Good morning, Washington Nationals fans.

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, May 20.

The Nats Report is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Welcome to the Morning Briefing! Haden here. Let’s talk about the weekend’s sweep.

Leading this Morning’s Briefing: Nats swept by the Phillies in weekend series

Well that didn’t go great. The Nationals only got four hits in game one. Funnily enough, all of them were doubles, but with a lack of baserunners, they did not mean much as the Nationals scored just two runs.

In game two the Nats lost 4-3 in extras. The offense bounced back with 11 hits, but couldn’t knock in the runs.

In game three, the team’s seven hits were not enough to stop the Phillies, who put up 11 runs to the Nationals’ five.

The Nationals are now 20-25 after being outclassed by the Phillies in the weekend series. The team now heads home to host the Twins who are two games above .500 themselves.

It’s hard to summarize why the Nationals are struggling, but I think this stat does the trick. Of all Nats hitters with at least 90 plate appearances, Ildemaro Vargas is the one to lead the team in OPS. Vargas’s .402 OBP is tied for 13th in the league.

Now it’s only May 20 and there is a lot of season left and Ildemaro Vargas is a solid major league player. But to outperform offseason additions like Jesse Winker and Eddie Rosario is a tough pill to swallow.

And it’s hard not to come on here and talk about the same story every day. Keibert Ruiz has been terrible offensively but his rushed recovery from the flu gives him some leeway. Joey Meneses on the other hand has the lowest isolated slugging (ISO, which is SLG - BA, essentially removing singles from the slugging calculation) in the majors.

Only 18 hitters with at least 100 plate appearances have a groundball percentage of 50 percent or higher and have at least 10 percent of their flyballs not leave the infield. Joey Meneses is one of those hitters. Collectively, they are hitting .235/.290/.341. Unsurprisingly, two more Nationals make that list, Jacob Young and Trey Lipscomb.

But hey, maybe the team will bounce back against the Twins tonight, as the Nationals have Mitchell Parker facing off against Twins’ ace RHP Pablo López (4-3, 3.93 ERA). First pitch is at 6:45 pm ET and the game will be televised on MASN.

Down in the Minors

We want to hear from you.

We’re here and want to understand what you like or dislike about The Nats Report. So, introducing our first in-season survey!

If you help us out, we will help you out by providing you with a FREE month of the Nats Report. All you need to do is complete the survey. Click here to take the survey.

Featured Stories of the Day

Jung Hoo Lee’s season is over with a torn labrum via MLB Trade Rumors

Mets offered Pete Alonso seven-year extension last summer via MLB Trade Rumors

The Nats Report is an independent reader-supported project with free and paid subscriptions, not affiliated with the Washington Nationals.

Those who opt for the paid edition are providing vital assistance to bolster our independent coverage of the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball.

The Nats Report is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.