Manny Acta didn't call this the low point of the season -- and considering the 2-15 stretch the Nationals went through earlier this year, he's probably right -- but boy, this one was rough. From Mike O'Connor to the Nationals' three hits (and six total baserunners), there wasn't much to like.

A few postgame tidbits: Acta stayed with his protocal of not jumping to conclusions after a start like this one. He didn't explicitly say O'Connor would start in five days, but that sounds like the plan right now. "Up to now, yeah, [he'll start]. We don't make decisions right away after a bad outing or bad at-bats."

O'Connor said his biggest problem was not being able to throw his off-speed pitches for strikes, which is one of the major parts of the left-hander's game. "I think it was an issue of just not executing, getting the ball down. I don't think it's anything major I need to change," he said. He had no problems with Acta lifting him in the middle of Jorge Cantu's at-bat. "The way I was throwing, I can't say anything about him taking me out at that point. It's his decision to make."

There were different opinions on what's changed about Andrew Miller; Lastings Milledge said he looked like the same pitcher that struggled against the Nationals twice, while Ryan Zimmerman said Miller's nastiest pitches -- namely his mid-90s fastball that breaks in on right-handers -- were in full effect. "He's a lefty that cross-fires and throws mid-90s. It's not an easy thing to do." Zimmerman acknowledged the Nationals' offense is struggling again, but had some interesting things to say about their pitching.

"As the pitching goes, we go," he said. "Look at the team in the other clubhouse. They've been playing well all year because their guys are throwing well. When we went through that good stretch (an 8-3 homestand), we had solid starting pitching. It seems kind of unfair to throw it on the starting pitching, but if you look at any good team in Major League Baseball, they have good starting pitching."

We're back here tomorrow for the finale of this three-game homestand -- Shawn Hill faces Florida lefty Scott Olsen at 1:35 p.m.