MASN: Davey Johnson: “It’s time to get mad”

Why…even Face Palm Santangelo is getting testy!

After tonight’s 2-0 loss to the Cardinals, the Nats have now lost eight of their last 11 games, and Johnson is starting to get fed up with what he’s seeing.

“I’m usually pretty patient, but I’m getting to my rope’s end,” Johnson said. “The effort’s there, but we’re just not getting it done. We’ve got the players who can get it done, we’re just not getting it done. It’s time to get a little mad.

“I mean, you’ve got to tip your hat to (Adam) Wainwright, he pitched a heck of a ballgame, but we’re not centering up, we’re not giving as good of at-bats as we’re capable of. What’s it been, about a week. We’ve been real quiet offensively.”

...Expect Steve Lombardozzi to find his way into the lineup in the series finale against the Cardinals. With a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning tonight, Lombardozzi improved his average to .357 (10-for-28) this season and he’s now 3-for-5 in pinch-hit opportunities.

Adam LaRoche is one of the Nats struggling most right now. Mired in an 0-for-10 slump that includes seven strikeouts (four of which came tonight, giving LaRoche the dreaded “Golden Sombrero”), LaRoche is hitting .172 on the season. Second baseman Danny Espinosa went 0-for-3 tonight, dropping his average to .167.

“When it rains, it pours,” Johnson said. “When you sometimes go into a little funk, it’s magnified. And the way I read this ballclub, it’s probably more everybody’s trying to do something, trying to do maybe a little too much instead of just doing what’s there. Hitting the ball hard somewhere. Get on base. Get some momentum going. But it’s frustrating.”