WASHINGTON – The Phillies began a long day of baseball with a 5-3 win over the Washington Nationals in the first game of a doubleheader Friday afternoon.
Nick Castellanos doubled home two runs in the first inning and doubled again in the third inning to help ignite another two-run burst.
The Phillies survived a dreadful 3-for-17 performance with runners in scoring position en route to the victory.
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Ranger Suarez pitched 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball and got the win. Connor Brogdon, Seranthony Dominguez and Brad Hand finished it off with scoreless work out of the bullpen. They combined for 10 outs.
Hand brought the potential winning run to the plate before striking out Cesar Hernandez to end it.
The victory improved the Phillies to 13-2 in June and 12-2 under manager Rob Thomson.
At 34-31, the Phillies are three games over .500 for the first time this season.
MLB
The Phillies have beaten the Nationals 10 straight games, dating to last season, including two straight in this five-game series. They will look for a sweep of the doubleheader behind lefty Bailey Falter in the nightcap. A sweep would give the Phillies five straight series wins for the first time since they won nine straight in 2011, the last season they made the playoffs.