Washington Nationals swept in a gut punch of a home stand

The Washington Nationals are in free fall, losing 5 in a row after the Cardinals finished off their sweep

The Washington Nationals were uncompetitive all weekend against a red hot St. Louis Cardinals team that has now won 8 in a row. Erick Fedde, Andre Pallante, and Miles Mikolas had ERA’s of 4.78, 4.75, and 4.76 respectively before their starts against the Nats. However, the Nationals only managed three runs all series.

After a solid road trip where they held their own, the Nationals have shown next to nothing in their last five games. Now seven games under .500, the Nationals are not showing much improvement in what was supposed to be a step forward season.

Outside of CJ Abrams and a Nathaniel Lowe home run, the offense did nothing today, as has been the case this whole series. This series was a really alarming one. The team had the look of a group that needs a shakeup. Whether that is some sort of meeting or a shakeup in the coaching staff, something needs to change.

MacKenzie Gore was ok today, but not at his dominant best. He allowed four runs in 6.2 innings. Gore responded well after allowing two early solo homers, but ran into trouble when he fatigued in the seventh inning. In the end, those two solo homers were all the Cardinals really needed, but they tacked on more.

In the 8th, Nolan Arenado put the nail in the coffin with a two run homer. There are just not a whole lot of positives to talk about from this weekend, as this is a team searching for answers right now. One impressive thing was the amazing catch Dylan Crews made in center field late in the ballgame.

That was pretty much the only highlight in an ugly weekend. Before the season, Davey Martinez said the time to win was now, but that is not happening. At a certain point there needs to be some accountability because this rebuild seems to have stagnated.

CJ Abrams, James Wood, and MacKenzie Gore are excellent young players and a good core, but they need help. That help has not been there for most of the season. The starting pitching has slowed down after a hot start, and there are a lot of holes in the lineup still.

I wish I could be more positive about this team right now, because I love Nationals baseball, but the team is just not delivering. Fans have been very patient throughout the rebuild, but it is getting frustrating. The team will heat up from this, but has this team improved from where they were the last couple years?

Yet another 71-91 season would be maddening and frustrating. The Washington Nationals should be climbing out of their rebuild right now, but it does not look like they have emerged yet.

Guys like Wood, Gore and Abrams are doing their part, but the rest of the roster still needs so much work. I truly hope I am wrong and the Nats can put together a big winning streak, but being a Nationals fan is a helpless feeling right now.