James Wood nearly drove in the game-tying run as the Washington Nationals ended up dropping a close game on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies
The Washington Nationals threatened, but in the end, it wasn't enough after dropping game two against the Philadelphia Phillies in a 3-2 loss, moving to 3-2 on the season.
The Nationals squared off against Andrew Painter in his MLB debut as he finished with eight strikeouts and four hits allowing in 5.1 innings, opening the game with the tenth strikeout of the season and first of two on the night for James Wood.
Daylen Lile finished 3-for-4 with a pair of singles in the loss, extending his hit streak to open the season to five. Nasim also recorded a pair of hits for his first multi-hit game of the season along with his third consecutive game with at least one hit. Joey Wiemer, who made history once again on Monday, finished 0-for-3 in the loss.
Washington also turned to PJ Poulin to open the game where he tossed a strikeout before Zack Littell made his Nationals debut in the second inning in what proved to be a rough outing, allowing a pair of solo home runs and six hits while throwing just one strikeout in five innings. But the decision to turn to an opener is a new wrinkle under Blake Butera, giving the Nationals a lefty to face the top of the Phillies lineup including Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.
The two solo home runs came in back to back innings after Schwarber belted a 397 foot home run into right field before Adolis Garcia followed it up with a 349 foot home run in the bottom of the fourth, pushing the Phillies up 2-0. They'd add onto the lead after a miscue by Luis Garcia Jr. led to another run crossing the plate with the bases loaded, marking what proved to be the game-sealing run.
Washington answered with Daylen Lile's second single of the day that materialized into an RBI after an error by the Phillies, cutting it to 3-1. The next inning, James Wood broke out of his slump with an RBI bringing Nasim Nunez home to make it a one run game.
The Nationals would get one more chance in the top of the ninth inning after Nunez reached second base on an infield single, but the hopeful comeback efforts fell short after James Wood's hit into left field sailed just low enough for the Phillies to secure the out, ending the win streak at two.
The Nationals will now look to take a second series in the rubber match in as many attempts to open the 2026 season when the two teams meet for a 1:05 PM opening pitch on Wednesday afternoon.