WASHINGTON -- Mid-September is a time when teams that have already been eliminated from the playoffs can play spoiler against postseason contenders.
Such is the case in the Nationals' two-game divisional matchup this week against the National League Wild Card-hunting Phillies.
Still, Nationals first-year manager Blake Butera doesn’t take that perspective.
“We haven't really looked at it that way,” Butera said. “It's more about just playing really good baseball. I think what we're looking to do is to kind of pile on what we did this past weekend [in a sweep against the Angels]. We showed a lot of these guys the clips of some really good hustle plays, some plays that allowed us to win the games.”
The Nationals brought that same attitude into Tuesday's series opener. They extended their winning streak to four games (all comeback wins) with a 6-3 victory over NL Cy Young Award candidate Cristopher Sánchez and the Phillies.
“A bunch of fight, a ton of resilience,” said Butera. “Obviously, going against a really good team here and a really good starting pitcher as well, so we knew it was going to be a challenge going into the night. But I’m really proud of these guys for grinding out at-bats, grinding out innings on the mound.
"I thought overall it was a really good effort from all sides of the ball.”
Andrés Chaparro hit a game-tying solo home run in the fifth inning off Sánchez that traveled a Statcast-projected 422 feet. In the seventh, Daylen Lile, who spoke this weekend about being the underdog, smashed a go-ahead three-run homer off reliever Jonathan Bowlan.
Lile pinch-hit for Dylan Crews after the Phillies replaced the left-handed Sánchez with the right-handed Bowlan. Butera chose between Lile and James Wood, and he went with Lile considering the Phillies might have walked Wood intentionally to load the bases.
“We play carefree; we don’t care what the outside noise says,” said Lile. “We’re going to play for each other. We’re just going to leave our mark and have something for not only us, but also D.C. to look forward to for next year and the years after that.”
In a bullpen that did not issue a single walk, Erik Tolman earned the save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Third baseman Brady House sealed the win with an acrobatic leap to grab J.T. Realmuto’s 100.1 mph line drive.
“We're setting our sights to create a sustained winner here, and I think that that starts with what we're doing right now,” Butera said. “ ... I know that we’re eliminated, but at the end of the day, these guys aren't giving away any games. … They're showing what they're capable of doing, and I think they're building some momentum toward 2027 and beyond that.”