Phillies belt three homers, cruise past Nationals

Kyle Schwarber hit a three-run home run and J.T. Realmuto and Max Kepler socked solo shots as the Philadelphia Phillies won their fourth straight game, beating the visiting Washington Nationals 7-2 on Wednesday.

Realmuto, Bryson Stott and Johan Rojas each had two hits for Philadelphia in support of Cristopher Sanchez (3-1), who combined with three relievers to pitch a five-hitter.

Nathaniel Lowe and Amed Rosario each drove in a run for Washington, which has dropped three in a row. The Nationals will look to avoid a three-game sweep when the teams reconvene Thursday evening.

Schwarber got the party started in the first inning with a three-run blast -- his ninth homer of the season -- against Washington starter Jake Irvin (2-1).

The Nationals got one run back in the third, when Sanchez opened the inning by walking Jacob Young, who came around to score on Lowe's double to left.

The Phillies restored a three-run cushion when Stott delivered an RBI single in the fourth, but the Nationals got the run back in the fifth as Young led off with a single and scored on a fielder's-choice grounder by Rosario.

Philadelphia added to its lead in the bottom of the fifth, as Nick Castellanos supplied an RBI single, and again in the sixth, when Kepler smacked his third home run of the season, making it 6-2.

Realmuto's homer in the eighth capped the scoring.

Sanchez logged five solid innings, allowing two runs and five hits. He walked three and struck out six in his first start since April 22. He left that outing with forearm tightness but did not spend any time on the injured list.

The Phillies used three relievers -- none of their typical high-leverage options -- to close it out. Jose Ruiz retired all four batters he faced and then Tanner Banks struck out four of the five hitters he encountered.

Carlos Hernandez worked a 1-2-3 ninth to close it out.

Irvin allowed six runs and eight hits in six innings. He struck out two and walked three.

--Field Level Media