The Washington Nationals struggled during their final game in the opening season series against the New York Mets. Behind a dominant six inning performance from New York pitcher Matt Harvey, the Mets took two of the first three games of the season.

Nationals’ pitcher Stephen Strasburg did not have a strong outing in the series finale Thursday afternoon, giving up six runs on nine hits in five innings of work. Three of the six runs were earned; Strasburg also struck out five and walked three batters.

While Washington certainly would like to jump out to a booming 3-0 start, sometimes one has to be realistic. With outfielders Jayson Werth and Denard Span on the DL beside third-baseman Anthony Rendon, Washington faithful should be patient in the early-goings.

Those early-goings for Washington could be rocky, but the pay-off come summertime will be worth the wait. Rendon has begun lateral movement workouts in his rehab stint away from the team and plans to begin groundball work next week.

Werth began his rehab assignment in high-A with the Potomac Nationals following his shoulder surgery in the offseason. He played seven innings with Potomac and, while unlikely, is eligible to come off the disabled list Saturday.

Core surgery in the beginning of March left Span heading back to Viera, Fla., ready for simulated action at Nats camp. The simulation length will increase from three to five to seven innings as Span progresses. As it stands the center fielder is ahead of schedule in his rehab and the Nationals are impressed at his progress.

As Washington takes aim at the Philadelphia Phillies, they can look to build on the positives they’ve seen thus far. Right fielder Bryce Harper has been getting it done at the plate and in the field through three games. On two separate occasions during the rain-delayed game Wednesday evening he made his mark… tracking down a deep fly ball in the corner, and then cutting off a line drive in the gap before it got to the warning track to hold Mets third baseman David Wright to a single.

Washington heads to Philadelphia to face the Phillies Friday in a three game series. They will see Philadelphia seven times in the next 10 games.