The Home for Washington Nationals Game Talk

The Washington Nationals had their largest crowd of the year last night, and it might have been even larger if there wasn’t the threat of rain that delayed the start of the game. Officially, the attendance was 36,290, and the overwhelming majority of the fans were cheering for the Nats. Most stayed for the postgame fireworks. But the die-hards left the stadium wondering how they lost another winnable game. Those who have attended all 41 games at Nationals Park have only seen 13 wins. Let that sink in for a minute. Home teams are supposed to have a home field advantage. Supposed to. That .317 winning percentage is pathetic, truth be told.

The Washington Nationals are finally back in Washington, D.C. after returning from a very successful 6-3 road trip from San Diego to Seattle to Philadelphia in which the Nats won all three series. This was the best showing on winning three consecutive road series since 2017. The Nats have played baseball at just one-game under .500 on the road this season, but the home record is an horrific .325 winning percentage. Why? That’s an article for another day.

The Washington Nationals got a reality check yesterday that their front of the bullpen is absolutely horrible. Three pitchers, Amos Willingham, Joe La Sorsa, and Thaddeus Ward, gave up four runs each for a cool dozen. On the good side, the final three pitchers in were good. Cory Abbott threw a scoreless inning, and Jose Ferrer in his MLB debut had an 18 K/9 1-2-3 inning while striking out J.T. Realmuto and inducing a weak 6-3 groundout from Bryce Harper. Position player Ildemaro Vargas pitched the final frame and went 1-2-3 on the Phillies. Okay, La Sorsa got BABIP’d badly, but Willingham and Ward both got rocked by hard contact and three combined home runs. In all, the Nats lost 19-4 after starter MacKenzie Gore had a blister and was abused for seven earnies — his worst career start.

The Washington Nationals got another signature win last night, and finished the mathematical first half of the season at 33-48. That puts the Nats on a 66-96 pace for the 2023 season. The calendar has turned to July which signifies the MLB Draft, the All-Star game, and two weeks after that is when the trade deadline becomes a real factor. If the thin Nats roster unloads some of their best player(s), how can they avoid losing 100 games again? That’s one of the million dollar questions. Fans get real nervous around the trade deadline, and the first big trade actually happened yesterday when Aroldis Chapman was traded to Texas.

The Washington Nationals are 32-48 heading into this game that will set the halfway mark in the season after the game is completed. It is easy math to do your interpolation or extrapolation to just multiply non-average stats by two. For instance if Joey Meneses does not homer today, he would be on a pace of just four home runs on the season. More importantly, if the Nats can win tonight — they would be on a 66-win pace. If they lose, it’s a 64-win pace.

The Washington Nationals are 31-48 heading into this 3-game finale in Seattle, Washington. After a great win yesterday in 11-innings that collared Seattle with not one, but two blown saves in the game, the scrappy Nats once again showed their personality in one of their best wins of the season. They will either be at 32-48 or 31-49 after the game. Also, they get their first day-off in 16-days tomorrow. A day of rest that this team has earned.

The Washington Nationals took another loss in their bullpen last night in Seattle. They had a chance to win three in a row, but it was not meant to be. The teams are back at it in the second game of this series.