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WASHINGTON — Bryce Harper made some strides at the plate Thursday night just as the Washington Nationals prepare to welcome the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies to town for a weekend series.

Moved back to the leadoff spot by manager Dave Martinez [url=http://www.ravenscheapstores.com/brent-urban-jersey-cheap]Brent Urban Jersey[/url] , Harper walked twice and had a sacrifice fly and a double in four plate appearances during a 4-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Harper doubled in the eighth inning of a tie game and came in on Juan Soto’s two-run double and the Nationals took two of three from the Orioles.

“I was able to see a lot of pitches tonight,” Harper told the Washington Times after the Nationals (40-33) improved to 9-1 with him in the leadoff spot.

Harper began the night hitting .133 (8-for-60) in June, with five walks and 23 strikeouts.

“My swing has felt great,” Harper told mlb.com. “I’ve felt great the past month and a half or so, just chasing pitches. Tonight, I tried to do the best I could to get a ball over the middle (of the plate), and I was able to do that.”

The 19-year-old Soto just continues to hit. Thursday night he went 1-for-3 with a walk in the cleanup spot and enters the weekend hitting .326 with six homers and 16 RBIs over 92 major-league at-bats.

“I think we’re all amazed every single day,” Washington starter Max Scherzer told mlb.com. “He’s a great young player. He’s just enjoying himself. He’s the bat we kind of need in our lineup right now, that’s hot. And teams are going to have to figure out how to get him out, because it’s tough right now.”

Friday night that task falls to Philadelphia right-hander Zach Eflin (4-2, 3.43 ERA). He has won three straight starts, allowing four runs over 18 2/3 innings while striking out 17 batters and walking just three after pitching five effective innings Saturday in Milwaukee.

Elfin will be making his first career start against Washington, which counters with right-hander Tanner Roark (3-7, 3.87).

Roark gave up four runs on eight hits over four innings of in an 8-6 loss at Toronto on Sunday.

On May 5 he lost to the Phillies in Washington when he allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings. For his career, he is 6-7 with a 3.98 ERA in 18 games (16 starts) versus the Phillies.

The Phillies (39-33) trail the second-place Nationals by one-half game in the NL East and trail the Braves by 3 1/3 games. Philadelphia has won seven of its last 10 games and has taken three straight series — against Colorado, at Milwaukee and against St. Louis — as it begins a 10-game stretch against the Nationals and Yankees.

“I think coming off this series [url=http://www.ravenscheapstores.com/c.j.-mosley-jersey-cheap]C.J. Mosley Jersey[/url] , we anticipate a highly-competitive series against a good ballclub on the road, and it seems like we’re ready for that challenge,” Philadelphia right-hander Jake Arrieta told mlb.com.

Off on Thursday, the Phillies defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 on Wednesday.

Odubel Herrera hit what proved to be the game-winning home run in the seventh inning to go along with a single and a double.

“It was one of those ‘Wow’ moments,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler told the Courier Post. “He’s so hot, but he’s such an incredible athlete. It’s really elite barrel accuracy. I don’t know how to describe it. He just knows how to find the barrel, find the sweet spot.”

Herrera is hitting .419 (13-for-31) with two doubles, five home runs, eight RBIs in the past seven games. He is 13-for-31 (.419) versus Roark.

Andrew Heaney was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers for a few hours early in his major league career.

Heaney is still hoping to convince their front office they should have given him a longer look five years ago. He’ll get another opportunity Sunday evening when he takes the mound for the Los Angeles Angels in the series finale against the Dodgers at Angel Stadium.

The Dodgers (48-40) gave up two runs in the ninth inning and lost the series opener 3-2 on Friday night, then held on for a 3-1 win against the Angels (45-45) on Saturday.

Heaney was traded from the Miami Marlins to the Dodgers at the winter meetings Dec. 12, 2014, but a few hours later the Dodgers dealt him to the Angels for popular second baseman Howie Kendrick.

Heaney had two chances to beat the Dodgers during the 2015 season, but lost both games. He gave up two runs and four hits in 5 1/3 innings of a 3-1 loss at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 1 of that season. Five weeks later at Angel Stadium, he gave up five runs and six hits in five innings of a 6-4 loss.

Heaney had Tommy John surgery in June 2016 and made only six starts over the next two seasons.

Heaney (4-6, 3.94) had a solid month of May this season, posting a 2-3 record and 2.41 ERA in six starts. He had a winning mark of 2-1 in June [url=http://www.losangelesramsteamonline.com/todd-gurley-jersey]Womens Todd Gurley Jersey[/url] , but his ERA dipped to 4.45 for the month. In his only start in July, he gave up three runs and five hits in seven innings at the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday, taking the loss in the 4-1 defeat.

“It’s sort of been the same old story for a little while, just sort of the big innings where I let it kind of build,” Heaney told reporters after his latest outing. “It’s something where I need to come out and establish earlier, kind of get ahead, and all the other same stuff we always talk about.”

Heaney will be opposed by Dodgers left-hander Alex Wood, who will be aiming to win his fifth straight start. Wood also won all five appearances in May of last season on his way to an 11-0 start.

Wood (5-5, 3.84) probably didn’t expect to have a chance to go over .500 by early July after dropping to 0-4 on May 15.

“Winning is just nice,” Wood told Sportsnet after his latest start, a 17-1 win against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday. “Four in a row is nice, especially where I was after that three-start stretch. So I feel good, just trying to keep moving forward and looking towards the future. Hopefully, we’ll keep swinging the bats well and play well going into the All-Star break.”

The Angels are the only American League West team Wood has not faced in his major league career.

He struggled in his only interleague start this season, giving up seven runs and seven hits over 3 2/3 innings in a 16-6 loss to the visiting Oakland A’s on April 11.