The Washington Nationals rebounded in San Diego after getting shellacked in the series opener. The Nats young pitching duo of Josiah Gray and MacKenzie Gore rose to the challenge and gave their team a rewarding road series victory over Juan Soto’s San Diego Padres. The Nats also evened the season series vs San Diego at three games. If not for a crushing ninth inning loss last month, the Nats would have won both series against the Padres.
The Washington Nationals recouped the final game of a three-game series at the Atlanta Braves. The Nats lost the first game in a tight frustrating fashion. But Washington won the last game against the beasts of the NL East by a solid margin thanks to a couple of two-run blasts by Jeimer Candelario and Dominic Smith. I should also mention a game saving catch by Alex Call. More on that below.
An average crowd of just over 30,000 turned out for a battle for fourth place over the weekend in our nation’s capital. The Washington Nationals won the first game of a three-game set to briefly tie the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East division at 25-32. But the Phillies used eight home runs to win two of the three games. The Nats hit only two homers and are now back in sole possession of fifth place.
The Washington Nationals made their first trip to Kansas City since 2016. But after winning the first two games, the Nats could not complete the sweep.
The Miami Marlins took all three games from the Washington Nationals in Florida this week. Washington got swept for the first time since the second series of the season versus the Tampa Bay Rays. The Nats lost three straight for the first time since April 27 to April 29.
Miami enjoyed a little bit of luck here and there throughout the series. In taking the first two games by just a run, the Marlins are now 14-1 in one run games on the year. With a -52 run differential, that record in tight games is not sustainable.
But a three-game losing streak stings no matter how you slice it. The losses seemed like a “garden variety” sweep at the hands of a division rival. However, not being able to sustain momentum from series to series remains a troubling trend for these Nats. Too many strikeouts and not enough hits in the clutch doomed the Nats in South Florida.
The Nats record fell to 18-26. They haven’t been eight games under .500 since May 1. They got very close to crawling within four games of .500 in game 1 of the series.
In the last week, the Washington Nationals won two straight road series versus good teams (Twins, Mets). In taking the first two games of each series the Nats finished a very productive road trip at 4-2. The Nats road record now stands at 7-6. If those numbers sound good, the team’s quality of play was even better. The National League leading Pittsburgh Pirates (18-8) roll into town for a three-game set over the weekend.
The Washington Nationals opened the 2023 season by dropping their first two games, but they were able to win the last of the three home games versus the Atlanta Braves. During those first two losses, three unsettling developments involved the number three.
