The Washington Nationals finished up a very productive and encouraging road trip by going 6-3 and winning all three series. The Nats continued to bounce back strong after bad or heartbreaking losses in immediately preceding games. They also avenged a series loss to the Phillies in early June and subsequently evened the season series against their archrivals at three games apiece.
Apparently, the Washington Nationals have not swept anybody in a long time. Who cares? They still took two out of three games against the Seattle Mariners during the last week. That resulted in the Nats second road series victory in a row.
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 June slump continued as they lost three out of four games at home. The St. Louis Cardinals won two out of three. Then the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Nats in a makeup game.
Before the Nats traveled to San Diego, they were 4-14 in the month of June. After 75 games, the Nationals are 28-47. At the same point last season, the Nats were one game worse (27-48). Despite the slim difference, I still think the DC9 are markedly improved in 2023.
The surging Miami Marlins swept the Washington Nationals for the second time this season. After going 14-15 in May, the Nats skidded to a 3-11 record through the first fourteen games in June.
The Nats could have folded after they lost game two to the defending MLB champions in gut-wrenching fashion. The Nats could have folded after they lost another lead in the bottom of the ninth in game three. But the Nationals would not allow themselves to crumble and won their second series road finale in row. Washington finished a six-game road trip at two contenders with two wins and four losses.
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.
The first place Arizona Diamondbacks overwhelmed the last place Washington Nationals in a two-game series shortened by bad air quality in the Washington, DC metro area. The two-game sweep by the Diamondbacks tied them for the NL lead in wins (37) with the Atlanta Braves. The D-backs piled up 27 hits in 18 innings.
How many baseball players have had a pseudo holiday named after them before they played their first MLB game? That might add just a little bit more pressure. To help appreciate how well it went from 2010 until 2019, below is my Twelve Best Days of “Strasmas,” ranked. Feel free to add to the list.
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.
