Derek Hill delivers thrilling homer as Phillies keep comeback magic going originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
WASHINGTON — Derek Hill was down to the Phillies’ final strike.
Again.
One night after the Phillies scored eight runs with two outs in the ninth inning, Hill stepped in as a pinch-hitter against left-hander Richard Lovelady and delivered another late jolt.
Kyle Schwarber, out of the starting lineup with lower back tightness, came off the bench with two outs and worked a walk to keep the inning alive.
Then Hill took over.
He drove Lovelady’s pitch into the first row above the high wall in right field for a go-ahead two-run homer, then leaped in celebration between second and third base when he saw it had enough distance.
Unbelievable.
The Phillies acquired Hill in a trade to help against left-handed pitching, a matchup their right-handed hitters have struggled with all season.
He gave them exactly that in Philadelphia’s exciting 5-4 win on Wednesday.
It was another wild turn in a series that has already produced one of the Phillies’ most improbable wins of the season.
The Phillies had trailed early after Aaron Nola allowed solo homers in the first and second innings. Luis García Jr. took Nola deep six pitches into the game. Washington added another solo shot three pitches into the second.
But the Phillies answered in the fourth.
Brandon Marsh led off with a single. Alec Bohm reached on a fielding error after fouling a ball off his foot earlier in the at-bat and limping down the line.
Bryson Stott, coming off a three-hit game, got ahead 2-1 and turned on a low-and-in slider from Miles Mikolas. His 106.2 mph drive sailed over the head of Nationals right fielder James Wood, bringing Marsh home.
J.T. Realmuto followed with a sacrifice fly to score Bohm and tie the game.
Rookie Gabriel Rincones Jr. then jumped on Mikolas’ first pitch and lined a run-scoring single through the middle, giving the Phillies their first lead.
That type of inning has become a familiar sight during the Phillies’ turnaround. During their 9-19 start, they struggled to stack baserunners. Lately, they have found ways to build innings and keep them moving.
Nola did not dominate, but he gave the Phillies five innings and two runs.
He allowed hard contact. Of the 13 balls put in play against him, 54 percent were hit at least 95 mph. His average exit velocity allowed was 95 mph.
Still, he found enough outs.
Nola struck out four hitters with his knuckle curve and another with his changeup. He threw only one slider, a pitch he has begun mixing in over his last few starts.
The four-seam fastball remains his biggest concern. It entered the night tied for the worst pitch in baseball by Statcast run value at minus-13. Opponents were hitting .406 and slugging .828 against it.
But five innings and two runs kept the Phillies in the game.
Then former Phillies prospect Curtis Mead changed it.
With a runner on in the sixth, Don Mattingly turned to Jonathan Bowlan, who had dominated right-handed hitters all season. Entering the night, righties were slashing .167/.167/.214 against him with one extra-base hit.
Bowlan left a sweeper up.
Mead sent it into the left-field seats for his second homer in three games during the series, putting Washington back in front.
For a while, it appeared that swing would hold up.
Then Schwarber came off the bench.
Then Hill got his chance.
Lovelady was making his third consecutive relief appearance. Hill entered to pinch-hit against the lefty, the precise situation the Phillies had in mind when they brought him in.
With the count down to its final strike, Hill did not miss.
His homer gave the Phillies another late-game breakthrough, one night after the club turned an 8-6 ninth-inning deficit into a 14-9 win.