Young’s late sac fly, Wood’s moonshot help Nats escape Philly with win (updated)

PHILADELPHIA – The Nationals needed a win today. Entering this finale against the Phillies, they were losers of four straight and five of their last six. They were also in danger of suffering their eighth sweep of the season, fifth on the road.

It took a total team effort to finally get that elusive win. But they got it as the Nationals escaped Citizens Bank Park with a 6-4 victory in front of 40,677 fans, thanks to Jacob Young’s late sacrifice fly and James Wood’s first pulled home run.

“We put together some good at-bats late," said manager Davey Martinez after the win. "Jacob battling to get a sac fly. And then freakin' Wood crushing a ball. Everybody talks about, 'Pull the ball.' He pulled that one. That's what he can do. He stayed on the ball really well, got his hands through and he smoked it.”

Facing left-handed reliever Matt Strahm, the Nationals loaded the bases in the eighth with a single to left, walk and bunt single. With one out, Young stepped to the plate and surprisingly didn’t square around for the safety squeeze.

Instead, the center fielder swung away and made enough contact on a sinker high above the zone to score the go-ahead run.

“Obviously there, you just got to get something up," Young said. "Just can't hit a double play and you got to find a way to get that run in. So just get something up and try to drive something to the outfield.

“It would have been tough to put a bunt down there. Luckily, Davey trusts me there to put a ball in play hard, and I was able to get the job done.”

Young might not have been in the game this late had he not been able to shake off a scary moment in the bottom of the first. The National League Gold Glove favorite came running in on a shallow hit by Alec Bohm. But an awkward slide saw his left knee get caught in the turf, keeping him on the ground and creating a big divot in center field.

“I think it's two weeks in a row now I've taken some golf divots out there in center field," he said. "Honestly, I don't know why it's happening. I would like to stop. More sliding would be nice. But luckily, everything's fine. Just jammed the knee a little bit and it's all good.”

Martinez and a trainer came out to check on him, but he walked it off and stayed in the game. It did, however, look like it was still bothering him throughout the game as he didn’t seem to be running like his usual self.

“He jammed his knee again," Martinez said. "It's the second time he's done that. He tries to slide and catch those balls. He's got to be really careful. He keeps doing that. I think, all in all, he should probably just dive headfirst regularly and try to keep those knees off the ground. Because he took a heck of a chunk out of the grass.”

Young stayed in long enough to drive in the game-winning run. And he got to watch from the dugout as Wood demolished the first pulled homer of his career.

Facing right-hander Jeff Hoffman, Wood was able to crush an inside fastball to right-center field. His fifth longball of the year came 107.5 mph off the bat and went 417 feet to give the Nats a 6-4 lead. It was hit so hard, the ball ricocheted off the facade back onto the field.

“It felt good. He had a good fastball, so I was trying to be ready for it," Wood said.

“It kind of just happened. He's throwing 97-98 (mph), so if I try to aim it anywhere, I'm gonna be in trouble. So I was just trying to hit it hard."

How much has he been thinking about his first pulled homer?

“It counts the same," he said. "I'm happy no matter where it goes.”

Although this game was eventually decided by some small ball, most of it was actually a slugfest.

It began with Trea Turner’s leadoff home run off Jake Irvin in the third inning. With the Phillies already up 1-0, thanks to an RBI single by Nick Castellanos in the first, Turner hit an elevated sinker 410 feet to straightaway center.

Irvin settled in a bit from there, retiring 10 of the next 11 batters he faced while keeping his pitch count relatively low.

But the Nationals offense responded with two much-needed blasts of their own. Keibert Ruiz hit a two-run home run in fourth to tie the game at 2-2. His 12th home run of the season and third of this series came on a high-and-away sinker from Taijuan Walker that Ruiz somehow managed to pull over the right-field wall.

At 4.07 feet high, that pitch was the third-highest hit for a home run by a Nationals player in the Statcast Era, the others being CJ Abrams' homer on Aug. 6 (4.42 feet) and Kyle Schwarber's on June 13, 2021 (4.18 feet). It was also the fifth homer in the major leagues this season hit above four feet.

Alex Call followed with a solo shot in the fifth to give the Nats a 3-2 lead. He managed to golf a low-and-inside cutter from Walker into the left field seats for his third homer of the year and second in back-to-back games.

Then José Tena doubled and Travis Blankenhorn singled him in to give the Nats a 4-2 lead in the sixth.

“It was good," Wood said of the Nats offense. "A lot of times, you try to get guys on and then drive them in. But you kind of cut a few of the steps out when you're able to hit some longballs. So it was nice today just to put some runs up quick and that was able to get us a win today.”

But like MacKenzie Gore last night, Irvin stumbled in the sixth inning. He gave up back-to-back home runs to Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh to allow the Phillies to tie the game at 4-4. It was the second time this series the Phillies hit back-to-back jacks.

The homer to Stott came on a high-and-tight fastball that he was able to muscle to right. But the homer to Marsh came on a curveball left right over the plate for him to mash almost 400 feet to right.

Irvin got out of the inning, but needed 25 pitches to do it. His line ended after six innings: 100 pitches (66 strikes), eight hits, four runs, one walk, five strikeouts and three home runs.

“Trying to mix it up and throw strikes," Irvin said. "Just keep us in it long enough for good things to happen. I thought things went well for the most part.”

Jose A. Ferrer and Jacob Barnes kept it a tie game with a combined two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. And Kyle Finnegan got his 31st save, the third-most in the majors.

The Nationals are still only 2-8 against the Phillies this year and 1-6 at Citizens Bank Park. But they’ll at least have a happy trip home.

“Any time you finish off a road trip with a win, it's good for the team, good for everybody," Irvin said. "And it feels great to beat a team like that.”