Nats' latest loss a microcosm of their season

PHILADELPHIA -- The fundamental woes that contributed to the Nationals' early season struggles and the emerging bright spots that have spurred the club's recent success collided in Saturday night's 8-5 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

CJ Abrams made yet another must-see play up the middle and Joey Meneses added to his storybook start. Unfortunately, defensive miscues and poor pitching ultimately proved costly for a Nationals team that began the night with the fewest Defensive Runs Saved and the most walks by its starting pitchers in the Majors.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at the good (Abrams' defense), the sloppy (fundamentals) and the historic (Meneses' offense) from Washington's 91st loss of the season.

The good

One night after making a pair of highlight-reel plays -- one each ranging to his left and to his right -- in the series opener, Abrams made yet another jaw-dropping defensive play that showcased both his range and his arm strength.

With the Phillies threatening with the bases loaded and only one out in the bottom of the first inning, Abrams sprinted toward the second-base bag to nab a bouncing ball off the bat of Jean Segura. Despite his momentum carrying him behind the bag, Abrams somehow scrambled back to touch it with his right foot while planting to fire the ball to first -- and leapfrogging a sliding baserunner -- to complete the double play.

“He’s been really good over there at shortstop,” manager Dave Martinez said. “He’s got that instinct and he understands what to do when the ball comes. Another really nice play that he made -- he’s been making some really nice plays.”

The sloppy

Washington entered Saturday night’s game with -56 Defensive Runs Saved (20 fewer than any other team) and -47 Outs Above Average (14 worse than the next closest club). Its starting rotation had also issued an MLB-high 276 walks.

The Nationals did themselves no favors in those categories.

César Hernández had a tough night at second base, starting in the fourth inning when Lane Thomas tracked down a deep fly ball off the bat of Garrett Stubbs with runners on first and second. Segura was late to get back to second, but he still safely advanced to third, all while Nick Maton rushed to avoid getting doubled off at first base.

Hernández took the cutoff throw, but instead of trying to get an out at first or third, he simply tossed it to second. The Nats appeared to turn an inning-ending double play one batter later, but a replay review determined that Edmundo Sosa slid into first base just ahead of Hernández's throw from second. Sosa then scored one batter later when Brandon Marsh doubled into the right-field corner and Hernández's relay throw took catcher Riley Adams to the first-base side of home plate.

Then in the fifth, Hernández made a throwing error on a routine Bryce Harper grounder. Maton made him pay with a two-out two-run homer later in the frame.

“That’s baseball,” Hernández said through an interpreter. “I’ve said this before: The only people that don’t make errors are the ones watching the game in the stands. None of us are trying to make errors, we’re all trying to make plays, but tonight we were unable to.”

Of course, it wasn't all Hernández. Erick Fedde issued four walks and threw 79 pitches while lasting only 3 2/3 innings. Ildemaro Vargas short-hopped a routine throw to first base that Luke Voit couldn't handle for another Washington error in the sixth.

Those are all things that the Nationals had cleaned up while winning seven of 11 games prior to dropping the past two in Philadelphia.

“They’ve been playing really well,” Martinez said. “So I’m just going to chalk it up to one of those nights, and we have to come back tomorrow.”

The historic

Meneses continued his improbable journey by roping a first-inning double before teeing off for a two-run homer in the third inning. He’s 45-for-140 (.321) with eight homers and 20 RBIs through 34 career games.

To put that into perspective, he’s the first player since 2005 (Jeff Francoeur) with at least 45 hits, eight homers and 20 RBIs in his first 34 career games. The only other player to do so since the turn of the century is Albert Pujols in 2001. Overall, Meneses is just the ninth player in MLB history to reach each of those totals in such a short span.

“We talk about it all the time -- he just doesn’t really try to do too much,” Martinez said. “He’s just been a good consistent hitter for us.”