Nationals' comeback falls just short, team finishes 71-91 for 2nd consecutive season

On an overcast day in Washington DC at Nationals Park, the way that the game ended served as a perfect microcosm of the 2024 season for the Washington Nationals. The team lost to the division rival Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 6-3, but received some standout performances by a couple of players.

For starters, righty Jake Irvin couldn't quite end his season the way he would have probably liked to, failing to make it through the 5th inning while allowing 6 earned runs. The 2024 season overall was a win for Irvin, who finished the season ranked 5th in the National League in innings pitched, and should be primed to build the momentum he was able to create this season moving forward.

Luis Garcia Jr. put the finishing touches on his breakout season, clubbing his 18th homer over the out-of-town scoreboard on the wall in right-center field, and later added on with an RBI single in the 5th inning. He took a major step forward this season, finishing with a .282/.318/.444 slash line and .762 OPS to go along with 18 homers, 70 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases in 27 tries. Most importantly for Luis, his defense was much improved from last season, and he safely quieted all of his doubters who wondered if he was capable of sticking as a big leaguer. Garcia is here to stay and is trending toward becoming an All-Star next season if he can replicate this year.

Outside of Irvin and Garcia Jr., the Nationals also had a reliever break the 90-inning mark with Derek Law, who became the first Nats reliever since Tyler Clippard to eclipse that number. Law had a really solid year in 2024, serving in a number of different roles out of the bullpen this season, and if he can clean up his numbers with inherited runners next season, will be even better.

As for some other bright spots, MLB's #1 prospect in outfielder Dylan Crews finished his first taste of big league action on a high note, recording 3 hits with one of them being his first-career triple, and a stolen base as well. As stated previously in other articles, Crews will maintain rookie status for next season, and will likely be the betting favorite to win NL Rookie of the Year. He came up this year and was able to showcase all 5 of his loud tools, and will be one of the faces of the Nationals franchise for many years to come.

As to what I was eluding to with the game being a microcosm of the season, the team had the bases loaded with nobody out in the 9th inning against Phillies reliever José Ruiz, and saw Garcia Jr and James wood both strike out, leaving the game up to Juan Yepez. As the broadcast had been alluding to, the Nats had not had walk-off home run all season long, and the moment seemed as if it was shaping up for a magic moment by Yepez. He took a first pitch curveball to the wall in left field, where Phillies outfielder Kody Clemens closed the Nats' season with a great catch to lock down the win. If it was a game during the summer, it's likely a walk-off grand slam with the fans going home buzzing. However, the Nats died by their sword of not getting enough timely hitting, and stranding 3 runners on base in crunch time was the perfect way for their season to end.

The team will enter the offseason with a renewed hope from the fanbase that they will spend some major money to improve the ballclub, and it will be interesting to see what the offseason strategy looks like for this team.

All stats in this article were provided by MLB.com.