Tracking the Nats’ historic chase of the ’62 Mets

Current Record: 5-11 (.312, 6 GB)

Projected Record: 51-111

Number of Days Since John Patterson’s Last Win: 362

Parsing the Loss: Nats 2, Phillies 4. As Thomas Boswell says, “the correct answer is always ‘pitching.'” With all due respect to their ever-improving bats, the Nats have pulled away from the abyss due to better-than-expected pitching. Yesterday, it was painfully clear that John Patterson, the team’s expected ace, hasn’t recovered from nerve surgery last summer. His fastball is topping out at 89 mph. Not that speed is necessarily even the problem: WP Jamie Moyer can’t throw faster than 83 mph. Better to look at Patterson’s grimmer stats: 0-3, 7.00 ERA, 1 SO, 4 BB, 7 H, 3 ER.

Barry Svrluga Adjectives of the Day: “bewildered,” “frustrated”