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Phillies beat Nationals, 3-0, to complete sweep

WASHINGTON - Cameron Rupp roared into second base on Thursday evening and pounded his fists. The Phillies finally found a run, breaking a scoreless tie in the ninth inning against one of baseball's top teams. Rupp skied a fly ball that soared past the reach of Bryce Harper and fell into deep right field, scoring the winning run of a 3-0 victory over the Washington Nationals.

WASHINGTON - Cameron Rupp roared into second base on Thursday evening and pounded his fists. The Phillies finally found a run, breaking a scoreless tie in the ninth inning against one of baseball's top teams. Rupp skied a fly ball that soared past the reach of Bryce Harper and fell into deep right field, scoring the winning run of a 3-0 victory over the Washington Nationals.

The Phillies - the team picked to finish as one of baseball's worst teams - had shocked the first-place Nationals again, completing a three-game sweep at Nationals Park. It was their first sweep in the District since May of 2009. The Phillies had not swept Washington at all since August 2014.

Thursday's finishing touches came against Jonathan Papelbon, the closer that questioned the Phillies desire to win last summer after they traded him to Washington. Papelbon entered in the ninth with no outs and the bases loaded. He allowed all three inherited runners to score. David Lough tacked on an RBI single after Rupp's two-run double.

Did beating Papelbon for the second time in less than two weeks make the sweep even sweeter?

"Absolutely," Rupp said. "It's always sweet, especially sweeping these guys in your division. You know, a lot of people write us off, saying we don't want to win. That's not true. I mean, we come out here to play. We have fun. And it shows. We've won close games. We haven't really out-slugged anybody yet, but that's coming. We're surprising a lot of people already, and we're going to continue to do it."

The Phillies trained home from Washington's Union Station on Thursday night with a record that is two-games better than .500, 12-10.

They sealed the sweep by holding the Nationals scoreless for the final 22 innings of the series. Aaron Nola was responsible on Thursday for seven of those innings. The righthander had his finest start of the season with seven strikeouts and one walk in seven innings. The Phillies have totaled five shutouts in the season's first month. They did not record their fifth shutout last season until August.

"You have to hand it to the pitching," manager Pete Mackanin said. "Can't say enough about it. It's the reason we've won games."

Nola was pulled after just 77 pitches. It was the third-lowest pitch count of his career. Mackanin said the team needed to score runs. He pinch-hit for Nola with one out in the eighth and the game tied at zero. Pinch-hitter Emmanuel Burris unsuccessfully attempted to reach on a bunt. Burris has just one hit this season in his first 19 at-bats.

Nola kept the Nationals off balance with his curveball, which he threw for 27 of his 77 pitches. He used the pitch for each of his seven strikeouts. The Nationals did not get a hit off the curveball or even drive it out of the infield.

"It was pretty nasty, wasn't it?," Rupp said. "That's as good as it's been this year for sure."

Instead of his curveball, it was a two-seam fastball that Nola leaned on in his most crucial situation. Nola faced Harper with two outs and a runner on third in the sixth inning. The first pitch was a two-seamer, which Nola hoped would tail away from the slugger. The pitch obeyed, and Harper pounded it into the ground to second base. Cesar Hernandez, who was shifted towards first base, made a running stab and fired across his body to first for an incredible out.

Mackanin wanted Nola to face Washington's best hitter. The Phillies cannot walk Harper every time, the manager said. It was an indication, Mackanin said, of the confidence he has in his pitcher.

"I wasn't planning on walking him. I wasn't thinking about an intentional walk," Nola said. "I was just going to go right after him."

Nola was finished an inning later. Dalier Hinojosa and Elvis Araujo pieced together the eighth. Hinojosa injured his hand after being hit by a line drive, which forced him to misplay what would have been the final out. Araujo entered and walked his first batter to load the bases for Harper with two outs. Like Nola, Araujo attacked. He struck him out on three pitches. The game was still scoreless. But not for much longer.

mbreen@phillynews.com

@matt_breen www.philly.com/philliesblog