Long Ball Powers Philadelphia Phillies Past Nationals in Series Win

It's safe to say that a day off served Bryce Harper well.

Back in the three-hole in the Philadelphia Phillies' starting lineup, Harper launched his first home run since returning from the injured list. His 99th home run in red pinstripes was his first since June 9, and tied the ballgame up at two in the third inning.

Bryce's 99th homer in a Phils uni was a thing of beauty. #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/mGxq1P3ASM
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 10, 2022

In the fourth, Philadelphia tacked on two more runs against Washington Nationals' starter Erick Fedde. Edmundo Sosa continued his run of offensive dominance with a gutsy slide into first base which was initially called an out, but was overturned. This brought Jean Segura home to give the Phillies the lead.

Brandon Marsh then doubled home Sosa to put the Phillies up two more runs. The offense continued to pile on in the fifth, with Nick Maton going deep for a two-run shot to left field. That made it 6-2 in favor of Philadelphia.

Marsh's big night carried on in the sixth inning, knocking a solo shot to left field for his 10th long ball of the year. With a single and a double on the night, his home run put him on cycle watch. Unfortunately, he was unable to go the distance. (Curse you, David Bell.)

The Nationals cut the deficit to three runs in the seventh inning, prompting interim manager Rob Thomson to remove starter Ranger Suárez from the game. Across his last two starts, Suárez has struggled, but he was much more effective this time around. He allowed four runs on seven hits across 6.2 innings pitched, striking out four Nationals and walking one.

In the eighth inning, Kyle Schwarber blasted an absolute mammoth home run to right-center field to make it 8-4. His league-leading 37th home run traveled 467 ft. Since Schwarber has been in a bit of a slump as of late, it was a welcome sight.

Can't have a long ball party without Scwharbs #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/R9sqS3aywv
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 11, 2022

Connor Brogdon pitched the ninth. After inducing the first out of the inning, he surrendered three straight singles to make it an 8-5 contest. Following a mound visit, though, Brogdon was able to collect himself and pick up two strikeouts for the final outs of the game.

With that, Philadelphia grabbed the series win and will look to complete the sweep on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. Aaron Nola will be on the hill for the Phillies, where he will face off against veteran right-hander Aníbal Sánchez.

More From SI's Inside The Phillies:

Make sure to follow Inside the Phillies on Substack and Twitter!