Nationals heading the wrong way at the wrong time

Do you remember the scene in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" when the couple is yelling frantically at John Candy and Steve Martin, "You're going the wrong way" as two 18-wheelers are approaching the duo's car? That's exactly what's happening to the Nationals as they appear lost in their 10-game, 11-day journey out west.

There's no method to the madness, either. When the offense shows up, the pitching doesn't; when the starters twirl gems, the bats are left in the dugout.

Nobody on the Nationals has hit a ball as far as Ian Desmond's 477-foot solo rocket that landed at the top of the bleachers in left at AT&T Park last night, almost to the 80-foot tall Coca-Cola bottle. The massive moonshot charged up the Nats dugout (see Bryce Harper and his "Home Alone" reaction - more John Hughes references) and gave Gio Gonzalez momentum with an early two-run lead.

That energy quickly disappeared as Gonzalez's control issues surfaced. The first six hitters reached in the third on a pair of walks, two singles, a triple and a double, resulting in five runs. After Gonzalez somehow secured two outs, the left-hander was finally bounced from the game after Brandon Crawford's RBI base knock.

Gonzalez surrendered six runs on five hits with two walks and one strikeout in just 2 2/3 innings after entering the game with a sterling 1.48 ERA in his previous eight starts.

To add to more pitching concerns, the Nationals bullpen was burned for another half-dozen runs, negating any chance of a reasonable comeback. The most concerning part of that mess was watching two more Giants cross the plate against right-hander Drew Storen. The once-dominant closer has now allowed 10 runs across 3 2/3 innings over his last four appearances (24.55 ERA) while working the eighth inning. Opponents are hitting .450 off the right-hander during the dismal stretch.

The availability of Harper for this afternoon's series finale is in question after the slugger fouled a ball off his left foot in the seventh inning. Harper lashed at an 86 mph slider from Giants right-hander George Kontos, shooting the ball directly at his back leg.

The brunt force knocked Harper off his feet. Nationals trainer Steve Gober came out to tend to Harper, who remained in the game to finish his at-bat. The 22-year-old lined out to center two pitches later and was clearly hobbled as he ran down the first base line. A frustrated Harper walked down the dugout steps and straight into the Nationals clubhouse, ending his evening.

After the game, Harper, the National League's home run leader, told reporters that X-rays were negative.

At 49-39, the Nationals returned from the All-Star break holding a three-game advantage in the National League East with the prospects of stars Anthony Rendon, Stephen Strasburg, Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman returning from the DL shortly after. They added closer Jonathan Papelbon a few days before the trade deadline to bolster the bullpen.

One month later, the Nationals find themselves on the outside looking in at the playoffs, 4 1/2 games behind the Mets in the National League East. After winning 11 of 13 games to take command of the division lead, New York cracked the door open the past two days with two straight extra-inning losses, but Washington has failed to take advantage.

With this current five-game slide, the Nats have now lost 19 of 29 games since the Midsummer Classic, dropping to .500 at 58-58.

All they have to do to break out of the slump is beat Giants starter Madison Bumgarner later today. The feared southpaw is 13-6 with a 3.15 ERA this year. However, that does include a six-run shellacking by the Nats on the Fourth of July sparked by first-inning homers from Michael A. Taylor and Harper.