Series sweeps have been a rare accomplishment for the Washington Nationals. Rarer still, are sweeps against the two-time defending National League champion Philadelphia Phillies.
In fact, the last time the Nats took the broom to the Phils, they weren’t the Nats. They were the Montreal Expos (2003).
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After handing Philadelphia back-to-back defeats Friday and Saturday, Washington was ready to make history on Sunday when Adam Dunn ripped a two-run home run to give the Nats a two-run lead in the sixth inning.
But spurred by a sellout crowd of 35,807 at Nationals Park — many of them urging on the visitors — the Phillies rallied behind third baseman Placido Polanco, for a 6-4 victory in 11 innings.
Polanco was at the center of two-run rallies that tied the game in the seventh inning and won it in the 11th. His double in the seventh drew Philadelphia within a run. Moments later he tied it when Nats third baseman Ryan Zimmerman bobbled a potential inning-ending double-play grounder by Ben Francisco and got just one out.
Four innings later, against reliever Collin Balester, Polanco ripped a single up the middle with two out to score Wilson Valdez from third base with the game winner. Two pitches later, Jayson Werth doubled off the wall for the second time in the game, scoring Polanco for insurance.
While Philadelphia (57-48) moved to within 2 1/2 games of first-place Atlanta in the National League East and improved to 9-5 in extra-inning games, last-place Washington (46-59) fell to 1-7 in overtime.
Lefty John Lannan, making his first Nationals start after a June demotion to Double-A Harrisburg, gave up two runs on three hard-hit balls in the first inning. But he closed his five-inning stint (seven hits, two runs) impressively, striking out the side and stranding a pair of base runners.
“It was definitely weird being back here,” said Lannan, who is 0-7 lifetime against Philadelphia. “But it was better than my previous starts here, so it’s a huge step for me.”
In addition to the blast by Dunn, his 25th home run, Zimmerman had a two-run double in the fourth inning that tied it off Philadelphia starter Cole Hamels. Other positives included two strong innings of relief work each from Drew Storen and Joel Peralta.
Nats shortstop Ian Desmond had a game that summed up his season — two hits, two runs scored and two errors, bringing his league-leading total to 26, 10 more than any other player in the majors.
