The lead changed hands four times Wednesday night at Nationals Park. In the end, it was Derek Hill who settled it. His two-run homer to right center in the ninth inning gave the Philadelphia Phillies a 5-4 victory over Washington, completing a back-and-forth game that neither side could put away until the final at-bat.
Hill, entering as a late substitute, needed just one swing. His 382-foot shot scored Garrett Stubbs and put Philadelphia ahead 5-4, erasing a one-run deficit. Hill finished 1-for-1 with 2 RBI on the night. Jhoan Duran then closed it out with a perfect ninth, striking out all three batters he faced to earn his 19th save of the season, carrying a 1.69 ERA.
Washington had appeared to take control in the sixth. Curtis Mead's two-run homer to left — scoring Dylan Crews — put the Nationals ahead 4-3 and gave the home crowd reason to believe. Mead, who came in hitting .224 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI on the season, went 1-for-2 with 2 RBI. But the lead lasted only three innings. Philadelphia's bullpen had kept Washington off the board since the sixth, and Hill made sure the Phillies would not need extra innings.
Washington had built its early advantage on home runs. Luis Garcia Jr. led off the scoring with a 412-foot blast to center in the first, and Jorbit Vivas added another in the second, a 403-foot shot to right center that pushed the lead to 2-0. Philadelphia answered in the fourth with 3 runs: Bryson Stott's double scored Brandon Marsh, J.T. Realmuto's sacrifice fly brought home Alec Bohm to tie it, and Gabriel Rincones Jr.'s single through the middle scored Stott to put the Phillies ahead 3-2. Miles Mikolas allowed 2 runs over 3.1 innings — both unearned — on 5 hits before exiting. Aaron Nola went 5.0 innings for Philadelphia, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits with 5 strikeouts, carrying a 5.58 ERA. Neither starter factored in the decision. Seth Johnson earned his first win of the season, pitching a scoreless inning of relief. Richard Lovelady took the loss, falling to 1-3 after allowing the go-ahead runs in the ninth.
Philadelphia improved to 43-36 with the victory. Washington dropped to 41-39.