Fizzle: National 4, Phillies 0

Anyone who hoped the Phillies would start the second half of the season on a high note was disappointed on Friday. Instead, Stephen Strasburg and three from the National combined their opponents to defeat the Phillies, who lost 4-0 to the Nationals.

Nick Pivetta has had many struggles against the Nationals throughout his career and at first he seemed to have another long night. The Nationals charged the bases in the second set and a single from Victor Robles scored two points.

The Nats scored another point in the third, but that was the extent of the damage. It's a bit sad to see that three points in five innings can be considered a huge step forward for Pivetta, but that's where we are.

The Phillies had some personal chances against Strasbourg, but they were unable to capitalize. In the first moto, Jay Bruce was the victim of two runners on board. In the fourth, Andrew Knapp had a chance with two runners. As expected, it did not finish well.

Knapp's failure was not a surprise, but in the fifth inning, Rhys Hoskins arrived with two men. Unfortunately, he lined up to the left to end the threat. After that, they did not have much resistance.

There are 71 games left in the season, and I'm sure many of them will be better than Friday. But that does not change the fact that it was an extremely disappointing way to start the second half of the season.