J.T. Realmuto and Edmundo Sosa’s bats help Phillies hold on for series-opening win against the Nationals

After a game on Thursday night that felt like a vintage Phillies loss, it was important for them to bounce back Friday against the Nationals. Their offense was able to cobble together 13 hits off of the Nationals’ pitching staff — many of those balls hit 95 mph or harder — and went 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

The offense provided just enough of a boost to get the Phillies a 5-3 win. Starter Noah Syndergaard gave his team some length but found trouble in the fifth and seventh innings, allowing three earned runs over those two frames. Syndergaard finished his night at six innings, allowing eight hits, three runs (all earned), no walks, and two strikeouts with one home run. Of Syndergaard’s 86 pitches, 60 were strikes.

“I thought he was good early, and then he started to get the ball up a little bit and there was some hard contact,” said interim manager Rob Thomson. “But I thought he threw the ball OK. I was looking at the gun readings early, and it was like 93, 94 mph, and it seemed like it was even harder than that. I don’t know why, maybe it was just my eyes. Then he started hitting the ball up a little bit. He threw a lot of strikes. It was good to see.”

The Phillies are now 76-62 on the season. They have won six straight games against the Nationals, dating back to July 7.

Thomson has said more than once that catcher J.T. Realmuto deserves to be in the 2022 NL MVP conversation, and Realmuto only bolstered Thomson’s words Friday night. He went 3-for-3 with a solo home run in the sixth inning. Realmuto is hitting .306/.367/.602 over his last 30 games.

Edmundo Sosa earned another start on Friday night, this time at third base. He went 2-for-3, hitting a triple and a single, and is now batting .526/.550/1.158 over this last seven games, thanks to some changes he’s made to his offensive approach. Sosa has now reached base safely in 11 straight plate appearances.

“He just keeps hitting,” Thomson said of Sosa. “We were thinking about bunting him there, I don’t know what inning it was, the seventh, but he’s so hot.”

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Rookie outfielder Dalton Guthrie, who made his big league debut on Sept. 6, collected his first two big league hits. Both were RBI singles — the first was a line drive to right field to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third, and the second was a soft grounder that didn’t leave the infield but scored Bryson Stott to give the Phillies an insurance run.

Guthrie, who is the son of former MLB pitcher Mark Guthrie, said his parents were debating whether or not to go to Friday’s game, but decided to stay back. He saved the ball from his first MLB hit and is planning on giving it to them.

“It was pretty cool,” Guthrie said of getting his first hit. “Hopefully you get the first one out of the way, and then they come.”

The Phillies’ bullpen has looked thinner — and shakier — than it did a few weeks ago, but the relievers locked it down Friday. Andrew Bellatti came in for the seventh inning in relief of Syndergaard and didn’t allow any hits, walks, or runs. José Alvarado — who has a 1.75 ERA over his last 30 games — didn’t any hits, walks, or runs either. Brad Hand came in for the save in the ninth inning but wasn’t able to get the final out. Hand induced two groundouts but allowed back-to-back two-out singles to put runners on first and second base.

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Thomson turned to reliever Nick Nelson, who has 4.55 ERA this season and a 7.04 ERA over his last seven games. It was a high-leverage situation — one that Nelson hasn’t been used in for most of this season — but he induced a groundout to end the game. It was Nelson’s first career save.