WASHINGTON (Interstat) — The Philadelphia Phillies erupted for eight runs in the ninth inning Tuesday night at Nationals Park, turning a two-run deficit into a 14-9 victory over the Washington Nationals in a wild series opener.

The Phillies improved to 43-36, while the Nationals dropped to 41-39 before a crowd of 29,611. The game lasted 2 hours 58 minutes.

Philadelphia trailed 8-6 entering the ninth after Washington’s Jorbit Vivas had launched a three-run homer in the eighth inning to cap a seesaw contest. But the Phillies’ offense, which had been quiet for much of the night outside of a two-run fifth, exploded against a tiring Nationals bullpen.

The rally began with a one-out single by Trea Turner, and Brandon Marsh followed with a two-run homer to right field, his 11th of the season, to tie the game at 8-8. Bryce Harper singled, and Derek Hill singled to put runners at first and second. Bryson Stott then delivered the decisive blow, a three-run homer to right, his seventh, to give the Phillies an 11-8 lead.

J.T. Realmuto walked, Gabriel Rincones Jr. singled, and Edmundo Sosa doubled to drive in two more runs. Justin Crawford walked, and Turner singled to plate Sosa, making it 14-8 before Marsh struck out to end the inning.

The Nationals got one back in the bottom of the ninth on a solo homer by Luis Garcia Jr., his 12th, but Orion Kerkering closed out the game. Kerkering earned the win, improving to 4-0, despite allowing three earned runs over one inning.

Brad Lord took the loss for Washington, falling to 5-1.

The game featured a standout performance from Phillies starter Jesus Luzardo, who struck out 13 batters over 6 2/3 innings while allowing six hits and five earned runs. He left with the game tied at 5-5 after the Nationals had erased an early deficit.

Washington took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a run-scoring double play grounder by Jacob Young. The Nationals then erupted for four runs in the fourth, getting RBI singles from Nasim Nunez and Jose Tena to build a 5-0 advantage.

The Phillies answered with two runs in the fifth on a two-run homer by Edmundo Sosa, his fifth of the season, cutting the lead to 5-2. Philadelphia added one in the seventh on a groundout by Sosa that scored Bryson Stott.

The Phillies then took a 6-5 lead in the eighth. After a double by Marsh and a walk to Alec Bohm, pinch-runner Garrett Stubbs entered for Bohm. Stubbs moved to second on a hit-by-pitch to Stott, and Realmuto doubled to clear the bases, giving Philadelphia a 6-5 edge.

But Washington responded in the bottom of the eighth. Garcia walked, Dylan Crews was hit by a pitch, and Vivas homered to center to put the Nationals up 8-6.

Sosa finished the game 2 for 5 with a homer and five RBIs. Marsh went 3 for 6 with a homer, a double and two RBIs. Realmuto had a double and three RBIs. For Washington, Vivas had two hits, including the homer, and three RBIs. Nunez had a hit and two RBIs.

Philadelphia’s offense collected 17 hits, while Washington managed nine.

The Phillies had lost the series opener Monday 4-1, but they bounced back with a dominant offensive display. The win marked Philadelphia’s fourth in its last six games after a stretch of inconsistent play. The Nationals had won two of their previous three.

Philadelphia will send a right-hander to the mound Wednesday in the second game of the series. Washington will counter with a left-hander. The teams will also meet Thursday before the Phillies travel to New York for a three-game set against the Mets. The Nationals will head to Baltimore for a weekend series against the Orioles.

The Phillies have a challenging stretch ahead, with nine of their next 10 games on the road, including a four-game series against the Mets. The Nationals will also travel to Boston after the series finale in Washington.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Philadelphia Phillies 6, Washington Nationals 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Philadelphia with a 58.40 percent probability to win. Philadelphia had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 23 went under the over-under line of 8.