Late blasts by Robles, Soto propel Nats to wild victory (updated)

PHILADELPHIA - Bryce Harper's early home run brought out a mighty roar from the Philly faithful. Victor Robles and Juan Soto's late home runs brought out the boos.

And the Nationals-Phillies rivalry just got ratcheted up to a whole new level.

Brushing off Harper's third-inning blast off Stephen Strasburg and a five-run deficit, the Nationals came storming back to stun the Phillies tonight, riding Robles' ninth-inning homer and Soto's gargantuan 10th-inning moonshot to a 10-6 victory in an early April baseball game that felt like it should've been played in late September.

"To be able to come back, that's the kind of stuff that does amazing things for the group coming together, for team chemistry, the confidence of this group," closer Sean Doolittle said. "That was such a fun win to be a part of. I'm glad I got to experience it."

A slow and steady rally by the Nationals was on the verge of counting for nothing, until Robles mashed a 2-2 slider from Edubray Ramos to left-center with two outs in the ninth, tying the game and stunning the Philly crowd that was ready to celebrate its third win in four tries against the Nats so far this season.

"I felt very proud of myself in that moment," the rookie center fielder said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. "I actually kept telling myself to get on base, then I ended up hitting the home run. It was just a big relief. It was one of those feelings you can't describe, and I thank God for that, that opportunity and that outcome. That was just a great feeling."

After Doolittle escaped a bottom-of-the-ninth jam that included a dramatic strikeout of Harper, the Nats then put the final touches on this win with a forceful rally off left-hander José Álvarez. Soto delivered the biggest blow of all, a 432-foot, three-run homer that departed his bat at 113 mph and sailed 101 feet up into the air and over the right field foul pole. Umpires reviewed the play, but given that the ball cleared the foul pole with plenty of room to spare, there was no chance for conclusive evidence to overturn the initial call.

"It was fair," manager Davey Martinez said. "The ball hooked like crazy, but after it passed the foul pole it was fair. I couldn't believe how much it hooked. That's the hardest ball I've ever seen hit."

After getting a rare chance to bat, Doolittle returned to pitch the bottom of the 10th and complete the sixth scoreless inning by the beleaguered Nationals bullpen to cap off an impressive performance.

"All the way around, the boys battled their butts off," Martinez said, his eyes welling up at times during his postgame media session. "I'm so super proud of 'em. The bullpen was outstanding. And, if they keep that going, we're going to win a lot of ballgames. That's why we won."

For most of the night, the third-inning showdown between Harper and Strasburg figured to be the story of the game. Harper's three-run blast at the end of a fascinating at-bat gave the Phillies the lead and was dripping with drama, but there was even more drama to come later as the Nationals battled back from a 5-run deficit.

Home runs from Yan Gomes and Howie Kendrick completed another impressive showing at the plate against Phillies ace Aaron Nola and left the crowd of 38,073 pacing as the home team's lead fell to 6-5. The Nats had two on with one out in the eighth, but Héctor Neris struck out Ryan Zimmerman at the end of a nine-pitch at-bat and then got Gomes to fly out to left.

But all hope was not lost. With two outs in the ninth, Robles drilled a 2-2 slider from Ramos into the left-field stands, bringing the Nationals back from the dead and forcing the Phillies to have to score again if they were going to win the game.

"Every time he goes to the plate, you never know what he is going to do," Soto said of Robles. "He is always ready, always fighting. He never gives up, and that's the teammates I like."

Things seemed to be going quite well for the Nationals early on. They took a quick 1-0 lead on Adam Eaton's leadoff double and productive outs by Brian Dozier and Anthony Rendon in the top of the first. Strasburg then cruised through his first two innings, throwing 15 of 20 pitches for strikes.

What could go wrong? Well, a lot. The third inning turned into a nightmare for Strasburg, who not only allowed a leadoff homer to Maikel Franco but then walked the opposing pitcher and later walked No. 2 hitter Jean Segura with two outs. That set the stage for Harper in a big moment against his fellow former No. 1 draft pick.

Strasburg fell behind in the count 2-0 but battled back with consecutive changeups that Harper swung at and missed. The right-hander must have felt supremely confident in that pitch, because he tried to triple up on it and fool Harper with another changeup. Harper wasn't fooled; he drilled that pitch to left-center for a three-run blast that had the crowd roaring with approval.

"I think it wasn't necessarily the wrong pitch," Strasburg said. "It was just poorly executed. Sometimes you can second-guess yourself, but if you make the pitch, it's going to have a better result."

It was the beginning of the end for Strasburg, who again labored in the fourth and allowed a two-run triple to Segura before opting to intentionally walk Harper. By the inning's completion, he was done for the night, having thrown 30-plus pitches in back-to-back innings to raise his count to a whopping 83 after only four frames.

Down 6-1 to the Phillies ace, the Nationals faced an uphill climb to get back in the game. But they managed to do it, thanks to another Rendon two-out RBI hit and then a pair of big blasts.

Gomes delivered first, launching his first home run of the season way over the fence in left-center. Two batters later, Kendrick delivered the first pinch-hit home run of his career, this one bringing the Nationals back to within one run.

They had changed the vibe inside the ballpark. And as has often been the case already this young season, they had battled to make it a close game late.

And this time, they finished it off with a stunning victory that felt like it meant a whole lot more than most victories on April 9 would mean. The final evidence of that: A few minutes after the game ended, a huge roar could be heard coming out of the clubhouse. The team had just held a cabbage race, continuing the tradition they started in spring training. By the time reporters entered, there were shreds of cabbage splayed throughout the room to go along with a lot of smiling faces.

"Coming here and playing the games like this, it's fun. It's a lot of fun," Martinez said. "We've got a whole year of this, so let's keep it going."