Phillies no match for Nationals, Scherzer

WASHINGTON - Darin Ruf flipped the bat in the air and tapped it against his leg on his way back to the dugout. He chased a high fastball to end Friday's 7-2 loss to the Nationals. The Phillies offense was listless. And now the night was finally over.

The team struck out 11 times. Just one runner touched third base before the ninth inning. The Phillies registered one extra-base hit. They were retired in order three times during their sixth straight loss.

The offense was of little threat to Washington ace Max Scherzer, who struck out nine batters in eight innings. The righthander's lone mistake was a third-inning triple by Odubel Herrera. Scherzer retired 17 of the next 19 batters.

"I'll say this: We're fighting, but I don't know if there's anyone in baseball that's probably faced the starting pitching we have coming out of the block this year," Jeff Francoeur said. "We've faced some damn good pitching."

The Phillies have scored two or fewer runs in five of their last six games. They are averaging 2.36 runs per game for the season, the major-league's lowest mark. A Phillies offense has never maintained such an anemic pace for an entire season. The 1942 squad came close, averaging 2.61 runs per game. They finished with 42 wins, slightly fewer than the current team is on course for.

Three players in Friday's starting lineup - Ruf, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard - ended the evening with batting averages less than .200. Carlos Ruiz reached in the ninth on an infield single to bring his average higher than .200. Ruf and Cody Asche each struck out three times. Howard struck out twice. Ruf, who started his sixth game, has struck out 10 times this season. All but one have come against righthanded pitching.

"He's hard to get a hold of," manager Ryne Sandberg said of Scherzer. "He's got a good fastball and it feels like if you're on that he goes to change-ups and breaking pitches. He really changes his pattern throughout his outings, so it's really hard for the guys to zone in on him, to get a handle of him."

Sean O'Sullivan pitched for the second time this season. Both of his starts have come against Scherzer. It was a matchup of a pitcher who ended spring training in the minor leagues against one of the league's elite arms.

O'Sullivan allowed four runs, all of which came on a pair of home runs. He had two strikeouts and two walks. He will likely start at least once more as Chad Billingsley continues to rehabilitate his shoulder in the minor leagues.

The crux of his outing was a first-inning curveball he lofted to Bryce Harper. The pitched hung over the plate and Harper made O'Sullivan pay. He crushed the pitch more than 400 feet to center for a three-run homer.

O'Sullivan sat alone in the corner of a quiet Phillies clubhouse, pulling on a pair of his cowboy boots. The room was solemn. Players walked through hushed. The pitcher said the team is "definitely aware" of their losing streak. They are doing what they can to stop it, he said. Halting it this weekend will be quite a task. Washington throws Jordan Zimmermann on Saturday and Stephen Strasburg on Sunday. Damn good pitching indeed.

@matt_breen