Craig Stammen pitched batting practice to the Philadelphia Phillies last night, giving up seven hits and seven runs in less than two innings. The ponies eventually won the contest, 14-7. Washington has yet to solve the Phillies’ line-up, which has touched Nats’ pitching for 45 runs in five games. “I just didn’t throw quality strikes,” Stammen said, after the game. “I threw a lot of stuff in the zone and over the plate. [My offspeed stuff is] breaking good, but I can’t throw them for strikes. … It’s very disappointing to let a lead slip away real quickly. Then again, I’ve had many pitching coaches and even the one I have right now [Steve McCatty] said this happens.”

Nats relievers didn’t fare much better: Jason Bergmann, Sean Burnett and Brian Bruney were roughed up, with Bruney the most exploited victim — the former Yankee now has a 13.50 ERA in his time in Washington. The Phillies are now 7-1 on the season, which matches their best major league start since 1993. Washington used six pitchers during the contest. They gave up 14 runs on 14 hits, with 176 pitches thrown — a line that compares favorably with their pitching futility of 2009. The only reliever who pitched really well was rookie Jessie English, who gave up four hits but no runs in two-and-two-third innings. The Nationals finish their time in Philadelphia tonight, with a final match-up against the powerful Phillies’ line-up. The Nationals return home tomorrow to face the 3-5 Milwaukee Brewers.

It’s Jackie Robinson Day in Baseball: Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier 61 years ago today. The 1947 NL MVP and National League Rookie of the Year had a .311 lifetime batting average was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. The Nats will celebrate Jackie Robinson Day at Nationals Park on Friday.

Garrett Mock and the Nats’ bullpen couldn’t find the strike zone in New York and Jeff Francouer took full advantage, launching two home runs and leading the New York Mets to an 8-2 victory at Citi Field. The Nats have now lost three of four to start the season, and are firmly rooted in last place in the NL East. The disappointment in the otherwise confident Nats’ locker room was palpable. Nats’ skipper Jim Riggleman, who has watched the team’s starters struggle to make it past the fifth, worried about the impact on the Nats’ bullpen — who are being called on more frequently as a result of the failure of the Nats’ front five. “That can’t continue. That’s not going to work,” he said, following Mock’s performance. “To this point, it’s not an excuse to bring a domino effect on our bullpen. We’ve already had an off day. We are carrying eight relievers. With eight relievers, nobody has been overtaxed or anything. … But if your starters [continue to] go three to five innings, it will cause problems that you can’t solve. The starters obviously have to pitch deeper in the game.”

Nats’ starter Garrett Mock, who blamed the cold and windy conditions for his inability to throw strikes, couldn’t make it out of the fourth inning. The hurlers that followed (Miguel Batista, Jason Bergmann and Jesse English — all with ERAs above 10.00), weren’t much better. The Mets, on the other hand, received timely hitting from Francoeur, who put two Nats’ pitches into the Citi Field bleachers, and journeyman catcher Rod Barajas, who matched his total. “It was really windy. The wind was in my face. The ball had a ton of movement on it,” Mock explained after the game. “Everything I said, everything I believed in and worked on all spring has been attack the strike zone and throw it over the plate. On the other hand, I’m not going to say, the ball is going all over the place and just baby one in there for the sake of throwing strikes. I’m not going to say it’s the baseball’s fault, but I really couldn’t get a grip [on it]. I did everything I could — trying to keep my hands moist, licking my fingers. I was just uncomfortable.”

The news for the Mets is all good: Jason Bay adds power to the middle of the Mets line-up and spark plug shortstop Jose Reyes is set to make his season debut on Saturday. John Lannan will start for the Nats, after suffering through an indifferent start against the Phillies on Opening Day. No one is underestimating the Mets, least of all Lannan: “The Mets have another power bat in the middle with Jason Bay,” Lannan said on Friday. “Rod Barajas adds depth as well. The Mets have power. The balance is more even — more up front and power in the middle. It’s a tough lineup.” Standing now at 1-3, with another match-up against the Mets in New York this afternoon, the Nationals will face Oliver Perez. Facing their fourth loss in five games, the Nats need to (ah) “get a grip on it.”

