Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Nationals entered last night’s game against the Atlanta Braves on a six-game losing streak and with a 7-13 record overall. It was supposed to be Max Scherzer‘s day to pitch, but his start was pushed back due to a jammed thumb. The Nationals called up one of their top prospects, A.J. Cole, to make his major league debut. Cole proceeded to allow nine runs in two innings, putting the Nationals in a 9-1 hole. The team looked to be guaranteed their seventh straight loss in embarrassing fashion, but as Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend.”
The Nationals finally said enough was enough and battled all the way back to win the game 13-12 on a three-run home run by former Brave, Dan Uggla. In fact, the Braves are paying Uggla more this season than any member of their current team. Essentially, the Braves paid Uggla to beat them last night.
This game showed this team’s resolve and dedication to this season. Being down eight runs after two innings, every member of the team could have packed it in, gone through the motions the rest of the game and looked forward to today’s game. Instead, the Nationals decided to fight. They fought for themselves. They fought for their season. They fought for their pride. Most importantly, they fought for each other. I expect last night’s game to be the turning point for this Nationals team. They bonded together and, against all odds, were victorious when all the chips were stacked against them.
Based on the importance of this season, how much the Nationals had struggled to this point and the deficit that they overcame, this is the greatest victory in Nationals history. The window is closing on this current Nationals team win a World Series, and this season is essentially a World Series or bust year. To be able to accomplish what they did against the Braves, with how things had be going, will give the team a sense of confidence that they can overcome any odds in any situation. Prior to this win, they lacked that confidence, that swagger they have showed in years prior. If the Nationals win the World Series this season, this will go down as the greatest single regular-season triumph in the history of the franchise.
