Despite rough stretch, Nationals in strong position at the break

When the Nationals convened at Oakland Coliseum way back on June 2, having just enjoyed a lovely day off in the Bay Area, they knew they were about to begin a particularly difficult and prolonged stretch that would take them right up to the All-Star break.

Staring at the Nats at that moment were 20 games in 20 days, then after one day off, another 17 games in 17 games before they at last could enjoy a breather. It was daunting, but this also was a team that not only was playing well but was impressively healthy.

And then Jayson Werth fouled a ball off his left foot and still hasn't returned due to the bad bone bruise. And then Koda Glover and Shawn Kelley landed on the disabled list with seemingly benign injuries that ultimately proved more serious and have kept both relievers sidelined ever since.

Soon after that, Trea Turner got hot for the first time all season - only to get hit by a pitch that fractured a bone in his wrist. And then Michael A. Taylor, enjoying the best sustained stretch of his career, felt a pull in his side while taking a swing and now is out with an oblique strain.

So it was that a Nationals club that looked invincible when this portion of the schedule commenced five weeks ago in Oakland limped a bit into the All-Star break Sunday, with Joe Ross added to the injury report after experiencing soreness in his right triceps muscle.

Every team says the All-Star break comes at a good time. It's most definitely true in the Nationals' case.

"We grinded," Bryce Harper said. "We didn't really complain about much. We did the things we needed to do to win ballgames. Won some tough ones and lost some bad ones, as well. I thought we did great, and I am excited about this break. I think everybody needed it."

So how did the Nationals do during this difficult stretch, one that featured an unrelenting schedule, a spate of injuries and the ongoing saga of an ineffective bullpen? They went 19-17.

No, that's not nearly as successful as the longer stretch the opened the season (33-19). But think about it in these terms: If this was the Nats' toughest stretch of the year, and they still managed to win more games than they lose, that would seem to bode awfully well for the remaining 2 1/2 months, right?

"You always want more than you have as a manager, but these guys, they gave us every drop of energy that they had," manager Dusty Baker said. "This period that we went through ... that will take its toll on you. The guys, like I said, they gave us every bit of energy they had."

And because of it, the Nationals enter the All-Star break with a 9 1/2-game lead in the National League East. Their 52-36 record matches their 2012 and 2016 clubs for the best 88-game start to a season in team history. Their plus-90 run differential is second only to last year's mark of plus-99.

Are there problems that need to be addressed? Yes. Mike Rizzo has three weeks to address the weakest link on the roster and acquire a couple of late-inning relievers that can be trusted to hold a lead. They also need to start getting significant personnel back on the field instead of losing them to the trainer's room.

The back end of the rotation needs to become more consistently effective. Team defense needs to become more consistently reliable.

But take a step back and look at the big picture, and it's a pretty positive one. The Nationals are running away with their division. They're on a 96-win pace, with a historically potent lineup and an ace capable of throwing a no-hitter every time he takes the mound.

And they haven't really hit their stride just yet.

"It's pretty crazy," Harper said. "But it shows how good this team can be and how good we are."