More on a lopsided win, Herrera's injury and Harper's pinch-hit

More thoughts, observations and reactions from Sunday's 15-0 drubbing of the Mets at Citi Field ...

* This was yet another game that made you shake your head and try to figure out why this team has been so erratic all season. Clearly, the Nationals have the talent to win games like this on a regular basis. Why, though, haven't they been able to do it on a more consistent basis? Or, at least, play just well enough to win some more close games?

Something about these Nationals allows them to blow out opponents. They're now 11-5 in games decided by seven or more runs. This was the 13th time they've scored 10 or more runs.

And something about these Nationals prevents them from winning close games. They're 13-21 in one-run games, 2-7 in extra-inning games. And they've been shut out 14 times, a number surpassed only by the Tigers.

The end result of all that? The Nationals have a run differential of +73 this season, which is fifth-best in the National League and 10th-best in the majors. But their .496 winning percentage ranks ninth in the NL and 16th in the big leagues.

Their Pythagorean record (what their record should be, based on their run differential) is 72-59. That would leave them 1 1/2 games behind the Braves in the NL East. In reality, they're 65-66, 8 1/2 games back.

Years from now, when people look back on the 2018 Nationals, they're going to see stats that don't match up with this team's final record. And they're going to say to themselves: "What was up with that team?"

* We don't know yet the severity of the injury to Kelvin Herrera's left foot, but manager Davey Martinez said it's not an Achilles injury. As he writhed in pain on the ground near first base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the veteran reliever was complaining about the top of his foot, not his ankle or heel.

Herrera had X-rays taken at Citi Field, the results of which had not been announced as of late Sunday night. He returned to the clubhouse using crutches and wearing a protective boot on his foot.

Many fans wondered why Herrera was pitching at all in this game, given the ninth inning up 15 runs. The reason: He hadn't pitched at all since Tuesday, when he came off the disabled list from a shoulder injury and retired the side against the Phillies. The circumstances of the Nationals' four games after that left Herrera as an outside bystander.

But Herrera talked to Martinez prior to Sunday's game and said he needed to pitch, one way or another, no matter the final score. It wasn't doing him any good to sit around cold in the bullpen, so he was summoned to pitch the bottom of the ninth up 15-0. At which point a freak injury occurred.

That explanation may not appease everyone now upset that another key Nationals reliever is injured. But it's what happened, and that can't be undone now.

* Martinez's boldest move of the day came when he decided to pinch-hit Bryce Harper for Michael A. Taylor with the bases loaded in the top of the eighth, the Nationals only leading 2-0 at the time. The rookie manager said he would've kept Taylor (who struck out in all three of his at-bats) in and prioritized defense had the lead been three or more runs. But at two runs, he felt it was worth it to play for more offense.

Harper responded by ripping a three-run double down the right field line, extending the Nats' lead to 5-0, but it was not a common result for the superstar. He entered the game only 3-for-13 with one RBI in his career as a pinch-hitter, 0-for-2 with two strikeouts this season.

"Yeah, I suck at it," he said with a laugh. "If I'm not going to play, I'd rather not play. But a big spot to be able to get some runs right there, and got an opportunity and made the most of it."