Heading into this weekend’s three-game set in the nation’s capital, both the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves were rolling, with the Braves, currently in first place in the NL East, winners of 14 of their last 18, and the third-place Nationals, coming off three straight over the Philadelphia Phillies, winners of 17 of 24 overall.
Davey Martinez’s squad was 7.5 back of the Braves going into the series opener, with a lot of ground to make up after a dismal start to the 2019 campaign, but the second-year skipper’s advice for his team, as always, was to stay focused on the task at hand.