Surging Phillies win 5th in a row, rally past Nationals 12-6

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bryce Harper hit a go-ahead single against his former team as part of a six-run sixth inning, Rafael Marchán, Andrew McCutchen and Brad Miller hit two-run homers, and the Philadelphia Phillies rallied past the Washington Nationals 12-6 Tuesday for their fifth straight win.

Matt Vierling had four hits for the Phillies, who have scored at least seven runs in six consecutive games for the first time since June 1933, moved within 2½ games of idle Cincinnati for the race for the NL’s second wild card. Philadelphia improved to 8-1 at Nationals Park this season.

“We’ve gotten contributions from everywhere, and that’s the key to score in bunches,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said.

Carter Kieboom homered for Washington, which has lost four in a row and six of seven. The Nationals completed a 7-20 August, their worst full month since going 5-16 in April 2009.

The Phillies took control against tiring starter Patrick Corbin (7-14) and the Nationals’ erratic bullpen in the sixth. Marchán tied it with a two-run shot, and Nick Maton’s walk ended Corbin’s night. Reliever Andres Machado gave up a single and hit a batter to bring up Harper, who drove in two with a sharp hit to right-center, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.

McCutchen followed with an RBI double, and then scored on Odúbel Herrera’s single to provide insurance.

Harper, who signed a 13-year, $330 million contract with Philadelphia in 2019 after playing seven seasons in Washington, went 3 for 5, even as he received his usual boos in his old ballpark. He is hitting .419 (26 for 62) with seven homers and 14 RBIs against the Nationals this season.

Corbin, who allowed six runs in five-plus innings, is tied for the major league lead in losses. He has allowed an NL-high 33 home runs,...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Surging-Phillies-win-5th-in-a-row-rally-past-16426949.php