WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- The Phillies capped an otherwise unforgettable day at the Little League World Series with a rather forgettable performance in Sunday night's Little League Classic.

Though Zack Wheeler settled in after a four-run first inning, the damage had been done on a night when the Phils were held scoreless through eight innings en route to a 4-3 loss to the Nationals at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. Philadelphia dropped two of three to the last-place Nationals over the weekend and is just 2-5 in its past seven games.

“The whole day was great, other than the loss,” manager Rob Thomson said.

The Phillies still hold the top National League Wild Card spot, but they are only 3 1/2 games clear of the D-backs, Reds and Marlins, each of whom is on the outside looking in. They're also only two games ahead of the Giants for the top spot -- and home-field advantage in a potential Wild Card Series matchup -- heading into a pivotal three-game series between the clubs beginning Monday at Citizens Bank Park.

"We've just got to dust ourselves off and get after it tomorrow, because it is a big series,” Thomson said. “You win that series, you put a little distance between yourself and San Francisco. They've got a good club and they're right on our heels."

While it certainly wasn't the way the Phillies were hoping to end a five-game road trip that took them to three cities, the club is hoping to reap some long-term benefits from its overall experience on Sunday.

For some, the highlight was the bus ride from the airport to the Little League Complex, which featured big leaguers sitting alongside Little Leaguers on the drive through Williamsport. For others, it was supporting the Little League team from Media, Pa., which put together a late game-tying rally in the LLWS in front of a cheering section full of Phillies players.

“It was such a cool experience,” left fielder Kyle Schwarber said. “We were all in their shoes one day, so to be able to have the city repped on both the Little League side this afternoon and the big league side tonight, it's really cool.”

While Media Little League's day ended in a similar fashion to its big league counterpart, that prompted a speech from an emotional Bryce Harper about learning from a tough elimination loss and building on it moving forward.

Harper should know. That's exactly what the Phillies are trying to do this season after coming up short in last year's World Series.

“It’s always fun for the kids to see it and see a big league team and see how it kind of works and what we do out there,” Harper said. “You can learn a lot, so it’s really cool -- at that age -- to be able to watch a game like this. A lot of really good players in this game tonight, so anyone could have learned a lot from anything that they watched tonight.”

That’s also why Wheeler wanted to take part in as many of the festivities as he could, even with his start looming on Sunday night. He joined his Phillies teammates at the Little League games Sunday afternoon, signing autographs and posing for pictures with countless fans.

"Honestly, I'm running around with my kids at home anyway, so nothing new for me -- that's why I went over there,” said Wheeler, who tossed six scoreless innings after his rocky opening frame. “I'm not one of those starters who just sits in the corner and concentrates all day. I had fun going over there. I was a Little Leaguer at one point and it was always my goal to try to get here, so that's why I went -- tried to soak it in."

The result aside, helping provide once-in-a-lifetime experiences for so many kids – and making some for themselves along the way – may have helped with the monotony of a 162-game season. It also provided some levity at the end of a road trip that saw the Phillies play five games over seven days in three cities – and two countries.

Now, the Phils return home to Philadelphia, where they are 34-24 this season (compared to 33-33 on the road).

It’s a welcome respite, especially with the Giants coming to town for a series with potentially significant Wild Card implications.

"Real big series,” Harper said. “I’m looking forward to it. You know the fans are going to show up for us, so that will be good. I think we're all looking forward to playing some good baseball and hitting our stride."