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WASHINGTON — As the Phillies bus chugs from the airport to the hotel on Thursday night, the Miami outfielder is Marlins Avisaíl García hit a grand slam to beat the Milwaukee Brewers.

Suddenly, a five-game losing slip seemed, well, apocalyptic.

“We were all huddled around a phone on the bus,” Rhys Hoskins said Friday. “That was pretty cool to see. Big fan of Avisaíl García after last night.”

García’s homerun enabled the Phillies to keep the smallest lead over the Brewers for the final National League wildcard. It also lifted their mood just in time for a four-game run against the Washington Nationals, the perfect elixir to stave off a late-season slump.

And in the opener of a scheduled split-admission, day-night doubleheader — amid the threat of rain showers that eventually pushed the nightcap into Saturday — Hoskins hit a homer in the first inning and left-handed Bailey Falter threw six scoreless innings for the Phillies. to a 5-1 win you had to have. The Brewers also won Friday night by beating the Marlins 1-0, leaving the Phillies with the last half-game wildcard spot.

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“I think everyone should take a little deep breath,” Hoskins said. “[Getting swept in] Chicago wasn’t good, simple. But we know we’re still in it, we still have a chance. As long as we keep focusing on what we have in front of us.”

So there’s no better time to face the Nationals with 102 losses. They’ve been the punching bag of the Phillies all season.

Now they can turn out to be a life preserver.

After the Phillies’ ninth straight win over their once mighty rival – and their 14th in 16 games – they waited to see what happened to the Brewers, who faced Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara on Friday night.

The Phillies and Nationals will play three games over the next two days. But the forecast is ominous. Unless the teams can avoid the downpours, they may have to meet here again on Thursday to close out the season if the games prove decisive.

It’s not ideal.

And given how poorly the Phillies have beaten the Nationals — and how much they’ve fought against good teams (the final run of the season is against the American League’s leading Houston Astros) — they need every possible chance to take wins in Washington. .

So it could be that the Phillies’ most formidable foe this weekend is the weather, not the Nationals.

“I’ve heard different stories – it’s getting light; it’s going to be tough,” interim manager Rob Thomson said before Friday night’s rainstorm. ‘I’ve heard everything. They’re going to try to get them in.”

So Hoskins’ 30th homer of the season loomed large. The solo shot against Nationals starter Erick Fedde provided a rare lead and maintained the positive vibe that started perhaps 800 miles away with García’s swing.

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“It was nice to score a run in the first inning and take the lead,” Thomson said. “It kick-started our energy a little bit more. We had good energy, but it pumped everyone up a bit. It was good.”

The Nationals also provided a lot of help. They were caught stealing twice in the third inning with JT Realmuto taking down Victor Robles and Lane Thomas. Rookie shortstop CJ Abrams sailed a throw to first base to lead off the sixth inning, before reliever Jordan Weems later gave up a run two batters to make it 3-0.

Just what the Phillies needed after a rough week in Chicago.

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“It wore on us,” Hoskins said. ‘Look, we’re competitive. We care. We sometimes care too much. But in this game you can’t dwell on it too long. I think we’re in a competition right now. If we keep winning games, we’ll be where we want to be.

“All we can do is focus on what’s going on in Washington.”

And hope the weekend weather cooperates.

When the Phillies added Falter to the starting rotation last month, they usually asked him to play five or six innings and get through a lineup at least twice.

Once again he exceeded expectations.

Falter held the Nationals to three hits and two walks to leave his ERA at 3.07 in his last eight starts. More importantly, the Phillies are 6-2 in those games, with three of those wins after a loss. Falter helped them make three-game skids on August 20 and 31.

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“I mean, that’s great,” Falter said. “Especially after my poor performance in the last game, it felt really good to go out and give the team a chance to win.”

Thomson said, ‘You can’t ask for more. I thought he threw the ball well. He commanded the strike zone, secondary throws were good. It was very good.”

Rookie shortstop Bryson Stott made three nice plays on grounders down the middle, including the bases loaded in the ninth inning. Stott moved behind second base to take the role of César Hernández and made a strong throw to save Seranthony Domínguez from a traffic jam.

“We needed that,” Thomson said.

While Domínguez was not sharp in a 36-pitched appearance, José Alvarado threw a scoreless eighth inning to continue his dominance. Alvarado did not allow a run in 12⅓ innings. He struckout 20 of the last 40 batters he faced and gave up two hits, both basehits.