The Washington Nationals have looked unstoppable at times this year. They are not the same team they were in 2015 and have shown no signs of putting the brakes on any time soon. Kevin Kernan of the NY Post spoke with Daniel Murphy, Bryce Harper and Max Scherzer on Tuesday, regarding the current state of their team.
“Ninety games into the season we have put ourselves in a really good position, and we need to just continue to grind out at-bats, continue to get good pitching, give yourself a chance every day,” Murphy said.
They certainly have as they stand alone on top of the National League East with a six game cushion over the New York Mets and Miami Marlins. Last year an obvious lack of chemistry, and an inept manager who could not control the clubhouse led to the downfall of what was supposed to be a World Series contender. Things though have changed under new manager, Dusty Baker.
“It’s just how it is in there, we are a family in there, a group, a unit. I think we do a great job as a whole and if we can just stick together, win, loss or anything like that, then we will be just fine,” Harper said. “We got to just keep going, keep grinding, keep playing the game hard and keep playing the game right.”
You can tell just by watching the team this year, they are completely different. They look like they are having fun and just winning game after game. They are poised for a nice run this year and are well aware of what happened the previous season after a second-half collapse.
“If we start to go in a tailspin, things can get sideways real quick on us,” Scherzer said. “That type of focus for the next two-and-a-half months is critical for our ballclub. We’ve won as a group. We’ve gotten production from all phases, we’ve played great team baseball.”
The Mets have some work to do and find themselves with just six games left against the Nationals. The two teams will match up again in September, a month that is sure to bring some interesting contests with both in the midst of a pennant race. Can the Nationals sustain what they are currently doing, or will they find themselves crashing again when it counts?
