Call to the pen
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Washington Nationals Are So Good They’re Bad

By TC Zencka

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 3: Washington Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki (28) is all wet after getting a Gatorade bath after hitting a walk off 3 run game winning homer during the Washington Nationals defat of the New York Mets 11-10 in the bottom of the 9th inning at Nationals Stadium in Washington, DC on September 3, 2019 . (Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 3: Washington Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki (28) is all wet after getting a Gatorade bath after hitting a walk off 3 run game winning homer during the Washington Nationals defat of the New York Mets 11-10 in the bottom of the 9th inning at Nationals Stadium in Washington, DC on September 3, 2019 . (Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images) /
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The 2019 Washington Nationals have tallied some impressive wins on the year, but that’s nothing compared to the impressive way they lose.

With three straight losses to the Atlanta Braves, the Washington Nationals enter play on Saturday night riding a 4-game losing streak. It’s their first such streak of even 3 games since May 1st. That’s a pretty astounding run for a team that was the very last in the majors to register a 3-game winning streak this season.

It’s been that kind of season for the Nats. Their 19-31 start has been well-documented, as has the turnaround that saw them become the best team in baseball since May 24. Well…

The Nationals didn’t hold the mantle continuously – the Dodgers jumped in there for a bit, the Indians had a day – but it’s the Braves world now and the Nationals are caught livin’ in it.

This week pretty well illustrates the high and lows the Nats have experienced this season. On Tuesday night they played boneheaded baseball all night long, only to come back in the ninth inning with arguably their most impressive ninth inning comeback in franchise history.

The next day, they rode that high into leaving 21 men on base and losing the series to the Mets.

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The Nationals then traveled to SunTrust Park in Atlanta to begin a must-win four-game series with the 1st-place Braves. They trailed the Braves for first place by seven games, with exactly that many head-to-head matchups remaining. They controlled their own destiny.

They lost the first three games without ever holding a lead.

What kind of team completes the most impressive comeback victory in franchise history and sandwiches it right in the middle of losing 5 out of 6 at the most important time of the year? The 2019 Washington Nationals.

Before Sunday’s game, the Nats and Braves were a push with 5.36 runs scored per game apiece. The Nats 4.56 runs allowed per game are actually less than the Braves 4.65 RA/G. Somehow, the Nats trail the Braves in the division by 10 games.

The Nats can score: they have the single best slugging performance of the season of any team, an eight home run effort against the Brewers on August 18th. The Dodgers are the only NL team with a larger positive run differential than the Nats +112 on the year – yes, that’s including the Braves.

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The Nats can pitch: they’re just the second NL team ever to have three 200 strikeout pitchers on the same squad. They’re second in the NL in pitcher fWAR – again behind only the Dodgers.

But they Washington Nationals are just so good at losing, and when you’re good at something, it’s hard to give it up.

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