In The Blogosphere: Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider details the woes of the Nats rotation and bullpen, focusing first on Mock: “In the span of three weeks,” Zuckerman writes, “he’s gone from the best-looking starter in camp not named Strasburg to a starter who may be pitching to keep his job next time out” . . . Mike Harris, over at Nationals Fan Boy Looser reflects the same frustration, noting that he’s “willing to bet there are 4-5 guys in Syracuse right now who would be less painful to watch.” There’s a bet we won’t take . . . Nats320 weighs in with an interesting reflection on Mets 20-year-old phenom Jennry Mejia who mowed “right through all three Washington batters he faced to close out this game in the 9th. Mejia pitched with the determination that comes from knowing you can succeed” . . . Half Street Blues, meanwhile, provides a cheeky but blunt look at Ted and Mark Lerner’s business acumen, and observes that “not paying for pitching really helps the bottom line.” Of particular interest is HSB’s calculation of the Lerner family’s profits from the Nats, over $100 million in three years . . .

One game a season does not make: and that’s a damn good thing. If the Nats loss at home during their opener is any indication, then fans of the Anacostia Nine are in for a long season. Starter John Lannan was shakey, the bullpen (with the lone exception of Jesse English) seemed to revert to last year’s form, and Nats’ batters just couldn’t get around on Roy “Doc” Halladay. At least in the case of Halladay that’s no surprise. The former Blue Jay was masterful in seven complete innings of work, while Lannan lasted just three-and-two-thirds.”Philly is a tough team to stop once they get the momentum,” Lannan said after the game. “The momentum kept on going, and I couldn’t stop it. I felt good at first, it’s just that the fourth inning got me. I felt good the first three innings. I wanted to have a different story for Opening Day. It’s the first game of many, and I’m not going to let it tell the story for this whole season.”

Aside from the stadium-bulging and excited home town crowd (with Phillies’ fans sprinkled liberally throughout) — and the ceremonies surrounding the actual game — the day was only marginally memorable. It actually began the night before with Washington’s obsession (and the trade of a major player from that other game), and continued into the early afternoon, with the sports media’s focus on America’s current sports megalomaniac. In Boston and New York (and Chicago, Anaheim and Atlanta), those kinds of stories would be footnotes: a sure sign that Washington will need a winner to command the kind of loyalties enjoyed by the “Nation,” the “Empire” and the “Halos.” We’ll get there, but if Monday is any indication, it probably won’t be this year.

The good news is that with the opener out of the way, Nats’ fans can now focus on the real story: whether the bullpen will show appreciable improvement over ’09 (at least Jesse English looks good), whether the platoon in right field will really work (it won’t), whether Ian Desmond is “the answer” at short (we won’t know for awhile), and whether the starting five (sans Strasburg, at least for now), can reel off some wins.

Those Are The Headlines, Now For The Details: Bad news for Cubs fans — Carlos Zambrano is still Carlos Zambrano. The Venezuelan rolling pin made Lannan look like an ace. The “Big Z” gave up two homers, hit a batter and made a throwing error as the Sluggies fell to the Chops 16-5. At least he didn’t destroy the water cooler. Lou said that he never imagined that Chicago would give up 16 runs on Opening Day. It was God-awful. Atlanta’s version of “the real deal” hit a dinger in his first at bat and the boys over at “Baseball Tonight” just couldn’t stop talking about it. They said (as ESPN rolled video) that Henry Aaron has “passed the mantle” to a new slugger — new Atlanta outfielder Jason Heyward. Well, maybe. But it might be a little early . . .

John Kruk on Placido Polanco: “He’s the best number two hitter in baseball,” he said, “with the exception of Derek Jeter, who bats first” . . . Peter Gammons is fitting in nicely in his new gig, as an on-air commentator for the MLB Network, but he’s still a homer for his favorite team — and player. That said, he still issues some thoughtful insights. Last night Gammons described Frank Robinson as “the most underrated great player” of his era; that’s a new and interesting baseball category that demands some thinking. Gammons’ new category might, for instance, include the overlooked Mickey Vernon — who’s hardly rated at all. Gammons added that Robinson was overawed by the attention given to Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. Yeah, that’s right. And Mickey Mantle.