Washington Nationals: Three home games which defined the season

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.

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.