Washington Nationals’ lineup for 2nd of 3 with the Philadelphia Phillies...

Aaron Nola only lasted three innings against the Washington Nationals last time out before tonight, in a 9-8 loss in D.C. in which he received no decision after giving up a total of five hits (three of them home runs), two walks, and six earned runs.

It was the most earned runs off of the Philadelphia Phillies’ right-hander since September of 2017.

Davey Martinez’s squad will hope for a repeat of those results tonight, in the second game of their three-game series in Citizens Bank Park after coming up short in the series opener last night.

Kurt Suzuki hit a home run early in the opener, and Brian Dozier connected for his first blast in a Nationals uniform late, but the Nats went 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position in what ended up a 4-3 loss, in which they left the potential tying run on third with Anthony Rendon doubling after Dozier’s blast in the ninth before he was eventually stranded.

“We just couldn’t get nothing going with the bats till the end there,” Martinez said after the loss, “but I like the way the boys are playing. We’re playing good baseball.”

“We keep playing like that, I really believe we’re going to win a lot of games,” he added.

“The bullpen looked good today, so let’s just come back tomorrow, keep it going, and hopefully we’re on the other side of the coin and we win.”

Martinez liked the approach, though the results weren’t there, but as he’s said often, all the hitters can do is make good contact.

“We hit balls hard, can’t control where they go,” he said. “The boys have been swinging the bats really well, so we’ve just got to come back tomorrow and be ready to play tomorrow, and hopefully we score a bunch of runs.”

HERE’S THE NATIONALS’ LINEUP FOR THE 2ND OF 3 IN CBP: