Nationals vs. Phillies: Philadelphia gets to Ross Detwiler, helps keep Washington's magic number at 5 Tuesday night, Nationals fell, 6-3, their fourth consecutive loss to the Phillies and eighth in 13 games. The Phillies took control with five runs off left-hander Ross Detwiler in the first three innings, including four in the third. The Nationals still have five more meetings to rectify their season series, but for now the Phillies lean on their showing against the 93-win Nationals as a means to salvage an (almost) lost season. The Nationals came here with a chance to clinch during their series at Citizens Bank Bark. Now, though, the potential payback for the Phillies clinching three of their five division titles with victories over the Nationals is impossible. "It could have been a big step," Detwiler said. We could have celebrated on their field like they celebrated on our field. I didn't let that happen. The Nationals moved no closer to clinching the National League East, their magic number saying at five as the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins with a walk-off home run. The Nationals lead the Braves by four games with eight games remaining, still a commanding lead even if the Braves haven't been so close to the Nationals since Aug. 8. The Nationals also fell into a tie with the victorious Reds for the top seed in the National League and the best record in baseball. "The worst thing you can do is look at the standings," said catcher Kurt Suzuki, who went 3 for 4 with an RBI single. "I'm not sure that people are really thinking about what's ahead," shortstop Ian Desmond said. Honestly, getting the vibe in here, everyone is pretty focused on today. There's enough to worry about today. Let tomorrow worry about itself. The Nationals made Phillies ace Cole Hamels throw 99 pitches through five innings. They remembered to work the starter, but they forgot to punish the middle relief. The Phillies" bullpen had its way with the Nationals, five relievers retiring 12 of 13 hitters while allowing only two balls out of the infield. The Nationals played from behind almost all night after Detwiler pitched as if under an evil spell in the third inning. Darin Ruf had drilled a homer, his first major league hit, off Detwiler to tie the score at 1 in the second. For a left-hander with a 2.76 ERA since the all-star break, one bad pitch could be explained. The depths Detwiler reached in the third were hard to figure. Detwiler led off the inning with consecutive walks, which sent pitching coach Steve McCatty to the mound like Pavlov's dog at the ring of a bell. Detwiler had walked three in the first two innings, including one free pass to Hamels.