The Washington Nationals have gotten off to a great start in September, sweeping Miami while taking two of three from the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s admit the obvious: pennants are not raised and parades are not given for being successful solely after Labor Day.<\/p>\n
But the Nationals have gotten off to a great start in September, sweeping Miami (second sweep of the season and the first at home in 2025) while taking two of three from the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The 5-1 start might not keep them from being eliminated this week (the tragic number is three). But after three straight months of getting rolled, it\u2019s nice to see some rollback.<\/p>\n
Digesting the Division: Philadelphia (83-60) took two of three from Miami while moving seven games ahead of the New York Mets (76-67). The Phillies also lead Milwaukee by two games for the No. 2 seed in the National League and a first-round bye in the playoffs.\n<\/p>\n
The Mets currently hold the third Wild Card berth while leading San Francisco and Cincinnati by four games for the final playoff spot in the NL. Miami (66-77) lost five of its first six games in September and is circling around the elimination drain. Atlanta (64-79) allowed 18 runs on 20 hits while losing to Seattle in their series finale, while Washington (58-84) continues to bring up the rear.<\/p>\n
Break up the Birds: The Orioles won five of six to keep elimination on the back burner for the moment (the tragic number is 11), including taking two of three from the defending champ Los Angeles Dodgers. Saturday was somewhat bittersweet in Baltimore, as they celebrated the 30th anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr.\u2019s breaking Lou Gehrig\u2019s record for consecutive games played, but learned of the passing of former player and manager Davey Martinez (who also served as Nationals manager from 2011-13).<\/p>\n
Diamond King: Nasim Nunez hit .429 while belting his first two major league home runs. Those two homers were hit in the same game to provide a day to remember during the latter stages of a season to forget.<\/p>\n
Last Week\u2019s Heroes: Daylin Lile batted .478 while scoring a team-high eight runs and leading the club with six RBI. Luis Garcia Jr. drove in five. Andrew Alvarez went 1-0 while allowing two runs over 9.2 innings, while Cade Cavalli and Brad Lord also won their starts.<\/p>\n
Last Week\u2019s Humbled: Jake Irvin allowed seven runs over 3.1 innings, and after an 0-5 August where he posted an ERA of 8.78, September doesn\u2019t look much better. James Wood hit .167 while striking out 11 times in 24 at bats, Dylan Crews batted .154, and Josh Bell went .118 at the plate.<\/p>\n
Game to Watch: On Friday, the Nats begin a series in Pittsburgh, with rookie Andrew Alvarez slated to make the start. He might be only a handful of starts into his big league career, but he\u2019s pitching better than just about everyone else on this staff.<\/p>\n