Remember how things were just six short days ago? Remember how the Washington Nationals were riding a five-game winning streak and had trimmed their NL East deficit to just four games? Remember when—for the first time since May—the words ‘pennant race’ and ‘playoffs’ seemed like realistic possibilities instead of naïve fantasies? Oh, how quickly things have changed.
Ever since their 8-4 victory over the Braves on Sept. 6 gave the team and its fans a little bit of hope for the future of the season, the team has managed to choke all that hope and momentum away. The Nationals have lost five in a row, including three to the first-place New York Mets and two to the lowly Miami Marlins.