Phillies erupt for 5 runs in fourth inning, hold off Nationals

Edmundo Sosa belted a three-run homer to cap a five-run fourth inning and Trea Turner added a solo shot an inning later, lifting the host Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-4 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday.
Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola (2-7) allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits in six innings in his second start since coming off a three-month stint on the injured list because of a sprained right ankle and fractured rib. This outing was much better than his previous one on Sunday, when he permitted six runs on seven hits in 2 1/3 innings of a no-decision against Washington.
Nola’s promising start Saturday came on the heels of the Phillies announcing that ace Zack Wheeler will miss the remainder of the season after being diagnosed with venous thoracic outlet syndrome.
J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm ripped back-to-back RBI doubles in the fourth to fuel Philadelphia to its fifth win in the last six games.
Washington’s C.J. Abrams homered just inside the right-field foul pole to lead off the sixth inning and Luis Garcia Jr. went deep to straight-away center two batters later. Garcia added an RBI double in the eighth inning, however Jhoan Duran rebounded from Friday’s blown save to strand runners on the corners in the ninth and secure his 23rd save of the season.
After throwing out James Wood at second base to end the third inning, Realmuto opened the scoring with one out in the fourth. Bryce Harper singled for the Phillies’ first hit of the game and came around to score on Realmuto’s double to left-center field.
Realmuto didn’t stay on second for long, trotting home on Bohm’s double to left field.
Harrison Bader singled to put runners on the corners before Sosa deposited an 0-1 fastball from Mitchell Parker (7-14) over the wall in left-center field to stake Philadelphia to a 5-0 lead.
Dylan Crews scored on a groundout in the fifth inning before Turner regained the five-run cushion, mashing a 3-1 slider just inside the left-field foul pole.
Parker permitted six runs on six hits in five innings to fall to 0-4 in five starts in August.