Well, that stinks!

The Nationals today wasted an utterly dominating performance by John Patterson--7 innings, 2 hits, 8 strikeouts, and 2 walks. The Phillies were unable to mount any serious offensive push until the 9th inning, and by that time Patterson was sitting on the bench watching Hector Carrasco pitch.

Fielding a depleted lineup, the Nationals were no match for Cory Lidle. We don't think Lidle is as good as Patterson at this point of the season, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that the Nats were able to get only one man as far as second base, and that was only because Vinny Castilla advanced on a wild pitch. The Nationals' offense has never been more anemic than it was today--the combination of a low scoring offense and the absence of perhaps their best hitter (Nick Johnson), a rookie of the year candidate, at least in the first half (Ryan Church), and their starting catcher (Brian Schneider) was too much to overcome against a pitcher at the top of his game.

The only questionable decision by Frank Robinson was having Patterson hit in the top of the 8th after Gary Bennett walked to lead off the inning. Robinson had already decided to bring in a reliever in the bottom of the inning, and one has to wonder whether a professional hitter would have been a better option to bunt Bennett to second. Patterson struck out trying, and Wilkerson and Carroll were unable to move Bennett off first. It probably wouldn't have mattered, but it was one of only two real run-scoring opportunities the Nationals had all day.

After watching the Nats flail away at the ball today, we've concluded that the All-Star break can't come soon enough.