Though the Nationals failed to score through the last eight innings of the game, what mattered in the end came in the inning in which it did.

CJ Abrams led things off at the plate by drilling a Zach Wheeler curveball into right field to get to first. From there, Washington’s next four at-bats featured a hit, with the latter two from catcher Keibert Ruiz (1 for 4, two RBIs, one run) and first baseman Dominic Smith (2 for 4, two RBIs) driving in a combined four runs.

“We got the bats going early and it paid off,” said Abrams on the inning. “That was the only four runs we scored, so that was pretty big.”

From there, not much happened offensively, with the occasional hit typically being followed by a great defensive play to strand that runner. The best example of that came in the eighth for the Phillies, where they followed up allowing the Nationals to obtain corners with one out on the board by pulling off an incredible double play.

MARK NANCE/For The Express Philadelphia Philies second baseman Bryson Stott fields a ground ball for a put out at second base in the first inning of the MLB Little League Classic at Historic Bowman Stadium Sunday.

From the mound, Washington starter Trevor Williams pitched two-thirds of the game without surrendering a run.

He may not have finished with a lot of strikeouts, posting just four against 23 batters faced. But his pitches consistently forced poorly placed balls from the Phillies, with just two of their 16 balls in play resulting in a Philly runner getting on base.

“He settled down after the first inning. His change-up and two-seamer worked really, really well,” said Nationals manager Dave Martinez on Trevor Williams. “I feel like that was the key. His change-up was really good, his two-seamer was really good. Great combination for Trevor. To give us six innings today was tremendous.”

On the other end, Phillies starting pitcher Zach Wheeler settled down as well. Through the next six innings, he allowed zero runs, two hits and one walk while striking out four batters.

“We faced a tough pitcher in Wheeler tonight, so to come out and jump on him like that was great,” said Martinez. “But he settled down as well and made some tough pitches.”

MARK NANCE/For The Express Washington Nationals Dominic Smith is congratulated by his first base coach after hitting a single in the first inning of the MLB Little League Classic at Historic Bowman Stadium Sunday.

Up until the last out, the Nationals kept the Phillies off the scoreboard and seemed well on their way to securing their fourth shutout of the season and first since June.

But Philadelphia second baseman Bryson Stott was able to advance to second before centerfielder Brandon Marsh batted him home with a deep single to centerfield. Then, after Washington switched pitchers, subbing in Kyle Finnegan for Jordan Weems, Phillies leftfielder Jack Cave crushed his second home run of the series, fifth of the season, to get them within one.

Finnegan struck out J.T. Realmuto and just like that, the run was over. The loss was tough for the Phillies, who are enduring a bit of a rough patch in which they’ve dropped five of their last seven. But Phillies manager Rob Thomson wasn’t too worried about it, attributing it to the ups and downs of the season.

“The whole day was great, other than the loss,” said Thomson. “The energy level in the Little League stadium, watching the kids run around and have fun. It just takes you back to your childhood.”

Philadelphia still leads the NL Wild Card race after falling to 67-57 on the season tonight and will be back home tomorrow for the start of its next series against San Francisco. Washington improves to 57-68, having won seven of its last nine games, and should carry a good amount of momentum into its upcoming road series against the Yankees beginning on Tuesday.

Jake Cave, left, and Brandon Marsh run off the field laughing before the 2023 Little League Classic at Bowman Field Sunday Aug. 20, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

Lane Thomas of the National rounds the bases and scores in the first inning against the Phillies during the 2023 Little League Classic at Bowman Field Sunday Aug. 20, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

Zack Wheeler of the Phillies throws in the first inning against the Washington Nationals during the 2023 Little League Classic at Bowman Field Sunday Aug. 20, 2023. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express Fans leave Bowman Field after the MLB Little League Classic.

DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express Brandon Marsh signs autographs for fans prior to Sunday's MLB LIttle League Classic.