Nationals Hand All-Star Closer Jhoan Duran First Blown Save With Phillies
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Jhoan Duran cost the Philadelphia Phillies a hefty fee at the trade deadline. The Washington Nationals made him look a little human on Friday night.
The Nationals, who are in last place in the National League East, defeated the front-running Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4, after losing an early 3-0 lead after a Riley Adams home run in the first inning. It was the first blown save for Duran since he joined the Phillies at the trade deadline.
He had converted each of his first six save chances since joining the Phillies from the Minnesota Twins. Philadelphia sent two top prospects, catcher Eduardo Tait and right-handed pitcher Mick Abel, to the Minnesota Twins in return for Duran.
How Washington Overcame Duran
The Phillies had a 4-3 lead going into the ninth inning and brought in Duran to replace Matt Strahm. Duran handled the first hitter, Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr., easily as he struck out swinging for the first out.
Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews came up after Garcia and doubled to right field to put the tying run at second base. It didn’t take long for Duran to surrender the save. The next hitter, outfielder Daylen Lile, singled to left field and Crews scored from second base to tie the game at 4-4.
What happened next cost the Phillies the game and gave the Nationals a leg up in the three-game series. Lile stole third base to get into scoring position for a sacrifice fly with Brady House at the plate. But Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto’s throw got away from third baseman Alec Bohm and Realmuto was charged with an error. Lile scored to make it 5-4.
Duran bounced back from that to strike out House and Jacob Young back-to-back. It helped him reach 300 strikeouts for his career. But he walked away with the loss after Nationals reliever PJ Poulin took the victory with a second inning of scoreless, hitless relief.
Saturday’s Matchup
The Nationals expect to start left-hander Mitchell Parker (7-13, 5.83) in a game that will start at 6:05 p.m. eastern time. He’ll face Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola (1-7, 6.92).
Parker faced Philadelphia last week and is coming off a no-decision in which he went just 1.2 innings and allowed four hits, five earned runs and three walks without striking out a hitter. He is 2-4 with a 9.19 ERA in his last seven games, with 18 strikeouts and 15 walks in 32.1 innings. He has 84 strikeouts and 52 walks in 129.2 innings this season.
Nola missed a chunk of the season with an injury and faced the Nationals last weekend, taking a no-decision. He pitched 2.1 innings, allowing seven hits, six earned runs and one walk against four strikeouts. He was coming off a loss against St. Louis in which he gave up 12 hits and nine earned runs in 3.2 innings.
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Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Major League Baseball for OnSI. He also covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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