Rehashing a painful top of the 10th in Nats' latest loss

There's a lot to unpack from the Thursday's 6-5 loss in Philadelphia, and hopefully I touched on a lot of it in the game story. Byron Kerr also has much more on a mostly lights-out performance by the Nationals bullpen that somehow still included a blown save and a loss.

But this morning I wanted to go back and re-examine the top of the 10th, because what happened during that half-inning said a whole lot about the current state of the team and raised some more questions about what exactly they're doing right now and moving forward.

For only the second time through this season's first 35 games, the Nats went to extra innings. And as you know by now, this season that means the automatic runner on second base to begin the inning.

So Michael A. Taylor, who made the final out of the ninth, took his position at second base as Trea Turner came up to bat to lead off the inning.

"I got surprised by that a little bit. I totally forgot," Turner admitted in his postgame Zoom session with reporters. "This might've been the first time we've played into extra innings. (Note: They actually beat the Blue Jays in 10 innings back on July 29, with Turner striking out with the bases loaded and one out.) I was caught off-guard a little bit when Mikey went out there."

There are differing opinions on offensive strategy these situations, but for the most part the visiting team believes it's best to play for a big inning while the home team plays for the one run that will win them the game (if the visiting team didn't score first, of course).

"When you're on the road, you want to try to get two or three runs, as opposed to playing for one," Turner said. "So my idea was: Move him over and try to drive him in at the same time. Just get a good pitch in the zone and do what I've been doing."

Alas, Turner couldn't turn his intentions into reality. Despite getting ahead in the count 3-1, he fouled off a high fastball from Blake Parker that might've been ball four, then struck out on another fastball at the letters.

That development proved critical, because with one out and first base open, the Phillies had the luxury of intentionally walking Juan Soto. Soto, who as the No. 3 hitter got to bat with at least one runner on base in three of his first four plate appearances, never got the chance to do something with his fourth such plate appearance.

So the pressure shifted to Asdrúbal Cabrera, and that's not a good place for the pressure to be these days. Red-hot through the season's first three weeks, Cabrera has gone ice-cold since. And after striking out looking at a 90 mph fastball from Parker, the veteran is now 3-for-29 during this road trip.

"We've got to have better at-bats with guys on base, guys in scoring position," manager Davey Martinez lamented. "Cabby was doing so good earlier. I think he's just chasing outside the zone. We've got to get him back in the zone and start hitting the ball back to the middle of the field."

Like the Turner strikeout, the Cabrera strikeout had significant ramifications. With two outs and runners on first and second, Parker could afford to pitch Kurt Suzuki carefully. He wound up walking the catcher, loading the bases for the Nationals' No. 6 hitter: Brock Holt.

If anyone told Martinez on July 23 his No. 6 hitter on Sept. 3 would be Holt, he'd have either laughed or cried, because it probably meant several things had gone wrong for his team. Which is exactly what Holt was batting sixth on Sept. 3.

Picked up last week when the Brewers let him go after a dismal 3-for-30 start to the season, Holt has shown zero signs of rediscovering the hitting stroke that made him so popular for years in Boston. He's now 0-for-10 with one walk and five strikeouts since joining the Nationals. He also was charged with an error in the bottom of the first Thursday that led to two Phillies runs and nearly was charged with another moments later.

So as Holt's spot came up in such a critical spot in the 10th inning, it was only logical to wonder if Martinez would send up a pinch-hitter. Like Howie Kendrick, as professional a hitter as there is.

Except Kendrick never did come up to bat, and after the game Martinez confirmed his veteran batter was not available. The manager didn't specify why, but we know Kendrick's hamstrings have been an ongoing issue and he needs regular days off to risk major injury. Thursday appears to have been one of those days.

Martinez did have another option on his bench, though: Josh Harrison. The veteran utilityman was signed just after opening day to provide the kind of depth and versatility. And in very limited action to date, he's been quite productive: 10-for-34 with one double, three homers, seven RBIs and a .922 OPS.

And though Holt had the advantage of being a left-handed batter, Harrison has nearly identical splits versus lefties and righties during his career and is a robust 5-for-14 with a homer versus righties this year.

Yet Harrison remained on the bench and Holt took the at-bat, his fifth of the game. He grounded out to short. He has yet to hit a ball out of the infield in 11 plate appearances for the Nationals.

"We could've used Harrison," Martinez conceded. "I liked Holt right there. This guy, he's gonna get it. He's been a good player in his career. I wanted to give him an opportunity to drive in those runs."

It was just one of several opportunities for the guys batting in the middle of the Nats lineup to drive in a run Thursday, none of them successful. The fourth through seventh hitters in the lineup - the quartet of Cabrera, Suzuki, Holt and Eric Thames - went a combined 0-for-18 with a walk and four strikeouts in this game.

And in the end, that was a key contributing factor to a 6-5 loss and a four-game sweep in Philly.