Fister won't blame it on the rain in Nats' 8-3 pounding in San Diego

SAN DIEGO - The Nationals entered this season with the so-called most-feared rotation in all of baseball. Words like historic and legendary were thrown around to describe them. Now, as all five have made seven starts each this season, there are more questions than guarantees. Four have ERAs over 4.00 as tall righty Doug Fister was the latest to get rocked in last night's 8-3 drubbing by the Padres.

Fister's evening lasted just 41 pitches as he was unable to make it past the second inning after giving up seven runs on eight hits. Fister cleanly recorded the first two outs in each frame but failed to finish the Padres off. San Diego catcher Derek Norris, a former Nats prospect, dealt the first damaging blow with a three-run homer.

An inning later, third baseman Cory Spangenberg took Fister deep with two outs. The solo shot was Spangenberg's first of the season.

"It's crazy to see the ball fly out of Petco (Park) a little bit like that," said Bryce Harper on one of baseball's toughest stadiums for home runs.

Norris, who was part of the Nats' trade to acquire lefty Gio Gonzalez in 2011, then smacked a two-run triple that nearly left the yard.

That was enough for Nationals manager Matt Williams.

"The ball is just up," he said. "Up and in the middle of the plate. Didn't throw it where he wanted to tonight."

Fister was forced to wait 1 hour, 56 minutes through a rare rain delay. For some reason, a decision was made to begin the game with heavy rain in the immediate future. Padres starter Tyson Ross struck out Nats leadoff man Denard Span on six pitches, and then the sky opened, immediately halting play for only the fifth rain delay in the 12-year history of Petco Park.

A disappointed Fister wouldn't blame the lengthy stoppage for his poor performance.

"I can't make any excuses for what I did tonight," Fister said. "It's one of those nights that I didn't do my job at all. I put our team in the hole from the get-go and that hurts both me and the team. So there is no excuse."

Fister, who relies heavily on a sinker, has now been hurt by five home runs in his first seven starts. Typically, spring training statistics can be thrown out the window, but it's worth noting that Fister was also tagged for seven long balls in only 22 2/3 innings of Grapefruit League play.

"It's unacceptable," Fister said.

"I don't think it's anything mechanical. It's just up," Williams added.

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg was blitzed for eight runs in the worst outing of his career Tuesday. Gonzalez gave up five more on Wednesday, and then the Padres' seven against Fister give the Nats three devastating starts in a row.

Each of the five have looked impressive at times this year, but generally there have been more clunkers than gems. Right-hander Max Scherzer, the newcomer, has been the only consistently strong starter of the bunch. His 1.99 ERA is fourth-best in the National League.

Righty Jordan Zimmermann takes his turn tonight against the Padres. His ERA ballooned to 8.64 after being shellacked in Fenway for seven earned runs in 2 1/3 innings in only his second start back on April 13. But in his last five outings, Zimmermann's ERA is a strong 3.06 as the right-hander has gone at least six innings in each start.

Nats catcher Wilson Ramos extended his major league-best hitting streak to 16 games with an RBI single in the fourth. Ramos also drove another run on a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

And Harper collected three more walks to increase his total to 33, tops in the majors.

Hard-throwing right-hander Blake Treinen gave the Nats four solid innings in relief, allowing just a solo shot to Spangenberg in the fourth. Treinen's effort in the blowout was valuable, as it enabled Williams to preserve his bullpen with three more games remaining in the series.

As far as the rain and low temperatures in typically sunny San Diego went, Williams was just as confused as the local meteorologists.

"Strange," he said. "In all my days of playing and coaching, I think we've had one instance of weather here or one instance of rain that would affect the game. But, hey, there's nothing we can do about it."