A wild bottom of the ninth inning on Tuesday night saved the Phillies from extra scrutiny on a disastrous performance in the field.
Thursday, they weren’t so lucky.
The Phillies fell short of a sweep against the Nationals, and an ugly sixth inning was mostly to blame. With the game already tied up at one apiece earlier in the inning, Bryce Harper biffed a Keibert Ruiz grounder down the first-base line, giving Washington the lead. With another run in, two outs, runners on the corners and Orion Kerkering in — a notably low-leverage spot for the struggling Phillies reliever — Rafael Marchan bounced a throwdown to second that Trea Turner’s awkward pick attempt couldn’t prevent from skidding into the outfield: 4-1.