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.
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 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.
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.
The Washington Nationals took two of three games at the San Francisco Giants this week and improved to 16-21. The Nats finished a productive road trip 3-3. Washington has won four of their last six series and sport a winning road record of 10-9.
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.
The Washington Nationals won the final game of a home series with the Chicago Cubs in less than two hours. The Nats won the last three games of the four-game set and clinched their third series victory out of their last four.
