Washington Nationals earn much deserved breather after grueling stretch
It has been a grueling two-and-a-half-week stretch for the Washington Nationals.
The team just wrapped up its 17th game in 17 days, earning a much-needed day off on Monday for the first time since April 9.
Much like they've been all season, the Nationals were up and down during this stretch of games. Sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers before splitting a four-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates, losing a 3-game series to the San Francisco Giants, losing 3 of 4 to the Atlanta Braves and finally ending with a series win against the Chicago White Sox.
After starting off the season striking out at an astounding rate, Nats star outfielder James Wood got red hot in mid-April, leading to being unanimously named National League Player of the Week on April 13 after leading the league in batting average (.545) OBP (.655), slugging (1.091), and OPS (1.746).
For a solid week and a half, Wood was the best hitter on the planet, but the Nationals' abysmal pitching over that stretch helped keep the team more than a few games under .500 and more than a few more games behind the first-place Braves.
The team's next stretch isn't as grueling (they have another day off next Monday), but it is extremely important.
Washington Nationals' next stretch could define the first half of the 2026 season
The Nats visit the New York Mets on Tuesday following their day off. The Mets are an absolute mess, messier than even they've been in years, but they are also a division rival, so you never know what could happen.
Then the Brewers visit the Nats looking for revenge after being swept in their house. After that, it's the Minnesota Twins at home and the Miami Marlins on the road.
All of these are winnable series, as the Brewers are the only team on that list above .500. It will be a great bellwether for just how good the Nats are this season. But while the Nats are looking to make up ground in the standings, there's no doubt that the Mets and the Nats' other upcoming opponents have circled their matchup against this team as a chance for them to turn their respective seasons around.
Despite strong offensive output so far this season, the Nats' pitching has been horrendous, and there is no guarantee that the team's bats will stay as hot as they have been (the team averaged only 4 runs per game in its series victory over the White Sox).
But for now, with so much baseball left to be played, the Nats have a chance to be competitive, something they haven't been in far too long.
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This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 9:20 AM.