This One Area Has Doomed Nationals During Early Part of This Season

This area has been a key reason for the Washington Nationals' slow start this year.

Mar 29, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez looks on during the ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Nationals Park | Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

All offseason, the conversation surrounding the Washington Nationals was about making the requisite improvements to create hope regarding the future of the franchise during this rebuilding stage.

Wins and losses aren't the focal point.

It's more about continued development of the young stars.

But the Nationals now sit with a 1-5 record after their first two series of the year, blowing strong performances from their starting staff against the Philadelphia Phillies and looking overwhelmed against the Toronto Blue Jays.

When considering those are two of the premier teams in Major League Baseball with loaded rosters full of established star players, it shouldn't be too surprising that this Washington team wasn't able to find success in the win column.

However, if the franchise is ever going to come out of this rebuild looking like one that can contend for championships in the future, then winning games will have to come at some point.

Much of the reason for their 1-5 start is because of how poorly they have started games.

15 of the 21 runs they've scored in their six contests have come after the sixth inning, per Mark Zuckerman of MASN. That makes it hard to win games, especially when they face an early deficit like they did against the Blue Jays.

Attacking starting pitching is something that will come for this young team on a more consistent basis, and a lot of that has to do with how they approach things at the plate.

"The at-bats have to get better early in games. We talk about scoring first and trying to get on the starters early, and it just hasn't happened. Late in the games, we've been swinging the bats good. But there's nine innings. We've got to come out swinging from the get-go," manager Dave Martinez said according to Zuckerman.

How that turns around is something the players will have to figure out.

It seems like they get more comfortable in the box the longer the game goes on, but if they're going to win baseball games, they have to find that mindset starting in the first inning.

Veterans Josh Bell, Nathaniel Lowe, Paul DeJong and Amed Rosario were added this winter for that exact reason, so perhaps that quartet can be the catalysts to get the young players going.

There are still other things Washington needs to work on, but improving during the early part of the game will help them compete for wins on a daily basis.