How the Nats returned to first place in 57 days

BALTIMORE - It took until late into the night May 30, but the Nationals are back in first place in the National League East.

The Nats won their sixth straight with a 2-0 dispatch of the Orioles on the road, behind eight shutout innings from Max Scherzer (9-1).

The Mets grounded the Braves 4-1 in Atlanta, thanks to a pair of RBIs from Brandon Nimmo and Adrián González.

Atlanta's loss and the Nats win provided Washington with a 1/2 game lead in the division at the start of play May 31.

It is the first time the Nats have been in first place since April 3, when they were 4-1. Now they are 32-22 and have won eight of their last nine games. The club now embarks on the final leg of its 10-game road trip, with four in Atlanta.

In the clubhouse after the win to sweep the series in Baltimore, and for the second night in a row, the Nats were asked about the possibility of finally being back in first place. The familiar refrain heard in answers was how this team built momentum despite key injuries to starters Daniel Murphy, Adam Eaton, Ryan Zimmerman, Howie Kendrick and Matt Wieters.

Bryce Harper hit his 18th homer of the season to get the scoring started in the 2-0 win:

"I just think every man's stepping up," Harper said. "Everybody gets here and it's that next-man-up mentality, and I think everybody's swinging the bat well and pulling on that same rope every single day."

Harper said the backbone of this team, and a main reason they won the division title in 2016 and 2017, is their dominating starting pitching.

"Our pitchers doing a very good job as well. Jeremy Hellickson, they say he's our fifth starter, but he's unbelievable for us. (Stephen Strasburg), (Tanner) Roark, Gio (Gonzalez) and of course Max (Scherzer). You're only as good as your pitching, and they've done a great job."

Then there's been the contribution of young players including Wilmer Difo, Pedro Severino and 19-year-old Juan Soto. Even Michael A. Taylor is only 27 years old.

"Just that guys are getting opportunities and they are stepping up and taking advantage of it," Scherzer said. "Sometimes when you have injuries you find out new guys. Guys take the opportunity to run with it. We are seeing that with a bunch of different guys.

"Obviously, Soto that comes to mind. With Difo doing his thing. We've had a lot of injuries with Murph and Howie going down. Those guys are stepping up and elevating their play and going out there and showing how good they are."

Manager Davey Martinez said the guys have come together as a group, even with so many different players contributing.

Look at the opening day roster from March 29: catchers were Matt Wieters and Miguel Montero. It's now Severino and Spencer Kieboom. Infielders Zimmerman and Kendrick are not available. Brian Goodwin is still making his way back. A.J. Cole was traded to the Yankees. Ryan Madson and Matt Grace are on the disabled list. Enny Romero is no longer on the team.

"Well, for me, it's just about we're playing well right now," Martinez said. "And we just got to continue to play the way we can play, and we're having fun. The boys are having fun and we'll just worry about tomorrow when it gets here."

Next up are the Braves. The Nats are 3-3 against Atlanta this season.

"Good Atlanta team over there, young team playing well. Pitching's really good, their bullpen's good, Freddie (Freeman) is swinging the bat well right now," Harper said. "(Ozzie) Albies, everybody. So, going to be a tough series. Looking forward to going there this weekend and, hopefully, winning it."

As he sat in his office, wearing his Washington Capitals sweater during postgame, Martinez emphasized that the players who are available are buying into playing together and finding a way to win. The play in the bottom of ninth in which Sean Doolittle saw Orioles pinch-hitter Craig Gentry lean off second base was a great example of this group playing as a team.

Doolittle fired the ball to Anthony Rendon, who got Gentry in a rundown. Rendon relayed the ball to Difo, who used his speed to tag Gentry out right before he could get to third. Doolittle then quickly recorded two outs to finish off the Orioles.

"For me, it's all about watching these guys grow as a team," Martinez said. "They're playing together now, as a team, as a unit. And it's fun to watch. They're pulling for each other. They're picking each other up. Like I said, I've asked these guys to do some things that they aren't very comfortable of doing and they've done really well. I'm just looking forward to continuing to do what we do and go out there and play good baseball."