Maikel Franco homered.
Bryce Harper also went yard.
The Phils were up 6-1 with their ace Aaron Nola on the mound.
Even worse, they were one stinking strike away from putting this one in the win column in the 9th inning. And they let it slip away.
And they still lost to the Nationals last night at Citizens Bank Park.
This is one of those handful of games that will stick in the craw of Phillies fans for awhile.
And it underscores an old maxim that could prove to be this team's Achilles Heel.
The Phils might have the best 1-8 lineup in baseball.
But serious questions remain about their pitching, in particular their bullpen.
Isn't that always the case.
At the top of that list is Nola, who suffered his second-straight sub-par outing. He had a four-run lead going into the seventh when he gave up a two-run homer to Yan Gomes and a solo shot to pinch-hitter Howie Kendrick.
His ERA after three starts is sitting at a bloated 6.46.
Jack McCaffery dissects a most disappointing loss.
* * *
Get out your calendars, Eagles fans.
Circle the dates Aug. 15-19. That's the second week of the preseason - and when the Birds will fly South to face the Jacksonville Jaguars and their new starting quarterback.
Some guy by the name of Nick Foles.
It will mark the first meeting of the teams since the Super Bowl MVP departed the Birds' nest earlier this offseason.
It's unlikely Foles will play a lot, what with it being a preseason game. The Eagles and Jags do not play each other in the regular season.
The rest of the Eagles preseason schedule looks like this:
Week 1: Tennessee
Week 2: At Jacksonville
Week 3: Baltimore
Week 4: At the New York Jets.
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