. . . because, while the Nationals keep winning in Philly, they still have seven games to play and, no matter what they do, will finish no better than third. We’re not just being killjoys: while it’s wonderful to see our Anacostia Nine play so well (especially at “Nats Park North”), there are some among us who (in the middle of the 7th inning last night — and then again in the 8th) stood up and screamed — “that’s just great, but where were you in June?”

The answer oughta be obvious: trying to find a pitching staff. That the Nats have now won consistently, when it counts the least, is evidence that (finally), that seems to have been done. John Lannan didn’t pitch brilliantly last night, but he fought hard and well (he’s not the same pitcher we saw last year), and a whole handful of other arms have now emerged: Milone and Peacock, and Wang and Detwiler — not to mention Jordan Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg (and, just maybe, Livan Hernandez). And those are just the starters.

Then too, the bats have nearly ended their slumber: the Nationals pounded out ten hits last night, which included home runs from Danny Espinosa (his 21st, setting a Nationals rookie record), and the vastly underrated Wilson Ramos (who hit his 14th, which is none too shabby). More importantly, the Nats shook off their disturbing habit of serving tea to men on base — eight were left on base last night, but that number is going down, and they’ve damned near returned to the league mean.

As important (we think) is that the Nationals are now 9-8 against their in-division rivals — with the bonus that Nats fans have started to stream north. That an indication (perhaps), that Nats fans are anticipating what might (might) happen next year. “It’s a fun time,” Danny Espinosa said of his visit to the not-so-friendly confines of The Bank. “It’s a fun game to play against them. I want to play them hard because I know we can beat them. We are showing that. For myself, personally, I enjoy playing against the team.”

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: We’ve decided to change the description of the New York Mets — they’re no longer “the chokes.” That description more aptly fits the Atlanta Braves, who barely showed up to play the Marlins last night in Miami, and lost to the stinking Fish. It wasn’t even close. Now they know how it feels. The Braves now lead the Cardinals (who woulda thought — and certainly not us), by a single game and some spit. The Cardinals surprised everyone (including their own fans) and rallied to beat the Mets in St. Louis, 6-5 . . .

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Arizona Diamondbacks’ pitcher Daniel Hudson is the one who got away: back at the trade deadline in 2010, it was Hudson (then with the White Sox),who was dangled before Mike Rizzo in exchange for Adam Dunn, but the Nationals’ G.M. took a pass. Hudson ended up in Arizona, where he’s blossomed into a top flight starter.

It’s easy to see now what everyone saw in the righty — Hudson was brilliant on Wednesday, spinning a near shutout as the Nationals could not catch the D-Backs in the ninth, and dropped their second in a row to the Snakes, 4-2. Hudson scattered nine hits in a game that he exited with two outs in the ninth.

The downside of Hudson’s night came in the ninth inning, as Nationals’ boppers Laynce Nix and Jonny Gomes launched back-to-back homers to knock Hudson out of the game — denying him a shutout and a complete game. J.J. Putz came on to end the rally. Putz registered his 32nd save.

“He was pretty good, man, and I was surprised,” Arizona catcher Miguel Montero said of Hudson’s outing. “I was a little surprised, because in the bullpen, he looked like he had a little bit of a control problem. He got into the game and he was painting those corners, man. It was a shame he couldn’t get the shutout.”

The loss was notched by Livan Hernandez, who dueled Hudson all night. The crafty Washington righty threw 7.1 innings and gave up four — but he pitched much better than his numbers indicate. Two of those runs came with men on base and reliever Henry Rodriguez on the mound.

Nats’ skipper Davey Johnson blamed himself for leaving Livo in too long. “I take responsibility for that one,” Johnson said. “He was really pitching a great game and when he’s good, he’s really good. I had it in my mind that if he gives me seven, I’m getting him out of there. I balked. He got into trouble and couldn’t get out of it.”

Following his shutout performance against the Nationals on Tuesday, it’s easy to understand why Arizona righty Ian Kennedy (16-4, with a sparkling 3.09 ERA), is being mentioned so prominently as a candidate for the N.L. Cy Young Award. Kennedy threw seven innings of six hit ball while striking out eight, to lead the Diamondbacks in a 2-0 skunking of the Nationals. While facing a revived Washington line-up known for stunning last minute wins, Kennedy was never really in danger — and added a single and a double of his own to the victory.

