PHILADELPHIA (Interstat) — The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 9-5 on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park, using a four-run eighth inning to break open a close game and improve to 65-38.

Dalton Rushing, the rookie catcher who entered the game in a 0-for-12 slump over his previous four starts, went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs to lead the Dodgers. Tommy Edman finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs, including a tie-breaking triple in the eighth inning. Max Muncy added a two-run homer.

The Phillies struck first in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Kyle Schwarber singled off Dodgers starter Eric Lauer. Alec Bohm then drove a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall for his 13th home run, giving Philadelphia a 2-0 lead.

Los Angeles answered in the third inning. Rushing led off with a solo homer to center field, his 11th of the season, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

The Dodgers took the lead in the fifth. Teoscar Hernández singled with one out and Edman followed with a single to put runners at the corners. Rushing then doubled to right field, driving in both runners and giving Los Angeles a 3-2 advantage. After an intentional walk to Shohei Ohtani, Andy Pages grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Philadelphia tied the game in the bottom half of the fifth. Bryan De La Cruz led off with a home run to center field, his first of the season, making the score 3-3. Bryson Stott followed with a double, but Lauer escaped further damage by getting a popout, a fielder’s choice and a popout.

The Dodgers regained the lead in the sixth. Freddie Freeman led off with his second double of the game, and Muncy followed by crushing a 1-0 pitch to center field for his 20th home run, giving Los Angeles a 5-3 advantage. Lauer worked a scoreless sixth, then departed after allowing three earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings. Jack Dreyer and Brock Stewart combined for 1 2/3 scoreless innings to preserve the lead.

The decisive eighth inning began with Andy Pages lining a single to center field off Phillies reliever Seth Johnson. Freeman walked. After Muncy popped out, Mookie Betts walked to load the bases. Kyle Tucker hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Pages to make it 6-3. Teoscar Hernández walked, reloading the bases. Edman then tripled to center field, clearing the bases and giving the Dodgers a 9-3 lead.

Philadelphia answered in the bottom of the eighth. Trea Turner walked, and after a strikeout, Bryce Harper walked. Alec Bohm singled to right field, scoring Turner to cut the lead to 9-4. But Edmundo Sosa grounded out to end the threat.

In the ninth, the Phillies mounted a final rally. Brandon Marsh singled with one out and moved to second on a flyout. J.T. Realmuto singled sharply to left field, scoring Marsh to make it 9-5. But Trea Turner struck out to end the game.

Eric Lauer earned the win, improving to 5-5. Aaron Nola took the loss, falling to 3-8 after allowing five earned runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings with four strikeouts and one intentional walk.

Alec Bohm had a standout game for the Phillies, going 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Freddie Freeman went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk for the Dodgers. Alex McFarlane pitched a scoreless ninth for Philadelphia, allowing one hit. Jack Dreyer struck out one in a perfect seventh inning for the Dodgers. Brock Stewart recorded two outs without allowing a hit. Seth Johnson gave up one run on one hit in two-thirds of an inning.

Attendance was announced at 40,675. The game lasted 3 hours, 5 minutes.

The Dodgers have won two of the three games in this series after losing the opener 10-7 on Monday. They won the second game 2-1 on Tuesday. The series finale is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

Philadelphia dropped to 56-47 with the loss. The Phillies have lost two straight after winning three consecutive games.

The Dodgers’ recent schedule has been a mix of success and struggle. They had won four of five before Monday’s loss, including a sweep of the New York Yankees in a three-game series on July 17-19. The Phillies entered Wednesday having lost four of their last six, including a 6-1 loss to the New York Mets on Sunday.

Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Ohtani finished 0-for-4 with an intentional walk and a strikeout. Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper struck out three times in four plate appearances.

Rushing’s performance was a welcome sight for the Dodgers. The catcher had been 0-for-4 in each of his previous four games, including an 0-for-4 night in Monday’s 10-7 loss to the Phillies. He also had an 0-for-3 against the Yankees on July 17 and an 0-for-3 against Arizona on July 11.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Philadelphia 6, Los Angeles 4. The ELO system gave the Dodgers a 55.00 percent probability to win. Los Angeles was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5 runs. The combined 14 runs scored went under the over-under line of 10.