Nationals Face Another Tough Month With Rockies Putting Up Better Results
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Last month the Washington Nationals were one of three teams who were unable to post double digit wins. When they finished 7-19 by the end of June it was the worst in baseball. Even the Colorado Rockies were able to post 10-wins.
July is unfortunately looking like the same rough finish as they are currently 6-12, but they have started the second half of the season a little bit stronger.
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Since play has resumed after the All-Star break they are .500 at 3-3 with a series win against the Cincinnati Reds. With six games left in the month, they have a chance to pull into double-digit wins, but they would have to go 4-2, which seems unlikely, but it is possible.
Anybody with access to the internet has seen that the Rockies are having a historically poor season, so anytime a team is in comparison with them, it isn't good. Both teams are not exactly struggling as much on offense as they are on the pitching mound.
Washington is one of three to allow more than 500 earned runs on the year. At 518 they have allowed the third most in the league behind only the Athletics and Colorado.
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There are only four teams in baseball who have an ERA over 5.00 and the Nats are one of them with the third-highest, 5.20. When opponents are batting against their staff they are doing quite well (unfortunately for Washington). An allowed .265 average is third-worst in the league.
While they are not the worst in any major category they are top-10 in multiple- total hits (fourth), WHIP (fifth), saves (fifth), strikeouts (sixth) walks (ninth), and home runs (tenth).
The Nationals might have a much better overall record (41-61) than the Rockies, but the last two months have really been a downhill slide (more like a plummet off a cliff). They go on a road trip to finish the month off against a tough Houston Astros squad and the Minnesota Twins.
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Their playoff hopes are nonexistent, unless a miracle happens, but they have a week before the trade deadline and a lot of games left to improve their issues with the pitching staff.
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Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.