The Nationals fell 6-5 last night to the Astros despite a late comeback that gave them the lead going into the eighth inning.

The Nationals ability to give the game away in late innings is almost as impressive on the opposite side of the spectrum as the New York Yankees and the Chicago Bulls of the late 90’s were at closing the game. They invented how to win, we have perfected how to lose.

The Nats turned a 4-1 deficit into a 5-4 lead in the late innings last night. The Astros winning run scored when Geoff Blum smacked a double to right, this coming only a minute or two after the same batter should have been out as a short pop-up was lost by Nick Johnson in the Minute Made Park lights.

I simply can’t describe last night’s fiasco better than Joe Biemel did on the Nationals Journal this morning:

"Obviously it's a play that has to be made. Anybody with a pair of eyes can see that. But at the same time, I've got to make pitches after that, no excuses. I've got to bounce back from that and be able to get them out, make the pitches I need to, and I didn't do it. It's just -- I don't know. It's at the point where it's beyond embarrassing for us. I think everybody in the clubhouse should be embarrassed the way we play. Just the way we lose games. We find a way all the time that's just -- it's sickening. It's to the point where it's just hard to take. We've just got to get better."

No one is happy with the Nationals performance last night, even the MASN broadcasters who are renowned cheerleaders are starting to go off (Rob Dibble says it's pathetic.)

The Nats need to turn things around to try and get a better feel going into the All Star break, or things could get ugly in late July and August.