May 30, 2025 [LINK / comment]
Nationals bounce back from bad slump
After losing six of their first seven games this season, the Washington Nationals bounced back with a four-game winning streak and then played so-so for the next month or so. They managed to win at least one game in each of ten consecutive series. Surprisingly, the took two of three games from the world champion L.A. Dodgers from April 7 to 9, thanks in large part to three home runs by future superstar James Wood.
In slugger-friendly Coors Field on April 19, Dylan Crews hit two home runs, while Josh Bell and James Wood also homered. Mackenzie Gore struck out 13 batters that day, but the bullpen faltered for the umpteenth time this year, and the Nats barely escaped with a 12-11 victory over the Rockies. In the second game of the Sunday double-header (a schedule switched necessitated by snow on the preceding Friday), the Colorado team registered one of their very few wins so far this year. At an abysmal 9-48, the Rockies are currently on track to do even worse than the Chicago White Sox did last year (40-121).
Another good sign was when the Nationals split the four-game series at home with the New York Mets from April 25 to 28. In the first game, James Wood knocked in the game-winning run on a single, the Nats' first walk-off win of the year. In the April 27 game the Nats were behind 6-1 after two innings, but starting pitcher Mitchell Parker put three zeroes on the scoreboard, partly redeeming himself. The Nats stormed back with a 5-run rally in the 7th inning, capped by a 3-run homer by Riley Adams. In the bottom of the ninth, the Nats rallied again and caught a break when the Mets fumbled an infield hit by Luis Garcia, allowing C.J. Abrams to score the winning run, as the Nats came back to get an 8-7 win. Jubilation in D.C.! The Mets (then with a multi-game lead in the NL East) were not amused, and got their revenge the next day, drubbing the Nationals by a score of 19-5.
In the early game of a doubleheader at home on May 6 (made necessary by a rained-out Friday game), the Nats prevailed over the Cleveland [Guardians], thanks to another James Wood home run. But for some reason, they then they went into a tail spin, losing the next two games to the Guardians to begin a seven-game losing streak. Then they were swept in three games straight by the St. Louis Cardinals to wrap up the home stand, and then lost 3 of 4 games to the Braves in Atlanta. All four of those games were close, low-scoring affairs that could have gone either way. C.J. Abrams homered in two of the games that the Nationals lost.
And then, inexplicably, things started going the Nationals way again when they went to Baltimore on May 16. Somehow the Orioles kept wasting run-scoring opportunities, getting only 3 runs on 14 hits. The Nats won it, 4-3. As a sign of frustration on the part of the front office (now headed by billionaire David Rubenstein), the Orioles' manager Brandon Hyde was fired on Saturday before the next game. In that game, the Nats scored 6 runs in the 1st inning, and went on to win, 10-6. The Sunday game was little different, with a final score of 10-4. And thus, the Nationals swept the Orioles in Camden Yards*, a most unusual occurrence.
Next, the Nationals traveled to Atlanta, where they beat the Braves in both games. (The game scheduled for May 21 was rained out, and will be made up in September.) In the Thursday game, recently calleld-up Robert Hassel III (replacing Dylan Crews, who is on the injured list due to a strained back muscle) got two hits and scored what turned out to be the game-winning run.
I was at the final game of the series against the San Francisco Giants last Sunday, May 25, and hopes were high for a series win. (The Giants had shut out the Nationals 4-0 on Friday, and the home team returned the favor 3-0 on Saturday.) The weather was perfect, if a bit on the cool side, and my friend Dave Givens and I treated ourselves to upscale second-deck seats that provided great views of the players. (You can read all about the game at washingtonpost.com.) Most of the game was disappointing, but in the bottom of the ninth, the Nationals rallied with doubles by C.J. Abrams and James Wood. (In between them, Josh Bell popped out on the first pitch.) The atmosphere in the stands instantly turned electric, but then Nathaniel Lowe struck out. He had sliced what would have been a game-tying line drive down the left field line, but it went just foul. The last batter was Alex Call, who has often provided clutch run support as well as defensive hustle, but this time he popped out to the right fielder to end the game. And so, the Nats fell short, 3-2.
Nationals Park in the [bottom] of the 9th inning on May 25, just after James Wood hit an RBI double to make the score 3-2. In the batter's box is Nathaniel Lowe.
