WASHINGTON _ After Jake Thompson struggled in his first few major league starts, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin began to wonder what happened to the pitcher who dominated his way through the minors.
It took some time, but that pitcher has slowly started to emerge. Thompson pitched 51/3 solid innings on Friday night in a 5-4 loss to Washington at Nationals Park.
He has allowed five runs in his last 191/3 innings after allowing 21 in his first 191/3. The right-hander struck out five batters, walked one, and allowed two runs and five hits. Thompson even crushed a double for the first extra-base hit of his professional career. He was lifted in the sixth inning after allowing a double to Daniel Murphy and an RBI single to Bryce Harper, and walking Anthony Rendon.
Thompson is starting to show signs of the pitcher the Phillies hoped they had acquired last summer, when they received him from Texas as part of the trade that sent Cole Hamels to the Rangers: a pitcher with strong command of his fastball and effective breaking pitches.
He was excellent last year after joining double-A Reading for the season's final two months. He found the same success this season at triple-A Lehigh Valley. The major leagues proved to be a different beast, but the pitcher is only 22 years old. It would surely take time.
The Phillies offense _ the worst in all of baseball _ came up short again for Thompson. The Phillies scored one run for him, on a single by Freddy Galvis in the fourth inning. The Phillies have combined to score two runs in support of Thompson in his last five starts. The rookie has had little room for error.
Cameron Rupp tied the game with a three-run home run in the eighth inning, but the Phillies coughed up the game in the ninth. Trea Turner _ who also homered in the seventh _ hit a game-ending homer off Frank Herrmann.
Washington starter Tanner Roark corralled the Phillies once again, striking out eight batters in six innings. The right-hander has a 0.79 ERA this season in five starts against the Phillies. It is the lowest mark this year for a National League pitcher against a team he has faced at least four times.
Odubel Herrera, who scored the team's only run, was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning. He left the game with a bruised right knee after being hit by a pitch in the knee cap. The Phillies could play Saturday without Herrera and Maikel Franco, who missed a third-straight game with a bruised thumb.
Herrera entered Friday batting just .235 with 54 strikeouts in 55 games since July 5, when he was named as the team's lone representative for the All- Star Game. His plate discipline has been frustrating. But Herrera started Friday night by roping a one-out double in the first inning.
The Phillies looked to finally crack Roark. But then Herrera, who has troubled the coaching staff the last few months with his awareness, tried to steal third when a pitch got away from Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos. The ball was just a short reach for the catcher, who threw Herrera out with ease at third base.
The gaffe squandered a run that the Phillies could have used with Thompson on the mound. Instead, it was the start of another night without run support and a wasted performance by a pitcher who is starting to find his footing.
