Phillies Waste Strong Start, Fall To Nationals 9-6
WASHINGTON (AP) — Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 and won his 13th straight decision despite a rocky beginning, and the Washington Nationals rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-6 on Friday night.
The Nationals scored in five straight innings after trailing 4-0 in the third. Wilson Ramos, Stephen Drew and Danny Espinosa homered off Jeremy Hellickson (4-4), and Daniel Murphy drove in three runs with a pair of doubles.
Tommy Joseph homered twice for the Phillies, who have lost 11 of 14.
Strasburg (10-0) labored early but finished strong, retiring the final 14 batters he faced after Joseph's two-run homer in the third. The right-hander allowed four runs, five hits with one walk over seven innings.
Strasburg's winning streak, already a franchise record, matches the longest in D.C. baseball history since Walter Johnson won 13 in a row for the Washington Nationals in 1924.
Jayson Werth's two-run double off Hellickson cut the deficit in half during the bottom of third. Ramos' and Drew's long balls tied the game 4-4 in the fourth.
Murphy hit into a double play to end Washington's third-inning rally, but the NL batting leader found redemption in the fifth with a go-ahead double. Murphy and Drew hit RBI doubles in the seventh for a 9-4 lead.
Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth inning for his 16th save.
The NL East-leading Nationals returned home after going 6-3 on a three-city trip that began with a three-game sweep at Philadelphia.
Philadelphia swept a three-game series in Washington April 26-28, but trails the season series 6-4.
Hellickson allowed seven runs and nine hits over six innings after giving up seven runs combined over his previous three starts.
Strasburg, who began the streak Sept. 15, 2015, left his previous start Saturday in Cincinnati in the sixth inning with a cramp in his right calf. By the time he exited his latest outing, he had struck out eight of Philadelphia's nine starters at least once.
After striking out three of the first four batters, Strasburg ran into trouble and the next four Phillies reached. Cody Asche's RBI single drove in the first run and Tyler Goeddel's squeeze bunt doubled the lead.
Joseph's multihomer game was the first of his career.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Phillies: RHP Vince Velasquez was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right biceps strain. The starter was removed from his outing Wednesday at the Chicago Cubs after throwing two pitches. Velasquez is 5-2 with a 3.65 ERA in 12 starts. Philadelphia recalled RHP Luis Garcia from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Nationals: 3B Anthony Rendon got Friday off after Washington returned early Friday from its long road trip. Drew replaced Rendon and is expected to play in place of a different regular Saturday.
UP NEXT
Phillies: RHP Aaron Nola (5-4, 2.65 ERA) is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in three starts against Washington this season.
Nationals: RHP Tanner Roark (4-4, 3.21 ERA) starts Saturday's matchup. Roark has a 2.96 ERA in 25 career day-game starts.
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