The Washington Nationals’ playoff hopes vanished weeks ago, but you wouldn’t know that based on their play this month. Washington swept three games against the Miami Marlins to begin the month, then jetted off to Chicago for a weekend series against the Cubs.
Chicago, which figures to be a playoff team come October, stomped the Nats in the first game of that set, 11-5. But Washington eked out a 2-1 win in the second game, with Daylen Lile’s fourth-inning solo homer holding up for the winning run. Brad Lord won his fifth game as he and four relievers limited the Cubs’ potent lineup to three hits.
Sunday, Washington ambushed the Cubs’ closer, Daniel Palencia, scoring five runs in the ninth inning to take a 6-3 win. Robert Hassell III greeted Palencia with a solo homer to pull the Nats within a run at 3-2. CJ Abrams legged out an infield single, and James Wood drew a walk, bringing Josh Bell to the plate to pinch-hit for Riley Adams.
Bell attacked the first pitch he saw and drove it into the net above the wall in left-center for a three-run homer. But the Nats weren’t done. Lile followed Bell with his team-leading eighth triple, and later scored on Brady House’s second sacrifice fly of the game. Jose A. Ferrer gave up a hit and a walk in the bottom of the ninth, but earned his seventh save.
Still worth watching
The Nats have disappointed those of us who’d expected them to contend for the playoffs this season, but to their credit, they’re playing like the games still matter. And the young Nats are giving us some entertaining baseball so far this month. Lile, in particular, continues to impress, with a .349 average over the past 30 games, while more highly touted prospects Dylan Crews and Hassell haven’t come close to that sort of performance. Since the All Star break, Wood hasn’t produced at the pace he set in the first half of the season, but he still leads the team in hits (135), doubles (31), homers (27) and RBI (86).
Florida trip
Look for Washington (58-84) to continue its September surge; the Nats begin a four-game set in Miami Monday. The Marlins (66-77) have lost six of their last 10. Then the 64-80 Pirates come to DC for a weekend series. In fact, with the exception of three games against the Mets in New York later this month, none of the teams remaining on Washington’s schedule is over .500.
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