Keibert Ruiz hit a home run for the third time in four games, and Alex Call and James Wood also homered as the Washington Nationals ended their four-game losing streak with a 6-4 win over the NL-leading Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.
Jacob Young’s sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth inning broke a 4-4 tie, helping the Nationals avoid a series sweep and ending their eight-game losing streak in Philadelphia, which started in August 2023.
“We put together some good at-bats late,” Nationals manager Davey Martinez said. “Jacob battled to get that sacrifice fly and Wood crushed the ball. Everybody talks about him needing to pull the ball, well, he pulled that one.”
The Nationals scored the two late runs against Philadelphia’s two All-Star relievers. They loaded the bases against Matt Strahm (4-2), and Young made solid contact with a high fastball, driving it deep enough to score Andres Chaparro.
In the ninth inning, Wood hit a 3-1 fastball from Jeff Hoffman 417 feet to right-center for his fifth home run of the season, adding an insurance run for the Nationals.
“It felt good,” Wood said. “It was a close game in the ninth inning. I was just happy to put an extra run on the board to help our pitching staff. We showed some toughness. We’re trying to play for each other and scratch out a couple wins here.”
Ruiz hit a two-run homer in the third inning off Phillies starter Taijuan Walker. Call followed with his third homer of the season, and second in the series, in the fourth inning.
Call’s 397-foot home run to left field chased Walker, who pitched 4 2/3 innings and threw 99 pitches, 61 of which were strikes. The 32-year-old right-hander struck out three and walked three.
“I’m still not throwing enough strikes,” said Walker, who was making his second start after missing six weeks with an inflamed index finger on his throwing hand. “It’s too many pitches, especially for five innings. I like to go deep in games — six or seven innings. I’m just throwing away pitches right now.”
