Opportunity came knocking twice for the Nationals. No one was home.

The difference between victory and defeat for the Washington Nationals on Wednesday afternoon came down to two situations. And Washington’s inability to execute in those moments left it with a stinging 3-2 loss at Nationals Park that, again, underscored the team’s offensive deficiencies.

The Nationals’ first real opportunity came in the seventh inning of a game they trailed 2-0 after solo home runs by Max Kepler in the second and Carlos Correa in the sixth. To open the inning, Luis García Jr. singled and Ildemaro Vargas doubled. The opportunity fizzled when Joey Gallo struck out looking and Keibert Ruiz grounded out, scoring García. With Vargas on third base, Jacob Young hit a groundball into the hole that shortstop Correa made a diving stop on, rising to his feet in time to get Young at first and end the threat with the Nationals trailing by a run.