On May 23 after a 4-6 loss to the New York Mets, the Washington Nationals’ season seemed, for all intents and purposes, over. Washington had just gotten swept by the division rival Mets, in a series where their bullpen imploded three of the four games.
In the series finale, Nationals’ manager Dave Martinez was ejected from the game in the eighth inning, and many questioned if that would be the last time we see him as the Washington manager. The Nationals sat ten games back in the N.L. East, and were just two games ahead of the lowly Miami Marlins for the worst record in all of Major League Baseball.