The Washington Nationals ended the first half of the season on a high note. The Nats took two of three games from the first-place Texas Rangers. It was their first home series win since May 19-21. The Nats won four of their last five series before the all-star break. See below for more good vibes to build on during the next 72 games.
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 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.
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 Nats salvaged the series finale with a road comeback victory over the best team in the National League.
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.
On a day that was more like classic San Diego weather, the Nats let the rubber game slip away in crushing fashion. Padres INF Rougned Odor hit a ninth inning two-out 3-run HR that sliced through Nats fans’ hearts.
The Washington Nationals earned an important four game split against the New York Mets yesterday. After seven games versus the Mets, the Nats are 4-3. The two clubs won’t face each other again until a four-game set at Citi Field in late July. The Mets and Nats finish the 13-game season series in DC for two games during the first week of September.
According to FanGraphs, the Nats are projected to finish the season 68-94. That doesn’t sound great, but that’s a whopping 13-game improvement from 107 losses last season. My guess is that the Nats will get to at least seventy wins. With a current winning percentage of .439, Washington is on pace for 71 wins.
As Kevin Frandsen said at the end of the Nats TV broadcast yesterday afternoon, “This is different. And this is a good different.” These young Nats have their ups and downs, but their ability to shake things off and continue to compete after a brutal loss on Saturday night was on full display in the series finale on Sunday. While still early in the season, the Nats are playing better than 2022. Since improvement was a crucial goal for the club in 2023, this Washington squad is on a solid track, even if the track is not the fastest. The Nats salvaged the last game of the series in Phoenix yesterday with another crazy finish. In doing so, the Nats also boosted their confidence and character for the remainder of the season.
