Philadelphia Phillies Drop Final Game of Series with Washington Nationals

The Philadelphia Phillies (73-51) entered Sunday's game with the Washington Nationals (56-69) looking for a win to complete the series sweep and to push their win streak to five games.

It would all be for naught, however, as the Nationals would win 6-4.

Walker's Wild

Taijuan Walker (3-4, 5.69 ERA) took the mound for the Phillies on getaway day. In just his 12th start of the season, he looked to cut his ERA to below five and help the Phillies complete the sweep.

It was evident from the start that Walker did not have it on Sunday. He walked the first batter of the game, as well as two others across his 4 2/3 innings. Of his 99 pitches, 61 were strikes.

Even the strikes that Walker did throw were not quality strikes. It took the Nationals' batters until the fourth inning to get to Walker, but once they started swinging at anything resembling a strike, they would hit it hard.

Walker allowed five hard-hit balls in his start, including two home runs.

The Phillies offense did their best to back Walker up, but it would not be enough this time, and the Phillies four-game win streak would come to an end.

Notables

• "We have to play better baseball. We're just playing bad baseball." Walker allowed three runs, all earned, on four hits and three walks while striking out three in 4 2/3 innings.
• Alec Bohm extended his MLB-leading on-base streak to 35 games.
• Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh went back-to-back with one out in the bottom of the sixth. It was the seventh time this season that the Phillies have hit back-to-back home runs.
• Trea Turner went 10-for-17 in this four-game series with a home run, three doubles, and five RBI.
• The Phillies would get a base runner to lead off the bottom of the ninth on an Edmundo Sosa single. Cal Stevenson was due up next, representing the tying run, with Bryce Harper available on the bench. When asked post-game why Harper did not pinch hit, Manager Rob Thomson said, "I wanted to give him and J.T. both a full day." Even with no game tomorrow

WPA Leader of the Game

Sunday's WPA leader of the game was Nationals reliever Jacob Barnes . Barnes entered the game with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and a runner on. Barnes would strike the first batter he faced out to end the seventh, before coming back out for the eighth and working a 1-2-3 innings.

Barnes' final line for Sunday would read: 1 1/3 innings, one strikeout, and his seventh win of the season. His day would end with a WPA score of 18.

Next Up

Next up for the Phillies is a trip to Atlanta for a three-game series that starts on Tuesday. The first pitch for Tuesday's game is scheduled for 7:20 PM EST. The game will be broadcast nationally on TBS (out-of-market only) as well as NBC Sports Philadelphia and Bally Sports South.

Phillies fans can listen to the game on 94 WIP and WTTM 1680.