Bryce Harper, still facing jeers at Nationals Park after all this time, doubled twice and singled to bring in a run, supporting Aaron Nola’s 5 2/3 innings without allowing any runs, aiding the Philadelphia Phillies in their 4-0 win over Washington on a chilly Friday night.
Another former Nationals player, Kyle Schwarber, contributed with a two-run single in the second inning for the visiting team, extending his hitting streak to six games.
“You’re seeing results,” Schwarber commented. “I’m especially pleased with the consistency.” Manager Rob Thomson commended Schwarber for his commitment to using the entire field.
Nola (1-1) gave up two hits in the third inning and a total of four walks, but was otherwise in control after a rough start to the season, where he allowed six earned runs in his first outing – lowering his ERA significantly, from 14.54 to 5.40.
The chilly weather, with temperatures in the 40s, didn’t seem to bother him much. “It was pretty brisk,” Nola remarked. After the third inning, Washington’s batters failed to get any hits in front of a crowd announced at 21,374.
“We couldn’t get anything going,” commented Nationals manager Dave Martinez. “We need to come out and score first.”
Harper, who won NL Rookie of the Year and an MVP award with Washington before joining Philadelphia as a free agent after the 2018 season, delivered doubles in the first and third innings and drove in a run in the seventh with his third hit. All of these came against Patrick Corbin (0-1), who gave up four runs and nine hits in six innings.
One hiccup for Harper occurred when he got caught in a rundown between third and home, eventually being tagged out for what officially went down as a “caught stealing” scored 1-3-4-1-5-2-3.
The Nationals dropped to 2-5, with nine walks issued by their pitchers, some questionable baserunning, and a second throwing error in three games by rookie third baseman Trey Lipscomb.
Before the game, Thomson dismissed the notion that the early-season chill might be affecting his batters. “Sometimes that’s an excuse. And I don’t like to use excuses,” he said. “Some guys are off to a decent start. … It just hasn’t all come together yet,” Thomson added. “But it will.”