After resting on Memorial Day (when there really should be a ball game in Our Nations's Capital), on Tuesday (May 27) the Nats began a western road trip in Seattle, where they were clobbered 9-1 by the Mariners. Then they bounced back with a 9-0 victory on Wednesday (helped by four home runs) and achieved an awe-inspiring triumph on Thursday. After Mackenzie Gore threw 9 strikeouts over 6 innings he was in line for the win, but then the bullpen let him down (once again), and it was tied 2-2 after 9 innings. The Nats retook the lead in the top of the 10th, however, thanks to a long RBI sac fly by rookie Daylen Lile. That ball almost went over the fence, and sparked a huge rally! The Nats went on to score 7 runs, capped by a 3-run homer by Josh Bell, who had been slumping terribly until recently.
Tonight in Phoenix the Nats scored twice in the first inning, but quickly found themselves behind 4-2, as starting pitcher Jake Irvin was uncharacteristically sloppy. It was kind of a crazy back-and-forth affair in which the Nats pulled ahead in the latter innings and then won it, 9-3. With a record of 27-30, the Nats have now moved ahead of the Atlanta Braves in the National League East Division, taking the third place spot. How about that!!!
* Camden Yards is changed
The Orioles decided to partly undo the big enlargement of left field in Camden Yards which they did in 2022. Most of the extra space in the outfield has been removed, replaced by a deck area designed for kids to go chasing home run balls. And so, I made a minor update to the Camden Yards diagram.
Washington Nationals page update
The Washington Nationals page has been updated to include changes to the roster for 2025, game data for April 2025 (wins, losses, and attendance), and the Nationals' historical head-to-head matchup win-loss records, from 2005 through 2024. There are also miniature photos of most of the new players such as Michael Soroka (P), Amed Rosario (3B), and Nathaniel Lowe (1B). Once I update that page with complete May data in the next couple days, it will be seen that the Nationals had a winning record for the month: either 15-12 or 14-13, depending on whether they beat the Diamondbacks tomorrow. I thought it would be interesting to extract from the head-to-head matchups table the data for the National League East Division opponents. I just noticed that the Nationals have never played against any of their divisional rivals in a postseason game.
| Opponent | Nationals' WINS | Nationals' LOSSES | Nationals' winning percentage | Total number of games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL | 170 | 182 | 48.3% | 352 |
| MIA* | 176 | 174 | 50.3% | 350 |
| NYM | 172 | 180 | 48.9% | 352 |
| PHI | 162 | 191 | 45.9% | 353 |
| CUM 2005-2024 | 1,510 | 1,626 | 48.2% | 3,136 |
* "MIA" (Miami) used to be "FLA" (Florida) until the Marlins' new stadium was built in Miami in 2012.
Nationals' winning percentage graph 2024.
Little by little, I have also been updating several other pages, such as the ones detailing chronologies and MLB franchise information. [Notable changes of the recent past include the temporary relocation of the Oakland Athletics to Sacramento (see below), the acquisition of the Baltimore Orioles by David Rubenstein last year, and the passing of Cleveland Guardians owner Larry Dolan. His son Paul has inherited most if not all of the franchise.]
New diagram: Sutter Health Park!
Just like I did for George M. Steinbrenner Field earlier this year, I came up with a preliminary diagram for Sutter Health Park, where the erstwhile Oakland Athletics have taken up temporary residence in Sacramento, while a new stadium for them (presumably) gets built in Las Vegas. At the beginning of the 2025 season in late March, I stated an intention to get this one done "in the next week or so." Obviously, I am behind schedule once again. The grassy slope behind the bullpens in right field is a nice aesthetic touch, but it should be noted that the supposed seating capacity of 14,000 includes 3,000 "sitting room only" seats out there. The actual capacity is more like 11,000, about the same as George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
Anyway, there are a number of similarities between the temporary home fields of the Rays and the Athletics, owing to the fact that they are mere minor league ballparks. The dimensions along the foul lines and to the power alleys are 10-15 feet greater in the Sacramento ballpark than the one in Tampa. In addition, there is a lot more room behind home plate at this ballpark.
Still pending: diagrams of London Stadium, Gocheok Sky Dome [in Seoul], Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu [in Mexico City], whatever they are presently calling the ballpark near Disney World in Orlando, and perhaps more.