Offensive funk continues for Nats in four-game slide

No one would argue that the Nationals haven't faced some of the game's most imposing arms since the All-Star break - Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Gerrit Cole, Jacob deGrom - but Arizona's Zack Godley doesn't fall into that category. Yet the unheralded rookie baffled the Nats lineup Monday night, tossing six scoreless innings while yielding just three singles with six strikeouts in only his third major league start.

"We're going through a spell right now where we're not scoring many runs and gone up against some good pitchers," Ryan Zimmerman said. "That's not an excuse. Just keep going. We've got 50-something games left, and we're in good position."

Zimmerman's solo homer in the ninth finally put the Nationals on the scoreboard and ignited a late rally before falling short 6-4 to drop into second place in the National League East for the first time since June 19.

"Hopefully that gets us started a little bit," Nationals manager Matt Williams said of the four-run burst. "We don't want to wait that long, but we put some good swings on it in the ninth there. Hopefully that gives us a little momentum for (Tuesday)."

Despite getting the services of Anthony Rendon, Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman back from lengthy stays on the disabled list, last night's ninth-inning flurry gave the Nationals only their second outing in their past eight of scoring more than two runs.

"I think everybody knows it's going to take about 100 at-bats for guys to really get going," said Bryce Harper. "It's something that I went through two years in a row. I know how it is. Seeing guys come in, we want those guys in the lineup, but we know it's going to take a little bit of time. It's something that just goes that way. You need about 100 at-bats to really get going. We'll see about it in a couple of weeks."

Harper's maintained throughout this breakout season that most of his improvements relate directly to staying healthy and thus receiving consistent at-bats.

"I guess you could say that," Zimmerman said. "But if you're here and ready to play, there's really no excuse. Bottom line, it just comes down to we have to score more runs. To get to where we want to get, we're going to have to score runs against good pitchers and help our guys out. Our pitchers have done well."

Max Scherzer knows all about lack of run support. The dominant right-hander has received the least amount of offense as any starter in the Nationals rotation with 3.3 runs scored for him per outing. The Nats have been shut out three times with Scherzer on the mound and five times they've posted just a single run. That's all Scherzer received in last Thursday's 1-0 victory over the Marlins, the last time the Nationals won.

With the way it's going for the offense, the Nationals may lean on Scherzer tonight to be the stopper of this four-game slide once again.