Best of the decade: 10-game winning streaks in 2005, 2014

As the Nationals celebrate 10 seasons in Washington, D.C., we reflect on some of the best moments since the franchise moved to the nation's capital. Each Wednesday for the next 10 weeks, check out Nationals Pastime for a remembrance of one of the watershed moments in Nationals history.

Not much was expected of the Nationals in their inaugural season of 2005. Hall of Famer Frank Robinson managed a selection of random big leaguers led by the likes of first baseman Nick Johnson, third baseman Vinny Castillo, and outfielders Jose Guillen and Brad Wilkerson. Starters Livan Hernandez and John Patterson and closer Chad Cordero anchored the pitching staff that gave the National League a scare for a several months during the first campaign since the team moved from Montreal.

Entering the year with minimal expectations, the Nationals found themselves a whopping 19 games above .500 on July 5, having spent 63 days in first place in the National League East. The stunning success was bolstered by a magical 10-game winning streak from June 2-12.

The Nats were in the midst of a lengthy 13-game homestand at RFK Stadium which began with two wins over the Braves before falling by one run in the third game of the series. But that was the last of the losing for a while. They beat the Braves in the finale to start the streak and then won on a walk-off sacrifice fly from center fielder Ryan Church in the bottom of the 11th a day later.

The Nationals rattled off eight more victories in a row, including four one-run wins. Right-hander Luis Ayala captured three of the wins on the streak. Five of Cordero's 47 saves came during the run. Church batted .393 with two homers, two triples, two doubles and eight RBIs over the 10 games.

Unfortunately, the Nats came back down to earth in the season's final two months, playing to a 26-38 record and finishing nine games out of first place. They finished 81-81, and wouldn't crack the .500 mark for a season until the 2012 season.

It took nine seasons before the team accomplished the rare feat again. The circumstances surrounding last year's Nationals were drastically different than those the franchise's alumni faced in 2005. In 2014, the Nationals were expected to contend for a World Series championship. But when June began, the Nats were one game under .500 and 3 1/2 games out of first place. However, they rattled off eight wins in their next nine games to move atop the division.

It was a 10-game winning streak a couple of months later where the Nationals really flexed their muscles. From Aug. 12 to Aug. 21, the Nationals took three from the Mets and Pirates and four the Diamondbacks. But it was how they did it that was "absolutely epic," as Bryce Harper aptly told reporters.

Though they outscored their opponents 46-23 on the run, five of the wins came on walk-offs, including three straight. In fact, the Nationals had five walk-off wins in six games, making them the first team to achieve that since the 1986 Astros, according to Elias.

Of course, the Nationals went on to the win the NL East by a landslide, achieving the league's best record before falling in the National League Division Series to the eventual World Series champion Giants.

But both 10-game streaks will be remembered as some of the most dramatic, hair-raising baseball played in the nation's capital in the first 10 years of the franchise.