Nationals Bats Wake Up as Washington Wins Three of Four Against Miami

After the Washington Nationals were shut out 3-0 in a loss to the Boston Red Sox on July 4th, the club held one of those Players Only Meetings. Washington had an awful 9-16 June, followed by an 0-4 start to July, and the Nationals are being viewed as the most underachieving team in the majors over the first half of the season, with a record of 42-43 after the Independence Day loss. Pitcher Max Scherzer, who is definitely not underachieving, spoke the loudest according to the Washington Post, and we can imagine what he yelled about. We saw the Nationals in person during one of those June losses, and watched Bryce Harper meekly go 0-5. Though Harper was voted as a starter for the All-Star Game (to be held this year in his home ballpark), he has struggled at the plate in this, a contract year, and there’s a lot of speculation he’s focused more on getting big money somewhere else next year than on what his current team is doing this year. (Pro tip: sucking in your contract year doesn’t help you get a bigger contract the next year).

The meeting appeared to have some effect. In the opener of a four game set against the Miami Marlins on July 5th, the Nationals spotted the N.L. East cellar dwellers a 9-1 lead after four innings. Then the bats came alive. Washington scored four in the fifth, five in the sixth, and four more in the seventh as the Nationals won a 14-12 slugfest over the Marlins. Shortstop Trea Turner had three hits, including a pair of home runs, and drove in eight. Turner bats leadoff, and was reportedly only the sixth leadoff hitter in major league history to drive in eight runs. Rookie phenom Juan Soto added three RBIs. The score was much closer in the game of July 6th, but Washington won that one 3-2.

In Game 3 of the series on July 7th, well-traveled first baseman Mark Reynolds, playing for his eighth major league club in his 12th season, had the game of his career. Reynolds was 5 for 5 at the plate, with two homers, a double, and 10 RBIs as the Nationals demolished the Marlins 18-4.

The Nationals lost the series finale 10-2 on July 8th. At the close of play on the 8th, Washington was 45-44, five games behind the Philadelphia Phillies (49-38) and the Atlanta Braves (50-39 and trailing the Phillies by 1 percentage point). There’s still time for Washington to win the N.L. East, and the Nationals were 20-7 in May. If they play up to their potential, they can still win their third division title in a row and fifth since 2012.