Stephen Strasburg struggled through another rough outing, and the Washington defense struggled, too, committing four errors, in an 8-1 loss to Philadelphia Saturday afternoon at Nationals Park.
Strasburg (3-5) failed to get out of the fourth inning for the third time in four starts, giving up six runs, five earned, on seven hits in three and two-thirds innings.
This one was over early, with Cole Hamels (5-3) in control from the get-go, giving up a run on five hits in eight innings of work, striking out five and walking one.
The Nats didn’t get on the board until the eighth, on a two-out RBI double by Ian Desmond.
Nats-Phillies Notes
- Strasburg’s ERA for 2015 ballooned to 6.50 with the shellacking on Saturday.
- Bryce Harper was 0-for-4, dropping his batting average to .326.
- Ryan Howard hit his 10th homer of the season, a solo shot, in the fifth. Howard had three hits, two runs and two RBI on the afternoon.