Nationals Should Find Themselves Above .500 Soon Because of This Reason
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On May 13, the Washington Nationals have a 20-22 record.
After their stretch at the beginning of the season where they lost seven out of eight and five in a row, this team has been hovering around the .500 mark for pretty much the entire campaign. That is crazy to think about considering the expectations coming into the year. But after not having a winning record since March 31, there's a chance that could change soon because of one main reason.
The Nationals caught a break with their upcoming schedule. Across this 16-game stretch, they face three teams at the beginning of this span that have a negative run differential -- the Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets -- and that should allow them to finally get above .500.
Nationals Have to Take Advantage of This Soft Schedule
It's not often that Washington has caught some breaks over the past few years, but based on the way they are playing right now, facing these three teams for three series in a row is massive when it comes to finally getting to the point where they have a winning record.
On Tuesday, the Nationals took full advantage. They bludgeoned the Reds by a score of 10-4 and are now one win away from securing the series victory. Once again, the lineup showed up on the road, as they hit a season-high six home runs with Luis Garcia Jr. and Daylen Lile blasting two apiece. Now, keeping that momentum going will be paramount.
The last time Washington had a double-digit stretch of games was from April 10-26. They won nine of those 17 contests against much better competition, as two of those teams are in first place and three of the five have positive run differentials. With that in mind, the Nationals should be able to do the same thing during this stretch.
Nationals Continue to Be a Surprise Team
The fact Washington has expectations about having a successful showing over a long stint of games is telling when it comes to how this group has performed to start the year. While the pitching staff still leaves much to be desired on most days, the offense has been otherworldly as one of the best units in baseball. And if they are able to get above .500 in May for the first time since May 17, 2024, that would be a huge step in the right direction for this franchise.
Now, with the soft schedule in front of them, it's up to the Nationals to actually go out there and win the requisite games to make that happen. But based on preseason projections coming into the year, they are way ahead of schedule when it comes to the rebuild under this new regime.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai