 gave up two runs and four hits. Felipe Rivero pitched the eighth and Jonathan Papelbon escaped trouble in the ninth for his 14th save in 16 tries. Maikel Franco and Ryan Howard hit consecutive doubles off their former teammate to start bottom of the ninth and get the Phillies within one run. But Papelbon struck out pinch-hitter Tommy Joseph and Cesar Hernandez and retired Tyler Goeddel on a liner to second. Jeremy Hellickson threw seven impressive innings for the Phillies before the Nationals rallied off Hector Neris (1-2). Neris had been outstanding in a setup role. He entered with a 1.29 ERA, but three walks hurt him. A two-out walk to Ben Revere, a .176 hitter, preceded Jayson Werth's tying RBI single. After Neris walked Heisey to load the bases, Murphy ripped a two-run single to right. Murphy raised his average to .395 with three hits. Galvis gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead in the sixth on his fifth homer, a drive to right-center. The Phillies took a 1-0 lead on Hellickson's safety squeeze in the second inning. Cesar Hernandez walked, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored when Hellickson put down a perfect bunt. Murphy hit his eighth homer out to right-center in the fourth to tie it at 1. STANDINGSThe NL East-leading Nationals remained one game ahead of the Mets by snapping a four-game losing streak to the Phillies, who've lost four in a row and six of seven to fall to 26-25. GLOVE WORKHoward saved a run in the second inning with a leaping catch on Wilson Ramos' hard liner to first. GLOVE WORK PART 2Revere, the Phillies' former center fielder, robbed Howard of extra bases with a sliding catch on the warning track in the sixth. TRAINER'S ROOMPhillies: OF/INF Cody Asche was 1 for 4 with a home run at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Asche is rehabbing an oblique strain suffered in spring training. UP NEXTRHP Aaron Nola (4-3, 2.86) pitches for the Phillies while RHP Joe Ross (4-4, 2.52) goes for the Nationals. Nola is 0-1, 5.32 in four starts vs. Washington. Ross tossed 7 2/3 scoreless innings in his only start vs. Philadelphia.
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Time: 07:05 P.M. EST Venue: Citizens Bank Park
Mother Nature may be the only one capable of preventing Bryce Harper from producing more fireworks in Philadelphia on Memorial Day. Harper looks to extend a six-game home run streak at Citizens Bank Park when the Washington Nationals open a three-city trip Monday night, though the expected arrival of Tropical Storm Bonnie could put those plans on hold. A forecast of steady rain threatens the opener of this three-game series, though the Phillies may not mind a day off to recover from losing five of six on a rough week-long trek. The offense continued its season-long struggles in the second leg, managing five runs in dropping all three games to the Chicago Cubs over the weekend. After being held to five hits by Kyle Hendricks in Saturday's 4-1 defeat, Philadelphia (26-24) mustered six in Sunday's 7-2 loss to fall to 2-7 over its last nine.'' The Cubs have a very good team, probably the best team in baseball right now and they beat us fair and square,'' manager Pete Mackanin said. "We didn't string any hits together.'' The slump could continue if Tanner Roark (3-4, 2.71 ERA) duplicates his performance against the Phillies on April 28, when the right-hander yielded two hits over seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 Philadelphia win at Nationals Park. He's been sharp in his past two starts as well, limiting Miami to a run over 6 2/3 innings in a victory May 20 and allowing one earned run through seven of Wednesday's 2-0 loss to the Mets. Roark hasn't fared as well at Citizens Bank Park, where he's 1-4 with an 8.27 ERA in four starts and one relief appearance. He surrendered career highs of eight runs and 12 hits in 3 1/3 innings in an 8-5 loss there on June 28. Harper has had no problems hitting in Philadelphia. The reigning NL MVP owns a .325 average and 11 homers in 31 games at Citizens Bank Park and is 14 for 24 with seven homers and 13 RBIs over his past six visits. He went 7 for 11 with six RBIs while homering in each game as the Nationals took two of three in Philadelphia from April 15-17. After scoring eight runs in losing three of four, Washington (30-21) experienced an offensive breakout in Sunday's 10-2 win over St. Louis. Wilson Ramos went 3 for 3 with a homer and four RBIs and Jayson Werth had a pinch-hit grand slam to help Stephen Strasburg move to 9-0 and win his 12th straight decision since September. Anthony Rendon added a solo homer and finished 2 for 4 to increase his average to .381 since May 10." It was good to get (production) from all the guys," manager Dusty Baker said. "We played a good game." Harper is 3 for 6 with five walks against Jeremy Hellickson (4-3, 3.97), who aims for a fourth consecutive quality start. After allowing two earned runs over 13 innings in home wins over Cincinnati and Miami, the former AL Rookie of the Year permitted three while fanning seven over seven in Tuesday's 3-1 loss in Detroit. Hellickson was reached for five earned runs in a season-low three innings in a 9-1 home loss to Washington on April 15, but allowed two hits and struck out eight over seven in a 3-0 win at Nationals Park on April 27, part of a three-game Phillies' sweep. Tommy Joseph homered for Philadelphia on Sunday and is hitting .310 with three homers over his last nine games. The rookie has taken over at first base for the slumping Ryan Howard, who's 6 for 66 since April 30.
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