Washington Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner smiled at the thought. Just hours before the debut of Max Scherzer, the Nationals’ $210 million offseason acquisition, Lerner was asked what he hoped for in Scherzer’s first start.
“I hope it’s one of 20 wins,” Lerner said.
That was April 6, when all concepts around the Nationals were lollipops and rainbows. Their opening day payroll was the highest in the organization’s history, almost $120 million more than when baseball returned to D.C. in 2005. The Nationals were labeled World Series favorites by writers and gamblers, who are presumably paid to know such things.
Scherzer lost the opener to the New York Mets. The Nationals have been flooded with injuries and inconsistency. September arrived with them 6 games out of first place, trailing what was once viewed as an incomplete and unthreatening Mets team. New York, which comes to D.C. on Monday for three games against the Nationals, rolled through August, compiling a 20-8 record. For much of the month, the Nationals were a .500 team.
Then, finally, a surge. The Nationals have been flipped from the favorites to the chasers and, of late, are readjusting their dwindling chance at postseason baseball. In just four days, they have cut 2 games from the Mets’ lead. Now four behind in the National League East with three head-to-head games on tap, the Nationals’ chance to make the playoffs in their most pressure-filled season has been revived.
“Been saying all along, at some point we’re going to make a run,” Jayson Werth said. “Hopefully, this is it.”
Last week was crushing and jubilant. On Tuesday night in St. Louis, reliever Casey Janssen allowed a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning. The loss shoved the Nationals down to 66-65 for the season, and a season-high 6 games behind the Mets. Three days later they were jumping, grabbing and celebrating at home plate in Nationals Park. Outfielder Michael A. Taylor had hit a walkoff homer. Later in the clubhouse, a handful of players yelled when the Miami Marlins beat the Mets. The deficit moved down to five games after the Nationals won the night before when the Mets were off.
The reaction is a departure from the staid presence the Nationals have put forth throughout the season. If manager Matt WIlliams speaks, the words “day by day” are likely to come out of his mouth. His de-emphasizing of the moment is counter to the approach of Mets manager Terry Collins. Collins is chatty, bubbly and emotional. Coming out of the All-Star break, the Mets purposely lined up their three best pitchers to face the Nationals. Washington chose to rest Scherzer, who was so dominant the first half of the season, he had thrown a no-hitter and was among the Cy Young candidates. The Mets later swept a weekend series with the Nationals to start August. That tied the teams in the standings and alerted the Nationals a legitimate tussle was at hand.
Extraordinary for much of the season, Scherzer is 11-11 after an ineffective August, when he underwent a reversal. His slider wouldn’t slide and his fastball would go places hitters prefer after spending much of the season where Scherzer prefers. In August, he allowed seven home runs, as many as he had given up in the first three months combined. His ERA for the month was a wayward 6.43. He’ll be on the mound Monday for the first game against the Mets. This time, the Nationals moved Scherzer in the rotation to guarantee he faces New York.
“Hey, look, they’ve circled this on the calendar, we’ve circled this on our calendar,” Scherzer said. “They’re coming ready to play, we’re going to give them everything we’ve got. This is playoff baseball.”
The plight of outfielder Denard Span is representative of the injured roster the Nationals have managed throughout the season. Span, a savvy leadoff hitter and exceptional center fielder, had offseason core surgery, which snatched his time to prepare for spring training. Span needed a second core surgery before the season started. Once on the field in the regular season, Span had back spasms that took him back off. On Aug. 25, Span returned to the lineup. In game 124, the Nationals had their full projected lineup on the field for the first time. Span lasted it two games. He had hip surgery Tuesday. His season is over. Span’s time with the Nationals is likely over, too.
He is one of many Nationals players in the final years of their contracts. Big names like starting pitchers Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister, shortstop Ian Desmond, and Span are eligible to become free agents at the end of the season. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo chose to retain each instead of trading them before their final contractual season. In the past, he offered Desmond an extension, which he declined. Chats with Zimmermann for a new contract were limited. Span is 31 years old. Even after all the rehabilitation, he’s helpless as the team tries to catch the Mets.
“It has made me sad because I’ve enjoyed my three years here,” Span said recently. “I feel like coming here really resurrected my career.”
The injuries, under-performance and fluctuating holes produced a disheartening confluence for much of the season. One day, the Nationals would hit well, but the bullpen would falter. The starting pitching was good, but they could not score. Each time something was plugged, a new leak sprang. The only consistent measure has been Bryce Harper, a front-runner in the National League MVP race. He’s just 22 years old.
Yet, they have hope on Labor Day. It’s an odd switch, from projected super team to scrapping bunch. Sunday, there was a cheer in the park, though nothing was happening in the field. The giant center-field screen lit up with the final score from the Mets game: 4-3, Marlins. Werth watched the Marlins’ winning at-bat in the tunnel next to the dugout. Scherzer watched back in the training room. The Nationals have won five consecutive games. The Mets lost two of three over the weekend. Marlins third baseman Martin Prado beat them twice in the games’ final at-bats.
“We’re going to need stuff like that,” Werth said. “We’re going to need things to go our way and we’re going to need other teams to help us out. We’re going to have to do what we can. In the end, it’s going to come down to us. To win, you’ve got to get lucky. You’ve got to be good, and you got to get lucky. Hopefully, we’ve got a little luck coming our way.”
Just 26 games remain. Six will be against the Mets, three in D.C. this week, then three more in New York during the final series of the season. Last year, the Nationals clinched the division title in Atlanta. They danced with their significant others and listened, drenched in alcohol, to a country music concert on the field afterward. A repeat of such festivities this season seemed preordained, then out of reach. A month remains to see which was true.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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