Just a speed bump on the road back to a competitive season? Or a return to earth for a team playing way beyond its ability for nearly a month? In either case, the Nats did not look good in dropping the first two of a four-game set with Colorado on Monday and Tuesday.

The Nats began the week having won six of their last seven series, winning at a .696 clip during that span. Having tied the Braves for 3rd place in the East, and with a highly anticipated interleague matchup with the Yankees looming this weekend, the club may have gotten caught looking past the lowly Rockies, who are mired in the cellar of the NL West. Monday’s 4-3 loss saw the end of a five-start win streak for Ramon Ortiz. Marlon Byrd sent a potential game-tying homer just foul to left before grounding out to end the game.

One encouraging sign on Monday was Jose Guillen providing offense again in just his second game back from injury. He went 2-3, and got the Nats close with a home run in the bottom of the ninth, putting Byrd in position to tie it. While we debated the pros and cons of trading Alfonso Soriano last week in this space, Guillen is almost certainly on the trading block in the coming month. But he remains focused on producing now.

Photo by Flickr user yostinator.