CLEVELAND -- Not much went right for the Nationals in their game against the Guardians on Saturday.

It started pregame when star shortstop CJ Abrams was scratched from the lineup with a shoulder injury. It got worse in the first inning when the normally surgical Mitchell Parker gave up two runs on the back of two walks.

And it reached its apex in the third inning when manager Dave Martinez was ejected for arguing a check swing call in the top of the inning and José Ramírez scored from second on a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning.

Ramírez’s stolen run ended up being the difference, as the Nationals lost, 3-2, in a game that was filled with miscues.

“That game was just sloppy on our part,” Martinez said. “We made a couple outs on the bases, just a lot of mistakes. We’ve got to play better. … Today was just sloppy.”

Parker, who hadn’t allowed more than two walks in any of his eight previous starts, allowed four free passes to go along with four hits. The big blow in the first inning came in the form of a bloop two-run single from Kyle Manzardo that Martinez said could have been caught.

“Right pitch, wrong location,” Parker said. “It was a pretty funky first inning. I couldn’t really locate any pitch any time it mattered but then after I kind of settled down.”

After that Parker was able to finish strong by retiring 14 of the last 18 batters he faced. He’s now gone at least five innings in his last six starts and has yet to allow more than three runs in any of his starts.

“Coming out of that first inning, [the only thing that mattered] was just being able to make it further in the game and keep us close,” he said.

While the Nationals struggled to manufacture runs, Ramírez was able to create one out of thin air in the third off Parker, as he reached on a 69.9 mph infield single, stole second base and then scored from second on a wild pitch that ended up near the Nationals' dugout.

“First of all that ball’s got to be blocked,” catcher Riley Adams said. “I’ve got to keep it in front of me. There’s no excuse for that.”

Once Adams got to the ball he shoveled it to Parker, who didn’t get the tag down in time to get Ramírez.

“That’s just one of those weird things that's going to happen,” Parker said.

In the second inning, Luis García Jr. got a late stop sign at third on a Nick Senzel double, and was tagged out when he slipped trying to get back to the base.

The Nationals seemed to catch a break two innings later when they got runners to second and third with no out after Johnathan Rodriguez slipped trying to field a flyball from García, but they only managed to get two runs before Jesse Winker was picked off to end the inning.

“Today was one of those days where it just didn’t work out and didn’t happen. We were sloppy,” Martinez said. “We’ve got a chance to try to come back tomorrow and have a good road trip.”

Martinez watched all those plays from the office in the visiting clubhouse after he was ejected in the third inning. The play in question occurred when outfielder Jacob Young appeared to make contact with a pitch but home-plate umpire Malachi Moore ruled that Young had swung at the pitch and was out on strikes. Both Young and Martinez argued the call, with Moore eventually tossing Martinez. The play wasn’t reviewable.

“It was a foul ball,” Martinez said. “It hit the knob of the bat and rolled all the way to our dugout. For me he missed the call. That stuff can’t happen.”

Young ended up leaving the game in the sixth inning after he noticed that his throwing hand had swelled up, with Martinez saying after the game that the outfielder will get X-rays. Martinez also said that Abrams should be able to play Sunday after he was scratched due to a shoulder injury he sustained diving for a ball on Friday.

“We had a chance to come back there,” Young said. “We made it a fight, we just weren’t able to get that final hit.”