If we’ve learned anything from watching these first two games against the Red Sox, it’s that the way the Sox play the game is something the Nationals need to make note of. The Red Sox got extra bases on multiple occasions simply because they go hard out of the batter’s box every single time. They cut down on the Nationals’ scoring opportunities by charging every single ball hit to the outfield with aggression that borders on reckless, and they have a clear approach to every single at-bat they take. All of these things are things that the Nationals either don’t consistently do or don’t do at all. The Nationals haven’t looked like they belong on the same field as Boston, and considering we’re talking about a 45-45 team, it’s not something that can be written off as “oh well, they’re just a better team, this was supposed to happen.” Lose the first two games of the series? Fine. Do it in a dignified manner, at least make it look like you’re supposed to be playing in the same league as your opponent. This was the third loss the Nats have had in the past four days that just was not competitive at any point, and that’s an embarrassment.

If you took these first two games in stride and weren’t frustrated by them, more power to you, because while I won’t say I expected to win either of them, seeing another team come into our ballpark and just completely outclass us for two straight games is infuriating to me.

It was another dud of an outing from Mitchell Parker. It began with Brady House‘s first career error, but the excuses run out there. In the top of the first inning, the Red Sox got RBI doubles from Romy Gonzalez and Rob Refsnyder, but Parker dialed it in and got out of the inning, only down 2-0. That would be the closest the game would get.

In the top of the third, things just fell completely out of control. Roman Anthony started the flood with an RBI single, and then the Sox would not score again before Mitchell Parker recorded the first two outs of the inning. I noted that because two-out RBIs are a major no-no for pitchers, and conveniently, a weakness of our pitching staff. The Red Sox got a two-run triple from Jarren Duran, who then scored on a fielding error by Mitchell Parker himself, on a tapper that 100% should have ended the inning. That would prove instantly costly as Ceddanne Rafaela blasted the next pitch out to left, and Romy Gonzalez added an RBI single to make it 9-0 Boston. Six runs came across with two outs in the third inning, turning this game into yet another laugher.

The Nats did finally get on the board against Walker Buehler in the third inning, but fittingly, it came in on an inning-ending double play ball. Mitchell Parker, to his credit, did come back out after the disastrous third inning and throw three consecutive scoreless innings on the board to save the bullpen and make it through six innings. I may be alone in this, but I’m tired of praising our starters for buckling down and eating innings after the other team has already shelled them. I don’t particularly care how well our guy settles down after they’ve already put up nine runs on him, same deal as Trevor Williams in his outing the other day. We have to hold these guys to a little higher standard because everyone in this rotation, not named Gore, has held the bar pretty low this season in terms of what a good outing is.

The Nats got another one back in the bottom of the fourth, once again scoring on a groundout, but at least Keibert Ruiz would be credited with an RBI for this one, making it a 9-2 ballgame. Buehler didn’t look overly dominant at any point this afternoon. His arsenal has changed a little bit since the days we saw him lighting up the radar gun against us as a Dodger, but this afternoon, it didn’t matter. I’ve said a lot about the Nationals’ rotation underperforming, but the offense is by no means innocent either.

The Red Sox came out of the gates today with energy from start to finish, just like they did yesterday. The Nationals as a team have visibly lacked energy consistently, effort at times, basic fundamentals at times, a clear plan at the plate often, and most days they don’t look to be having all that much fun out there. My coaches told us every week of the season, the only thing you can control is your energy and effort. More times than not this year, I’ve scratched my head watching this team thinking “man, there has to be some more juice in that dugout than this,” and for a bunch of guys getting paid very well to play a game, that doesn’t seem like a hard ask.

For those of you relying on me to stay positive and give the good side of things, I sincerely apologize for failing you, but when the issue is effort and energy, I have no patience for that.

A Josh Bell RBI single after Nathaniel Lowe‘s second triple of the week (how many of you had that on your bingo cards?) would chase Buehler from this game in the bottom of the sixth. The downside is that it would also be the last we’d hear from the Nats’ offense the rest of the game.

• Walker Buehler: 5 innings, 8 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 100 pitches
• Mitchell Parker: 6 innings, 10 hits, 9 runs (4 earned), 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, 95 pitches

The bullpens brought this one to a quick end once each team turned to their respective relievers, the only offense coming in the top of the eighth on a Ceddanne Rafaela RBI double to give the Red Sox a 10-3 lead. That would be how the game ended, as Jacob Young would strike out looking on a slider right over the heart of the plate to bring yet another embarrassing performance to an end.

Positives this afternoon seem kind of silly considering I’ve spent two paragraphs airing my grievances, but I may be the only person who writes about this game that will have anything positive to say about the Nats’ performance, so I’ll do my duty. Ryan Loutos and Jackson Rutledge both tossed scoreless innings out of the bullpen, a good sign as both of them were coming off less-than-stellar outings. Offensively, Josh Bell continued to stay hot; he’s turned his season around over the past month. He went 3-4 today with an RBI, and has brought his batting average for the season up to .212. Nathaniel Lowe also delivered another multi-hit performance this afternoon. He’s starting to see the ball a lot better recently, too, a good sign especially if the Nats plan on him being a long-term cog at first base. Rather than rant, I will just point out that the Nationals did not draw a single walk in this game. I’ll leave that there and let you process it for yourself.

The series concludes tomorrow afternoon at 1:35, and unfortunately, it’s not getting any easier. Garrett Crochet (8-4, 2.34 ERA), the hard-throwing lefty, will be on the mound for the Sox. Considering the struggles Washington has had against left-handed pitching, this does not appear to be a matchup that favors the Nationals. On the other side, many thought Cade Cavalli would make his return tomorrow, but that is not so. Dave Martinez announced in the postgame today that Shinnosuke Ogasawara will be called up to make his major league debut tomorrow afternoon, getting the start. Ogasawara, a lefty, signed out of Japan this past offseason, has thrown 24 innings in the minors this year with a 4.50 ERA. The Nats will need a big effort to come out with a win in their final home game before the All-Star break, but a win could always spark a turnaround.