Phillies Recap: Nationals-4, Phillies-1

Game Recap:
The Washington Nationals ended Philadelphia's five game winning streak behind a solid effort from pitcher Scott Olsen. Shane Victorino hit his third home run of the season, but it wasn't enough.

What went right?

As mentioned, Shane Victorino drilled his third homer of the season in the bottom of the first inning. Victorino now has 15 RBI, good for third on the team with Ryan Howard.

Jimmy Rollins continued to warm back up, going 2-5 and raising his batting average above .200 for the season.

Brett Myers went six innings, and didn't allow a home run...

What went wrong?

...But he did lose his control in some key spots, including a walk to Scott Olsen, the opposing pitcher, in the third inning. He also gave up eight hits and struggled after coasting through the first two innings.

The offense as a unit was silent, picking up only seven hits and striking out eight times after scoring 46 runs in during their five game winning streak.

Game Analysis:

Not much to say after a game like tonight. It was nice to see Brett Myers get through six innings, but the fact that he had to throw almost 110 pitches to get there is a little concerning. I know he's a workhorse, but even pitchers like Myers shouldn't be throwing that much this early in the season. All that normally does is lead to arm troubles later in the season, and the way bad luck has been sitting on Cole Hamels so far this year, the last thing the Phillies need is another pitcher with injury problems.

Fortunately for the Phillies, they can still be happy, even with the loss tonight. They had won five games in a row, and with the Mets coming into town, it might be better to just get a let down game out of the way now, before the weekend gets here. The offense has looked like it's getting closer to the 2008 version, which is a very good thing as well. Now, the Phils need to relax on their off day and get ready for the Mets. If they can keep taking two out of three in each series, there won't be much to worry about.

The Phillies have tomorrow off before starting a three game set with the New York Mets on Friday. You might remember them from choking away a seven game lead with 17 games to play in 2007, and following that up by losing ten of their last 17 games last season. Chan Ho Park (0-0, 7.16 ERA) will start in the first game against Mike Pelfrey (2-0, 6.32 ERA). It's always fun when the Mets come to town...go Phillies!