Instant Analysis: Phillies 5, Nats 0

A lineup missing James Wood was shut out by Philadelphia, the Nationals losing their seventh straight game in the process

Photo by Holden Barnes / ALL-PRO REELS

PHILADELPHIA – Already reeling from a long losing streak and the departures of three key players prior to the trade deadline, the Nationals took the field tonight without James Wood for the first time and found out just how tough it’s going to be get their season back on track without him.

With Wood now on the 10-day IL with a mild oblique strain, and with Luis García Jr. and Curtis Mead now playing for the Yankees and Red Sox, respectively, the Nats were shut out by Jesús Luzardo and the Phillies, dropping their seventh straight game.

Blake Butera’s reconfigured lineup had Dylan Crews leading off, with Andrés Chaparro, Brady House and CJ Abrams directly behind him. It did not produce any offense against Luzardo, who went eight scoreless on 98 pitches before handing over the ninth to Caleb Kilian.

Butera hoped to keep this game close by using Carson Palmquist as opener. But after failing to retire three of the first four batters he faced, Palmquist got a quick hook in favor of Zack Littell, who escaped a first-inning jam but then allowed three runs during a bottom-of-the-third rally that featured RBI doubles from recently acquired professional hitter Luis Arraez and new teammate Brandon Marsh.

Littell found his groove after that and reached the seventh inning without surrendering another run. But even a four-run deficit felt insurmountable for this depleted Nationals lineup.

HITTING LOWLIGHT: Expectations were understandably low going into this game, but it’s not like the Nats didn’t give themselves some chances at the plate. They got a leadoff double from Abrams in the second, a one-out double from Harry Ford in the seventh and had men on second base with one out on two other occasions. They never so much as advanced one of those runners to third until the eighth inning, ultimately going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Which only extended a truly dreadful road trip for this offense. The Nationals are now 3-for-46 with runners in scoring position through six games in Atlanta and Philadelphia.

PITCHING HIGHLIGHT: He wasn’t lights-out by any stretch, but Littell did fairly well under the circumstances and kept the game from getting out of hand. He got a sooner-than-expected call from the bullpen and immediately induced an inning-ending double play. He retired 10 in a row at one point. And he wound up completing 6 2/3 innings on 93 pitches to at least give the bullpen a breather.

NOTABLE: Palmquist has now opened six games, producing a 10.97 ERA and 2.156 WHIP. In five true relief appearances, he has a 1.59 ERA and 1.059 WHIP.

UP NEXT: Wednesday’s 6:40 p.m. game will see Jake Irvin take the mound for the Nats against struggling Phillies rookie Andrew Painter. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM