WASHINGTON -- We’re not even at the halfway point of the season. I
get that. But we’re not far from it either. And right now, the Washington Nationals have the look of a team that’s about to disappear. In a good way.
Following a 4-2 victory Wednesday that gave them a sweep of the New York Mets
-- you know, the team that was supposed to be Washington’s foil but
instead is falling apart faster than a homemade burrito -- the Nats now
have a 5 1/2-game lead in the National League East. And the team that’s
directly behind them isn’t even the Mets anymore. Instead, it’s the Miami Marlins.
That’s how badly the Nats beat up on their injury-riddled archrivals,
outscoring them 20-6 during the three-game set to bump them all the way
down to third place.
“It's nice to win three in a row, four if you count the Milwaukee game,” said Daniel Murphy,
who homered twice against his former team Wednesday and now has 14 on
the season, tying a career high. “We weren't playing the greatest
baseball coming in, but it was nice to get home -- I thought the fans
were awesome. And any time you can take three from a division opponent, a
division opponent as good as the Mets, it's a good series. So we'll
take it.”
“It's great to have this momentum,” added ace Max Scherzer, who struck out 10 and allowed just two hits in 7 1/3 scoreless innings. “Hopefully we can keep going forward.”
Of
course, that was the general idea 10 days ago, when Washington had a
six-game lead and looked like it was about to dust the division, then
promptly lost seven straight. Difference is, 10 days ago the Nats had
just flown across the country and were in the early stages of a 10-game
road trip that would feature, among other things, a date with Clayton Kershaw that was part of a three-game set with a Dodgers team that’s been one of the best in baseball at protecting its home turf.
That’s
a far cry from Wednesday, when Washington has to be licking its chops
over the thought of seven straight home games against the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers,
two teams that are a combined 28 games under .500. If ever there was
some time for the Nats to put some serious distance between themselves
and the rest of the division, this is it.
Not that Dusty Baker wants to hear it.
“You
can’t overlook anybody,” said the Nats manager. “I mean, the Reds
almost swept us up in Cincinnati and Milwaukee almost swept us up in
Milwaukee.”
But that was then and this is now. Which is to say,
that was away and this is home. When it comes to the Reds and Brewers --
who have the two worst road records in the National League -- that
matters.
Another thing that matters is that the Nationals, who
rebuilt their division lead despite missing some key pieces, are about
to get a whole lot healthier. Stephen Strasburg,
one of baseball’s best pitchers but who has been on the disabled list
since June 16, is eligible to be activated on Friday. Closer Jonathan Papelbon, out since June 13, threw a simulated game Wednesday and is close to returning. And that doesn’t even include stud prospect Lucas Giolito, who impressed in his big league debut on Tuesday and could be a regular part of the rotation before too long.
Add
it all up, and the Nationals have the look of an extremely dangerous
team. In a lackluster division where the overachieving Phillies have
fallen off, the Braves were never in it, the Mets are banged up beyond
recognition and the Marlins are, well, the Marlins, it’s conceivable
that Washington could have a double-digit lead by the All-Star break.
For the time being, they’ll have to settle for half of that.
“We’ll take it at the halfway point,” said Murphy, jumping the gun by two games. “And we’re hoping to increase it.”
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