The
Washington Nationals:
Annual History *

2018: A similar roster, but under new management

The arrival of Dave Martinez as the Nationals' new management coincided with the departure of aging veteran slugger Jayson Werth, whose leadership qualities were sorely missed. During the off-season, the Nats' front office reached terms with all of their arbitration-eligible veterans, and signed Howie Kendrick (acquired from the Phillies in mid-summer) to a one-year extension. Adam Eaton returned to the lineup and started the 2018 season on a red-hot streak, but quickly injured himself, just like the year before. Daniel Murphy had knee surgery in October 2017, but the healing process was prolonged and he did not return to the lineup until July. Meanwhile, Anthony Rendon, Ryan Zimmerman, Howie Kendrick, and Matt Wieters all spent time on the disabled list. The top four pitchers in the starting rotation were the same as in 2017, and Jeremy Hellickson took over the fifth spot in late April. After a lousy first month, the banged-up Nats bounced back in May, but then fell flat again in June, and remained mediocre until September. Daniel Murphy was traded to the Cubs on August 21, as the Nats' hopes for a postseason run had all but ended, and Gio Gonzalez was traded to the Brewers on August 31. Both players were in the final year of their contracts. As the season ended, the Nats belatedly climbed into second place, ahead of the Phillies and behind the Braves. Amid fears that free agent Bryce Harper would join a different team next year, the only real bright spots were Max Scherzer getting his 300th strikeout and 19-year-old sensation Juan Soto vying for the Rookie of the Year award.

Starting positions, 2018

CF: Michael A. Taylor .227 Bryce Harper

LF: Juan Soto * .292

RF: Bryce Harper .249 Adam Eaton

SS: Trea Turner .271

2B: Wilmer Difo .230 (Daniel Murphy)

3B: Anthony Rendon .308

PITCHING ROTATION Max Scherzer 2.53 Stephen Strasburg 3.74 (Gio Gonzalez) 4.57 Tanner Roark 4.34 Jeremy Hellickson * / Joe Ross Sean Doolittle: closer

1B: Ryan Zimmerman .264 (Matt Adams) *, Mark Reynolds *

C: Matt Wieters .238 Pedro Severino, Spencer Kieboom *

Batting average for position players, ERA for pitchers Manager: Dave Martinez *

* (asterisk): new player;   (Parentheses indicate players who have since been traded.)

New contracts of note

• Bryce Harper (AE) -- 1 year, $21.6 million (May 2017)
• Matt Adams (FA) -- 1 year, $4 million + (Dec.)

"+" = bonus incentives for salary, or optional extension (mutual or otherwise) for contract length. "D" = part of salary is deferred. "AE" = arbitration eligible. "FA" = free agent signing. Dollar figures are rounded.

Nationals' head-to-head matchups,
2018

Opponent	Wins	Losses
(Data through June.)
ARI	5	2
ATL	9	10
BAL	5	1
BOS	0	3
CHC	3	4
CHW	0	0
CIN	6	1
CLE	0	0
COL	2	5
DET	0	0
HOU	0	0
KC	0	0
LAA	0	0
LAD	1	5
MIA	13	6
MIL	2	4
MIN	0	0
NYM	8	11
NYY	2	2
OAK	0	0
PHI	11	8
PIT	5	2
SD	4	2
SEA	0	0
SF	2	4
STL	2	5
TB	2	2
TEX	0	0
TOR	0	3
Totals	82	80

2018 memorable moments

• March 31, 2018 -- Brian Goodwin hits grand slam ; WSH 13, CIN 7 @
• April 1, 2018 -- Bryce Harper homers twice as Nats sweep Reds; WSH 6, CIN 5 @
• April 16, 2018 -- Behind 6-1, Nats score 6 runs in 8th inning plus one more in 9th; WSH 8, NYM 6 @
• April 25, 2018 -- Matt Adams homers, with 6 RBIs; Trea Turner gets 5 hits as Nats break out of slump; WSH 15, SF 2 @
• May 7, 2018 -- Matt Adams homers twice, his 7th homer in the first seven days in May; WSH 8, SD 5 @
• May 21, 2018 -- Juan Soto homers in his first MLB at-bat as a starter; Mark Reynolds homers twice; WSH 10, SD 2
• May 30, 2018 -- Bryce Harper's 18th homer ties MLB lead, Max Scherzer's 120th strikeout leads MLB; WSH 2, BAL 0 @
• June 2, 2018 -- Max Scherzer's pinch-hit single in 14th inning sparks winning rally; WSH 5, ATL 3 @
• June 9, 2018 -- NHL champion Washington Capitals brought Stanley Cup trophy to Nationals Park; WSH 7, SF 5
• June 29, 2018 -- Nats hit seven home runs, two by rookie Juan Soto; WSH 17, PHI 7 @
• July 5, 2018 -- Nats come back from 9-0 deficit with two home runs (one grand slam) by Trea Turner; WSH 14, MIA 12
• July 31, 2018 -- Nats score 7 in 1st inning, hit five home runs total (two by Daniel Murphy); WSH 25, NYM 4
• Aug. 10, 2018 -- Jeremy Hellickson allows no hits in 5 2/3 innings, all for naught; CHC 3, WSH 2 @
• Aug. 12, 2018 -- Max Scherzer strikes out 11 in 7 inn., but David Bote hits 2-out grand slam in 9th; CHC 4, WSH 3 @
• Aug. 26, 2018 -- Jefry Rodriguez allows no runs & 2 hits in 6 inn., Nats score 14 in 8th & 9th inn.; WSH 15, NYM 0 @
• Sept. 25, 2018 -- Max Scherzer strikes out 10 in 7 inn., reaching 300 for the year; WSH 9, MIA 4

"@" = away game

Nationals, 2018: month-by-month summary

Month	Wins	Losses	NL East place (at end)	Number of home games	Total attendance	Average attendance
April* 2018	13	16	4th	14	377,723	26,980
May 2018	19	7	2nd	12	365,634	30,478
June 2018	10	16	3rd	13	472,255	36,327
July 2018	11	14	3rd	10	360,955	36,096
Aug. 2018	14	15	3rd	16	495,498	30,969
Sept. 2018	15	12	2nd	16	457,339	28,584
2018	82	80	2nd	81	2,529,604	31,228
*April data include two March games. SOURCE: My unofficial daily tabulations from MLB Gameday stats, Washington Post, and other newspapers. Att. correction on May 1 from baseball-reference.com