SAN DIEGO, CA - With their 81st game now complete, the Washington Nationals have officially reached the midpoint of the 2025 season, carrying a 36-48 record into the second half. This mark reflects a turbulent first half filled with setbacks and promising signs. After dropping their seventh consecutive series—this time in a narrow 1-0 loss—the Nationals continue to confront challenges, but manager Davey Martinez and starter MacKenzie Gore remain focused on the team’s ongoing development and resilience.
The Nationals’ record tells the story of a team fighting to find consistency. At home, Washington is 16-24, while on the road they are 17-24. Day games have been particularly tough, with a 12-24 mark, compared to a 21-25 record at night. The team is currently on a two-game losing streak, having gone 2-5 over their last five games and 3-8 in their last ten. Their month-by-month record highlights a promising May (15-12) but a difficult June (5-18) after a slow start in March (1-3) and April (12-15). The club has struggled against both left-handed (8-14) and right-handed (25-35) starters, and has gone 11-15 in series openers.
Despite the setbacks, Martinez remains optimistic. “I think, overall, I think we've played, we've been playing, we've been playing a lot better,” he said after today’s game. “You gotta consider that the guy we faced today was good. Yesterday we had a chance, obviously, to win a game, but we're in every game. We haven't had a day off in a while, so take our day off tomorrow, come back and let's win that first game at Anaheim and go from there.”
The Nationals have shown improvement on the road, going 13-12 (.520) in their last 25 road games since May 1. Today’s contest also marked the end of a grueling stretch—Washington just completed 16 games in 16 days before their next day off in Los Angeles. Offensively, the club has found some power recently: since June 19, the Nationals rank second in the National League in home runs (13) and are tied for fourth in runs scored (36).
There have been some bright spots for the Nationals as they head into the second half, most notably the performances of All-Star James Wood and potential All-Star CJ Abrams. Entering today’s afternoon game, James Wood has been among the best hitters in the National League, hitting .322/.420/.678 over his last 15 games with three doubles, six homers, 18 RBI, 10 walks, and 12 runs scored, reaching base safely in 13 of those contests. He leads MLB with 12 home runs hit harder than 110 MPH and 50 batted balls over 108 MPH, ahead of Aaron Judge.
The biggest thing when you guys are pitching like that is just you try to move the baseball, put the pressure on the other team. With two strikes, you have to grind out at-bats and have the guy work a little deeper and try to knock him out again with pitch count.
Wood’s 31 career home runs are tied for the most in Nationals history through a player’s first 162 games—matching Bryce Harper and ahead of Juan Soto—and he’s reached that mark in just 159 games. Defensively, Wood has also been elite, leading all National League left fielders with six defensive runs saved, according to FanGraphs.
CJ Abrams, meanwhile, is making a strong All-Star case of his own and ranks among the best shortstops in the National League. Over his last 15 games, Abrams is hitting .377/.465/.607 with five doubles, three homers, six RBI, eight walks, two hit by pitch, five stolen bases, and 17 runs scored. He has reached safely in 13 straight games, posting a .468 on-base percentage during that span, and has reached base safely in seven of his last eight plate appearances over the last two games, including a stretch of seven straight before making an out in the ninth inning on Tuesday night.
Nathaniel Lowe has also provided a spark to the lineup. Recently, he hit his 100th, 101st, and 102nd career home runs in back-to-back games. Since June 6, Lowe is slugging .523 with an .843 OPS over 18 games, collecting two doubles, five homers, 12 RBI, six walks, and nine runs scored. On the season, he ranks second on the Nationals and second among NL first basemen with 52 RBI.
The bullpen has been a strength in key moments. Zach Brzykcy is one of only three Major League relievers to inherit at least 12 runners without allowing any to score. Kyle Finnegan is tied for second in the National League (T4th in MLB) with 18 saves. Brad Lord ranks third among MLB pitchers (minimum 20.0 IP) with a 0.89 ERA and is among the league leaders in opponents’ average (.153) and slugging percentage (.222) since May 22.
The Nationals’ rotation has also been steady. Since the start of 2023, the club has used just 12 different starting pitchers, the fewest in Major League Baseball. This season, Washington has used only six starters, tied for the second-fewest in MLB.
Many recent losses have been close, often coming down to a single play. “As I always say, we leave one hit away or one play away. But we gotta keep grinding, we gotta keep up with the energy. The energy was good today. You saw them trying to score, wanting to score some runs for MacKenzie today. I saw Jacob try to bunt his way on a few times,” Martinez said.
I said before, a couple guys that deserve to be on the All-Star team. And that's awesome. So, we just gotta keep playing hard and play with a lot of energy.”
Asked about possible adjustments, Martinez emphasized situational hitting and working deep into counts. “The biggest thing when you guys are pitching like that is just you try to move the baseball, put the pressure on the other team. With two strikes, you have to grind out at-bats and have the guy work a little deeper and try to knock him out again with pitch count. But like I said, today, his stuff was really good.”
A bright spot for the Nationals has been MacKenzie Gore’s steady presence on the mound. “He's very focused on what he needs to do. Every batter, every pitch. He's been awesome,” Martinez said. “I talked earlier about his maturity, his growth. He's been amazing—just keeping his composure and understanding what he needs to do to keep us in games.”
Gore echoed his manager’s focus on the day-to-day, especially with 81 games still ahead. “Taking it one day at a time. Uh, we've got an off day tomorrow, reset. Whatever's happening is over with now. And… Friday, we have another game, and we try to win a game and take it one day at a time,” Gore said. “So, like you said, there's a lot of baseball left, and you can do a lot in 81 games.”
Gore also spoke about his defensive performance in the sixth inning, when he fielded three ground balls himself: “Staying like focused with athletic. Uh, yeah, I mean, they hit it till you make the play. Um, just try to have good footwork and make a good throw. So that's kinda all it was.”
Looking ahead, Martinez wants his team to keep their focus as they begin the second half. “Hey, we gotta keep grinding. We've got to focus, we've got 81 games left. So, we're gonna win some games, that's one thing for sure. We're gonna win some games. But keep going. I'm seeing some positive things—young guys are playing well... We got House up here and he's, you know, he gets his hits, but he'll start hitting... I said before, a couple guys that deserve to be on the All-Star team. And that's awesome. So, we just gotta keep playing hard and play with a lot of energy.”
When asked what will define a successful second half, Martinez kept it simple: “We gotta take one day at a time. I mean, that's gonna be the focus. I'm not worried about October. I'm worried about, you know, come Anaheim on Friday...”
With a much-needed day off ahead, the Nationals will look to regroup and carry their recent positives into the second half, aiming to turn close games into wins and improve on their 36-48 record.