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If his right arm isn’t healed in time for his next start Marvin Harrison Jersey , maybe Vince Velasquez can pitch with his left.

Ambidextrous, indeed.

Hit on his pitching arm by a line drive, Velasquez made a dazzling throw with his left hand, and Philadelphia overcame an early injury to its starting pitcher to beat the Washington Nationals 3-2 on Saturday night.

”It is well-known he is one of our best all-around athletes,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. ”You just would never predict that.”

Velasquez was struck in the forearm by Adam Eaton’s liner in the second inning. He dropped his glove, hustled to retrieve the ball as it deflected toward third base, and unleashed a strong toss with his opposite arm that nipped the speedy Eaton at first for the final out.

”I tried to finish the play,” Velasquez said.

The Phillies pitcher actually spent his junior season in high school as a lefty-throwing center fielder due to bone chips in his pitching arm that prevented him from taking the mound.

And on Friday night, Velasquez startled Phillies first baseman Carlos Santana by throwing a ball to him left-handed from the dugout in between innings.

”Kind of warmed up for that play today,” Velasquez joked.

So, Velasquez knew he could throw left-handed – he just didn’t know if he could make an accurate toss.

”I actually surprised myself throwing a strike right there,” he said.

After completing the play, Velasquez then dropped to the ground Le'Raven Clark Jersey , writhing in pain and clutching his right arm. He was pulled from the game with a bruise, having allowed one run and three hits.

X-rays were negative, a better result than he anticipated.

”I thought something was broken,” he said. ”Thanks to God, nothing is severe.”

Kapler said Velasquez would be further evaluated on Sunday. The pitcher said it was ”up in the air” whether he would be able to take his next turn in the rotation.

”We’ll see how it feels,” he said.

Victor Arano (1-0) followed Velasquez with two scoreless innings.

Odubel Herrera homered and Jorge Alfaro and Aaron Altherr had RBI doubles as the Phillies bounced back from a 17-7 loss. Anthony Rendon homered for the Nationals, who went deep seven times in Friday night’s romp at Citizens Bank Park, but managed just eight hits against six Philadelphia pitchers.

”I thought we were going to score more than two runs after yesterday’s performance,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. ”We had our chances.”

Yacksel Rios kept Philadelphia in front by getting out of a jam in the eighth. After Adam Morgan allowed the first two runners to reach on a single and a walk, Rios entered and got Rendon to line out to right, Juan Soto to pop out and Mark Reynolds to ground out.

Rookie Seranthony Dominguez pitched a scoreless ninth for his seventh save in his eighth chances. Dominguez retired the first two batters before pinch-hitter Daniel Murphy doubled to right, but the right-hander retired Eaton on a flyball.

”Cool as a cucumber,” Kapler said. ”A special performance.”

Jeremy Hellickson (2-1) returned to the mound for Washington after being sidelined since June 4 with a right hamstring strain. The veteran right-hander allowed three runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings with four strikeouts and two walks.

RED-HOT RENDON

Rendon is batting .396 in his last 13 games T.Y. Hilton Jersey , with hits in 12 of those contests. His 85 career hits against Philadelphia are tied for his most against any opponent.

WHAT A THROW

Alfaro upped his major-league lead to 15 base runners caught stealing when he nailed the swift Trea Turner for the final out in the fifth. Turner entered second in the majors with 22 steals, but was easily out.

”Alfaro threw a bullet,” Martinez said.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Nationals: RHP Stephen Strasburg (right shoulder inflammation), out since June 10, threw a bullpen session on Saturday. … Washington transferred 1B Ryan Zimmerman, who has been out since May 10 with a strained right oblique, to the 60-day DL.

UP NEXT

The teams close out the four-game series on Sunday afternoon with Washington LHP Gio Gonzalez (6-5, 3.68) facing Phillies RHP Jake Arrieta (5-6, 3.54).

WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals will try to build off an historic win when they host the Miami Marlins on Friday night.

Washington fell behind Miami 9-0 in the top of the fourth inning Thursday night but rallied for an improbable 14-12 victory, snapping a five-game losing streak one night after a players-only meeting.

The win marked the largest comeback in Nationals’ history (2005-present) and tied the Montreal/Washington franchise mark.

“This is what this team’s capable of,” Matt Adams, who went 4-for-5 in his return from a fractured index finger, told MASN.com. “Tonight Denzelle Good Jersey , we never gave up. We got down big, and we just started chipping away. Put together some good ABs, pitchers started getting outs, and things just kind of fell in sync for us.”

Shortstop Trea Turner hit a grand slam, a solo homer, and finished with eight RBIs while raising his average to .280. He tied the MLB record for RBIs as a a leadoff hitter as the Nationals improved to 43-43 with their 12th straight defeat of the Marlins.

“Trea had an unbelievable day, so good for him,” manager Davey Martinez told MASN.com. “I’ve said this before, but for me, he’s an All-Star.”

The Marlins (36-53) got home runs from Brian Anderson, Justin Bour and Martin Prado, who was activated from the disabled list earlier in the day, as they matched a record of their own — the largest blown lead in team history — after jumping on Nationals starter Jeremy Hellickson.

“We didn’t help ourselves Anthony Castonzo Jersey ,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly told the Miami Herald. “We played good defense. We didn’t make an error all night, but you can’t walk eight guys with that club over there. We let them back in the game and we couldn’t stop the momentum.”

Anderson’s three-run homer pulled Miami within 14-12 in the eighth inning.

Rookie Pablo Lopez got a no-decision despite receiving nine runs of run support in his second career start. He tossed five innings and allowed five earned runs on five hits while striking out three and walking two.

“I didn’t have my best secondary stuff and they just started putting good swings on my fastball,” Lopez told the Herald. “Hitters make adjustments and I have to make mine trying to spin my breaking ball better and locate my changeup.”

Left-hander Gio Gonzalez (6-5, 3.77) tries to turn Thursday’s win into a mini streak for Washington on Friday night. The Nationals have lost his last four starts with Gonzalez allowing 16 runs in 16 innings, though one start was shortened by a rain delay. He is winless in his last six outings.

In his last start, Gonzalez cruised through four innings of a no-decision against the Phillies before coming apart in the fifth, allowing three runs to tie the game in a 40-pitch fifth inning that included three walks.

“He fell behind that inning, and that’s what happens,” Martinez told the Washington Post. “When he falls behind and walks guys, bad things happen.”

Gonzalez is 10-3 with a 1.85 ERA in 16 starts versus Miami.

Marlins right-hander Dan Straily (3-4, 4.70) has allowed three or more earned runs in each of his last five starts. In a loss to the Mets on Sunday, he gave up three runs on five hits over seven innings.

Straily is 0-1 with a 4.03 ERA in five starts against the Nationals.