WTOP’s Dave Preston takes a look at the Washington Nationals as the team prepares to play its final games of the MLB season.


Washington Nationals’ James Wood, after hitting 24 homers before the All Star break, has just three homeruns since. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)(AP/Nick Wass)


Washington Nationals’ James Wood, after hitting 24 homers before the All Star break, has just three homeruns since. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)(AP/Nick Wass)

The Washington Nationals have six games remaining over the next week, and while they will finish in last place for the fifth time in six seasons, the team avoided 100 losses with consecutive wins against the New York Mets over the weekend.

Those wins also dropped the Mets into a tie for the final playoff position in the National League with Cincinnati, with Arizona one game off the pace. And while the Nats have plenty to address this upcoming off-season, the pressing matter on the field is All-Star James Wood.

The slugger entered the midsummer hiatus on pace to reach 40 home runs and 100+ RBI, but unfortunately, he’s hit .211 with three homers and 20 RBI since participating in the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby.

Wood will need a monster final week to reach 100 RBI, and he might not get 30 home runs. What’s odd is that he has hit 18 doubles in the second half of the season, so he hasn’t fallen completely apart.

Conventional wisdom over the years has said that a slugger’s swing can be negatively impacted by competing in the derby. It would almost be reassuring if that was the case, because at least then that would be fixable.

Digesting the Division: Philadelphia (92-64) wrapped up the NL East last Monday and right now trails Milwaukee by three games, for the best record in the league while leading the Los Angeles Dodgers by four games for the No. 2 seed (and a wild-card round bye).

The New York Mets (80-76) are now tied with Cincinnati for the third and the final wild card. The Mets play three games at the Chicago Cubs before finishing with Miami, while the Reds host Pittsburgh before finishing at Milwaukee.

Miami (76-80) remains technically in contention, thanks to six straight wins (and nine of 10) while Atlanta (73-83) was eliminated over the weekend.

Washington (64-92) clinched last place in the East with their loss Friday night.

O’s Woes: Baltimore (73-83) wraps up its season with series against Tampa Bay and the New York Yankees. And the Birds can still catch the Rays for fourth place in the AL East this week, although they’ll have to hit better than they have this month (.209).

Last Week’s Heroes: Daylen Lile hit .320 with two homers and five RBI (including an inside the park home run to help snap a six-game losing streak Saturday), while Dylan Crews batted .308 with four runs scored. CJ Abrams adds five RBI.

MacKenzie Gore (5.1 scoreless innings) and Cade Cavalli (5.0) both posted scoreless outings in their respective starts, while Jake Irvin pitched well Sunday in a win over the Mets.

Last Week’s Humbled: Mason Thompson allowed seven earned runs over 1.1 innings of work (that’s a 47.25 ERA for those curious), while Mitchell Parker allowed six runs over five frames. Brady House batted .158, Paul DeJong hit .143 and James Wood went .120 at the plate.

Game to Watch: Sunday, the Nats wrap up the season by hosting the Chicago White Sox, and it will be the final one on the mic for longtime TV play-by-play announcer Bob Carpenter.

He’s been rock-solid in that role, since coming on board in 2005 and has seen the team’s highs and (sadly, more recently) lows. Carpenter announced earlier this year that this would be the last year for him inside the booth. He deserves a nice send-off.

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