Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals: Final Score & Recap

The Washington Nationals defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 at Nationals Park on September 15, 2026, overcoming an early deficit to pull away with a decisive seventh-inning burst. The DiamondIQ model entered the game giving Washington a 46% chance of winning at home, but by the final out that figure had climbed to 100%, reflecting how thoroughly the Nationals controlled the game's second half.

The pivotal sequence began in the bottom of the fifth, when Andrés Chaparro connected on a home run off Cristopher Sánchez, a swing that shifted win probability by +13.6 points and gave Washington meaningful momentum — though Kyle Schwarber had answered earlier with a solo shot off Jackson Kent in the top of the fifth, a play that swung things +12.3 points in Philadelphia's favor. The game's defining moment came in the bottom of the seventh, when Daylen Lile launched a home run off Jonathan Bowlan, the single biggest play of the evening at +22.8 win-probability points. That blow effectively sealed the outcome, with Washington outscoring Philadelphia 3-0 in that frame to build an insurmountable cushion. Washington's two most damaging negative swings came from missed opportunities: Dylan Crews' flyout off Sánchez in the fifth cost the Nationals 10.4 probability points, and Jacob Young's flyout in the third cost another 9.4, though the lineup ultimately did enough damage elsewhere to render those outs inconsequential.

Lile finished as the game's top performer by WPA at +22.8 with a RE24 of +1.9, while Chaparro contributed a combined +19.6 WPA across the evening. Nasim Nuñez added a quieter but meaningful +9.5 WPA showing at +0.9 RE24. On the mound, Yovanny Cruz led Washington's pitching staff with +13.6 WPA, supported by Richard Lovelady at +4.0 and Erik Tolman at +2.4 as the bullpen held Philadelphia scoreless after the fifth inning.