PHILADELPHIA -- For the second game in a row, the Nationals faced daunting Phillies closer Jhoan Duran.
And for the second night in a row, the Nats showed fight.
Following Friday’s comeback victory, the Nationals battled into another potential rally. They were bested by Duran with the potential tying runners stranded in a 6-4 loss on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park, but the matchup on back-to-back evenings was a valuable experience for the young club.
“Every night, they fight,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “They don’t give up at-bats. That’s what you’re looking for.”
Washington trailed by two runs when Duran entered the game with his electric warmup display alerting opponents of his presence. Less than 24 hours earlier, Brady House and Robert Hassell III had watched Dylan Crews and Daylen Lile put together solid at-bats and score the first runs Duran allowed as a member of the Phillies.
The group of rookies were inspired by one another.
“You know we can beat this guy,” Hassell said. “You know that anyway, but actually seeing it last night, coming into the night, [we were] pretty confident.”
With one out, House ripped a splitter into right field at 105.7 mph for his ninth double of the season.
“He stayed short,” Cairo said. “ ... In the first three at-bats, he was pulling off. He made his adjustment against Duran, and he got a double right there that was big.”
In the next at-bat, Hassell also connected on a second-pitch splitter from Duran. He singled a ground ball into left field that advanced House to third base.
“He’s going to try to blow it by you with everything,” Hassell said of Duran. “Put the bat on the ball, let the velocity do the work. That’s pretty much the approach. If you try to get too big off of him, it’s going to be a swing-and-miss.”
The Nationals had their big bats coming up to the plate with runners on the corners: James Wood, who had two hits on the night, and CJ Abrams, who had homered off Aaron Nola.
Wood struck out swinging at a 100.7 mph fastball, and Abrams lined out to left field to end the rally. Duran earned his 23rd save of the season and improved his ERA to 1.89.
“When you get any hit against Duran, it’s unbelievable. It’s a good feeling,” Cairo said. “You [had] Woody and CJ coming up, they kept fighting. These kids are fighting. Our relievers kept us in the game, and we just fell short today.”
This level of intensity has served the Nationals well over the last week. Dating back to Aug. 14, they have played the Phillies six times and the Mets three. Washington is 5-4 in this stretch, with the series finale in Philadelphia on Sunday and three games at Yankee Stadium to follow starting on Monday.
“It’s great to be around a bunch of guys that want to fight and not give up, want to fight until the last out,” Hassell said. “I think it’s a great trait for this team to have.”