OK, so the Nationals' diminutive utility man only has eight homers this season. Still, on this offensively challenged team, that leaves Harris tied with Ryan Zimmerman for second on the club. Ronnie Belliard leads with nine.

And considering Harris' past -- seven homers over the first seven seasons of his career, spanning 1,243 at-bats -- the fact that he already has eight through July 30 speaks volumes about his maturation as a hitter.

"I've always heard as you get older, you start figuring a lot more about your swing," he said. "That's really the only thing I can lean toward and say what's going on, because I'm not trying to hit homers at all."

PHILLIES 8, NATIONALS 5: Despite a rare early offensive outburst, Washington still was stymied by ageless lefty Jamie Moyer and wound up suffering its eighth straight loss. The Nationals jumped on Moyer for three runs in the first, on homers by Willie Harris and Jesus Flores, but managed only two more runs after that. Washington starter Tim Redding, meanwhile, was roughed up for seven runs and 10 hits in four-plus innings, just six days after he tossed the first complete game of his career.