Littell (6-6) took the loss Wednesday, giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks over five innings as the Nationals were downed 6-2 by the Royals. He struck out two.
All four runs came on solo shots by Carter Jensen, John Rave, Lane Thomas and Michael Massey, not exactly a fearsome array of sluggers. It's the first time since April 28 that Littell has served up multiple homers in an outing, but after a five-start win streak he's dropped two straight decisions, getting tagged for nine runs in 6.2 innings during the sudden downturn. Littell will carry a 5.45 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 41:23 K:BB through 71 innings into his next trip to the mound, which lines up to come at home early next week against the Phillies.