Nats outplayed all over the field in 8-4 loss

Not much is going right for the Nationals these days. Even the normally reliable Jordan Zimmermann scuffled through his second rough start in a row as the Brewers doubled up the Nats 8-4 on Friday night.

It started off poorly for Zimmermann, who walked Brewers center fielder Gerardo Parra on four pitches with one out in the first. It seemed as if Zimmermann might escape, with an inning-ending double play ball off the bat of right fielder Ryan Braun, but a brief moment of hesitation from Ian Desmond allowed Braun to reach first base safely.

Instead of heading to the dugout, Zimmermann went on to throw 22 more pitches in the opening frame as Brewers first baseman Adam Lind followed with a single and then third baseman Aramis Ramirez ripped a two-run double.

"We have to play the game behind him a little bit better, too," Nationals manager Matt Williams told reporters after the loss. "It's one thing for Jordan to struggle with command and give up some base hits, but if we're giving them extra bases or not getting the outs that we should get, it puts more pressure on him."

Blaming this loss on a single play in the first is ridiculous, though. Zimmermann was tagged for nine of the Brewers' 16 hits on the night, as he surrendered six runs before Williams went to the bullpen after just 3 1/3 innings.

"His location was off," Williams told reporters. "He couldn't command much tonight. Balls were middle of the plate and up. We'll have to make some adjustments and get him ready for his next turn."

After eight straight quality starts, Zimmermann has been off in his last two. Over both losses, Zimmermann has given up 10 runs on 19 hits in only 8 1/3 innings.

Five Brewers had multi-hit games, led by 18-year veteran Ramirez, who drove in five runs on three doubles.

Meanwhile, aside from Bryce Harper, the Nats offense remained stagnant for much of the night. Harper bombed his 21st homer to right put the Nats on the board in the second, then added an RBI single his next time up in the fourth. But until the sixth inning, those two hits were the only the Nats managed against Brewers starter Mike Fiers.

Tyler Moore also homered for the Nats.

Desmond's rough start carried into the batter's box, where he struck out in all four of his at-bats on the night. He is just 5-for-33 with no walks and 14 strikeouts in this current 10-game slump.

Williams was asked by reporters after the game if he is surprised by the inconsistencies of his highly hyped starting rotation to this point in the season.

"Of course, but it's still built on starting pitching and all of our starters will be just fine," he said. "We're going through a rough patch right now. They'll come out of it and continue to work hard. We'll get through it."

Williams did get some encouraging news tonight as Stephen Strasburg was able to throw 60 pitches in a live bullpen session before the game in Milwaukee. And Doug Fister pitched six scoreless innings of two-hit ball in a minor league rehab start for Double-A Harrisburg. Fister struck out four while throwing 72 pitches.