Nationals Reach New Low Getting Swept by Marlins, Put Early Fire Sale on Board
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The Washington Nationals may have just had the nightmare weekend that sealed their fate for the season, getting swept by the Miami Marlins with all three losses by two runs or fewer. Their 11-9 defeat on Friday is the most runs they've scored in a loss in 2025.
Sunday saw another wasted outing by ace MacKenzie Gore, who posted 6.0 innings with two earned runs and five strikeouts - his record now drops to 3-6 with the loss.
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CJ Abrams and James Wood combined for nine hits in the series at the top of the order, and the Nationals still couldn't get it done. In this case, "it" refers to not humiliating themselves against the last-place team in their own National League East division.
A month ago, it looked like Washington finally figured things out with their young core, rattling off 11 of 15 from May 14 to 31 with several double-digit offensive outbursts. Now it looks like it was all for nothing.
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It won't get any easier for the Nationals, who desperatly needed to rack up easy wins before their upcoming schedule. They have a soft spot with a four game set against the Colorado Rockies, although this series against the Miami puts doubts in Washington's chances against any opponent.
But even if the Nationals swept the Rockies, their next four opponents are the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels, and Detroit Tigers. It will likely be a pummeling, demoralizing two weeks.
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Conversations about trading closer Kyle Finnegan have circulated all season, but should ramp up as the team's 30-41 record likely continues to fall in the coming weeks. Other veterans like Andrew Chafin or Nathaniel Lowe will likely have their names thrown around, too.
"It's never on coaching. It's never on coaching," manager Dave Martinez said after the loss on Saturday on who to blame for the recent skid. "Coaches work their [expletive] off every single day. We're not going to finger point here and say it's on the coaches. It's never on the coaches. They work hard."
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Anders Pryor is an MLB writer and contributor at On SI a part of the Sports Illustrated network. He graduated from Villanova University with a degree in Journalism and spent his senior year interning with the sports desk at the Philadelphia Inquirer. Anders loves spending his free time running in the park and being with friends.
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