PHILADELPHIA -- It was a day of opportunity for the Nationals entering Thursday afternoon's series finale against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Joan Adon had a shot to restake his claim for a rotation spot, while Juan Soto and Nelson Cruz were back in their usual lineups spots with a chance to lead the Nats to a series victory following a disappointing opener on Tuesday.

Unfortunately, the story of the day ultimately became about missed opportunities as Washington dropped a 5-3 decision for its seventh loss in its past eight games.

Here's a closer look at what went wrong for the Nationals on Thursday:

Adon's rotation bid
Prior to the game, Nats manager Dave Martinez said one of the key areas for evaluating Adon would be how the 23-year-old right-hander handled high-leverage situations -- and the early returns were encouraging.

After putting runners on second and third with nobody out in the first inning, Adon struck out Nick Castellanos and Darick Hall before getting J.T. Realmuto to ground out to escape the jam unscathed. Adon then pitched around a leadoff walk in the second while notching two more strikeouts.

Yet after holding the Phillies to 1-for-7 with four strikeouts the first time through the order, Adon allowed them to go 5-for-7 with a walk the second time through.

“I didn’t see anything on their part, as much as more on my part. My pitches weren’t doing what they did the first time around the lineup,” Adon said through team interpreter Octavio Martinez. “They just weren’t as good of quality as pitches the second time around.”

It took Adon 96 pitches to get through four innings on a day when he allowed four runs off six hits and three walks while striking out five. The outing raised his season ERA to 7.10 in 14 starts.

“He’s got great stuff, we’ve just got to continue to work with him on his command and utilizing all of his pitches and getting them around the strike zone,” said Martinez, who added that the Nats haven’t yet made a decision about whether Adon will make another start the next time through the rotation. “When he’s in the strike zone and he’s making pitches, he’s effective – and we can see that.”

Early offensive chances
Adon's struggles squandered an early 2-0 lead -- but the Nationals likely should have had an even bigger edge. After loading the bases with only one out in the first inning, they managed to score only one run, which came on a Maikel Franco RBI single between strikeouts by Yadiel Hernandez and Luis García.

The Nats kept the pressure on Phillies starter Bailey Falter in the second. Soto notched an RBI single, though Cruz later struck out looking with runners on second and third to end the threat.

“We could have actually scored a few more runs early on and we would have been in great shape,” Martinez said. “We just couldn’t capitalize.”

Washington finished the day 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position while leaving nine men on base.

Soto's unusual play
Making his first start in right field since sustaining a minor left calf injury on Sunday, Soto found himself in the midst of a strange play during the Phillies' three-run third inning.

With the game tied at 2, a runner on third and two outs, Didi Gregorius skied a towering fly ball that sent Soto back to the outfield wall. Though Soto seemed to settle underneath it just in front of the out-of-town scoreboard, the ball missed his glove and instead caromed off the wall for a go-ahead triple.

"I was thinking, 'Should I jump?' And I didn't jump. And then when I looked at the ball, I should have jumped," Soto said. "It is what it is. I should have gotten the ball, I was under it. ... I just missed it."

That play alone encapsulated much of the last week for a Nationals team whose skid has included two extra-inning losses and four losses by two runs or fewer.

“I’m seeing some good things,” Martinez said. “At the end of the day, in some of these games, if we get one hit here, one hit there, it’s a different story.”