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He did, and the Philadelphia Phillies took advantage.

Maikel Franco went 4 for 4, Carlos Santana homered and the Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals 5-3 on Saturday.

”The way (we’ve) been swinging lately, I just felt like if I kept putting up zeros and battling out there they were going to come through and score some more runs,” Nola said.

With the Phillies leading 3-2 in the eighth, Santana sent a drive into the Philadelphia bullpen in left-center field off Kelvin Herrera for his 13th homer of the season and second in two games. Franco later added an RBI single.

Philadelphia’s Odubel Herrera, who had homered in five straight games, went 0 for 4.

The Phillies have won five of six while the Nationals have lost three of four, scoring a total of nine runs. Anthony Rendon homered for Washington.

”Look, I’ve got all the confidence in the world we’re going to start hitting,” manager Dave Martinez said. ”We’ll start scoring some runs. Right now the bullpen is a little beat up. We’ve got to get them going again.”

Nola (9-2) stiffened after giving up two runs in the first inning. He didn’t allow a hit after the second and left following the sixth. He also hit an RBI single.

Seranthony Dominguez worked the ninth for his fourth save.

Erick Fedde (0-3) allowed three runs on eight hits in six-plus innings.

”They have a lot of patient hitters,” Fedde said. ”I think that’s what makes it tough. Guys aren’t swinging at bunch of junk, so you have to attack them.”

With the score 2-all, Franco doubled leading off the seventh and moved to third on a groundout. Pinch-hitter Jesmuel Valentin lifted a fly to right, Franco tagged and just beat Adam Eaton’s throw home with the safe call surviving a replay challenge.

”That was just a tremendous all-around baseball game Russell Bodine Jersey ,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said of Franco’s day.

Daniel Murphy’s two-run single in the first inning gave Washington the early lead, but the Phillies strung together four two-out singles – the last by Nola – in the second to tie it.

BUNTER’S CHANCE

For the second consecutive game, Harper tried to beat the shift with a first-inning bunt. Friday night, he bunted foul before striking out and Saturday he was thrown out by Nola.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: RHP Jerad Eickhoff (right lat strain) threw a 35-pitch bullpen session and will likely throw another session in a few days.

Nationals: 1B Ryan Zimmerman (right oblique strain) is expected to go on a rehabilitation assignment within the next week, according to Martinez. … RHP Jeremy Hellickson (right hamstring strain) will pitch Sunday for Class A Potomac and is expected to rejoin the rotation after the one rehab start. … RH reliever Brandon Kintzler (right foreman flexor strain) will also pitch at Potomac on Sunday.

UP NEXT

Phillies: RHP Nick Pivetta (4-6, 4.08), acquired from Washington in the trade for Jonathan Papelbon, pitches the finale. He’s 0-2 with an 11.81 ERA in three starts against the Nationals.

Nationals: RHP Jefry Rodriguez (0-0, 4.66) makes his second big league start.

The MLB’s Rangers selected Wilson in the Triple-A portion of the Rule 5 draft during the winter meetings in December 2013, about two months before he led the Seahawks to a win over Denver in the Super Bowl.

On Wednesday, Texas traded Wilson to the Yankees for future considerations.

Wilson spent a day in uniform with the Rangers at spring training in Surprise, Arizona, in 2014 without appearing in a game, and made another cameo appearance at camp the following spring. An infielder, Wilson hit .229 in two seasons in the low minor leagues in Colorado’s system in 2010-11.

The 29-year-old Wilson is expected to be in the Yankees major league camp in March Phillip Gaines Jersey , where he will participate in pregame workouts and watch games from the Yankees dugout while in Florida. He will be assigned to the Double-A Trenton roster.

”We’ve admired Russell’s career from afar for quite some time,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said.

”This is a unique opportunity for us to learn from an extraordinary athlete who has reached the pinnacle of his profession. After talking to a number of our players, there is a genuine excitement in having Russell join us for a short time in camp.”

Wilson issued a statement thanking the Rangers for giving him the chance to experience professional baseball again.

”Growing up taking grounders, hitting BP, and throwing deep post routes early in the mornings with my dad and brother is where my love of sports came from, and those memories stick with me every morning I wake up,” Wilson said.

”I remember how excited I was when Texas selected me in the Rule 5 Draft in December 2013. During my two springs in Arizona with the Rangers, I was reminded just how much I love the game of baseball.”

A two-sport athlete in college, Wilson graduated from North Carolina State University in 2010. In 2011, he left the Rockies organization for football to be a graduate transfer at Wisconsin, leading to the Badgers to a share of the Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl appearance before the Seahawks took him in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft.

”While football is my passion and my livelihood, baseball remains a huge part of where I came from and who I am today,” Wilson said.

”I’ve learned so much on the baseball field that translates to my game physically and mentally playing quarterback in the NFL. … While I embrace the chance to be a New York Yankee, I will forever be grateful to have been a part of a world class organization like the Texas Rangers.”

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