WASHINGTON (Interstat) — Daylen Lile hit a pinch-hit, three-run home run in the seventh inning, and the Washington Nationals defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 on Tuesday night at Nationals Park. The Nationals improved to 71-81. The Phillies fell to 83-68. Washington finished with nine hits, while Philadelphia had five. The game took 2 hours, 25 minutes and drew 23,952.

Philadelphia opened the scoring in the first. Kyle Schwarber walked, moved to third on Bryce Harper’s groundout and scored on Alec Bohm’s sharp single to center. Luis Arraez also walked before Bryan De La Cruz struck out. Washington answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Brady House doubled, Yohandy Morales doubled him home, Jacob Young was hit by a pitch and Jorbit Vivas singled in Morales. Harry Ford struck out to end the inning.

The Phillies tied the game in the third. Trea Turner singled, advanced on Harper’s groundout and scored on Luis Arraez’s double to left. Alec Bohm walked, but Bryan De La Cruz lined out to right. Washington threatened in the bottom half when Andrés Chaparro doubled and Brady House walked, but Morales struck out and Young flied out to right. Both teams went down in order in the fourth.

Philadelphia took a 3-2 lead in the fifth when Kyle Schwarber hit a leadoff home run to right field, his 45th of the season. Trea Turner popped out, Bryce Harper grounded out and Luis Arraez grounded out. Washington tied it in the bottom half. Nasim Nuñez singled, Dylan Crews flied out and Andrés Chaparro homered to center, his 11th of the season. Brady House then grounded out.

Washington starter Jackson Kent kept the game close after that. He completed five innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts. The Phillies went down in order in the sixth and seventh, while Washington also went quietly in the sixth.

The decisive rally came in the seventh. Harry Ford singled to center, and Andrew Pinckney followed with a single to right. Nasim Nuñez sacrificed the runners to second and third. Daylen Lile, batting as a pinch-hitter and remaining in left field, then hit a three-run homer to center. The drive scored Ford and Pinckney and gave Washington a 6-3 lead. James Wood and Brady House struck out to end the inning.

Philadelphia tried to answer in the eighth. Trea Turner lined out to left, Bryce Harper struck out and Luis Arraez doubled to right. Alec Bohm grounded out to second to strand Arraez. Washington went down in order in the bottom of the eighth on a flyout by Abimelec Ortiz, a lineout by Jacob Young and a strikeout by Jorbit Vivas.

In the ninth, Bryan De La Cruz grounded out, Bryson Stott flied out to left and J.T. Realmuto lined out sharply to third baseman Brady House. Erik Tolman worked a perfect inning for his third save of the season. Richard Lovelady earned the win in relief. He improved to 3-4 after pitching a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out one. Yovanny Cruz threw 1 2/3 hitless innings. Tolman finished with one inning of no-hit relief.

Cristopher Sánchez took the loss for Philadelphia. He fell to 17-6 after allowing five earned runs on eight hits over 6 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five. Chase Shugart pitched a scoreless inning of relief with one strikeout. Washington’s bullpen allowed one hit over the final 3 2/3 innings, and the three-run seventh proved decisive.

Lile led Washington’s offense with a 1-for-1 performance, one home run and three RBIs. Chaparro went 2-for-3 with a home run and one RBI. Kent turned in five innings with four hits, three earned runs, three walks and four strikeouts. Tolman recorded one inning with no hits and no earned runs. Lovelady allowed one hit and no earned runs in one inning. Arraez went 2-for-3 with one RBI for Philadelphia. Schwarber went 1-for-3 with a home run and one RBI. Sánchez lasted 6 1/3 innings with eight hits, five earned runs, two walks and five strikeouts. Shugart added a scoreless inning with one strikeout.

Philadelphia had won two of three against Atlanta before arriving in Washington, including a 9-4 victory on Sunday. Washington had swept a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels, capped by a 6-5 win on Sunday. The teams continue the series Wednesday at Nationals Park. Philadelphia then travels to New York for a four-game series against the Mets. Washington begins a three-game series at St. Louis on Friday.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Philadelphia Phillies 4, Washington Nationals 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Philadelphia a 60.8 percent probability to win. Philadelphia was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 9 went under the over/under line of 8.