanded to 3-0 when Adam Eaton singled to right to score Daniel Murphy and Mark Reynolds.
However, Gio Gonzalez labored in the bottom of the fifth after cruising through the first four innings with only one hit and one walk allowed. He walked three guys in the fifth inning, including Cesar Hernandez with the bases loaded, that put Philadelphia on the board. Rhys Hoskins‘ sacrifice fly to right made it 3-2 then Odubel Herrera singled to score Carlos Santana to tie the game.
GAME NOTES
Knapp became the first Phillie to hit a walk-off, pinch-hit homer since Cody Asche did it back on Sept. 12, 2015 against the Chicago Cubs. Ryan Howard hit the last walk-off homer for Philadelphia back on April 29, 2016. . The Phillies bullpen posted a 0.60 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 15 innings pitched on Saturday and Sunday. .. Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez has never allowed more than three earned runs in 14 career starts at Citizens Bank Park. He has tossed five or more innings in every start.
TRAINERS ROOM
Philadelphia placed right-handed starting pitcher Vince Velasquez on the 10-day disabled list on Sunday with a right forearm contusion.
Velasquez was hit in the second inning just below the elbow on a liner back up the middle by Washington’s Adam Eaton. Velasquez would eventually record the out by picking the ball up and throwing it lefthanded to first base to get Eaton to end the inning, saving a run from scoring during Philadelphia’s 3-2 victory.
This is the fourth trip to the disabled list for Velasquez in three seasons since Philadelphia acquired him.
In addition to Velasquez’s trip to the disabled list, the Phillies optioned lefthanded reliever Zac Curtis to Triple A Lehigh Valley. They recalled right-handed reliever Jake Thompson and reinstated reliever Pat Neshek from the 10-day disabled list. Neshek, who was signed by the Phillies during the off-season, has been on the disabled list since Opening Day with a forearm injury.
UP NEXT
Nationals: Washington returns home on Monday night to begin a three-game interleague series against the Boston Red Sox. RHP Max Scherzer (10-4, 2.04 ERA) will face former Detroit teammate Rick Porcello in a battle of former Cy Young Award winners.
Phillies: Philadelphia has Monday off, but will begin a brief two-game interleague series at home against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night. Zach Eflin (6-2, 3.02 ERA) will get the start against Baltimore’s Alex Cobb.
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The Marlins overtook the Mets on the scoreboard and in the standings Saturday.
And for the second game in a row, Miami beat New York with a rookie pitcher making his first major league start.
Brian Anderson hit a two-run homer off Jacob deGrom and the Marlins climbed out of last place in the NL East by rallying past the reeling Mets, 5-2.
”We’re not in last place? Awesome,” said J.T. Riddle, whose scratch RBI single put Miami ahead to stay.
The Mets (32-48) lost for the 10th time in 11 games and fell into last place for the first time this year. They finished 5-21 this month for the worst June in franchise history, and they’ve plummeted from 10 games over .500 to 15 under at an earlier date than any team in major league history Youth Martinas Rankin Jersey , according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
”It was not the goal when we came in,” deGrom said. ”This is the complete opposite. Nobody’s happy with that.”
Meanwhile, the rebuilding Marlins (34-50) went 14-14 in June, their best month this season.
They seem to get better as they get younger. Pablo Lopez (1-0) allowed two runs in six innings in his major league debut less than 24 hours after Sandy Alcantara won his first big league start Friday. Both are 22.
The last time two pitchers on the same National League team earned wins in their first career starts in consecutive days was in 1967 when Gary Nolan and Mel Queen did so for the Reds, according to Stats LLC.
DeGrom took a 2-0 lead into the sixth, but Anderson’s fifth homer tied it. Riddle beat out a dribbler to the first baseman for a two-out RBI hit that put Miami ahead.
”I thought that swinging bunt was foul,” deGrom said. ”I should have gone over there and got it.”
Another fielding lapse cost the Mets in the seventh. J.T. Realmuto hit a two-run double after an error by shortstop Amed Rosario prolonged the inning.
Drew Steckenrider pitched a perfect eighth, and Kyle Barraclough earned his eighth save with a 1-2-3 ninth. Steckenrider has thrown 15 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, and Barraclough has thrown 20 2/3 – two more reasons the Marlins are on the rise.
”We’re gaining some type of identity as to what kind of games we need to play to win,” manager Don Mattingly said. ”We’re not going to outslug anybody. We’re going to have to pitch and play defense and scratch for runs.”
The Mets’ runs came on solo homers against Lopez. Jose Bautista hit his fifth of the year, his third with the Mets. Todd Frazier added his ninth.
DeGrom (5-4), who departed after six innings trailing 3-2, fell to 1-4 in his past five starts despite allowing only 15 runs. His ERA, lowest in the majors coming into the game, rose to 1.84.
”I am definitely frustrated,” he said. ”I’m tired of losing.”
ROOKIE PITCHERS
Lopez was the 17th rookie and 12th rookie pitcher used by Marlins, both most in the majors.
”As soon as I stepped out of the dugout, I just kept looking up in the stands, and they were so big, all the way up to the sky,” the Venezuelan right-hander said. ”This is where I wanted to be. I just needed to calm myself down.”
Four pitchers have made their first major league start against New York this year, and they’ve combined to go 3-0 with an ERA of 1.57. But at the moment, the Mets are having trouble beating anybody.
”It’s difficult right now,” first-year manager Mickey Callaway said. ”I know the players are feeling it. I know the fans are feeling.”
EFFORT ISSUE?
Mets pinch-hitter Jose Reyes appeared not to run out a grounder to short in the seventh.
”It looked like that to us, too,” Callaway said. ”I went to talk to Rey-Rey, and he said he felt something out of the box and he was scared he was going to pull something. He kind of pulled up halfway. I thought that maybe he was frustrated, but he felt something coming out of the box.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mets: RHP Noah Syndergaard (finger) and LHP Jason Vargas (calf) are expected to start against each other in a simulated game next week at Single-A Port St. Lucie.
UP NEXT
Mets LHP Steven Matz (3-5, 3.69), who has thrown 13 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings at Marlins Park, is scheduled to start the series finale Sunday against RHP Dan Straily (3-3, 4.82).
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