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Between one of Jason Marquis' worst outings of the year, a bullpen that gave up another three runs after the starter left the game, a defense that made two errors an offense that showed its proclivity to strand runners in bunches, the Nationals turned in an ugly performance in their 9-1 loss to the Phillies on Friday.
Ryan Zimmerman's four hits were the only highlight of the night for the Nationals, and even the third baseman made an error, overthrowing Adam Dunn on Roy Oswalt's grounder in the fourth inning. The Nationals were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and left seven runners on base.
Marquis' start, which lasted just one out and six runs, was the most concerning part of the evening. He ended a five-start stretch where he hadn't given up more than three runs, and reverted to the form he'd shown at the beginning of the year, when he was one of the worst starters in the majors. He'll go into his next outing against the Astros needing to rebound from his second-worst outing of the year.
The loss dropped the Nationals to 62-85, and killed some of the momentum they generated from taking two out of three in Atlanta. They'll send Jordan Zimmermann to the mound on Saturday in hopes of evening the series at a game apiece.
