WASHINGTON (Interstat) — Derek Hill’s pinch-hit, two-run home run in the ninth inning lifted the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-4 victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night at Nationals Park.

The Phillies, who won for the second time in three games in this series, improved to 44-36. The Nationals fell to 41-40 before a crowd of 27,200 in a game that lasted 3 hours, 2 minutes.

Philadelphia seized a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning, capitalized on a Washington error and took control behind a solid start from Aaron Nola. But the Nationals rallied to tie the game in the sixth on a two-run homer by pinch-hitter Curtis Mead. The game remained deadlocked until the top of the ninth, when Hill delivered the decisive blow off Nationals reliever Richard Lovelady.

Nola, who worked five innings and allowed three hits and two earned runs while striking out five, earned top-star honors for the Phillies. It marked his second consecutive quality start after a loss to the New York Mets on June 18, in which he also went five innings and allowed two earned runs.

Seth Johnson, who pitched a scoreless inning of relief, was credited with the win. Johnson, making his fifth appearance of the season, is now 1-0. Jhoan Duran pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out three, to record his 19th save of the season. Lovelady, who entered the game in the ninth, took the loss and fell to 2-4.

The Phillies opened the scoring in the fourth. With one out, Brandon Marsh singled and advanced to second on a fielding error by Nationals second baseman Nasim Nuñez. Bryson Stott followed with a double to right field that plated Marsh, and Alec Bohm, who had reached on the error, moved to third. J.T. Realmuto then lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Bohm and sending Stott to third. Gabriel Rincones Jr. singled to center to drive in Stott, giving the Phillies a 3-0 lead.

Washington had taken an early lead on a solo home run by Luis García Jr. in the bottom of the first inning, his 13th of the season. The Nationals added another run in the second on a homer by Jorbit Vivas, his third, to make it 2-0.

The Nationals tied the game in the sixth. With one out, Daylen Lile singled and advanced to second on a forceout. Curtis Mead, pinch-hitting for Drew Millas, then launched a two-run homer to left field, his 13th, scoring Dylan Crews and knotting the score at 4-all.

Philadelphia’s offense had struggled to build on its three-run outburst. The Phillies managed only three hits from the fifth through the eighth innings, with Trea Turner’s double in the seventh representing their only extra-base hit in that stretch. But in the ninth, after Realmuto grounded out and Rincones struck out, the Phillies summoned Kyle Schwarber as a pinch-hitter. Schwarber drew a walk, and Hill followed by driving a 1-0 pitch from Lovelady over the right-center field wall for his fifth home run of the season.

The Nationals threatened in the seventh after José Tena tripled off reliever José Alvarado, but Alvarado escaped the jam by retiring the next two batters. Duran then shut the door in the ninth, striking out the side.

Washington starter Carson Palmquist worked 3 1/3 innings, allowing two hits and one earned run while striking out three. Miles Mikolas pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, surrendering five hits and striking out one. P.J. Poulin added 1 1/3 hitless innings with one strikeout.

For the Phillies, Nola’s efficiency in the early innings helped keep the Nationals from expanding their lead. He allowed only two runs on three hits and walked two, mixing his curveball effectively. The Phillies bullpen then combined for four innings of one-run ball, with Alvarado, Johnson, and Duran each contributing scoreless frames.

The game was the second of a three-game series. Philadelphia won the opener 14-9 on Tuesday, while Washington took Monday’s game 4-1. The Phillies are scheduled to send a starting pitcher to the mound Thursday for the series finale before traveling to New York to face the Mets. The Nationals will host the Phillies again Thursday before heading to Baltimore for a weekend set.

In the final inning, Hill became the hero, capping a game that featured four home runs total. The Nationals had taken an early lead on solo shots from García and Vivas, but the Phillies answered with three runs in the fourth. Washington tied it with Mead’s sixth-inning blast, but the Phillies responded immediately in the ninth.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Washington Nationals 6, Philadelphia Phillies 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Philadelphia with a 57.60 percent probability to win. Philadelphia had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5.