Rookie Weston Wilson Completes Cycle as Phillies Defeat Nationals
Weston Wilson, in his rookie season, achieved a cycle while Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos launched back-to-back home runs in the opening inning, propelling the Philadelphia Phillies to a decisive 13-3 win over the Washington Nationals on Thursday.
In the game, Wilson started with a strikeout in the first inning, hit a triple and a single in the fourth, blasted a solo home run in the seventh, and finished the cycle with a double in the eighth inning.
Bohm hit a three-run homer to left field early in the first inning, and Castellanos followed with a home run, giving Philadelphia a 4-0 advantage right off the bat. Castellanos also added an RBI single during a five-run fourth inning that extended the Phillies’ lead to 9-0.
Johan Rojas contributed three RBIs for the Phillies, while Trea Turner smashed a two-run double among his three hits. The team amassed 17 hits overall, marking their second consecutive win after having lost 17 of their last 24 games.
Zack Wheeler (12-5) pitched six innings, giving up two runs (one unearned) on three hits, without any walks, and struck out six batters, achieving his second victory over Washington this season. He previously allowed two runs over 7â…“ innings in a 4-2 win against the Nationals on May 17.
For the Nationals, Keibert Ruiz hit two solo home runs, as the team fell to a 1-6 record against the Phillies this season.
In the first inning, Turner and Bryce Harper both recorded singles, setting the stage for Bohm to hit a fastball from rookie Mitchell Parker (6-7) over the left-field wall. That marked Bohm’s 13th home run of the season and his first since August 4.
Castellanos added another run by sending a splitter from Parker over the fence, marking his 16th home run of the season, and his first since July 27.
Philadelphia put the game beyond doubt in the fourth inning.
Wilson kicked things off with a triple and scored on a single from Rojas. Following that, Kyle Schwarber added a single, and both Rojas and Schwarber scored after Turner’s double, while Turner also scored from Harper’s RBI single that ended Parker’s outing.
Castellanos wrapped up the scoring off Eduardo Salazar with a single that brought in Harper. Parker ended the game with nine runs allowed on ten hits over three-plus innings.
