WASHINGTON – Jayson Werth's two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Washington Nationals a 5-4 win over the Phillies on Sunday afternoon.
Werth's game-winning hit came with the bases loaded and two outs against Phillies closer Jeanmar Gomez, who blew his second save of the season.
The Phillies have lost 15 of 19 and have been swept by the Nats twice in two weeks.
Maikel Franco led off the ninth inning with a tie-breaking solo home run off Washington closer Jonathan Papelbon to give the Phils a 4-3 lead.
Franco hit a hanging, 2-2 slider into the left-field seats for his 11th homer of the season.
The Phillies trailed 3-0 after two innings but came back to take the lead.
MLB
The Phillies are 29-34. Washington is 39-24.
Starting pitching report
It was a tale of two games for Adam Morgan. He gave up three hits, three walks and three runs in the first two innings then did not give up a run while striking out eight over the next 4 2/3 innings.
The eight strikeouts were a career high for the lefty.
Washington right-hander Joe Ross gave up five hits and three runs over seven walk-free innings. He struck out eight.
Bullpen report
David Hernandez gave up a couple hard-hit balls and survived an infield error en route to getting four important outs.
Gomez had been 19 of 20 in save chances entering the day. He allowed two singles and a walk to load the bases before Werth's two-out game-winner.
Papelbon has allowed four earned runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Phillies this season. Since being traded from the Phillies to Washington last July, he has a 7.27 ERA against his former team. He has allowed seven earned runs and three homers in 8 2/3 innings.
At the plate
The Phillies came back from three runs down in this game. Cody Asche started the comeback with an opposite-field home run in the fifth and Odubel Herrera and Freddy Galvis drove in runs with a double and a single, respectively, in the sixth. Morgan started the rally in the sixth with a double.
Franco had two hits in the game, including the go-ahead homer in the ninth.
Morgan allowed the first three batters in the bottom of the first to reach base on a single and two walks. Ryan Zimmerman and Wilson Ramos followed with sacrifice flies to give the Nats a 2-0 lead. Danny Espinosa jumped a first-pitch fastball and took Morgan deep to lead off the bottom of the second as the Nats went ahead, 3-0.
Up next
The Phillies play the next four games against the Toronto Blue Jays, two in Toronto followed by two in Philadelphia. Here are the pitching matchups for the home-and-home series:
Monday night – RHP Jerad Eickhoff (3-8, 3.68) vs. RHP R.A. Dickey (4-6, 4.15)
Tuesday afternoon – RHP Zach Eflin (major league debut) vs. RHP Marcus Stroman (5-2, 4.94)
Wednesday night – RHP Jeremy Hellickson (4-4, 4.34) vs. RHP Marco Estrada (4-2, 2.57)
Thursday night – RHP Aaron Nola (5-5, 2.98) vs. LHP J.A. Happ (7-3, 3.70)
Ryan Howard is expected to be the designated hitter in the games in Toronto.