Derek Hill hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning and Bryce Harper added a two-run shot to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to their third straight win, 6-3 over the Washington Nationals on Monday night.
Nationals Phillies Baseball Washington Nationals' Abimelec Ortiz reacts after hitting a home run against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
Nationals Phillies Baseball Washington Nationals second baseman Nasim Nu帽ez, top, leaps after forcing out Philadelphia Phillies' Alec Bohm at second on a double play hit into by Bryan de la Cruz during the second inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
Nationals Phillies Baseball Washington Nationals' Andrew Alvarez pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
Nationals Phillies Baseball Philadelphia Phillies' Aaron Nola pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
Nationals Phillies Baseball Washington Nationals' Daylen Lile hits a two-run home run against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola during the second inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
Nationals Phillies Baseball Philadelphia Phillies' Derek Hill hits a grand slam against Washington Nationals pitcher Tom Cosgrove during the seventh inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
Nationals Phillies Baseball Philadelphia Phillies' Derek Hill reacts after hitting a grand slam against Washington Nationals pitcher Tom Cosgrove during the seventh inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
Nationals Phillies Baseball Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper reacts after hitting a two-run home run against Washington Nationals pitcher Clayton Beeter during the eighth inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) 鈥� Derek Hill hit a go-ahead in the seventh inning and Bryce Harper added a two-run shot to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to their third straight win, 6-3 over the Washington Nationals on Monday night.
Hill’s slam off reliever Tom Cosgrove (0-1) sent the crowd into a frenzy and provided the Phillies their second major spark of the day. Hill 鈥� who added a in right-center in the eighth 鈥� hit his ninth homer of the season hours after the Phillies swung a deal for three-time batting champion from the San Francisco Giants.
Hill also bailed out fading veteran starter Aaron Nola, who has not won since May 26 and is coming off an 0-4 record with a 4.34 ERA in July.
Nola surrendered Abimelec Ortiz鈥檚 first career home run in the first inning and Daylen Lile’s 14th homer of the season in the second, a two-run shot that made it 3-0 Nationals.
Nola struck out six over six innings and actually lowered his ERA from 5.61 to 5.55 this season.
Nola again did little to back up team president Dave Dombrowski鈥檚 public faith that the right-hander can contribute in a playoff series 鈥� much less the stretch run.
Dombrowski said before the game that he talked to other teams about adding starting pitching ahead of the close of Monday鈥檚 trade deadline. He failed to land a starter 鈥� though he added some bullpen depth, notably for Mets left-hander Brooks Raley 鈥� because of his belief in Nola and struggling rookie Andrew Painter.
Dombrowski鈥檚 spin on Nola was, 鈥淚f you looked at the analytics, he鈥檚 ranked like 75th in MLB of all starting pitchers. So, I mean, when you do that, you go by 30 and divide it.鈥�
Surely, that math doesn鈥檛 add up for Phillies fans who wanted the team to go hard after a solid starter that could slide into the No. 4 or No. 5 spot in the rotation and be counted on to win a playoff game.
Kyle Backhus (2-1) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win and Jhoan Duran worked a scoreless ninth for his 25th save.
Up next
The Phillies send Jes煤s Luzardo (9-5, 3.57 ERA) to the mound against Washington RHP Zack Littell (7-8, 4.94).
