Washington Nationals: Three home games which defined the season
The away record is poor and the home record is equally brutal. Here’s looking at the three home games which summed up the whole season for the 2020 Washington Nationals.
The Washington Nationals played terrible baseball on the road. The good news about that, they played better on the road than at home. In a wild year where home games didn’t really feel like home games, with piped in crowd noise and cardboard cutouts as fans, there was no home field advantage for the Nationals to latch onto.
With the city of Buffalo stepping up late to offer a home to the Toronto Blue Jays, the early road series was moved to Washington. This meant the Nationals would play their first twelve games at home.
A sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles to end that homestead would put the Nationals off to a 4-8 start and be a sign of things to come.
After this weekend tilt with the Miami Marlins, the away portion of the schedule will be wrapped up and the Nationals return home to play their final eight games of the 2020 season. Currently sitting with a record of 9-16, the Nationals have a run differential of -18 in home games.
Today we spotlight three home games which summed up the season for the Washington Nationals.
August 7th, Baltimore 11 Washington 0
Getting shutout is bad. Getting shutout at home is worse. Getting shutout by a geographic rival at the hands of a former pitcher is as bad as it can get.
The Baltimore Orioles were not supposed to be trying this year. With the defending World Champions hosting their local adversaries, this should have been a walk in the park for the Nationals.
Journeyman pitcher Tommy Milone took the mound for the Orioles. Milone was drafted and groomed by the Nationals, making his debut with the team in 2011 before being shipped away in a package to acquire Gio Gonzalez.
Saying Milone stymied the Nationals bats on this night would be an understatement. He scattered three hits across six frames, and did not walk a batter.
Even though Anibal Sanchez didn’t pitch great, the Nationals were still in the game after five innings. Sanchez gave up a single before exiting in the sixth and Ryne Harper promptly allowed another single, before giving up a three-run home run.
Wander Suero would allow three runs the following inning and after the dust settled the Nationals were down 11-0.
Another former friend, Pedro Severino, would have three hits and drive in two runs on the day.
The shutout would be indicative of how the offense would perform all year. The Nationals have played three more home games than road games, and scored 25 less runs.
August 24th, Miami 11, Washington 8
Another theme which reared its ugly head was the fact the Washington Nationals were having to play from behind more times than not. With the starting pitching having issues, opposing teams would be staked to 3, 4, even 5 run leads before the game was half over.
On August 24th, the Miami Marlins jumped out to a 7 run lead before the Nationals were able to push a run across. Coming from behind on a nightly basis is mentally taxing on teams.
Nationals starter Austin Voth couldn’t get out of the fourth inning and the parade of relievers was on. Faced with a 7-0 deficit, the Nationals struck for three runs in the fifth to draw closer.
Even though the Nationals offense came to life, late, it was too late. They managed to score five runs in the 7th and 8th innings, only to see their bullpen surrender four runs during that time.
When all was said and done, the final tally was a 11-8 defeat.
If the offense is going to put up eight runs, the team needs to walk away with a win. We have addressed the pitching malfeasance of Austin Voth before, and the bullpen has had its share of misery as well.
For a team which scored two or fewer runs in seven of the first twelve home games of the year, having the offense explode for a eight-spot, only to lose the game, was disheartening.
September 10th, Atlanta 7, Washington 6
Finally, the Washington Nationals flipped the script on someone. Riding high after sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays out of town, the Nats pounced on the Atlanta Braves early.
Austin Voth was staked to a five run lead after two innings, and he had cruised through three innings unscathed.
Then, the wheels fell off. Voth yielded a two-run home run to Freddie Freeman, because that is what Freeman does to the Nationals pitching staff, hits home runs. An inning later it was Wander Suero giving up a two-run jack, and a once promising lead had evaporated to just one run.
The Nationals tacked on a run in the bottom of the fifth inning and took a two-run lead to the seventh inning.
In the seventh Will Harris did what Will Harris has done all year. He gave up the lead, on the strength of another two-run home run. To guess who? Yes, Freddie Freeman.
The five run cushion was gone, the lead was gone, and an inning later, another gopher ball would put the Braves on top for good.
A crushing blow to the Nationals and a game which stifled the team’s chances once and for all. The final nail hammered home in the coffin which is the 2020 season for the Washington Nationals.
Adam Eaton's days in DC may be over. dark. Next
The following night the Nationals would again blow a five run lead, but were able to come back and win. The damage was done though. The Nats would lose the final two games to the Braves in the series and officially start looking towards the 2021 season.