Baker says Nats were "flat" in 5-2 setback to Brewers

On a night where the Nationals would normally celebrate having four players being awarded All-Star invitations, the club came out with a sluggish performance at home in a 5-2 loss to the Brewers.

It marked Washington's second straight loss to Milwaukee. The Brewers have won four of their first five games against the Nationals this season.

One of the four All-Stars heading to San Diego is second baseman Daniel Murphy. But his late baserunning mistake cost the club a shot at a potential rally.

In the eighth, with his team down three runs, Murphy led off with a double. In his attempt to be aggressive, Murphy tried to stretch the hit into a triple and was caught at third base. What seemed like a promising rally evaporated almost as quickly as it had started.

After the game, Murphy owned the miscue and did not back down from taking the blame.

"I didn't help in the eighth," Murphy said. "That was a terrible play. I didn't hustle out of the box, I didn't hustle to second, I tried to save it going to third, make the first out at third base down three runs changes the whole complexion of the game.

"First two guys get on the next inning, if that's a two-run ballgame instead of a three it gives the skipper a lot more opportunities - could bunt them over and then a base-hit ties it up. Yeah, it was a terrible play."

Murphy joined right-hander Stephen Strasburg, catcher Wilson Ramos and right fielder Bryce Harper as Nationals rewarded with All-Star selections and a trip to San Diego on Sunday.

Manager Dusty Baker said Murphy knew he had made a mistake on the base paths. But he said that it was a rare, uncharacteristic blunder for a player who was trying to make something happen.

"Murph knows. Murph, he stumbled around (second)," Baker explained. "If you're not gonna go in there standing up, then you've gotta stay where you are. Murph knows because Murph is one of the best baserunners that we have. He really hates to make outs on the bases. We talk about it all the time. You only have 27 outs. If you ask him, he'll tell you that that wasn't a characteristic play of Murph because he's an outstanding baserunner. He's not fast, but he's smart and he's good at it."

Murphy wasn't alone in his baserunning error. The team struggled on defense, too. Ryan Zimmerman had a missed catch at first base for an error. Ramos had a passed ball in the first inning. Baker said he believes the team might be a little tired after the morning game Monday and tonight's contest.

"When you're a little spent, then you're not as sharp generally," Baker said. "Like yesterday, we weren't as sharp and today we weren't sharp. Hopefully, we'll get a good night's sleep tonight and come out before we go out on the road trip. We have no choice. Fortunate for us the Mets lost, but they aren't going to keep on losing. They aren't going to keep on losing. We got to find a way to win."

The Nationals had 12 hits, which should have been more than enough to generate more than only two runs. But the big rally never materialized. The loss followed a 1-0 defeat in the series opener in which the Nats mustered just two hits.

Baker noticed that the team came out flat for the second straight game.

"We were flat today. We made some mistakes," Baker said. "Just didn't seem we had the life we usually have. The two-run homers really hurt us. They're hitting more home runs than we're hitting. Usually, that's our job. We didn't play very good baseball tonight. Made a couple of pitches that we wish we could have back, which you can't. We didn't play very well tonight."

Left-hander Gio Gonzalez lasted six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. He did give up a two-run shot to Hernan Perez that broke open a tie game and lifted the Brewers to a 3-1 lead.

"Gio, he threw the ball well except for the home run," Baker said. "Pitches were up and out over the plate. That guy's stroke is that way. This time of the year in this ballpark, I'm learning that that ball flies out of right-center field up there and that's where he hit. I didn't think it was gone at first but then it just took off."

So how do the Nats change things tomorrow?

"The best way is to come out and be more aggressive," Baker said. "Right now, they are taking it to us versus us taking it to them. We just got to be more aggressive."