Nats face tough competition in important games down the stretch

The easy part of the Nationals’ 2024 schedule is over. After yesterday’s 4-2 win over the Marlins (against whom they finished 11-2 this season), the Nats no longer have any sub-.500 teams remaining on their schedule.

Starting tonight, the Nats final 13 games come against the 81-68 Mets (three games), the 76-73 Cubs (four games), the 82-68 Royals (three games) and the 90-59 Phillies (three games). Three of those teams enter today in a playoff spot, with Chicago five games out of the final National League Wild Card spot.

While the Nationals themselves are not playing for a playoff spot this year, they are relishing in their opportunity to play spoiler ahead of the postseason. And since these games are meaningful for the opposition, this young Nats team can benefit from playing important matchups late in the year.

“Hey, look, we got a chance to do some special things still, right?” manager Davey Martinez said. “The biggest thing that I want them to learn is the mindset of playing in September and getting into October. That's going to be (it). I tell these guys, we talked about this before, physically, you guys are all strong enough to do it. It's the mental game right now. There are a lot of things you play for at the end of the year. Let's focus on just staying where your feet are and staying in the moment.

“And there is still something to play for right now. We could be the spoilers, which does mean a lot to not only us, but other teams. And put wins on the board. Try to go 1-0 every day from here on out. That's the ultimate goal for us right now, is to understand that winning is important. If we're going to do what we want to do, and that's to get to another championship, we got to learn how to win and win every day.”

Winning these games will indeed be tough for the Nats. Not only do these opponents have better records, they have owned the head-to-head matchups this season.

While next week will be the first meeting between Washington and Kansas City this year, the Mets and Phillies are both 8-2 against the Nats so far, with the Cubs sweeping a three-game series in D.C. two weeks ago.

The Nats are three wins away from matching their 71 victories from last year. Considering the development of their young players, this season can already be considered an improvement from last year. But surpassing that 71-win total would be another positive step for this franchise, especially against the tough competition over the final two weeks.

“Absolutely. From here, every win matters,” Martinez said. “And every step that they take matters. We talk a lot about situational baseball right now with them because mentally that's a big part of the game. … So it's good that they're playing and they continue to play hard. I love it.”