Nola dominates, Phillies beat Nationals

Aaron Nola was on the mound and threw an absolute gem tonight as the Phillies beat the Nationals 6-0. Nola was flawless. He had the off-speed pitches working all night long and pitched well into the ballgame going 8 innings, allowing only 2 hits, and 3 walks. He struck out 9 batters and out-dueled Patrick Corbin for the second time in seven days.
Rhys Hoskins went 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored. Tonight marked 4 straight multi-hit games for Rhys Hoskins. Just last week, Rhys was hitting .255 with a .778 OPS which ranked 84th in all qualified hitters. Fast forward to tonight, Hoskins is now batting .272 with a .966 OPS – which is good for 20th in the majors and tied with none other than Mike Trout.
Alec Bohm had a solo HR and an RBI double in the bottom of the 6th to left center. The rookie now has 9 RBI on the season.
Go-ahead Bohmer. #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/2aZWtL7Dsd
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 2, 2020
An RBI single by JT Realmuto scored Hoskins in the bottom of the 5th before Andrew McCutchen put the game on ice in the bottom of the 6th inning with a 3-run HR to left field; his 5th HR of the year.
🆒 pic.twitter.com/UPzIBgfkXK
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 2, 2020
All the talk has been focused on Rhys Hoskins and rightfully so, but Andrew McCutchen is right there with him. In the last 16 games, he has 5 HR 18 RBI batting leadoff. He’s 24 for 70 which is good for a batting average of .333 in that span, .270 overall.
The Phillies would load the bases for the second time on the night with 2-outs and Didi Gregorius at the plate in the bottom of the 8th but just like earlier in the night, Didi wasn’t able to bring anyone home.
Hector Neris decided to make things interesting as the Flyers game concluded (Flyers won in OT, Game 6 on Thursday) and fans switched over to catch the end of the Phillies. He allowed a few base runners but closed out the game unscathed.
The Phillies improve to 16-15 on the year. They have won 4 straight against the Nationals. Tomorrow will be a good one with Wheeler on the mound against Scherzer.
Ring that bell, baby.
Mandatory Credit: The Philadelphia Phillies