At the end of a sweltering afternoon Frank Ragnow Color Rush Jersey , Andrew Knapp kept the Philadelphia Phillies on a red-hot streak.
Knapp hit a game-ending pinch-hit homer just inside the right field foul pole in the 13th inning as the Phillies came from behind to beat the Washington Nationals 4-3 Sunday.
”That was cool,” Knapp said. ”That was a huge team win – huge team series.”
The win was the Phillies third in this four-game set with Washington. All the wins have come by one-run margins. Over the past two weekends, Philadelphia has gone 5-2 against the two-time defending National League East champions, increasing their edge on the Nationals to three games for second place in the division.
”It shows we’re here to stay,” Knapp said. ”Obviously, there’s a lot of games left, and we have to keep playing well. But we’re up there with a lot of those teams. This was a huge series win for us, especially coming off the series win in Washington. They wanted to come here and sweep us. For us to take 3 of 4 was cool.”
The Nationals are now 6-15 in their past 21 games dating back to June 8. Washington is six games behind Atlanta for the lead in the NL East.
On Sunday, Washington managed only four hits in eight innings against the Philadelphia bullpen, never moving a baserunner past second base in that stretch while striking out seven times.
”We’ve got to start striking out less, putting the balls in play, driving in runs when we have the ability to drive in runs,” Washington manager Davey Martinez said. ”But it’ll turn. Our offense is good. I know it’s good. And I truly believe that it’ll turn around.”
Knapp ended the game when he turned on a Justin Miller fastball and lofted it into the bleachers in right field. Miller (5-1) gave up the run in 1 1/3 innings of work.
Nick Pivetta (5-7) got the win pitching a scoreless inning. Pivetta- normally a starter- was roughed up for seven runs in 1 2/3 innings of work on Friday night. He entered the game as the final pitcher that Philadelphia had available.
”He wanted the opportunity bad,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. ”I asked him and pushed him to make sure that this is something that he was going to fight for and he did.”
Washington jumped out early Oren Burks Jersey , scoring an unearned run in the fourth on an Anthony Rendon sacrifice fly. In the fifth, the lead expanded to 3-0 when Adam Eaton singled to right to score Daniel Murphy and Mark Reynolds.
However, Gio Gonzalez labored in the bottom of the fifth after cruising through the first four innings with only one hit and one walk allowed. He walked three guys in the fifth inning, including Cesar Hernandez with the bases loaded, that put Philadelphia on the board. Rhys Hoskins‘ sacrifice fly to right made it 3-2 then Odubel Herrera singled to score Carlos Santana to tie the game.
GAME NOTES
Knapp became the first Phillie to hit a walk-off, pinch-hit homer since Cody Asche did it back on Sept. 12, 2015 against the Chicago Cubs. Ryan Howard hit the last walk-off homer for Philadelphia back on April 29, 2016. . The Phillies bullpen posted a 0.60 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 15 innings pitched on Saturday and Sunday. .. Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez has never allowed more than three earned runs in 14 career starts at Citizens Bank Park. He has tossed five or more innings in every start.
TRAINERS ROOM
Philadelphia placed right-handed starting pitcher Vince Velasquez on the 10-day disabled list on Sunday with a right forearm contusion.
Velasquez was hit in the second inning just below the elbow on a liner back up the middle by Washington’s Adam Eaton. Velasquez would eventually record the out by picking the ball up and throwing it lefthanded to first base to get Eaton to end the inning, saving a run from scoring during Philadelphia’s 3-2 victory.
This is the fourth trip to the disabled list for Velasquez in three seasons since Philadelphia acquired him.
In addition to Velasquez’s trip to the disabled list, the Phillies optioned lefthanded reliever Zac Curtis to Triple A Lehigh Valley. They recalled right-handed reliever Jake Thompson and reinstated reliever Pat Neshek from the 10-day disabled list. Neshek, who was signed by the Phillies during the off-season, has been on the disabled list since Opening Day with a forearm injury.
UP NEXT
Nationals: Washington returns home on Monday night to begin a three-game interleague series against the Boston Red Sox. RHP Max Scherzer (10-4, 2.04 ERA) will face former Detroit teammate Rick Porcello in a battle of former Cy Young Award winners.
