As you read the rest of this piece and remember the rest of this crazy game on a Thursday night before the Phillies head to Citi Field tomorrow, it is fair to ask what Nationals manager Blake Butera is supposed to do? Nothing worked. Nothing worked for the entire series as the Phillies paraded dingers and base runners all over the Nationals putrid bullpen to take three out of four on the road.
The craziness of Thursday night’s game began right away, when Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper reached on
a single and walk. After Brandon Marsh hit a groundball, Alec Bohm could not handle Nationals starter Cade Cavalli, going down on a 98.5 mph fastball to strand the runners.
In the bottom half of the first, the Nationals, like they have all series, attacked early. Curtis Mead was sitting on an inside sinker and got one, blasting it right over Marsh’s head in left field and into the stands for an early lead.
Andrés Chaparro then was hit by a backfoot slider and Dylan Crews punched a single into right to put two runners on. Daylen Lile then slapped a changeup right under Bryson Stott’s glove that brought in a second run.
With runners on first and third, Jacob Young was able to record a run on a groundout. With two outs and a runner on second, Nasim Nuñez capped off the inning with another single that gave the Nationals their fourth run of the inning.
In the bottom of the third, the Nationals clawed their way for a fifth run with some small ball. Crews chopped an infield single and then stole second base. After a Lile strikeout, Jacob Young was able to punch another single past Stott to score a run.
But since this is a Nationals Phillies series in the year 2026, things are not going to end normally. Even if Cristopher Sánchez could only slog through five innings, it was obvious this game wasn’t over.
The Phillies’ rally to a 10-5 win began in the sixth, as Cavalli cruised through five innings, facing the top of the order a third time is a different challenge.
After a Harper single, Cavalli’s changeup missed by maybe a few inches and that was all Marsh needed to elevate it for a homer.
In the seventh inning, Blake Butera, desperate for something to work, calls for Mitchell Parker against the bottom of the Phillies order. After a Derek Hill strikeout, Justin Crawford took a fastball to left field to start a rally.
On the very next pitch, Trea Turner punches a fastball to a vacated hole in right field to put runners on first and second with no one out.
Parker threw eleven pitches to Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper before his night was over. Only three of them were strikes, and that was only because Harper chased a couple of breaking balls. After being unable to find the plate, and walking in a run to make it 5-3, Butera had to try someone else.
Clayton Beeter was that someone else and he immediately walked Brandon Marsh to force in another run. Alec Bohm stepped up, worked a two-two count but chopped a fastball into the ground. Luckily, it’s -40 degree launch angle deadened the ball enough that the only play second baseman Jordan Vivas had was a tagout to Marsh and the game was tied.
Gus Varland began the eighth with Butera’s plan being to have him finish the game because the Nationals have tried everything else. He gave up a single to Derek Hill but was able to get out of the inning after a strikeout, throw out double play.
Varland returned for the ninth after the Nationals’ offense stranded a leadoff double but once again, nothing worked. After a Schwarber single, Bryce Harper lifted an imaginary lid off Nationals Park by taking a rare Gus Varland changeup to left field.
It was Varland’s inning, no matter what happened, the damage was probably done but the Phillies put more salt on everyone’s wounds. With two outs, JT Realmuto smoked a double right over Dylan Crews in center field that brought Marsh home to score.
To put a true exclamation point on the night, Derek Hill decided that he wanted to hit another ninth inning home run, this time off a righty, catching a hanging slider and drilling it to the bullpen in left field.
It’s fair to remember that the Nationals were not supposed to be a team trying to win games and make the playoffs. They traded multiple pitchers in the off-season to begin a rebuild and will probably continue selling off whatever they can to build for the future.
Paul Toboni looks like a great hire for them with the entire organization making multiple players better. Just on the major league level, CJ Abrams might make the all-star game, James Wood is a superstar, Curtis Mead looks to be living up to his top prospect potential, and Keibert Ruiz is having the best year of his career.
But tonight, and this entire series, should tell everyone just how far they are from truly competing. The Phillies walked in, looked sluggish early, and feasted on a Nationals bullpen that has been costing them games all season.
Now, onto the New York Mets.
