PHILADELPHIA -- The Nationals found themselves in the same position on Wednesday as they were in the previous night: one strike away from a comeback win against the Phillies.
Then, the Nationals found themselves in the same position they were in the previous night -- again: on the losing end of a devastating two-out, go-ahead Phillies home run.
The Nats’ 5-4 defeat was the second consecutive roller coaster of emotions that abruptly ended in disappointment.
"Very similar to last night,” manager Blake Butera said. “Just frustration, disbelief, shock. You name it."
The Nationals looked poised to bounce back from a crushing 14-9 loss on Tuesday. They had shown resilience with home runs the second day in a row from both Luis García Jr. and Jorbit Vivas, as well as a go-ahead pinch-hit homer from Curtis Mead in the sixth.
The Nats had tabbed Carson Palmquist, who was recalled from Triple-A Rochester that afternoon, to open and he had thrown 3 1/3 innings. Miles Mikolas followed for another 3 1/3 frames, and PJ Poulin handled 1 1/3.
Butera called on right-hander Orlando Ribalta for the ninth inning with a 3-2 lead. Ribalta got J.T. Realmuto to ground out and Gabriel Rincones Jr. to strike out. The Phillies turned to lefty slugger Kyle Schwarber, who had been scratched because of back tightness, to pinch-hit for Edmundo Sosa. A 10-pitch battle ensued, resulting in a two-out walk.
Butera made the call to the ‘pen for southpaw Richard Lovelady to pitch the third day in a row. The Phillies pinch-hit righty Derek Hill in place of left-handed Justin Crawford.
"Part of it is not overextending Ribalta,” Butera said, noting that Ribalta had dealt with injuries. “... He obviously gave it everything he had for those three hitters, a long at-bat with Schwarber there. He emptied the tank on Schwarber. Liked the matchup of Lovelady on Hill more than [Ribalta] on Crawford there, given what he had to work through. Obviously, it did not work out."
Lovely worked a 1-2 count against Hill. Then, Hill pummeled a Statcast-projected 382-foot two-run homer to right-center field. Hill, who played for the Nationals during the 2023 season, leaped in joy as he rounded second base inside his former ballpark.
"I should have elevated a little more,” said Lovelady. “Got too much of the plate. The first outing against them, I was able to feed the bottom of the zone with fastballs. I figured I could go right back to it after getting two strikes. I just left it a little bit up."
The night after Brad Lord blew the save in an eight-run rally by the Phillies, Lovelady gave up another two runs the Nats could not overcome. Closer Jhoan Duran shut them down in order in the bottom of the ninth.
"It sucks,” Lovelady said. “Losing last night's game and then being the reason for tonight's game -- especially after [the] heck of a job by the guys before us getting us all the way to the ninth inning -- and not being able to finish it, it's the worst feeling."
For the second time in 24 hours, the Nationals are left looking inward from a stunning loss. They have one more opportunity against the Phillies on Thursday night to alleviate the sting and split the four-game divisional series.
“We’ve got to find a way to get the last out in the ninth,” Butera said. “Whatever it is -- mental, physical -- somebody’s got to get that last out.”