This One Thing Has Been Key To Nationals' Success This Season

The Washington Nationals can take this positive away thus far.

Jul 9, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Washington Nationals first baseman Nathaniel Lowe (33) celebrates with designated hitter Josh Bell (19) after hitting a three run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Nobody expected much out of the Washington Nationals this season, but considering it was their 25th-year anniversary from when the team became part of the nation's capital, the hope was the young players on this roster would at least give the fans something to get excited about.

That's been there at times, but there has also been much more bad than good.

Firing manager Dave Martinez and longtime executive Mike Rizzo was the result of that, with the franchise ready to head in a new direction with so many talented youngsters in the fold.

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Things might look dire, but there is one key thing that stands out from the first half of the season that should give the Nationals and every fan confidence going forward: they're actually above average when they're the first team to score a run.

According to Jessica Camerato of MLB.com, they are 30-15 when scoring first.

There is plenty of positives to take away from that, with the pitching staff being able to hold onto leads when they are given a cushion, while the offense has been able to put up runs against starting pitchers to secure 30 of their 38 total wins.

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The second part of that statement is where things need to change, though.

Camerato also pointed out that Washington is an abysmal 5-47 when trailing after the sixth inning, which indicates the team doesn't have the juice to come back and wins games, whether that is because the offense can't deliver the timely hit or because their last-ranked bullpen gives up too many runs.

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All of this is part of the puzzle for the Nationals, and it's something the new regime should look into.

But with the 2025 season appearing like another lost one, they should take some positive away from being able to score first and hold onto wins in the first half of this campaign.

For more Nationals news, head over to Nationals On SI.