Still coming up short on South Capitol Street
The Nationals lost another close home game Friday night, and this one against the wild-card-leading Diamondbacks meant more than most
The message from the manager’s office was as clear as could be.
“We’re treating this like a playoff series,” Blake Butera said. “We’re going to do everything we can to win these games, to match up the best we can, to do whatever we have to do to come out of these with wins. Because we know how important it is with these guys we’re going up against in the standings.”
And how did the young Nationals respond in the first game of their biggest series in years? With one of their least-impressive offensive performances in a while, and just enough mistakes on the mound and in the field when it mattered most.
Final score: Diamondbacks 3, Nationals 2.
Updated NL wild-card standings: Diamondbacks 55-49, Nationals 52-52, three games back. And sandwiched between them: Three more contenders (Pirates, Cardinals, Marlins) who all lost Friday night.
Flip the result of this game on South Capitol Street, and they’re one game out, with only Arizona in front of them. That’s the significance of these head-to-head games this time of year, with each result magnified.
