With O’Sullivan holding up his end of the bargain on the mound, the Phillies offense would begin to back him up in the fifth, as Cody Asche singled home a run to cut the Nationals’ lead in half.
Darin Ruf would then tie the game for the Phillies in the seventh when he crushed a pinch-hit home run for his first hit of the season.
For the second consecutive night, the two teams would be forced to extra innings to decide a winner, but this time it would be the Nationals who emerged on top.
A wild pitch by Justin De Fratus would allow the go-ahead run to score in the 10th, and Wilson Ramos would add an insurance run for Washington with an RBI single later in the inning.
The Phillies wouldn’t be quite done just yet, however, as Saturday night’s hero Odubel Herrera singled home a run with two outs in the bottom of the 10th to pull the Phillies within 4-3.
Drew Storen would get Cesar Hernandez to ground out on the very next pitch, however, as the Nationals picked up a 4-3 victory to avoid an early season sweep at the hands of the Phillies.
Up next: The Phillies will make their first road trip of the season Monday, as they head to Citi Field for a three-game series with the Mets. Aaron Harang will take the hill for the Phillies in the 1:10 p.m. start, as the veteran righty looks to follow up on an impressive Phillies debut earlier this week.
By: Kyle Babcock
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