Defensive Lapses

A well pitched baseball game by both sides.

Our Washington Nationals & The San Diego Padres each got out of jams with runners in scoring position late.

Losing that ball game because D.C.'s team simply got beat would have been acceptable. It really was a very good game at Petco Park in Southern California this Memorial Day Sunday afternoon.

At least until another key error--this time on a throw by Adam Kennedy on a deflected baseball off Sean Burnett's glove in the bottom of the 11th inning--resulted in the game winning run moments later.

Physical defensive miscues are creeping up and into Washington's play. Defensive lapses that are beginning to have an effect on the season.

An error on Saturday night directly led to the game changing play and eventual loss to The San Diego Padres 4-2. An error this past Thursday afternoon in the 7th frame against The San Francisco Giants set up the another 5-4 defeat. And three errors nine days ago at Nationals Park against The New York Mets affected that outcome and put Washington in the loss column too, 10-7.

Despite not having a true ace, Our Washington Nationals starting pitching has actually been pretty solid. But no one is going to win many close games if shaky defense, in key moments, lets them down. Washington's faltering "D" needs to be tightened up. Not having a powerful offense. Not having dominating pitching. D.C.'s Team needs to play near perfect games some days to win. Imperfection at the wrong time was again costly this afternoon in San Diego and that flaw directly led to Washington's latest loss.

Final Score from Petco Park where Ryan Zimmerman was the only offense today--slugging out his 100th and 101st career home runs: The San Diego Padres 3 and Our Washington Nationals 2. There is no shame in losing close, well played games. But it's deflating to be defeated thanks to your very own mistake. Washington is getting good pitching. And despite not hitting overly well of late, their offense is still capable of putting just enough runs on the board to win. Fielding the baseball cleanly though is hurting Washington's chances to pull off some winnable Curly "W's". It's crippled their chances in close games and the discouraging result this afternoon in San Diego put Our Washington Nationals under .500 at 25-26, tied for last place in the very competitive National League East (four games back).

Considered to be a strong point when the 2010 season began, Washington's defensive lapses are becoming an unnerving factor.

Today's In-Game Photos, Lenny Ignelzi (AP)