Phillies: Philadelphia has Monday off, but will begin a brief two-game interleague series at home against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night. Zach Eflin (6-2 Josh Jones Jersey , 3.02 ERA) will get the start against Baltimore’s Alex Cobb.
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CHICAGO — First Mother Nature did not cooperate Monday at Wrigley Field and then neither did the electricity.
What was supposed to have been the first game of a three-game series between the Chicago Cubs and visiting Los Angeles Dodgers has become a day-night doubleheader scheduled for Tuesday when the forecast calls for even more rain.
After nearly a three-hour delay Monday, Monday’s series opener was postponed due to a combination of stormy weather and a limited power outage inside Wrigley Field that kept lights in right field from being fully operational.
“We are going to be actively working on this issue tonight,” Cubs vice president of communications Julian Green told reporters, according to the Chicago Tribune. “We plan to have the ballpark fully operational by tomorrow.”
Whether the rains hold off long enough to get both games in, however, remains in question.
“Being able to at least get one of those games in tomorrow, even with the forecast equally as dicey, is important,” Green said.
Before the final determination was made to postpone Monday’s game, it appeared the bank of lights in right field might cooperate only to fail once again.
“They thought they had a chance,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters, according to the Los Angeles Times. “But once they went out again, they made the final decision.”
Monday’s game will be rescheduled for 12 p.m. CT before Tuesday’s regularly scheduled game will be played at 7:05 p.m.
Monday’s scheduled Dodgers starter, Kenta Maeda will pitch in the first of the doubleheader on Tuesday and is coming off a no-decision Bart Starr Jersey , which came in his first start since coming off a hip injury.
Maeda (4-4, 3.61 ERA) had been pitching extremely well before the hip injury on May 29. Maeda had thrown 14 2/3 scoreless innings with 20 strikeouts in his two previous starts before the injury. Maeda will make his first career start against the Cubs.
Rich Hill is scheduled to start for the Dodgers in Tuesday’s nightcap.
Hill will return from the disabled list after missing nearly a month due to recurring blisters. He last pitched May 19 in Washington before exiting with a blister after throwing two pitches.
In six starts this season, Hill is 1-2 with a 6.20 ERA. He is 1-0 with an 0.82 ERA in a pair of postseason starts against the Cubs but last faced them in the regular season as a reliever for the Boston Red Sox on May 21, 2011.
After having his start pushed back a day, Tyler Chatwood (3-5. 4.12) will attempt to get on track Tuesday afternoon against the Dodgers. Chatwood is seeking his first win since May 11 and allowed four runs over five innings in his last outing against the Milwaukee Brewers. Chatwood has struggled with walks all season and has walked at least four in four of his past five outings.
Chatwood is 5-9 with a 4.07 ERA in 15 career starts against the Dodgers.
Mike Montgomery is scheduled to pitch the nightcap for the Cubs.
Montgomery is making his fifth start of the season and is 2-1 with a 1.14 ERA as a starting pitcher. He last pitched Wednesday in Milwaukee when he allowed one run on two hits in six innings of a 1-0 loss.
He is 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA in three outings against the Dodgers.
The Dodgers and Cubs are both coming off successful weekends when they took two of three games from the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively. As the Dodgers look to get back on track after having their five-game winning streak snapped on Sunday, they received encouraging news that ace Clayton Kershaw could return to the rotation as early as this weekend, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
Kershaw threw a simulated game on Monday and could make his return either against the New York Mets or in a minor-league rehab start. Roberts told reporters that Kershaw would prefer to pitch at the big-league level.
“Clayton is going to be more on the aggressive side, which we all know and appreciated,” Roberts said. “But we’re going to have a conversation with the training staff, the front office and really try to figure out what makes the most sense for him and for us.”
The Cubs could get Javier Baez back for Tuesday. Baez left Sunday’s 5-0 loss at St. Louis with a left elbow contusion after being hit by a pitch Baez was not in the lineup before Monday’s game was postponed and did not need x-rays.