Depleted, dejected Nationals pull off dramatic win (updated)

PHILADELPHIA - They are underachieving, there is no question of that. Their bullpen remains a mess, and their lineup is now in shambles, with regulars dropping like flies and even their backups falling victim to injury.

They have dug themselves into a hole in the highly competitive National League East, and they're going to face a devil of a time trying to climb their way out of it, given the state of the roster and the daunting schedule that awaits them.

But let's pause for just a moment and appreciate the spunk the Nationals are showing right now, and most certainly tonight during a 10-8 victory over the Phillies that defied reason and logic.

"I'm still trying to catch my breath from that game," reliever Kyle Barraclough said, probably echoing the sentiments of a whole lot of other people who participated in or watched what took place over an exhausting 3 hours and 45 minutes of baseball.

It really happened, though. The Nationals somehow won this ballgame. They overcame in-game injuries to Matt Adams and Michael A. Taylor. They overcame Patrick Corbin's 118-pitch start. They overcame the five runs Joe Ross allowed in the top of the seventh. They overcame an empty bench and Max Scherzer pinch-hitting with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth.

They overcame it all because Kurt Suzuki and Victor Robles hit back-to-back homers in the top of the eighth, with Davey Martinez playing the last cards he had on his depleted bench to perfection.

They overcame it all because Barraclough pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth to hold the lead and bridge the gap to Sean Doolittle, who finished it off in the bottom of the ninth.

Who knows what state they'll be in come Sunday afternoon. But on this night, the Nationals were allowed to smile and celebrate an inspiring victory. (Which, based on the pieces of cabbage splayed around the clubhouse floor afterward, they apparently did.)

"We talk about it, and I can tell you: They never quit," Martinez said. "They really feel like they're in every game. And you can see their attitude. Tremendous game today. They fought today and were able to pull it out."

There was plenty of drama during the first six innings, but that paled in comparison to the drama that unfolded after that, when the teams traded leads faster than the sellout crowd on Jimmy Rollins Retirement Night could figure out whether to cheer or boo.

The Nationals took a 5-3 lead in the top of the seventh when the Phillies botched a routine bunt play. But then Philly scored five runs off Ross in the bottom of the seventh, mashing four doubles in the span of five batters against the Washington starter-turned-shellshocked reliever.

"We won, so I can't be upset," Ross said. "But obviously for myself, my performance, I'm not excited about it."

Suddenly down three runs in the eighth, the Nationals could've folded. But they didn't. Wilmer Difo, the unconventional cleanup hitter due to the earlier Adams injury, beat out a bunt single to start the rally. Carter Kieboom, who the previous inning snapped an 0-for-16 slump, caught a break when time was called while Pat Neshek was throwing a 3-2 slider, giving him a second chance to see the same pitch. And he made the most of it, driving the next slider over the shortstop's head for a two-out single to keep the inning going.

With light-hitting Andrew Stevenson now at the plate, Phillies manager Gabe Kapler summoned lefty Adam Morgan from his bullpen. Martinez countered with one of the two remaining bats he had on his bench: Suzuki.

"I had to save (Suzuki), for the reason if they did bring in somebody to face Stevenson," Martinez said. "With the two (Phillies) lefties, we'd have Kurt in a big moment. And that was the big moment."

And the backup catcher delivered with one of the biggest hits of the young season: a three-run, game-tying homer just over the left field wall, off Morgan's 1-0 slider.

"Definitely, early in the count I'm looking to get a pitch I can drive," Suzuki said. "Maybe with two strikes, I might do something different, try to shorten up and maybe get a base hit to keep the inning going. But early in the count, trying to be kind of passive-aggressive and get a good pitch, something I can hit something hard."

And then for good measure, Robles followed with the go-ahead homer to right off a Morgan fastball, giving the visitors a stunning 9-8 lead and the home crowd reason to boo while the rookie outfielder celebrated in the visitors' dugout.

"I got very excited, emotional as I was running," Robles said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. "I didn't see the team, but I could feel their emotion. And I knew they had my back. It was a great feeling as I was running around the bases, to feel my team excited."

Already without their Nos. 2, 3 and 5 hitters from their opening day lineup prior to today, the Nationals placed their No. 4 hitter on the injured list this afternoon, with Juan Soto unable to recover from back spasms that already sidelined him three days.

Then by the time tonight's game had reached the fourth inning, two more members of tonight's lineup were out due to injury.

Adams was first to depart, the big first baseman having made an impressive play in the bottom of the second when he dove to snag a sharp grounder and then dove to get to first base in time to record the out. But when the following inning arrived, Adams was replaced by third baseman Howie Kendrick, with Difo entering to take over there. The club announced he had jammed his left shoulder.

Taylor suffered his injury three batters after Adams while trying to make a diving catch on a sinking liner. The center fielder played one more inning after that, but then departed himself with what the club announced was a jammed left wrist. Robles, who was supposed to get a rare night off, wound up taking over in Taylor's absence.

Martinez said afterward both players underwent X-rays, both coming back negative. Both players will undergo MRIs on Sunday morning, with Martinez admitting he's more concerned about Adams' shoulder than Taylor's wrist. The club made no announcements about pending roster moves, but infielder Jake Noll (the only remaining, healthy position player on the 40-man roster not already in the big leagues) was a late scratch from Triple-A Fresno's lineup and is likely taking a red-eye flight to join team here Sunday.

It was simultaneously tragic and comical, given everything the Nationals have had happen to them in only 32 games to begin the season. But it didn't stop them from playing with some spunk, and even taking a late lead.

"They've been positive," Martinez said. "They play with a lot of energy. Not one guy in there has been down. Not one guy has said: 'Woe is us.' They're fighting. And you saw that tonight."

After exchanging runs for six innings, the Nationals finally took advantage of another team failing in the field. They scored two runs in the top of the seventh, both of them scoring on Robles' sacrifice bunt, with Phillies reliever Juan Nicasio firing a bad throw into the right field corner to allow everybody to scamper around the bases.

That gave the Nats a 5-3 lead, a lead that would not have been possible without a gutsy bottom of the sixth from Corbin. The left-hander had to battle all night, with only one 1-2-3 inning along the way. But his manager gave him a chance to pitch out of his own jam with his pitch count rising, and was rewarded for the show of faith.

With two on and one out in the sixth, Martinez walked to the mound. Corbin had thrown 108 pitches. The bullpen was ready. But the starter stayed in. And he promptly struck out both César Hernández and Andrew McCutchen, the last one on his 118th pitch of the night.

"I didn't want to come out," Corbin said. "With those two guys on, I just said: 'I got this.' I knew I had some left in the tank there, and I felt strong. So I was confident if I made some quality pitches, I could work out of it."

The $140 million lefty wound up allowing three runs over six laborious innings. His line score won't impress anyone who didn't watch the game. But it, like so many other things from so many other players on this night, were absolutely necessary for the Nationals to pull off perhaps the unlikeliest of their 14 wins to date in 2019.

"After I was done (pitching), I was like: 'Man, this is emotionally exhausting," Barraclough said. "I mean, every game we've played against them ... has just been back and forth. Just a constant battle. And I think it's going to help us out in the long run. It's playing playoff baseball in May. It's going to help out in the long run."