Jhoan Duran blows his first save with the Phillies in 5-4 loss to Nationals

Lochlahn March, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Aug 22, 2025

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

PHILADELPHIA — Jhoan Duran stood behind the mound for a beat. He exhaled.

He had just allowed his first two runs in a Phillies uniform and had blown his first save after entering Friday a perfect 6 for 6 since the trade last month. After he took Jacob Young to a full count, catcher J.T. Realmuto jogged out to the mound to speak with him and give him a moment to breathe.

Duran toed the rubber again, and fired a 99-mph splinker past Young to end the inning. He had limited the damage to two runs, but it ended up being enough. The Phillies went down in order in the bottom of the ninth to fall to the Nationals, 5-4.

After jogging out to the mound with his elaborate entrance, Duran struck out Luis Garcia Jr. on three pitches. But a double by Dylan Crews and single from Daylen Lile tied the game at 4. Lile stole third, and scored on a throwing error from Realmuto to give the Nationals back the lead.

The Phillies trailed early when Taijuan Walker allowed a three-run home run in the first. They chipped away in the second, when Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott strung together singles and Castellanos scored on a forceout.

Stott tied the game in the sixth with a two-run shot, and Realmuto put the Phillies in front, 4-3, in the seventh with a solo homer.

Walker allowed the first four batters he faced to reach base — though he erased leadoff hitter James Wood with a pickoff at first — and needed 38 pitches to finish the first inning.

But he settled in after returning for the second, and Walker faced the minimum through the next four innings. He was helped out by his infielders turning a double play — and helped himself, picking off Lile at first.

Walker’s two pickoffs gave him seven on the season. He is tied with the Yankees’ Max Fried and trails the Cubs’ Matthew Boyd by one for the National League lead. Fried and Boyd are left-handed, while Walker is a righty.

Walker was lifted in the sixth for Tanner Banks, who threw a scoreless inning. José Alvarado (seventh) and Matt Strahm (eighth) followed with scoreless innings of their own.