With losses in 9 of 11 games in July, and four straight going into the All-Star break, the 2021 Washington Nationals went from 40-38 after a 19-9 June, which left them 2.0 games out in second place in the NL East on June 30th, to 42-47, 6.0 games out, in fourth in a division in which only the 47-40 first-place New York Mets went into the break above .500.
Though the results weren’t there on the first-half ending 2-5 road trip to San Diego and San Francisco, with the club beat up and players seemingly landing on the IL on a daily basis, it wasn’t from a lack of effort.