"The Phillies lost a game on Friday night. OK, so what. Losses happen, even to the best team in the majors.

The real story of this game wasn't the defeat. It was how Roy Oswalt pitched. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was just an off night. But for some reason, Oswalt took a step backward in the Phillies' 6-5 loss to the Florida Marlins.

Gone was the crackling fastball that helped him strike out nine Washington Nationals over eight shutout innings in his previous start.

Gone was the command.

"He had trouble getting ahead of the hitters and it also looked like he had a hard time getting the ball inside on guys, or he didn't have anything when he threw it in there," manager Charlie Manuel said. "He had a little bit more crispier stuff in Washington.""