It was another tough day at the park for the Washington Nationals, who were unable to get anything going offensively. Jacob Lopez and Justin Sterner combined for a three hit shutout as the A’s cruised to a series victory. A lot of ugly trends continued today for the Nats.
One thing that has been a problem for them all year long has been day games. For whatever reason, the Nationals are not up for it when the sun is shining. They dropped to a comical 14-35 after yet another day game loss. The team’s lack of energy is on full display during the day. They were out hustled by the A’s all day long.
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The Nats were also outmuscled, as the A’s hit two homers and racked up six extra base hits. It is tough for the Nats to get those kinds of extra base hit numbers because their biggest power threat has gone into hibernation.
With an ice cold spell that has gone on for a month, James Wood needs to do some soul searching. He is too talented of a hitter to be this bad for this long. Even if the coaching staff is not great, he needs to be coming up with ways to break out of this every day. It just feels like the adjustments were not there, which is an indictment of both the coaches and the player himself.
As fun as last night was, this was an ugly homestand overall. The Nats were outscored 61-23 over the six games. They allowed six runs tonight, and that felt like a decent day for the pitching staff. That really tells you where we are right now.
Mitchell Parker was not fooling anyone but managed to give the Nats five innings, the first time a Nats starter has done that this home stand. However, with his season ERA up to 5.43, it is clear that he needs to earn his place in the rotation moving into next season.
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The theme of the rest of the season should be about earning it. Miguel Cairo should not be scared to bench some people and ruffle some feathers. Frankly, there are few if any players on this team who truly deserve to play everyday. These next six weeks or so should be all about players proving they belong in the big leagues moving forward.
There are not a whole lot of players on this roster that should be handed roster spots for next season. A lot of soul searching needs to be done in this organization because they have not given the fans a good enough product this season. There is not enough talent and not enough effort on this team.
When you watch Nationals games, it is mind blowing how much more effort you see a lot of these other teams give. They are flying down the line and taking the extra base with regularity. The perfect example of that is the Brewers, who we saw over the weekend. They are not a team filled with superstars, but everyone on that roster is playing with a level of intensity you just do not see with the Nats.
It is getting tough to write the same things so often, but there really is not much else to say. The 2025 Washington Nationals are the gift that keeps on giving.