*Photo from the Philadelphia Inquirer*
Maikel Franco's walk-off home run lifted the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-3 win over division rival Washington Nationals on Sunday. He drove the first pitch he saw into the left field stands for his second career walkoff. JT Realmuto also homered for the Phillies, as they avoided a sweep with the win. Franco said that ''I was looking for a fastball middle-in, and as soon as I hit it I knew the ball was going to go, that's a great day, a great moment. It's something I can't forget.''
Matt Adams gave the Nats the lead in the 4th inning with a single to right field that scored Anthony Rendon. The Phils got that run right back in the form of a Realmuto single to left that scored Jean Segura. In the 5th, Segura gave the Phils the lead on an RBI single to right that scored Franco. In the 6th, Realmuto made it 3-1 Phils on a homer to right field. In the 7th, Howie Kendrick made it 3-2 on a single to left, and Trea Turner scored Victor Robles on a single to right that tied the game at 3. That set the stage for Franco to belt the game winner into the left field seats and send the fans home happy.
Hector Neris took the win for Philadelphia by striking out the side in the top of the 9th inning. Franco's homer was the 104th given up by Washington pitching this year. Phils manager Gabe Kapler said of Franco that ''When he's swinging the bat well and the best version of Mikey, we can't take him out of the lineup, that makes our lineup deep and dangerous."
The Nationals head to Baltimore to open up a 3 game set on Tuesday, where rookie Austin Voth will get the ball against Orioles pitcher Asher Wojciechowski. The Phillies welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers into town on Monday for 4 games, where Zach Eflin will start against Clayton Kershaw.
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