By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly Staff 
Final: Nationals 3, Phillies 2 ❖ Attendance: 31,805
WASHINGTON D.C. — The Phillies entered the day trying to split the series with the Nationals after losing two of the first three games vs. Washington. The Phillies sent Adam Morgan to the mound following his quality start vs. the Marlins on September 6 where he allowed five hits in six innings of work.
With the minor league playoffs officially over for the Phillies top two affiliates, Philadelphia was able to call up players including Cody Asche, Roman Quinn, and Joely Rodriguez, all of which made appearances during today's game.
Adam Morgan continued his success pitching the ball today, only allowing three hits, two runs, two earned in six innings. Unfortunately, Morgan was unable to receive much run support during the contest, as both the Phillies and the Nationals were held scoreless from the first to the seventh innings.
The Phillies bested the Nationals in the hits column with seven hits compared to Washington's four. Solid pitching from the Nationals allowed them to defeat the Phillies at home and take three of four from their NL East rivals.
The Phillies return home tomorrow night for a series with the Pittsburgh Pirates, as Jeremy Hellickson will get the start on the mound.
WP: Gio Gonzalez (11-9, 4.27 ERA) ❖ LP: Adam Morgan (2-10, 5.73 ERA) ❖ SV: Mark Melancon (41)
Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| PHI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| WAS |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 3 | 4 | 1 |
Daniel Murphy got the scoring going for the Nationals in the bottom of the second inning, where he doubled a sharp ground ball to Aaron Altherr in right field, scoring Trea Turner. Washington took an early 1-0 lead.
Due to an intense pitching deadlock between the Phillies' Adam Morgan and the Nationals' Gio Gonzalez, the next scoring play didn't occur until the top of the seventh inning. Tommy Joseph delivered a one-out solo homer to center field, tying the game at one run a-piece.
Anthony Rendon answered for the Nationals in the bottom of the seventh with a fly-ball double to Darin Ruf, that scored Bryce Harper to give the Nationals a 2-1 lead.
Phillies catcher A.J. Ellis suffered a defensive blunder, a passed ball that scored Anthony Rendon, which extended Washington's lead to 3-1.
Freddy Galvis brought the Phillies within one run after a no-out solo home run, his 17th of the year. The Phillies now trailed the Nationals 3-2 in the top of the eighth inning.
Mark Melancon came into the game in the top of the ninth for the Nationals, striking out three, and shutting the door for his 41st save of 2016. The Nationals beat the Phillies, 3-2.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Morgan | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5.73 |
| Gio Gonzalez | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.27 |
Phillies
- 1 Freddy Galvis: 1-3, R, HR, RBI, K, .236 AVG
- 2 Tommy Joseph: 1-4, R, HR, RBI, K, .244 AVG
- 3 Cesar Hernandez: 2-4, .290 AVG
Nationals
- 1 Anthony Rendon: 1-3, R, RBI, .275 AVG
- 2 Daniel Murphy: 1-4, 2B, RBI, .344 AVG
- 3 Trea Turner: 2-3, R, RBI, BB, .343 AVG
Phillies
- Edubray Ramos (7th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 3.48 ERA
- David Hernandez (8th): 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 4.04 ERA
- Joely Rodriguez (8th): 0.1 IP, 0 H, o R, o ER, o BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
Nationals
- Koda Glover (8th): 0.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1 HR, 5.14 ERA
- Oliver Perez (8th): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 5.35 ERA
- Blake Treinen (8th): 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 2.37 ERA
- Mark Melancon (9th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR, 1.61 ERA
- Monday, September 12, 2016: vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park
- RHP Jeremy Hellickson (10-9, 3.90 ERA) vs. RHP Gerrit Cole (7-9, 3.55 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
