WASHINGTON – Joe Girardi did not dismiss the idea Tuesday afternoon that he paired another unconventional lineup amid a pennant race.
He quickly mentioned that the Phillies were still waiting to play JT Realmuto at first base, if the left ankle responded favorably to pre-game activities. It was not like that. So Girardi was left with what he had. He took the lead from Freddy Galvis for the first time since 2019. He reached Jorge Bonifacio, who has six homers in the big leagues since 2017, fifth. He hit Ronald Torreyes, who has a .551 OPS since July 25 of the sixth. He reached rookies Matt Vierling and Rafael Marchan seventh and eighth.
The formation beat 18 hits in a 12-6 victory over the nationals in the national park. The Phillies could play without Rhys Hoskins, Didi Gregorius and Realmuto, but they have scored seven or more runs in six consecutive games for the first time since the seven-game streak on June 19-24, 1933.
The franchise record is eight consecutive games from September 18 to 22, 1903.
The offense was the Phillies ’only path to their fifth straight win. Left-hander Matt Moore allowed five runs in six hits and five walks in 3 1/3 innings. He threw 82 shots, but only 38 shots, making him the lowest hit percentage (46.3%) of a Phillies pitcher with 82 or more shots in a game since Fabio Castro (45.4 %) in 2007.
But the offense saved Moore. Bryce Harper started the fourth inning by throwing a piece down the third base line to overcome the change for a single. National left-back Patrick Corbin tried to sneak a 65.3 mph curve ball into the middle of the plate for Andrew McCutchen, but crushed it in the left field for a two-run home run. .
It was the slowest release McCutchen achieved in his career in his 13-year career.
The single from the field of Bonifacio with the bases loaded in the fifth reduced the advantage of the nationals to 5-3. In the sixth, Vierling, who scored 4 for 5, made a single play and Marchan threw a two-run homer into the center left field to tie the game. Marchan has scored twice on 49 plate appearances over two seasons in the major leagues. He is homeless in 1,074 plate appearances in his five-year minor league career.
The Phillies continued to come in sixth. They loaded the bases and the Harper single on the right scored two runs to give them a 7-5 lead. They scored two more to make it 9-5. He continued from there.
The Phillies (68-64) enter September in a heated chase for second-place National League Wild Card, following the Reds (71-62) by 2 1/2 games and 30 remaining for Philadelphia in the regular season.