Washington Nationals: Takeaways from California
By Ron Juckett
A solid visit to the Golden State for the Washington Nationals brought good results. Also, it showed what this team is capable of.
The Washington Nationals finished a successful west coast trip in Los Angeles.
When your two losses come at the hand of another bad Joe Ross start and Clayton Kershaw, it is a good week. Sweeping the San Francisco Giants and winning series versus the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers, the Nats fly home content with a 7-2 trip through California.
Not that Washington remained untested. Between the bizarre fight between Harper and Hunter Strickland to start the Giants series to winning two games at Chavez Ravine scoring seven total runs, this was a passed exam in potential adversity.
Washington has 33 road games under their belt and are 21-12. To carry a winning percentage of .636 away from home is ridiculous. Although the Nats have yet to play any of the National League Central teams on the road, they lost once to the Giants, Dodgers and Colorado Rockies while dining on room service.
Yeah, that is good.
With games the next 14 days, keeping the momentum going is important. Another trip through the NL East follows the weekend except Philadelphia. The Nats can salt away their first back-to-back division titles and playoff berths soon.
Despite some creeks, it is going swimmingly well for Washington. Their division lead is a comfortable 11.5 games. The Nats spend the next seven nights in their own beds. Jayson Werth and maybe Sammy Solis will come off the disabled list.
As the focus shifts east, here are several things we learned on this last trip.