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

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 Nick Bosa Jersey ,” 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, 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 L.J. Collier Jersey ,” 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, 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 Marquise Blair Jersey , 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).

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — When the Philadelphia Eagles went to New Orleans in Week 11, their leaders lost their composure before the team lost the game.Carson Wentz walked off the field punching at the air after throwing one of his three interceptions D.K. Metcalf Jersey , an uncharacteristic display of frustration by the third-year quarterback.Malcolm Jenkins raised two middle fingers to his former head coach Sean Payton after Alvin Kamara beat him for a 37-yard touchdown catch on fourth-and-7 in the fourth quarter and the Saints already leading by 31 points. Then Jenkins slammed his helmet to the turf on the sideline.The Eagles were beat up physically and mentally in a 48-7 loss that dropped their record to 4-6. It was the most lopsided defeat by a defending Super Bowl champion and it wouldn’t have been a surprise if the season spiraled downward.Instead, the Eagles were resilient. They didn’t give up. They didn’t quit. They rallied around each other. Now they have the rematch they wanted.The Eagles (10-7) are heading back to New Orleans to face the Saints (13-3) in a divisional playoff game on Sunday.“Neither team is going to start this game with a lead and neither team is going to start with an advantage because of something that happened, it seems like another season ago,” defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said Tuesday.“When you get beat the way we did, it’s easy to play into negativity. It’s easy to get down, but our guys got more determined I think and our guys stayed positive and we were able to have some good results and make it back there.”This won’t be the same team playing against the Saints in the Superdome.Wentz went down with a back injury and Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles stepped in to lead Philadelphia to four straight wins, including a 16-15 comeback victory at Chicago in the wild-card round.The offense has found its rhythm, averaging 25.4 points while going 6-1 since that loss. They scored 20.5 points per game in the first 10 games.“I think we’ve made a lot of improvements since that last game,” offensive coordinator Mike Groh said. “Feeling good about where we are offensively. Obviously Cody Barton Jersey , every week there’s things that you want to improve in and get better at based on what people try to do to you. We know we have a tremendous challenge. They are an excellent defense. They have had a really good year and done a lot of things really well.“So, we’re excited for it. We’ve created a great opportunity for ourselves to be here in the divisional round and looking forward to getting back there.A secondary depleted by season-ending injuries to three starters and stitched together by deep reserves and guys off the street has gained experience and built chemistry since Drew Brees dominated them for 363 yards and four touchdowns the first time around.“We can pull some positives from it,” Schwartz said. “There were some good plays in there; they are hard to find, but there are some good plays that our guys can gain a lot of confidence in that and say, ‘Hey, we can get this done.'”