Odubel Herrera bat flips a key HR, Phillies beat the Nationals 5-2 in extras

Washington Nationals pitcher Brad Hand had not allowed a home run since September 2019. He hadn’t allowed a home run to a left-handed hitter since September 2018. Last night, Odubel Herrera had his biggest hit of the season in the top of the ninth inning, hitting a solo home run tie the game at two. Herrera has been on fire as of late, hitting .375 (9-for-24) with two doubles, two home runs, and five RBIs over his last seven games. The Phillies are now 5-2 in that span and are 7-3 over their last 10 games.
The Phillies won their first three-game road series since September 2019. Today they will go for their first road series sweep since April 2018. Zack Wheeler pitched another gem last night, throwing six innings and allowing eight hits, two earned runs, and one walk while striking out seven.
Wheeler broke his own 20-inning scoreless streak in the sixth inning, and the Nationals were able to tie the game off of Wheeler on a bizarre hit from Alex Avila that made it to the warning track in right-center field. In what should have been a routine fly ball, there was clearly an issue with tracking it between Bryce Harper and Odubel Herrera, who both let the ball fall in between them before running into each other.
After the game, both Herrera and Harper stated that they need to communicate better and that Zack Wheeler deserved better. Luckily for the both of them, the Herrera made up for his portion of the mistake by tying the game in the ninth and Harper finished the night going 3-for-5 from the plate in the Phillies 5-2 win.
In the top of the 10th inning, the Phillies finally got things moving. Rhys Hoskins, who went 2-for-4 in the game singled to score Andrew McCutchen. Nick “The Next Chase Utley” Maton singled to right field to score Bryce Harper, and Andrew Knapp singled to score Nick Maton.
Up Next: The Phillies moved to 20-17 on the season and will send Zach Eflin to the mound looking to sweep the Nationals on the road today at 1:05pm.
[…] Herrera bat flips a key HR, Phillies beat the Nationals 5-2 in extras […]
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