Edmundo Sosa had a game-tying two-run single in the ninth inning and Justin Crawford provided a game-ending single in the 10th as the Philadelphia Phillies rallied for a 6-5 victory over the visiting Washington Nationals on Wednesday afternoon.
Playing in just his fifth major league game, Crawford slammed the first pitch he saw from Cole Henry (0-1) past a drawn-in infield for the victory to send his teammates storming out of the dugout.
Philadelphia trailed 5-1 through seven innings but rallied to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.
CJ Abrams hit a three-run homer for Washington, while Joey Wiemer continued his hot start to the season with two hits, a walk and two runs scored. The Nationals were stymied by late defensive heroics from Sosa.
With Philadelphia trailing 5-3 in the ninth, Trea Turner singled with one out against Clayton Beeter. Kyle Schwarber followed with a walk against PJ Poulin. After Poulin walked Alec Bohm to load the bases with two outs, Henry came on and allowed Sosa’s two-out, game-tying pinch-hit single to left.
Sosa stepped up at second base in the top of the 10th inning by making a leaping grab of Abrams’ liner before he doubled off the runner off second base to end the inning. That sequence and the ensuing rally made a winner of Jhoan Duran (1-1), who pitched a scoreless 10th.
The Phillies jumped on Cade Cavalli for a first-inning run on Schwarber’s RBI double, but Washington tied it in the top of the second against Cristopher Sanchez.
Drew Millas’ RBI single against Jonathan Bowlan in the sixth gave Washington a 2-1 lead.
The Nationals scored three more runs off Brad Keller in the seventh as Daylen Lile and Wiemer singled in front of Abrams, who sent a 1-1 pitch over the wall in right-center for a 5-1 lead.
Solo homers by J.T. Realmuto in the seventh and Bryce Harper in the eighth brought Philadelphia within 5-3.
Sanchez allowed one run, four hits and four walks with seven strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Cavalli yielded one run and five hits in six innings.
