PHILADELPHIA — With the Washington Nationals long out of playoff contention, Kyle Finnegan should be the kind of reliever who can add late-inning value on the trade market.
He boosted his stock in Philly.
Finnegan closed the seventh inning by getting Philadelphia’s J.T. Realmuto to hit into a double play and got the same result in the eighth when Brandon Marsh grounded into a 4-6-3 rally-killer in the eighth.
Finnegan’s knack for escaping late-inning jams over 1 1/3 scoreless innings helped the Nationals beat the Phillies 5-4 on Sunday.
Stone Garrett hit a grand slam and Jeimer Candelario added a solo shot for the Nationals, who took two of three from the defending National League champions and finished 6-3 on a nine-game, 10-day road trip. The worst team in the NL East, they won series against Seattle and San Diego during the trip and have won seven of 11 overall.
“They were jacked up after that game,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “They’ve calmed down a little bit now, but they were pretty excited.”
They also put a dent in the Phillies’ playoff hunt.
The Phillies seemingly picked up where they left off following Saturday’s 19-run outburst that was keyed by Kyle Schwarber’s grand slam and a Nick Castellanos home run.
Castellanos did it again Sunday when he hit his 12th homer of the year, connecting off Trevor Williams (5-4) into the right-field seats for the 1-0 lead in the first. Bryce Harper singled and Realmuto then crushed a two-run shot that made it 3-0.
Williams settled down and tossed five innings in a game interrupted by a 23-minute rain delay.
Phillies starter Ranger Suarez (2-3) had loaded the bases on a hit and two walks in the third when Garrett drove the first pitch he saw into the seats for his second career grand slam.
Candelario added a homer, his 11th, in the fifth. Suarez did not return to the mound following the delay in the sixth and left after giving up five runs in 5 1/3 innings.
The Phillies have mixed games with big offensive outbursts with ones in which they continuously fail to get clutch hits late in the game with runners in scoring position. Case in point: the sixth, seventh and eight innings against three Nationals relievers.
Bryson Stott led off the sixth with a double and Alec Bohm walked. But Darick Hall hit into a double play, Brandon Marsh whiffed and the Phillies did not score. Castellanos added a run-scoring double in the seventh — his 27th after he had 26 all of last season — to make it 5-4 and Harper walked. Finnegan escaped when he got Realmuto to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Finnegan was still on the mound in the eighth when he had two on and one out and got Marsh to hit into the double play.
“When you’ve got them down, you’ve got to put the hammer down,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.
Hunter Harvey worked the ninth for his eighth save and the Nationals secured three straight series wins for the first time since 2021.
“I can’t say enough about this team, what we’re trying to do here,” Martinez said. “That group is special, it really is. We’re going to keep fighting, keep playing hard.”
MAKING MOVES
The Phillies recalled 1B Hall from Triple-A Lehigh Valley and he batted eighth. They sent infielder Kody Clemens to Triple-A.
Hall made the opening day roster, but his stint was short-lived after he needed surgery on his right thumb. Hall hit nine homers in 41 games last season as a rookie. He went 1 for 4 on Sunday.
Clemens, son of former major leaguer Roger Clemens, hit .230 with four homers in 47 games.
ALL-STAR SELECTIONS
Castellanos earned the All-Star nod for the Phillies and starting pitcher Josiah Gray, who beat Philadelphia on Friday, was named Washington’s All-Star pick.
Gray is 6-6 with a 3.30 ERA in 17 starts.
“I just kind of just stopped in my tracks, just because I didn’t think it would be my name,” Gray said.
Castellanos has had a nice bounce-back season in his second year with the Phillies. He earned his second All-Star berth after he was named one in 2021 with the Reds.
“Last year, I wasn’t comfortable or relaxed in any part of my surroundings,” Castellanos said.
UP NEXT
Bye-bye, Philly. The Phillies have Monday off and then start a six-day Florida road trip that leads into the All-Star break. The Phillies send RHP Aaron Nola (7-5, 4.51 ERA) to the mound Tuesday against the Rays, who have not named a starter. The Phillies don’t return home until July 14.
The Nationals head home for four against the Reds. They send RHP Jake Irvin (1-4, 4.72 ERA) to the mound Monday against Cincinnati’s Luke Weaver (1-2, 6.96 ERA).
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