They never had realistic pennant race hopes of their own. A miserable 9-25 start made that perfectly obvious. But over the course of the season’s final seven weeks the Nationals will still have plenty to say about which teams reach postseason play in the National League.
Another taut, tense contest at RFK Stadium on Tuesday showed what to expect as the Nats began a closing stretch that includes 31 games against teams either in first place or within at least three games of the wild-card lead.
Despite a strong start from pitcher Shawn Hill, the game got away from Washington in the eighth inning as Philadelphia rallied for three runs to pull out a critical 3-2 win.
“This last month isn’t going to be easy for us,” said Nats manager Manny Acta. “These teams are fighting for a division title and the playoffs. But I like how my guys fight.”
The loss overshadowed Hill’s return after elbow problems sidelined him for more than three months. He was 3-3 with a 2.70 ERA in eight starts before jamming his shoulder while running the bases in a game against Florida on April 20. According to Hill, that led to the flawed mechanics that then inflamed his elbow. But he showed no signs of rust against the Phillies, other than shaky command of his breaking pitches.
“It went better than I expected,” Hill said. “I don’t think I was all that sharp for the first couple of innings and I still have to work on my off-speed stuff. But I’ll take it.”
NATS NOTES
» The Nats kept Philadelphia slugger Ryan Howard in check. He went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts.
» Felipe Lopez reached base twice for the Nats.
» Ryan Church was 2-for-3 with a run scored before being pulled for a defensive replacement.
