Another quiet night from Nats offense leads to a third straight loss

The Nationals managed to put only a solo homer from Bryce Harper on the scoreboard tonight as they fell 6-1 to the Yankees. Runs figured to be hard to come with right-handers Max Scherzer and Masahiro Tanaka showcased in the night's premier pitching duel, and they were until the bottom of seventh inning.

With the game knotted at 1-1, Scherzer came out to start the frame having already thrown 100 pitches. He gave up consecutive singles to Yankees left fielder Ramon Flores and center fielder Brett Gardner. But Scherzer appeared to be working his way out of the jam after he got third baseman Chase Headley on a liner to Harper for the second out.

Designated hitter Alex Rodriguez then hit a sharp ground ball into the hole. Ian Desmond made a diving stop, but chose to throw to third base for the force. The ball struck Flores and caromed out of play. Desmond's 14th error was costly, as Flores was able to cross the plate safely.

"If the throw is to the left side of the runner, we got a chance," Nationals manager Matt Williams told reporters after the loss. "But we've also got a slower runner in Alex at the plate. He's not a speed demon. If he dives and catches that, he's still got a play at first, as well. It depends on the angle, of course, and where he's going, but I think Desi's got a play at first, too."

The gaffe ended Scherzer's night as Williams summoned left-hander Matt Thornton from the bullpen. Thornton intentionally walked first baseman Mark Teixeira and then gave up a two-run single catcher Brian McCann and an RBI base knock to right fielder Carlos Beltran as the Yankees busted the game open.

Scherzer was charged with four runs on eight hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. He has dropped his last two starts to fall to 6-5 on the season.

"We want to push him through that (seventh) inning if we can," Williams told reporters. "We want him to potentially get him through, but once they scored, he's at 116 (pitches). I'm not gonna push him any further. He's got a start in five days again, so no need to push him just to push him."

The Nationals offense continues to be the main problem during this slide. They've scored a combined six runs over this current three-game losing streak. Tonight, the Nationals managed just six hits, none of them by Ryan Zimmerman, who has just one single in his last 26 at-bats.

"We gave him a couple of days in a row off," Williams told reporters. "The foot has been an issue all season, but he also has been playing all season and has good stretches, too. So he's a veteran guy and understands what he needs to do to get out of it. He doesn't panic nor are we. We need him to play and he'll be very productive for us at the end of the day."

Harper's fourth inning blast was a moonshot to center field. It was his 20th on the season and 75th of his career.

"It didn't really mean anything to the game," Harper told reporters after the loss. "But it's definitely nice to get No. 20. Tanaka threw a great game and shut us down pretty well. I'm definitely happy about (the homer) but it's no good when we lose ball games."

The 22-year-old also made a baffling decision in his third at-bat in the seventh. Leading off in a 1-1 ballgame, Harper attempted to bunt facing a two-strike count. He fouled a pitch off, resulting in a strikeout. Williams appeared unhappy with Harper's unorthodox choice when asked about it after the loss.

"We'll save that one for another day," he said.

The Nationals have now dropped nine of their last 11 games. They'll try to take the season series with the Yankees Wednesday afternoon when they send left-hander Gio Gonzalez to the hill.