Derek Hill slugged his first homer with the Philadelphia Phillies — a pinch-hit, go-ahead, two-run shot in the ninth inning that ignited a 5-4 road victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.
One night after Philadelphia used a two-out rally in the ninth to stun Washington, the Phillies were at it again with their backs against the wall. With the visitors down to their final strike, Hill launched an opposite-field blast off Richard Lovelady (2-4) to put Philadelphia in front.
The journeyman outfielder was acquired in a trade with the Chicago White Sox earlier this month.
Curtis Mead belted a go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth for the Nationals, while Luis Garcia Jr. and Jorbit Vivas also homered for Washington. Brandon Marsh had three hits for the Phillies, who have won two of three to begin the four-game set.
Seth Johnson (1-0) logged a perfect eighth to earn the victory, and Jhoan Duran closed it out with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Garcia’s first-inning homer off Aaron Nola gave Washington an early 1-0 lead and Vivas added one of his own in the second for a 2-0 advantage.
Philadelphia didn’t make much noise in the first three innings, but the visitors put up three runs in the fourth.
Washington starter Carson Palmquist allowed a leadoff single to Marsh and then bounced back to retire Bryce Harper before giving way to Miles Mikolas. Alec Bohm reached on an error before Bryson Stott’s double, J.T. Realmuto’s sacrifice fly and Gabriel Rincones Jr.’s RBI single flipped the scoreboard in favor of the visitors.
Nola did not allow a run in the fourth or fifth, ending his night after 86 pitches. In all, he gave up two runs and three hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
The Phillies turned to the bullpen in the sixth, starting with Kyle Backhus. The lefty retired two of the three hitters he faced before Jonathan Bowlan came on and surrendered Mead’s pinch homer down the left-field line.
Mikolas and PJ Poulin combined to get Washington through the seventh before Poulin handled the eighth by himself. Orlando Ribalta got the first two outs of the ninth before walking pinch-hitter Kyle Schwarber, who had been sidelined recently with back tightness.
That free pass set up Hill’s heroics as the Phillies went on to win for the fourth time in their last five games.
