June 25, 2026
Brad Mills/Imagn Images
Brandon Marsh continues to be a centerpiece of the Phillies streaky offense.
A mid-season four-game series against the somewhat contending Nationals might be the most remarkable series of the season so far.
Three times the Phillies mounted insane, beyond improbable comebacks. And all three were wins for a Phillies team that is now firing on the offensive side of things, hotter than any other team in baseball. They scored 15 ninth inning runs in their three consecutive wins.
What's the best way to recap the madness from D.C. over the last four days? We've ranked the 10 most outrageous things that happened in the (3-1) series win. Take a look:
We'll get into all of the insanity from Washington in just a second. But how on earth is it possible that the Phillies are now within striking distance in the NL East? As recently as June 9th, just over two weeks ago, they were a whopping nine games behind Atlanta and it looked like Philadelphia would have to be content fighting for a Wild Card spot. The lead has been shaved by more than half in a very short relative span. They won't face the Braves heads up until September, but getting this close without any head-to-head match ups to help is immensely impressive.
With two men out, no one on, and a 1-2 count, Trea Turner was batting in the ninth inning with the Phils trailing 8-6. One strike was all Washington reliever Brad Lord needed to clinch a second straight win a big division rival. Here's what happened after Lord threw that pitch:
• Turner hit a singleThe Phillies won 14-8.
• Brandon Marsh tied the game with a two-run homer
• Bryce Harper hit a single
• Derek Hill hit a single
• Bryson Stott hit a three-run homer
• J.T. Realmuto walked
• Gabriel Rincones Jr. hit a single
• Edmundo Sosa hit a two-run double
• Justin Crawford walked
• Turner hit an RBI-single
The Phillies were down to their final strike again Wednesday, for the second straight night in D.C. The Phillies tagged recently acquired outfielder Derek Hill to hit against lefty Richard Lovelady and he fell behind 1-2. And then, with a man on base (more on that in a second), Hill improbably went deep, flipping a 4-3 loss to a 5-4 win, after Jhoan Duran slammed the door shut a half inning later.
Hill's bomb would never have happened if that spot in the batting order didn't come to the plate. And that happened thanks to Kyle Schwarber. What makes a two-out walk mark remarkable? The fact that Schwarber sat out the night before with back pain and was not in the lineup Wednesday either. Cold off the bench, Schwarber was called on to pinch hit for the first time in more than two years and he battled through a 10-pitch at bat, fouling off four pitches to draw the game-extending walk. Hill came up next and put the Phillies ahead.
The heroics in the ninth of this game were even more ridiculous after what the Phillies did earlier in the eighth. They trailed for most of the evening and with two out and the bases loaded, Realmuto came to the plate with the Phils down 5-3.
J.T. Realmuto has reached 20 RBIs
— PaceBall (@paceball__) June 24, 2026
Season Stats:
5 HR
22 RBI
.206 AVG | .287 OBP | .615 OPS
Pace: 13 HR / 56 RBI#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/qfvHVsvThy
It looked like Nationals outfielder James Wood had this ball handled and then it popped loose and the Phillies emptied the table.
Another ridiculous inning came on in the finale, the third straight improbable Phillies' comeback. Trailing 5-0 in the seventh, the Phillies once again rallied for a five-run frame to get back into it. Two singles, two walks, and a fielder's choice plated the quintet of runs. Realmuto actually had a chance to put the Phils ahead but grounded out to end the inning with the bases loaded.
BONUS 6.5: In the eighth inning with the Phillies up, the Nationals actually won on two challenges on the same play. First, a ball was turned into a strike to wring up Trea Turner. Seconds later, Washington successfully challenged a stolen base attempt on the same pitch. Could that be a first of its kind?
Bryce Harper hit a two-run go-ahead home run in the ninth inning against his home team Thursday and its number seven on our list. Just wow. Following the Phils wild comeback two innings prior, Schwarber reached with a single and Harper came up and solidified this as every Nats fans greatest living nightmare.
BRYCE HARPER FOR THE LEAD 🔔
— MLB (@MLB) June 26, 2026
The @Phillies strike AGAIN in the 9th inning! pic.twitter.com/kEFeFdTRvz
For good measure, because why the hell not, Realmuto drove in an insurance run and Hill blasted a two-run homer after that — yet another five-run inning and a night off for closer Jhoan Duran.
Back to Tuesday, when Phillies' starter Luzardo set a career high with 13 strikeouts. It wasn't your typical five K performance for a pitcher. He allowed five runs on six hits — all of them singles. He was in line for a loss before the aforementioned offensive explosions bailed him out.
You read that right. The Phillies' most reliable ace, and one of the two best pitchers in the entire National League showed he was human too on Thursday night, with his worst inning in quite a long time.
Per MLB Network Research:
— Alexa Datt (@AlexaDatt) June 25, 2026
-Cristopher Sanchez began the day with the 4th lowest ERA in MLB (1.80)
-Sanchez has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 14 of his 16 outings this year
The Nationals scored 4 runs off Sanchez in the bottom of the first, raising his ERA to 2.12.
The Phillies lost the series opener 4-1, with the Andrew Painter spot in the starting rotation going to opener Tim Mayza and recent call up Alan Rangel. Mayza gave up a run in his first inning bur Rangel was solid tossing five one-run frames in his stead, keeping the Phillies and their sluggish offense in the game. If nothing else, the 28-year-old journeyman earned the right to pitch at least once more, and likely as a starter in a few days against the Mets in Queens.
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