Nats blow lead, drop 8th straight to Phils

WASHINGTON -- Close to getting their first win against the Phillies since July 29, the Nationals surrendered a six-run lead and dropped their series finale, 7-6, on Thursday afternoon at Nationals Park. Washington's skid against its National League East rival extended to eight games.

• Box score

“We’ve been trying so hard,” said Juan Soto, who hit his 23rd home run of the season, adding, “We’ve just got to forget about it and keep grinding and keep going.”

Here are four things to note from the matinee, which was rescheduled when Wednesday’s game was postponed because of inclement weather.

Bogar at the helm
Bench coach Tim Bogar was at the helm on Thursday after manager Dave Martinez underwent a prescheduled minor foot procedure that morning. Martinez was present at Nationals Park for the game, but he was not in the dugout. Bogar managed 22 games for the Rangers in 2014.

“Every day that we prepare for a game, I’m ready to help Davey any way I can,” Bogar said pregame. “Then, if something happens during the game and he gets thrown out, I have to manage anyway. This is an easy transition for us, and hopefully it’s just one day and Davey’s back.”

Game-changing defensive moment
The Nationals led 6-0 through five innings and held onto a 6-3 lead after seven. But the game unraveled in the eighth, when the Phillies staged a four-run comeback. With one out, Andres Machado induced a ground ball from Nick Maton that could have squashed the rally with a double play. Luis García committed a fielding error, though, and the Phillies scored a pair of runs to tie the game. One batter later, the 21-year-old infielder seemed to freeze on Odúbel Herrera's grounder. García nabbed the runner at second, but Herrera beat the throw to first and Philadelphia evaded the double play with a go-ahead run.

"There's a lot of plays that occur during a baseball game, and you can learn from each and every one of them,” García said. “You live and learn, basically, from the mistakes, and move on to the next day. And hopefully the next time, you're able to make that play."

Espino solid
Paolo Espino (4-4, 4.08 ERA) dominated the Phillies through five scoreless innings, retiring eight of the first nine batters he faced. The 34-year-old right-hander exited the game in the sixth with runners on first and second, and he was charged with those runs after the Phillies drove them in against reliever Mason Thompson. Espino pitched a season-high-tying 5 1/3 innings while allowing two runs on four hits and one walk and recording five strikeouts over 89 pitches (59 strikes).

Espino also collected a hit with a single into center field in the fifth. It was his third hit of the season and second in as many starts.

“That was awesome,” Espino said. “Every time I go out there, I just try to see if I can hit a good fastball in the strike zone. I felt like the first one was a little low, and I saw that one a little higher, so I swung at that third fastball in that AB.”

Welcome to the Majors
Left-hander Alberto Baldonado made his Major League debut at age 28 when he pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Baldonado, whose contract was selected from the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings on Thursday, beamed pregame when talking about the anticipation of his first big league experience. In one inning of relief, Baldonado fanned two and allowed one hit. He struck out his first opponent, Matt Vierling, and ended the frame by catching Bryce Harper swinging at a sinker.

"When he got [Harper] 0-2, he was trying to throw a slider to get him to chase, but then he came with the fastball to strike him out above the zone," Bogar said. "He had it inside of him to go ahead and give him his best stuff, and then got it by him. It was nice to see."