Meneses takes Kimbrel deep in 9th for win
PHILADELPHIA — Joey Meneses went deep once to tie the game, the second time to win it for the Nationals. That he hit the game-winner against All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel seemed implausible to the first baseman.
“He’s the best closer in baseball for a lot of years,” Meneses said. “I don’t believe that I hit a homer off him.”
Meneses’ second homer of the game was a solo shot off Kimbrel in the ninth inning that gave the Washington Nationals a 5-4 win over Philadelphia and a doubleheader split Tuesday night.
“Anything can happen in this ballpark. Just got to try and get the ball in the air,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said.
Kyle Schwarber homered twice to reach 30 for the season, drove in five runs and led the Phillies to an 8-4 win in the opener. The teams combined for 10 homers in the twinbill. Meneses, a former Phillies minor leaguer, went deep twice against the bullpen. He hit a two-run shot off reliever Jeff Hoffman in the seventh that tied the game at 4-all. He connected off Kimbrel (6-3) for his 11th homer of the season.
“I made one bad pitch,” Kimbrel said. “I think that’s probably why I’m so frustrated right now. I physically feel great today. I feel like my stuff is great. Just made a bad pitch and they made us pay for it.”
Bryce Harper, who struck out three times in the opener, hit a two-run homer, and Trea Turner continued his recent resurgence with two hits and an RBI that staked the Phillies to a 4-2 lead into the seventh.
Turner turned his attention from billboards — where he thanked Phillies fans for their support in a rough first season — to the scoreboard. Batting fourth in the night game after a recent demotion to eighth, Turner opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first. He hustled out of the box and legged out an infield single in the fifth, stole second and scored on Bryson Stott’s RBI single to right for a 4-2 lead.
Turner, in the first season of a $300 million, 11-year contract, has doubled in four straight games for the fifth time in his career.
Turner might be getting warm at the right time. So is Harper, as the Phillies chase the top spot in the NL wild-card race. Harper smacked a two-run shot — his seventh, and second in three games — off starter Josiah Gray into the right-field seats for a 3-2 lead in the fifth.
“We’ve got to make sure we keep these guys healthy, keep them rested,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.
Ildemaro Vargas hit a two-run homer in the fourth off Phillies starter Ranger Suarez.
Jordan Weems (3-0) tossed a scoreless eighth and Kyle Finnegan worked the ninth for his 18th save, fanning Harper to end it.