The Washington Nationals season has long been a lost cause, it’s just a matter of to what degree. The year that began with hope quickly soured after a 28-30 start and this past weekend the team clinched its sixth straight losing campaign.
Consecutive sweeps at the hands of the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay while being outscored 41-14 over those games place this team 20 games under .500 on Labor Day.
While they’ve yet to be eliminated from the Wild Card race, the tragic number in the NL East is down to one (next Phillies win or Nats loss officially ends the dream). They can still stave off 100 losses, although the Nationals would need to finish 10-16 to do so. And the schedule is there for a September surge: 20 of their 26 games this month are against clubs with losing records.
Digesting the Division: Philadelphia (79-58) owns a six-game lead as we enter September, and that is after getting swept at Citi Field by the New York Mets last week (25-8 the combined score). The Phillies face the Mets (73-64) four times next week at home while the Mets play their next two series at Detroit and Cincinnati.
Miami (65-72) took three of four from the Mets over the weekend, and while the season may be lost, the play of shortstop Otto Lopez (12 homers with 65 RBI) is not.
Atlanta (62-75) lost three of four to Philly. It’s one thing for the Braves to be led in wins by the incredibly named Spencer Schwellenbach (he’s 7-4) but when Schwellenbach has been on the shelf since the end of June, you know what kind of year it has been.
Washington (53-83) brings up the rear. Again.
O’s Woes: Baltimore (61-75) got swept at home by Boston last week, and it was in the manner they were broomed that stings the Camden Yards faithful. Three of the four losses came by one run, and the team went 3-30 with runners in scoring position while stranding 27 runners in the series. The Birds visit San Diego this week.
Diamond King: During a winless week, it’s tough to find bright spots. But James Young belted his first career grand slam last week while driving in five for the week. As fate would have it, Young’s previous homer was hit almost a year earlier (Aug. 26, 2024 to Aug. 25, 2025) and was off of the same Yankees reliever (Mark Leiter Jr.) as the one he went deep off of this past week.
Last Week’s Heroes: Nobody really jumps out at you when you go 0-6 for the week, but we’ll look again. Andrés Chaparro hit the only other homer by the Nats last week and Josh Bell batted a team-high .313. Mitchell Parker posted the best start by allowing three runs over 6.1 innings. Jackson Rutledge tossed three and two thirds scoreless innings over three games.
Last Week’s Humbled: It was a rough week for the starting pitchers, with Cade Cavalli coughing up seven runs over 2.1 innings of work while Brad Lord allowed six runs over 4.1 frames. Luis García Jr. batted .158 while Riley Adams hit .136.
Game to Miss: All of them. Sit by the pool Monday before it closes and finish the books you intended to read this summer. Take walks outside or go for a run during the week before immersing yourself in college football Saturday and the NFL on Sunday. You’ll thank me later.
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