Remember June, when the summer seemed to stretch out endlessly and there were nothing but open weekends and pool days to enjoy? Unfortunately mid-August rears its ugly head and we’re confronted with diminishing pool days (15 after this weekend) as well as fading playoff hopes.
The Washington Nationals aren’t the first team eliminated in 2024 (that honor goes to a Chicago White Sox team that might challenge the 1962 Mets for most losses-120-in a season), but they entered Sunday a season-high 14 games under .500 before beating back the brooms in a 6-4 win at Philadelphia.
A 2-4 week against the contending Orioles and Phillies provided plenty of promise for the future but also enough of the reality that 2024 isn’t going to be that breakthrough year. Thirty-seven (almost 25%) of the season remains and they’re further back (ten a half games as opposed to the seven and a half in 2023) of the final Wild Card spot than they were last year.
Digesting the Division: Philadelphia (73-51) owns a seven-game lead in the NL East after taking three of four games with Washington. Former Nats slugger Kyle Schwarber has been the heat during August with six homers and 15 RBI. Atlanta (66-58) has a two-game lead over the New York Mets (64-60) for the final playoff spot in the NL despite going 12-16 since the All Star Break.
The Mets are also cooling off in the summer, going 7-9 this month. Washington (56-69) may not be in the thick of the Wild Card race, but they are a 16-21 finish away from posting more wins than last year. Something Miami (46-78) can’t do (they went 84-78 in 2023), despite the August Jake Burger (.333 with nine homers and 13 RBI) is enjoying.
Break up the Birds: Baltimore (73-52) split its four-game series with Boston, entering the week tied for first with the New York Yankees in the American League East. Don’t discount the importance of pitcher Zach Eflin to this team. The right-hander is 4-0 with an ERA of 2.13 in four starts since coming to the O’s in a trade from Tampa Bay last month.
Diamonds Direct Diamond King: on a team seriously lacking power (last in MLB with 100 home runs), Keibert Ruiz homered three times while driving in five. After a slow start that involved an extended stay on the Injured List, Ruiz has found his stroke (four homers in July and four more already in August) and has driven in half of his 44 RBI since the start of July.
Last Week’s Heroes: James Wood hit .407 with five runs scored and a homer while Andres Chaparro belted three doubles in his MLB debut. Jake Irvin allowed two runs in six innings at Baltimore Tuesday and despite some hiccups still lasted six frames Sunday in Philadelphia. Jacob Barnes tossed 3.2 scoreless innings over three outings while Kyle Finnegan shook off Friday’s walk-off loss by securing the save Sunday.
Last Week’s Humbled: Mitchell Parker coughed up nine runs over three innings while MacKenzie Gore allowed five runs over 5.2 frames. Ildemaro Vargas batted .111 while Juan Yepez hit .100.
Game to Watch: Friday the Nats begin a series in Atlanta and MacKenzie Gore (7-11, 4.66 ERA) tries to turn around what was once a very promising season (he’s 1-4 with an ERA of 7.71 over eight starts since the fourth of July) and pitches against Chris Sale (14-3, 2.62) who’s found a way to turn around his recent misfortunes (17-18 with an ERA of 4.16 his last five years in Boston). Did I mention the Nats are 6-2 against the Braves this season? Spoiler alert, anyone?
Game to Miss: Sunday they battle the Braves to wrap up the final weekend before Labor Day. DJ Herz pitches and while I’m invested in his growth as a rookie, this is also the final weekend before college football fires up. Enjoy the pool. Visit a winery. Enjoy the summer before it fades away…
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