Nationals avoid sweep as Phillies fall apart in the sixth inning, lose 4-2

The Phillies were one inning away from sweeping the Nationals and cruising into their weekend series with Arizona riding a five-game win streak.

PUT IT ON SPORTSCENTER! pic.twitter.com/vpwmeFxesn
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 1, 2025

Then came the sixth inning, where Taijuan Walker fell apart, Bryce Harper had a rare misplay, and the Phillies watched a 1-0 lead turn into a 4-2 loss.

Rookie Brad Lord, who entered the night 0-3 and barely hanging onto a big league rotation spot, earned his first career win by holding the Phillies to two runs over five-plus innings.

Lord struck out four, walked one, and got help from a Phillies offense that, outside of Trea Turner’s three hits, was largely toothless.

The meltdown came quickly. Walker had allowed just one hit through five innings, then took a line drive off the leg to open the sixth.

That seemed to rattle him. CJ Abrams doubled, James Wood’s liner caught Walker in the shin, and from there everything spiraled: a Lowe RBI single, Harper booting a grounder at first to score another, a Garcia RBI single, and then a double steal that brought home a fourth run.

Only one of the runs was earned, but the damage was real. And by the time the Phillies scratched back with a run in the sixth on a Weston Wilson groundout, it was too little too late.

Phillies Game Notes:

Walker looked solid… until he didn’t. The leg shot might have thrown him off rhythm, but the Phillies didn’t help with their defense.
Bryce Harper’s error loomed large. It was a hard-hit ball, but it should have been an out. Instead, it opened the floodgates.
Kyle Schwarber’s on-base streak is alive. He walked in the eighth to extend his streak to 37 straight games, which leads the league.
Trea Turner stayed hot. He had three hits and raised his season average to .324.

One swing from Bohmer and we're on the board! pic.twitter.com/abOV6NPN4e
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 1, 2025

Up Next:

The Phillies will try to bounce back Friday night against the Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park. Jesús Luzardo (3-0, 1.73 ERA) gets the ball against Arizona’s Merrill Kelly (3-1, 4.41 ERA). Philly will look to keep the vibes high and prove Thursday’s slop-fest was just a blip.

This one felt like a winnable game the Phillies let slip. Hopefully it’s not a theme this weekend.

Gear up in the shop >>