While the D-Backs win was hardly seizmic, the Snakes are suffering through the aftershocks of a six game losing streak — and we can hardly fault them for being concerned about losing their fragile lead in the N.L. West to the San Francisco Giants. Kennedy’s performance outshone that of Nationals’ lefty Jordan Zimmermann, who was nearly as good — giving up a home run to Sean Burroughs (with a man on) that proved the difference.

Zimmermann — who must be accounted as the Nationals most effective pitcher this season — lasted into the seventh, but could not complete the inning, taking his eleventh loss against eight wins. It is likely that Washington fans have seen the last of Zimmermann for the year, as he will probably be making only one more start for the season, and that one will probably come on the road.

For a time on Tuesday, it appeared that the Nationals and D-Backs would pick up where they left off in Arizona, the last time the two teams met, back in early June. That knock-down contest came close to sparking a donnybrook, and the same thing nearly happened on Tuesday — when Justin Upton (knocked down in Arizona) was hit by Zimmermann in the top of the fourth. In the bottom of that frame, Ian Kennedy seemed to retaliate, hitting Morse. Both benches were warned.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: Speaking of earthquakes, the ground is opening up under the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis fans rarely boo their hometown boys, but they did last night when the Redbirds gave up two runs to the Trolleys in the top of the ninth, losing 2-1. The catcalls came down as the Cardinals then went quietly in their half of the inning . . .

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Jayson Werth’s three run home run — and the pitching of lefty Ross Detwiler — led the Washington Nationals to a 4-1 victory over the reeling Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park on Monday night. The Werth home run (he was 2-4 in the victory) provided the difference in the game, with the slumping free agent finally hitting the ball with authority. It was the sixth loss in a row for the Diamondbacks in their quest to win the N.L. West. They now lead the Giants in the West by a single game.

Detwiler, who is now in the mix for a starting spot in 2012, turned in an impressive performance, giving up six hits and one earned run in 6.2 innings of work. Detwiler’s outing provided further evidence that the former sixth overall draft pick has finally arrived in the majors: “He threw a good game,” Snakes’ manager Kirk Gibson said after his team’s loss. “He came after us, but we couldn’t put anything together. He didn’t give us any free chances.”

Werth’s at-bats, meanwhile, have finally begun to provide evidence that he’s emerging from his season long slump. “Probably the last week to 10 days, I’ve really locked it in,” he said after the game. “It was a struggle, really. It has been a long time coming. I knew where it was. I just didn’t know how to get there. Finally, I feel I’m getting there.”

The Wisdom of Section 1-2-9: It was an irritable crowd that greeted the Diamondbacks on Monday, the residue (a section mate offered) of the Phillies’ visit over the weekend. “I feel almost at home now that those guys are gone.” The only real negatives of the night were reserved for the Phillies — and for the Nationals’ ownership. When a fan was escorted out of the ballpark for throwing Henry Blanco’s home run back on the field, the section stood and booed. “These guys don’t get it,” a regular noted. “We’re trying to get people in here, not kick ‘em out.”

But most of the negative comments on Monday were reserved for the D-Backs, who seemed anything but the leaders of the West. “These guys look like they’re asleep,” a section regular noted. “I’ve never seen a team so down.” Another Nats regular was even more outspoken. “Who are these guys,” he said. “I mean really — Cody Ransom? Collin Cowgill? These are the guys who are taking on the Giants? Give me a break.” Later, when Ryan Roberts came to the plate, one of the regulars laughed. “It’s like watching the Illustrated Man,” he said. “I know he’s good, but geez. That ink is moving.”

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One day after playing one of their best games of the year, the Washington Nationals committed three errors and John Lannan walked five — and the Nationals went on to lose to the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-3. Lannan lasted only three innings, as Philadelphia starter Roy Oswalt scattered six hits in seven innings, holding Washington to just three earned runs. The Nationals were never in it.

