But still, it was the back end of a four-game homestand in which the Paints pulled off three wins, pulling themselves from last place in the East to second place behind Washington.
But there's another little nugget out there, one that adds a little more perspective to where the Paints stand.
"Starting tomorrow night," manager Mark Mason said after Friday's loss, "we have to prove we can win on the road. We can win two of three or three of four at home all we want. But if we don't go .500 on the road, it's not going to matter."
A homestand full of big games and good wins is on the line today, as the Paints head to Washington for two games, then to Slippery Rock for two more. And with the Paints' 0-6 record on the road riding the Pennsylvania Turnpike behind the team bus, this four-game set away from VA seems to be a big one.
"We still have two games left against Washington," Mason said. "You want to call it a big series? I don't, even though Washington has a pretty big lead (at 31¼2 games over the second-place Paints). My issue is with the starting pitching. I cannot put my middle (relief) guy in the game in the second or third inning, and I cannot put my setup guy in the game in the fifth inning.
"The bottom line is, if my starting pitching continues to pitch like this, it's going to be a long year."
The Wild Things piled it on early and often Friday against Paints starter Kurt Hartfelder (0-4). Hartfelder gave up nine runs on nine hits and four walks in four innings, with Washington rolling to a 6-0 lead after the third and never looking back behind ace righty Aaron Ledbetter (3-0).
If you're looking for positives from Friday's games, that came from the Paints' offense.
"(Ledbetter) is arguably the best pitcher that might ever pitch in this league," Mason said. "And this could have been a shutout. I mean, we're facing a good pitcher who has a good lead like that, and this could have been a shutout. But you have to tip your hat to the position players. They made big plays in the field and they scored runs to make it respectable."
The Paints got going down that road in the fifth.
Problem was, it was a 9-0 ballgame before it happened.
Adrian Cantu scored on an error in the fifth to make it an eight-run game before Washington came back with another run in the bottom of the inning. In the sixth, Travis Garcia banged a home run off the scoreboard in left to make it 10-3. The Paints' final run came in the eighth, when Jon Poterson pushed Paul Rutgers across with a groundout to second.
It might have been a disappointing game, but it was the only disappointing part of a rewarding homestand.
"Do I think we had a good homestand? Yes," Mason said. "But the starting pitching didn't give us a chance tonight. That's plain and simple. And when you're up against that pitcher with the lead they had early on, I think it takes a little air out of your sails."
There's no doubt about that.
But the Paints have a chance to get back to smooth sailing tonight in Washington when Zach Johnson (0-0, 4.91) will get a spot-start in Washington against Tom Cochran (1-0, 0.25).
The Dirt
The biggest positive of Friday's game was the relief work of lefty Brian Marshall, who gave up seven hits and only one run in five innings. Marshall struck out two and walked one in what was by far his best outing of the summer. In fact, Marshall's ERA shrunk from 23.63 to 9.38. ... After Zach Johnson starts today in Washington, the Paints' rotation looks like this: Bryan Johnson in the finale against Washington, Luke Palmer Monday against Slippery Rock, with Perry Cunningham coming back Tuesday.
(Gray can be reached at 772-9302 or via e-mail at pgray@nncogannett.com)