Washington Nationals: June Schedule Provides Headliner Series

The Washington Nationals completed a brutal May campaign.  Luckily for them, the schedule in June is considerably easier.

The Washington Nationals enter the month of June with a dismal 24-33 record.  After trudging through a gauntlet of Brewers, Dodgers, Phillies, and Cubs, the Nats limp out the other side with playoff hopes decreasing by the day.

However, there are still 105 more games to play,  27 of which occur in June.  Let’s take a look at the key series during the next 30 days.

Interleague Play Begins With Narratives Abound

After the Nats wrap up in Cincinnati, and after an off day, they will host the Chicago White Sox.  This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the Adam Eaton trade during the winter of 2016.

The Nats acquired Eaton for top pitching prospects Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez, both of whom have become regular starters for the White Sox.

The two teams will play two games at Nats Park on June 4th and 5th, then play in the North Side of Chicago on the 10th and 11th.

At the end of the month, the Nats will visit the Motor City and the Detroit Tigers.  This means Max Scherzer will return to his old stomping ground, Comerica Park.

Of course, this won’t be the first time Scherzer has faced Detroit since his arrival in D.C.  Last time, he struck out 20 Tigers, tying the Major League record for strikeouts in one game.

Longest Homestand of the Season

From June 13-23, the Nationals will play 11 consecutive home games.  The homestand will start with yet another narrative: Patrick Corbin will face his former team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, for the first time since signing with the Nats.

After Arizona, the Nats will have their most critical seven-game stretch of the season.  The Nats will host the Phillies for four games and the Atlanta Braves for three.

If the Nats want any chance of getting back into the divisional race, they will need to beat up on the weaker teams early in the month and capitalize on home games against divisional foes.

While that series might not vault the team into playoff contention, it absolutely can finally, and totally, end meaningful baseball games for the Nats in 2019.

The month of June will certainly be entertaining with storylines in just about every series.  The Nats can make it a fun month, too, by finding the consistency missing from April and May.