Phillies' 6-2 win over Nationals marred by Jhoan Duran foot injury

Scott Lauber, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Aug 15, 2025

Published in Baseball

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WASHINGTON — After Zack Wheeler uncorked his first pitch Friday night in Nationals Park, the scoreboard behind him lit up: “95.7 mph fastball.” The second pitch: 95.9. Pitch No. 4: 96.5. And No. 6: 97.1.

That was the good news.

Want the bad news? Although Wheeler’s velocity bounced back from his previous start five days earlier in Texas, his fastball command remained imprecise. He missed only 10 bats and expended 97 pitches to complete five innings.

And potentially even worse news: Jhoan Duran left the field on a bullpen cart after taking a line drive off his left foot in the ninth inning.

So much for the good vibes from a 6-2 victory powered by back-to-back homers from Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in the seventh inning against Nationals lefty Konnor Pilkington.

The Phillies (70-52) did halt a three-game losing skid and clinched no worse than a .500 record on the season’s longest road trip. They also were positioned to extend their lead in the National League East to a season-high six games with 40 left to play because the free-falling Mets were losing again at home to the Mariners.

But there was concern for Duran, the Phillies’ star closer and prized trade-deadline addition who appeared unable to put weight on his foot during a long delay while the Phillies waited for the cart.

Duran hadn’t pitched since last Sunday, so although it wasn’t a save situation, he entered for the ninth inning. The first batter, Paul DeJong, hit a liner that deflected off Duran’s foot or ankle. Duran ran down the ball but came up limping.

The Phillies called on David Robertson to replace Duran. An update on Duran wasn’t immediately available.

Wheeler remained less than his sharpest, even with the uptick in velocity. He held the Nationals to two runs on CJ Abrams’ first-inning RBI double and a solo homer by rookie Daylen Lile in the fourth.

The Nationals could’ve scored in the second inning, too. But they got overly aggressive on the bases, with third-base coach Ricky Gutierrez waving Dylan Crews around third as right fielder Nick Castellanos fielded a ground-ball single. Castellanos, not noted for a strong arm, came up throwing and got Crews easily at the plate.

Wheeler and Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore each allowed two runs and were out of the game when the Phillies rallied in the seventh inning.

The Nationals turned to righty reliever Clayton Beeter, which brought Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh off the bench. Stott and Marsh worked back-to-back walks before Schwarber broke the tie with a second-deck homer.

It marked Schwarber’s team-leading 43rd homer of the season and 17th against a lefty, tied for most in the majors. He also tied Barry Bonds (2002) with 11 homers by a left-handed hitter off a lefty reliever, the most in a single season since 1969.