GAME IN A NUTSHELL: Losers of three straight, the Nationals knew they needed to string together some hits and plate more than a couple runs Saturday off Tom Koehler. That proved far more challenging than they could’ve anticipated, forcing Stephen Strasburg to be near-perfect to have a chance to win this game.
Strasburg wasn’t perfect — he gave up two runs in the fourth and another two runs in the sixth — and that put the Nationals in a 4-run hole. Which, given the current state of their lineup, feels like a much larger deficit.
The Nats never could get anything going against Koehler (who tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings) or the Marlins bullpen.