The
Washington Nationals:
Annual History *

2021: Hopes are raised, then come crashing down.

Being unable to properly celebrate their first World Series championship with fans in the stands during the 2020 season due to the covid-19 pandemic, the frustrated Washington Nationals were anxious to do much better in 2021. During the offseason, the Nats parted ways with Adam Eaton, who returned to the White Sox, and Howie Kendrick, the hero of the Nats' 2019 postseason, who decided to retire. On Christmas Eve, the Nationals acquired first baseman Josh Bell in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In January, two former Chicago Cubs signed signed a one-year contracts with the Nationals as free agents: outfielder Kyle Schwarber and right hand pitcher Jon Lester. Later that month the Nats acquired pitcher Brad Hand in a trade with the Cleveland Indians; he became the closing pitcher. The Nats reached terms with two key arbitration-eligible players: shortstop Trea Turner and outfielder Juan Soto, who each signed one-year contracts. Starlin Castro moved from second to third base after missing most of last season due to a broken wrist. Finally, Ryan Zimmerman signed another one-year contract extension. The Nats' first four games were postponed after four of their players got a positive covid-19 test result, and several others were quarantined, forcing a quick roster shuffle. Stephen Strasburg only pitched in a few games, due to a painful neck, and had season-ending surgery in July. The Nationals struggled for the first two months, but thanks in large part to the amazing home run production of Kyle Schwarber, by the end of June they had climbed into a tight race with the Mets for the NL East lead. In early July, however, Schwarber suffered a hamstring injury, and the Nats quickly went into an agonizing nose-dive. Late in the month, Scherzer, Turner, Schwarber, and other key players were traded away, as the Nats began a grim long-term rebuilding effort. From July until the end of the season, the Nats had a 25 - 59 record, after going 40 - 38 from April through June.

Starting positions, April - July 2021

CF: Victor Robles .220 Andrew Stevenson, Lane Thomas*

LF: Kyle Schwarber * $ .188 Yadiel Hernandez

RF: Juan Soto .351

SS: Trea Turner $ .335 Alcides Escobar

2B: Josh Harrison * $ .278 Luis Garcia

3B: Starlin Castro .267 Carter Kieboom, Jordy Mercer*

PITCHING ROTATION Max Scherzer $ (3.74) Patrick Corbin (4.66) Jon Lester * $ (5.16) Erick Fedde (4.29) Paolo Espino (?) Brad Hand * $ : closer (2.05)

1B: Josh Bell * .226 Ryan Zimmerman DNP

C: Yan Gomes $ .284 Alex Avila*, Riley Adams*, Keibert Ruiz*

2020 batting average for position players, ERA for pitchers   DNP = did not play in 2020. Manager: Dave Martinez

* (asterisk): new player; $ : traded away in late July Underlines indicate that the photo is of the second-string player. = No photo yet available.

New contracts of note

• Josh Harrison (2B) -- 1 year, $1 million (Oct.)
• Joe Ross (RHP) -- 1 year, $1.5 million (Dec.) AE
• Josh Bell (1B, PIT) -- 1 year, $6.35 million (Dec.) TRADE / AE
• Kyle Schwarber (LF, CHC) -- 1 year, $10 million (Jan.)
• Trea Turner (SS) -- 1 year, $13 million (Jan.) AE
• Juan Soto (RF) -- 1 year, $8.5 million (Jan.) AE
• Jon Lester (LHP, CHC) -- 1 year, $5 million (Jan.) D
• Ryan Zimmerman (1B) -- 1 year, $1 million + (Jan.)
• Brad Hand (RHP, CLE) -- 1 year, $10.5 million (Jan.)
• Alex Avila (C, MIN) -- 1 year, $1.5 million (Jan.)

"+" = optional extension (mutual or otherwise). "D" = part of salary is deferred. "AE" = arbitration eligible. Dollar figures are rounded. Six of these players were traded to other teams in late July; see above.

Nationals' head-to-head matchups,
2021

Opponent	Wins	Losses
ARI	4	3
ATL	5	14
BAL	3	3
BOS	0	3
CHC	3	4
CHW	0	0
CIN	2	5
CLE	0	0
COL	2	4
DET	0	0
HOU	0	0
KC	0	0
LAA	0	0
LAD	0	7
MIA	11	8
MIL	1	5
MIN	0	0
NYM	8	11
NYY	1	2
OAK	0	0
PHI	6	13
PIT	4	2
SD	3	4
SEA	0	0
SF	2	5
STL	4	2
TB	3	1
TEX	0	0
TOR	3	1
Totals	65	97

2021 memorable moments

• Apr. 6, 2021 -- Nats come back to win covid-delayed season opener on Juan Soto's RBI single in bottom of 9th; WSH 6, ATL 5
• Apr. 16, 2021 -- Walk-off homer by Kyle Schwarber; Max Scherzer strikes out 10, passing Cy Young all-time; WSH 1, ARI 0
• Apr. 30, 2021 -- Walk-off 2-run homer by Kyle Schwarber; Jon Lester's first start as a Nat; WSH 2, MIA 1 (10 inn.)
• May 2, 2021 -- Ryan Zimmerman homers, Max Scherzer pitches complete game, Marlins don't score until 9th inn.; WSH 3, MIA 1
• May 14, 2021 -- Home runs by Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Andrew Stephenson, 22 hits; WSH 17, ARI 2 @
• June 9, 2021 -- Two homers by Ryan Zimmerman, two blown leads, RBI by Starlin Castro in 11th inn.; WSH 9, TB 7 (11 inn.) @
• June 20, 2021 -- Three homers by Kyle Schwarber (after two on the night before); WSH 5, NYM 2
• June 30, 2021 -- Trea Turner hits for his third "cycle" (1B, 2B, 3B, HR); WSH 15, TB 6
• July 16, 2021 -- Erick Fedde gives up 6 runs in 1 1/3 inning; SD 24, WSH 8
• July 17, 2021 -- Nearby gunshots during 6th inning; game suspended until next day; SD 10, WSH 4
• July 19, 2021 -- Nats hit six home runs, incl. 2 by Juan Soto & 1 by the pitcher Jon Lester; WSH 18, MIA 1
• July 26, 2021 -- For 2nd day in a row, Brad Hand blows lead and loses in 9th inning; PHI 6, WSH 5
• July 29, 2021 -- Max Scherzer wins his final game with the Nats just before being traded to the Dodgers; WSH 3, PHI 1 @
  In 2nd game, Nats blow early 7-0 lead and lose in 8th (extra) inning; PHI 11, WSH 8 @

"@" = away game

Nationals, 2021: month-by-month summary

Month	Wins	Losses	NL East place (at end)	Number of home games	Total attendance	Average attendance
April 2021	10	12	2nd (vir. tie)	11	73,257	6,660
May 2021	11	17	5th	17	175,478	10,322
June 2021	19	9	2nd	14	273,776	19,555
July 2021	8	18	4th	12	336,910	28,076
Aug. 2021	7	20	4th	12	253,240	21,103
Sept. 2021	10	21	5th	15	353,069	23,538
2021	65	97	5th	81	1,465,730	18,095
SOURCE: My unofficial daily tabulations from MLB Gameday stats, Washington Post, and other newspapers.

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