The 2024 Nationals wound up being a team of contradictions. They unquestionably showed real signs of progress from a year ago, especially in the pitching department. And yet when you look at the final standings, you’ll find a 71-91 record that looks identical to their 71-91 mark from 2023.
They wound up in this familiar situation after taking a 6-3 loss to the Phillies this afternoon in their season finale. Having already won the previous two days against the division champs, the Nats dug themselves into an early hole created by Jake Irvin and couldn’t quite claw all the way back, despite one last-ditch attempt in the bottom of the ninth.
"We made it interesting," manager Davey Martinez sighed. "Testament to the guys. They fought hard all year long. I'm proud of them. Obviously, nobody wants to go home this time of year. You want to keep playing. But the effort was definitely there this year."
There wasn’t as much intensity on display today as there was Friday and Saturday at Nationals Park, where the young home team seemed extra motivated to beat the Phillies and deny them a shot at home-field advantage throughout the postseason. With nothing at stake anymore, this was a more low-key affair, with the Phillies sitting Bryce Harper and pulling Trea Turner early, though the Nats decided to battle one last time.
Loading the bases with no outs in the ninth, they had three shots to win the game with one swing. But Luis García Jr. struck out, James Wood struck out looking and Juan Yepez drove a ball to the wall in left that left everybody holding their breath until Kody Clemens made a leaping catch to end the game.
"I really thought it was a homer," Martinez said. "Obviously, today was not a good day to hit. But he hit it well."
A crowd of 26,729 took it all in on an overcast, 69-degree Sunday, one day after the place was sold out. All told, the Nationals drew 1,966,302 fans this season, an increase of more than 100,000 from 2023 but down 60,000 from 2022, when they lost 107 games but had Juan Soto on the roster for four months.
In a season defined by the development of young starting pitchers, Irvin’s ascension ranked high on the list. The 27-year-old was a surprise contributor as a rookie last season, making 24 starts and finishing with a 4.61 ERA. He clearly took a step forward this season, establishing himself as a sometimes-dominant workhorse, but there’s clearly still room for improvement as well.
After an eight-inning gem July 4 against the Mets, Irvin was the proud owner of a 2.80 ERA and legitimate All-Star speculation. He had a few more gems in him during the second half, including back-to-back starts against the Braves and Mets earlier this month, but he ultimately was done in by an unfortunate propensity for the blowup inning.
Five times in the second half, Irvin gave up six or more runs in a start. That included today’s six-run outing, which raised his season-ending ERA to a pedestrian 4.41.
"From a personal standpoint, the second half was not what I expect from myself," he said. "It was disappointing, for sure. But there's a lot to learn from, and a lot to build off of. Looking at the big picture, I'm definitely excited for the things I've learned, what I can build on, how I can get better learning from a lot of stuff this year."
Irvin immediately got himself in trouble in the top of the first, loading the bases before recording an out via two walks and a single. He managed to retire the next three batters he faced, even though two runs crossed the plate on productive outs. And that started off a nice run of 12 consecutive batters faced, only one of them getting a ball out of the infield.
The top of the fifth, though, found Irvin again in a bases-loaded, no-out jam. And this time, he wasn’t able to get out of it. A two-run single by Kyle Schwarber and a two-run double by Weston Wilson gave the Phillies six runs on the afternoon and ended Irvin’s season on a sour note.
The right-hander walked off the mound to a nice ovation from the crowd. He has plenty to be proud of, most notably his 187 2/3 innings pitched (fifth-most in the National League, and most by any Nationals pitcher since 2019). He also has motivation to come back next season seeking more consistency and a better final stat line.
"For me, it's just fuel for the fire," he said. "I'm going to go into the offseason and hopefully continue to stay healthy. But the biggest focus is to get better, come back in the spring ready to compete for a championship. I'm fired up about it."
Run support was often a problem for Irvin this year, but the Nationals did give him some today. García led off the bottom of the first with a homer, his 18th of the season and twice as many as he hit last season. García and Yepez would each deliver RBI singles in the fifth, as well, cutting the deficit to 6-3.
"I'm proud and excited to see that I was able to hit the ball very hard in that first at-bat, as well as the other one where I drove in that run," García said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. "I didn't go out there looking for those results. I went out there just playing hard, and then the results were there. So I'm very proud of that."
The Nats also got another big day from Dylan Crews to wrap up a big weekend for the rookie outfielder. Mired in a 1-for-31 slump entering the series, the 22-year-old looked re-energized in this final series, especially on a leadoff triple in the sixth, with Crews for a moment looking like he wanted to go all the way before stumbling around second.
That hit made him 6-for-10 with a double, a triple, two walks and two stolen bases in the series, raising his batting average back over the Mendoza Line and letting everyone breathe a little easier about the top prospect heading into the winter.
"Definitely something that I take a lot of pride in is trying to finish strong," Crews said. "I think there's two things to it: One, good impressions. And two, just trying to finish strong and leave on a high note. But I've been doing that since I was a little kid and trying to live by that. Just leave this place off with a good impression."