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Washington Nationals Recap: Nats Win on Jayson Werth Walk-Off

By Matt Weyrich |
Jun 12, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth (28) is congratulated by third baseman Anthony Rendon (6) after scoring a run against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 12, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth (28) is congratulated by third baseman Anthony Rendon (6) after scoring a run against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Nationals beat the Phillies 4-3 Sunday afternoon on a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth by Jayson Werth. Joe Ross went seven innings and Danny Espinosa homered to help the Nats sweep Philadelphia.

The Phillies sent 26-year-old Adam Morgan (1-5, 6.33 ERA) to the mound, looking to halt Philadelphia’s three-game losing streak. He would struggle to find his command early, walking three hitters in the bottom of the first. Michael Taylor led off the inning with a single for the Nats, and back-to-back walks by Jayson Werth and Daniel Murphy behind him loaded the bases with no outs. Ryan Zimmerman and Wilson Ramos each followed with sacrifice flies to put the Nats up 2-0 early.

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Washington would push across one more in the second on a solo home run off the bat of Danny Espinosa. The Nats’ shortstop has eight homers in his past fifteen games and has raised his batting average to .220 after watching it fall to as low as .196 last week.

Joe Ross (5-4, 3.01) got the start for the home team, and he was locked in from the beginning. Ross set down twelve of the first thirteen batters he faced before running into trouble in the fifth. With two outs in the inning, Cody Asche hit a line drive that barely cleared the left field fence to put Philadelphia on the board.

Adam Morgan led off in the top of the sixth for the Phillies, smacking a double into the right field gap. Odubel Herrera followed his pitcher with a double of his own, bringing Morgan around to score. Freddy Galvis then tied the game with an RBI-single, knotting the score at three runs apiece.

Despite the rough sixth inning, Ross threw seven strong innings to keep the Nats in the game. He finished the day having allowed three runs on five hits to go with no walks and eight strikeouts. Sammy Solis relieved him in the eighth and posted a scoreless frame.

Dusty Baker turned to Jonathan Papelbon to keep the game tied in the top of the ninth. Maikel Franco had other plans, however, hitting his eleventh home run of the year into the left field seats to put the Phillies ahead 4-3.

Jeanmar Gomez pitched the bottom of the ninth for Philadelphia. After Anthony Rendon flew out for the first out, Bryce Harper came to the plate to pinch-hit after having been given a day off. He hit a sharp ground ball to the left of second baseman Cesar Hernandez, whose throw pulled Tommy Joseph off the bag and allowed Harper to reach safely. Pete Mackanin challenged the call, but it was upheld, and Danny Espinosa followed up with a single to put runners on first and second.

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With only out left for the Nats, Clint Robinson walked to load the bases for Jayson Werth. The Beard came through, hitting a single up the middle to bring Harper and Espinosa home and give Washington the sweep. The Nats have now won six of their last seven and are fifteen games over .500 for the first time this season.

Next Up: The Nats continue their homestand tomorrow with the opener of a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs. Max Scherzer (7-4, 3.57) is slated to face Kyle Hendricks (4-5, 2.90) in a battle between two first place teams. Catch the game on ESPN at 7:00 p.m. ET.

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