PHILADELPHIA — The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Leading by three runs in the seventh, Andrew Alvarez started to lose his command. After inducing a flyout, the lefty allowed a batter to reach base on a hit by pitch before walking Bryson Stott.

Bench coach Michael Johns, who took over managing duties after Blake Butera was thrown out arguing for interference on a rundown involving Nasim Nuñez, went to left-hander Tom Cosgrove.

Cosgrove imploded. He walked Edmundo Sosa to load the bases and surrendered a grand slam to outfielder Derek Hill, a known Nationals killer. Another late-game meltdown doomed the Nationals as they lost 6-3 to the Phillies.

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On what was an emotional day for the players, losing in such a familiar way stung after the team raced to a 3-0 lead behind a solo homer by Abimelec Ortiz and a two-run shot by Daylen Lile.

“It felt like there was a weight lifted off these guys’ shoulders once game time rolled around,” Butera said. “Laughs, jokes in the dugout about being able to turn the page and move forward, just focus on baseball. I was really happy to see the way we came out of the gates. I thought we were playing really well. Alvy threw the ball outstanding. It’s frustrating the way it ended.”

Things looked promising for the Nationals early on. Even after the trades of Curtis Mead and Luis García Jr., the offense has still powered the team. Ortiz homered in his first game since being recalled to ostensibly fill García’s role against right-handed pitchers. The offense kept rolling in the second. Keibert Ruiz singled on a ground ball to right field, followed by Lile’s two-run homer. The early response was notable, considering All-Star left-hander Foster Griffin was traded right before game time.

“I thought our players, I thought our staff, I thought our front office, I thought everybody handled it very well and allowed us to be as focused and ready for the game as possible,” Butera said.

Pitching with a lead helped Alvarez, who was aggressive in the zone and delivered his best performance of the season with 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball, three walks and five strikeouts. It was the first time this season that he pitched that deep into a game, and he got there because he was efficient in putting batters away.

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“I think the defense made some awesome plays,” Alvarez said. “Just unfortunate to let that one get away from me.”

But the team’s Achilles’ heel remains the bullpen. Entering Monday, the Nationals’ bullpen had the fourth-lowest bullpen ERA, worst strikeout rate and the 10th-highest walk rate.

Cosgrove’s ERA rose to 3.52 after Monday’s blowup. But his underlying numbers indicate that he should have a far higher ERA. His paltry 14.3% strikeout rate is unsustainable for a reliever. An inability to miss bats requires a reliever to be picture-perfect with their command, which Cosgrove has rarely shown in his tenure with the team.

Right-hander Clayton Beeter entered the game in the eighth, and he didn’t fare much better. He walked All-Star slugger Kyle Schwarber and allowed a two-run shot to All-Star soon-to-be-outfielder Bryce Harper that added to the Nationals’ deficit.

The Nationals have lost six straight games. If they want to keep their increasingly minuscule playoff odds alive, they’ll have to hope their pitching-heavy haul from the trade deadline can help fix the bullpen.

“Our job as a staff and our player group in here is the 26 guys that we have here,” Butera said. “We need to do our best every night to go out there and win. What that looks like, near term and long term, that’s to be determined. But our focus right now is just playing our best baseball.”