What to make of the Nationals' roller-coaster 5-5 road trip?

CHICAGO - Had they been told at the outset, before they embarked on a 10-day road trip to face three imposing clubs, that they'd wind up with a 5-5 record, most everybody associated with the Nationals probably would have been content with it.

On the heels of a disappointing series sweep against the Phillies, and with the Cardinals, Royals and Cubs on the docket, the Nats couldn't afford to set the bar too high.

So why now, at the end of this grueling trip, does 5-5 feel like a letdown?

Because the Nationals stormed through the first two legs of this jaunt through the Midwest, sweeping in St. Louis and then taking two of three in Kansas City (with the lone loss coming on a blown Jonathan Papelbon save in the bottom of the ninth). All they needed to do in Chicago was win one of four to head home with a winning record.

Instead, they got swept out of Wrigley Field, beaten as every other team in the league has been by a Cubs squad with a staggering 24-6 record, the best 30-game start to a season by any major league team since the famed 1984 Tigers.

So how should the Nationals view this trip in the bigger picture?

"I thought we played great baseball the whole time," right fielder Bryce Harper said. "Even coming in here, I thought we played great baseball. I think we scored a lot of runs and ran into a very hot Chicago Cubs team. I don't even know if you can say they're hot. They're just that good. Sometimes you've got to tip your cap to a great team."

The Nationals did play the Cubs tough, especially over the last two days. The Nats lost Saturday after leading 4-1 in the sixth, then lost yesterday's 13-inning marathon after leading 3-1 in the seventh.

They actually inflicted some damage on the previously impenetrable Jake Arrieta yesterday, knocking out the Cy Young Award winner after five innings and three runs, leaving him in position to suffer his first loss in his last 20 starts.

"Not to take anything away from them - they're a really good team, obviously - but three of four games here we had a chance to win and couldn't come through," first baseman Ryan Zimmerman said. "Still to go 5-5 on a trip like that, obviously it could have been a lot better. But 5-5 on a tough road trip like that? I don't want to say we'll take it, but it's not terrible."

What was the manager's biggest takeaway from all of this? He can't wait for the rematch next month in D.C. And maybe another one farther down the road.

"I take away from this series that we'll see 'em at our house, and I'd love to come back here in the playoffs," Dusty Baker said. "They got everything they needed in this series. It's hard to keep getting whatever you want, whatever you need. Our guys got a lot of pride out there. We're still right there ... I mean, big-time. So like I said, we've got to lick our wounds, come back in and regroup."