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Had someone told you on Thursday the Nationals would outhit and outscore the Florida Marlins in the 3-game series that would begin the post-All Star part of the schedule, you would have gladly taken it.
The Nats did just that - and lost 2 of 3 to the Fish.
What a bizarre series. No home runs by either team, a grand total of 7 runs scored by both teams in 3 games, Washington outhit Florida 27-14, and just the lone Friday night victory to show for it.
The Nationals' pitching staff cumulative ERA dropped to 4.14 after the series. By comparison, their next opponents, the Cincinnati Reds, have a cumulative 4.13 ERA, and they were in first place in the NL Central to start the day.
Washington's bullpen put together 7 innings of no-hit, one walk and 4 strikeout relief during the series, but the bats couldn't solve Josh Johnson or Alejandro Sanabia on Saturday and Sunday.
Craig Stammen showed once again why the organization has such high hopes for his future; when some of the veterans currently rehabbing start coming back to the active roster, he may be well-positioned to hang around.
One other note: I know the announced attendance today was over 21,000, but there couldn't have been more than about 5,000 fans in the seats. If a new stadium in Miami (scheduled to open in 2012) doesn't do it for the Marlins, MLB's decision to expand to Florida in the first place will look even worse. It's not like the Marlins have had any trouble winning ballgames these past few years, but when you win and people still don't show up, what's the solution?