The Phillies’ victory was sparked by a five run third inning in which an Ian Desmond error and walks to Hunter Pence, Carlos Ruiz (intentionally) and pitcher Oswalt (unintentionally) gave the Phillies a lead they would never relinquish. The Phillies tacked on three runs in the eighth (two singles and a sacrifice fly), while reliever Michael Stutes held the Nationals scoreless.

Lannan’s poor showing put him at 8-8, but his struggles were matched by a solid relief effort from Collin Balester, who pitched three innings of one hit ball, complemented by three strikes outs. Balester’s relief effort lowered his ERA to 4.12, and helped reinforce his role as a long option out of the bullpen. Balester’s solid outing was offset by that of Henry Rodriguez, who continued to struggle with his control.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: It hasn’t exactly been a free-fall, but the 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants have got to be concerned. The McCoveys have struggled in August, going 4-8 (and 11-14 in their last 25) in trying to retain a hold on the lead in the N.L. West. They haven’t been able to do it, and now trail the Diamondbacks by two games on the left coast.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way: slugger Carlos Beltran was brought in from the New York Madoffs to give the Giants a needed shot of offense for their playoff run — but the only shot the Giants’ have been getting is the cortisone shot Beltran has needed to ease the pain in his strained right hand. The slugger was sidelined again last night as the Giants faced the Marlins in Florida.

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Chien-Ming Wang still isn’t ready for prime time. The former Yankee and new Nationals’ righthander struggled through five innings against the Braves yesterday, giving up seven hits and two runs through five innings — and the Nationals fell to Atlanta in the final game of their three game set, 6-4.

While Wang recovered from a shaky first inning (in which he gave up two runs), he had trouble in the fifth, which proved the key to the game. Wang threw wildly on a Brandon Beachy bleeder for a two base error, Jose “George” Constanza followed with a single and, after a force play and an out at the plate, Dan Uggla plated the two stranded runners (and himself) with a three run homer.

The Nats fought back, rapping out a four run sixth inning, with a walk by Danny Espinos, singles by Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse, a Beachy wild pitch and a Jayson Werth home run. But four runs weren’t enough to secure the victory. Despite the loss, pitching coach Steve McCatty was upbeat on Wang. “He had better sink,” McCatty said after the game. “The offspeed pitches were a little flat. He got hurt on that. If he makes a play in the fifth inning — no damage.”

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: Jason Marquis debuted for the Arizona Diamondbacks yesterday, and it didn’t go well. The former Nats’ righty gave up ten hits and seven runs over four innings, as the Snakes fell to the McCoveys, 8-1. Marquis wasn’t the only thing traded to Arizona; so too was the explanation for why he does poorly: his sinker wasn’t sinking . . .

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It’s quite possible that finally — five months into the 2011 baseball season — the Nationals have finally found their leadoff hitter. Batting in the first slot in the line-up last night, centerfield veteran Rick Ankiel blasted two home runs in leading the Nationals to a 5-3 victory over the Braves at Nationals Park. Ankiel’s homers allowed Livan Hernandez (six innings, six hits and three strikeouts) to walk away with his sixth win of the season.

Ankiel’s homers were only his fourth and fifth of the year and came in the first and the fifth inning — both off of usually reliable Braves’ starter Jair Jurrjens, who registered his fourth loss. Ankiel, who has been in and out of the line-up all year (and has struggled at the plate) seems finally to be swinging with authority. “You just look for a pitch to drive. Sometimes you get it, sometimes you make it happen, sometimes you don’t,” Ankiel said after the victory. “Lately, I’ve been making good contact and good things are happening.”

It’s too soon to tell whether Ankiel’s Monday night performance means that he will be an every game feature at the leadoff position, but Nats’ skipper Davey Johnson liked what he saw: “Now he [Ankiel] is [playing] and he has cut down on his strikeouts, his swings are better,” Johnson said. “That comes with playing. In the last couple of years, I don’t think he has played much.”

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: If either Pittsburgh or Cincinnati are to have a chance in the N.L. Central, they’re going to have to beat the teams behind them. Last night they didn’t. Newest Ahoy Derrek Lee celebrated his arrival in Pittsburgh with two home runs, but the Pirates couldn’t beat the no-account Cubs, suffering their fourth loss in a row by a 5-3 score. Catch ‘em while you can; they’re fading, and fast . . .

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