Washington lost, 5-0, and extended its losing streak to seven games.
PHILADELPHIA — The Washington Nationals were already facing an uphill battle after the trade deadline, with Foster Griffin, their best starter, and Curtis Mead and Luis García Jr., two of their top hitters, sent to other teams.
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If that wasn’t enough to derail their mojo, then two-time all-star James Wood landed on the injured list Tuesday with a left oblique strain. They hope it’s a short stint, but obliques are finicky, and hitting requires being able to rotate without pain. Plus, they have to face the Philadelphia Phillies — a team that only got stronger at the deadline with the addition of three-time batting champion Luis Arráez — on their home turf.
The result was as could be expected with all those factors: The Nationals lost, 5-0, on Tuesday to extend their losing streak to seven games and fall to 55-60, a season-high-tying five games under .500.
“It’s a lot. I’m not going to sit here and say it hasn’t affected anyone,” Zack Littell, who gave up four runs in 6⅔ innings, said. “This sucks. No one wants to be losing games like this. But at the same time, I’d rather do it now than in September when we have some time to play baseball and get some games back.”
But to put themselves in a position where games matter in September, the Nationals need to play significantly better than they did Tuesday. Washington had just five hits as Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo pitched eight scoreless innings.
When the Nationals did manage to get on base, they couldn’t push the runner across. That’s been a consistent theme of the road trip: They were 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday and are 3 for 45 six games into the eight-game road trip.
“I think right now, they’re going through it,” Manager Blake Butera said. “They know what we’re in the middle of right now. They know we’re not playing well right now. They know the standings are changing. … When you have a young team like this, sometimes it takes a little bit of extra — whether it’s motivation or conversations from the staff to just continue to do your thing.”
Washington has been having those conversations in position groups, Butera said. CJ Abrams, who had two of the five hits, said he has been trying to keep his teammates motivated. Littell said he and some of the other veterans have tried to implore teammates that they need to keep showing up and doing the work.
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“I know it feels like the sky is falling a little bit right now,” Littell said. “This team is still really good.”
On Tuesday, the Phillies took control of the game early. In the first inning, with Carson Palmquist serving as the opener, Trea Turner singled and Bryce Harper walked. Arráez, in his first at-bat with his new team, hit an RBI single to put the Phillies up 1-0. That also chased Palmquist, far earlier than the Nationals probably wanted.
Littell, who was scheduled to pitch the bulk of the game, got Alec Bohm to ground into a double play to end the first inning. But two innings later, Littell found himself in trouble. Turner again singled and Harper again walked. Arráez then drove them in again, hitting a grounder that went beyond the diving attempt of first baseman Andrés Chaparro. Turner was able to score, while Harper advanced to third and Arráez to second.
They both scored later that inning, Harper on a sacrifice fly and Arráez on a double from Brandon Marsh. That gave the Phillies a 4-0 lead, and they added on to that in the seventh to make it 5-0. They held onto the lead for the rest of the game, without much of a fight from the Nationals.
Before the game, as Butera relayed the news that Wood was going on the injured list, he said the Nationals would have to show resiliency and adopt a “next-man-up” mentality if they were going to put up a fight.
Except neither of those things happened on Tuesday. Dylan Crews, hitting leadoff in place of Wood, went 0 for 4. Chaparro, the replacement at first for García, struck out twice. Brady House, playing third in place of Mead, did have one of the Nationals’ five hits but failed to produce anything of value.
“The reality of it is we haven’t seen a ton of players stepping up because we’re not playing very well right now,” Butera said. “It’s really hard to try to step up and be that guy when we’re not performing.”
Read more Nationals send outfielder James Wood to injured list with oblique strain
