In his first start for the Phillies, Oswalt said, he let the previous 48 hours affect him. The Nationals tagged Oswalt for five runs (four earned) in six innings.
The Phillies lost for the first time in nine games.
"I came out a little amped up, holding the ball a little bit tight," Oswalt said. "I didn't really start feeling better until the last two innings, actually. It didn't really go my way."
The three-day whirlwind didn't help matters.
Friday was Oswalt's scheduled day to pitch and both manager Charlie Manuel and he said it was good to get the first one out of the way. But Oswalt's preparation changed drastically.
It's customary in baseball that the day's starting pitcher is not to be disrupted.
Most of the Phillies chose to honor that tradition even under unusual circumstances.
A few, like old friend Brad Lidge, chatted with Oswalt. Early in the morning, at the team hotel, Oswalt and his new catcher, Carlos Ruiz, went over signs.
At 6:39 p.m. Friday, Oswalt walked out of the visitors' dugout alone to a standing ovation from the many Phillies fans in attendance.
As he stepped onto the field, a lone cameraman knelt in front of the righthander and followed him to record his first moments in his gray Phillies uniform.
The first pitch he threw, a 93 m.p.h. sinker that didn't sink, was laced for a triple by Nyjer Morgan.
"I wanted to get the party started off right," Morgan said. Adam Kennedy grounded out to second and Oswalt was already trailing, 1-0.
Oswalt stayed away from his fastball and sinker Friday, and Manuel said he lacked fastball control. Oswalt normally throws those two pitches 55.5 percent of the time but against the Nationals, he used them in 39.5 percent of his 86 pitches. Instead, he relied more on his slider and curveball. Josh Willingham's two-run double in the fifth inning was off a slider that broke across the heart of the plate.
