Nationals 9, Phillies 6: Wilson Ramos homered and drove in four runs as visiting Washington evened its series with Philadelphia at a win apiece.

Corey Brown added a solo shot while Denard Span had three hits in support of Gio Gonzalez (9-6). The veteran lefty allowed five runs - one earned - over 5 2/3 innings while Rafael Soriano secured his 37th save as the Nationals remained 7 1/2 games behind Cincinnati for the second National League wild-card berth.

Ethan Martin (2-4) had his third straight rough outing, charged with five runs on four hits and five walks over 4 2/3 innings. Cody Asche went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs in defeat.

Ramos vaulted the Nationals into the lead in the second inning, drilling a shot over the wall in right-center field to score Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche ahead of him. The Phillies responded in the fourth, as Asche drove a two-run single to center.

Washington restored the three-run lead in the fifth after LaRoche and Ramos drew bases-loaded walks, then tacked on a pair in the sixth on run-scoring singles from Werth and Ian Desmond. Philadelphia responded with three in the bottom half - highlighted by Chase Utley's RBI single to left - but Brown's second career home run gave Washington a three-run cushion in the seventh and the Nationals held on from there.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Span singled to center in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 16 games. ... Washington drew a season-high nine walks. ... Asche, a 23-year-old rookie, has seven RBIs over his last five games.