For the fifth time in eight seasons, the Washington Nationals are headed to the postseason. It’s the franchise’s first-ever Wild Card berth.
The 2019 Washington Nationals will play at least one more game.
For the first time ever, the Nats reached the postseason without winning their division. They will play in the NL Wild Card Game on Tuesday, Oct. 1, either at Nationals Park or an opposing stadium.
While the Nationals are yet to accomplish the lofty goal espoused when Davey Martinez was hired as manager after the controversial dismissal of Dusty Baker, reaching the postseason is remarkable considering how Washington started the 2019 season.
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With a 19-31 record on May 23, most pundits left the Nats for dead. Some wondered whether Anthony Rendon, now a leading NL MVP candidate, would be traded. Many, including yours truly, called for Martinez to be fired.
To the manager’s credit, Martinez kept the locker room together and led his team on an improbable tear. While his frequently curious in-game decisions will keep being questioned, Martinez’s ability to motivate his players is no longer in doubt.
The Washington Nationals will play in October largely because of elite starting pitching and an offensive attack led by Rendon, blossoming young superstar Juan Soto and speedster Trea Turner. General Manager Mike Rizzo’s in-season signings of Asdrúbal Cabrera and Gerardo Parra also injected two traits the Nats were missing early in the season: infectious energy and clutch hitting.
While Max Scherzer or Stephen Strasburg will get the ball for the Wild Card Game, having left-hander Patrick Corbin available out of the bullpen could prove critical for the Nats on October 1. Pairing a top-flight starter like Corbin with Sean Doolittle, who’s currently the only lefty available in the Nats bullpen, gives Martinez a much-needed second option in a sudden death scenario.
The bullpen, of course, is the team’s Achilles heel. It all started with the ill-fated off-season signing of Trevor Rosenthal, who looked great in Spring Training but suddenly lost the strike zone on Opening Day. Rosenthal’s implosion created a domino effect for the rest of the bullpen, from Martinez’s overreliance on mediocre relievers like Wander Suero and Matt Grace to the chronic overuse of Doolittle.
Out of desperation, Rizzo brought in Daniel Hudson, Hunter Strickland, Fernando Rodney and Roenis Elías. Hudson has been excellent, while Strickland and Rodney have been inconsistent. Elías has spent most of his time in D.C. battling a hamstring injury, which has hurt the Nats since he’s the only lefty reliever on the active roster other than Doolittle.
The bottom line is that Doolittle and Hudson appear to be Washington’s only reliable late-inning relievers. While the ability to use starting pitchers in relief could help the Nationals survive the Wild Card Game, the shaky bullpen would be tested like never before in a potential National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In the end, this year’s Nationals will be judged by how they perform in October. The 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017 Nats all won the NL East, yet lost each first-round series despite the benefit of home-field advantage. Perhaps being heavy underdogs will do the trick this time around.
If the Nats could survive a 19-31 start, maybe they can defy the odds all over again in the postseason. Only one thing is for sure: the 2019 Washington Nationals won’t go down without a fight.