Ryan Howard ditched his batting gloves and walked to first base. Cesar Hernandez jogged toward the Phillies dugout. The team's rally - however brief - was over in the eighth inning of a 3-2 loss to the Washington Nationals in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader.
The Phillies offense proved listless. Jeff Francoeur provided the team's lone runs. Howard finished 0 for 3 with three strikeouts. His final whiff stranded Hernandez at second. It was Howard's seventh three-strikeout game of the season and fourth this month.
It was the 32d time in 76 games that the Phillies had scored two or fewer runs.