The Washington Nationals looked to even up the series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday and get back into second place in the NL East.
The game started on a good note, with the Nationals scoring first on a two run single from Daniel Murphy to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Unfortunately, the Phillies had an immediate answer in the form of singles from Maikel Franco and Aaron Nola to tie the game at 2-2. This would remain the score until the seventh inning when the Phillies took a 3-2 lead on a sacrifice fly from Jesmuel Valentin. Philadelphia added onto their lead in the eighth on a solo home run by Carlos Santana and a single by Maikel Franco off the glove of Wilmer Difo to give the Phillies a 5-2 lead. The Nationals got a run back in the form of a solo home run by Anthony Rendon, but were unable to get another hit after that, going on to lose 5-3 to drop the series and drop their record to 40-35. Washington is now 11-13 in division play.
Nationals will try to avoid a sweep tomorrow as Jefry Rodriguez takes the mound at 8 PM.
