For most of the 2025 season, Washington Nationals fans have been looking toward the future. Suddenly, the future feels a lot closer.
After grinding through a tough year, the Nats have caught fire in September, winning five of their first six games and breathing life back into a fanbase desperate for something to cheer about. The spark was a dominant three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins at home from September 1-3, and the momentum has only grown since, capped by a 15-7 thrashing of the very same Marlins on Monday, and a 7-5 victory on Tuesday. At 60-84, the playoffs are off the table, but the team is playing with a confidence that suggests the painful days of the rebuild are beginning to bear fruit.
The Sweep That Changed the Vibe
It all started on the first of the month. In his first-ever big-league start, rookie pitcher Andrew Alvarez looked like a seasoned veteran, silencing the Marlins with five innings of one-hit baseball. The Nats' offense did just enough to secure a 2-0 victory, but Alvarez's poise set a new tone. It wasn't a slugfest, but it was a statement.
The next day, the kids provided the power. James Wood, a cornerstone of the rebuild, launched a towering two-run homer, and fellow rookie Daylen Lile chipped in with an RBI and a run. They backed up a gutsy performance from Patrick Corbin, who earned the win in the 5-2 victory in what could be one of his final starts in a Nats uniform.
Then, on September 3, the floodgates opened. In a 10-5 blowout, the star of the show was the unlikeliest of heroes: infielder Nasim Nuñez. The most recent September call-up exploded for a 3-for-4 day, blasting his first two career home runs and driving in four runs. It was a career day for Nuñez and a season-high in hits for the team, sending the Marlins out of town without a single win.
They Weren't Done Yet
That energy carried them on the road. After a couple of losses in Chicago, the Nats pulled off a stunning ninth-inning comeback against the Cubs on September 7, wiping out a four-run deficit to win 7-5.
They rolled into Miami on Monday and put on an absolute offensive clinic. Dylan Crews smashed a three-run homer to break the game open, and Josh Bell went 4-for-5, homering from both sides of the plate—a rare feat for any player. By the time the dust settled on the 15-7 win, the Nats had tied season highs with 19 hits and 15 runs.
More Than Just a Hot Streak?
This isn't just a random hot streak; it’s a result of a philosophy Manager Dave Martinez has been preaching: "hunt fastballs." The aggressive approach is working, with the team now averaging over seven runs per game in September. While the pitching staff is dealing with injuries to MacKenzie Gore and Josiah Gray, young arms are getting a chance to prove themselves.
With 18 games left, the preseason over/under of 72 wins doesn't seem so far-fetched. More importantly, the young players—Crews, Wood, Lile, and Nuñez are no longer just prospects. They’re contributing to wins at the major league level.
For a team and a city looking for reasons to believe, this September surge is more than just a string of victories; it’s a sign that the future might be arriving ahead of schedule.