By PATRICK STEVENS Associated Press
WASHINGTON — MacKenzie Gore pitched five-hit ball into the sixth inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 on Sunday to avoid a series sweep.
Lane Thomas stole three bases and scored the go-ahead run as Washington stopped a three-game slide. Thomas, Joey Meneses and Ildemaro Vargas each had two hits.
Gore (1-0) allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings to defeat Philadelphia for the first time in six career outings against the Phillies.
Edmundo Sosa accounted for Philadelphia’s damage against Gore, opening the scoring with a two-out RBI single in the second and connecting for a solo homer in the fifth.
Washington’s bullpen worked 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Jordan Weems replaced Gore and retired each of his four batters, and Hunter Harvey pitched a 1-2-3 eighth. Kyle Finnegan handled the ninth for his third save in four attempts.
Finnegan was aided by Jesse Winker’s leaping grab of Trea Turner’s liner to the left-field wall leading off the inning.
Philadelphia starter Cristopher Sánchez (0-1) departed a 2-2 game with two men on in the fifth, and Yunior Marte walked Meneses to load the bases. Riley Adams then hit a sacrifice fly to left to drive in Thomas.
Sánchez yielded six hits in 4 1/3 innings while striking out one.
Washington’s Luis García Jr. hit an RBI single in the second, and Meneses drove in Thomas with a single in the third.
Former Nationals slugger Bryce Harper, who signed with Philadelphia before the 2019 season, was booed before each plate appearance as he customarily is in Washington. Harper went 1 for 4.
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RHP Spencer Turnbull (1-0, 0.00 ERA) faces St. Louis on Monday as Philadelphia’s road trip continues.
