Washington Nationals Could Have Major Role in How Playoff Race Shakes Out

The Washington Nationals will be playing a lot of playoff teams down the stretch and have the opportunity to play spoiler.

Sep 1, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Zach Brzykcy (66) throws a pitch during his Major League debut against the Chicago Cubs during the ninth inning at Nationals Park. / rafael suanes-usa today sports

As the calendar is now in September, the Washington Nationals are looking to finish the season on a high note with a lot of their talented young prospects playing in the Majors now. 

The Nationals had an interesting week, as they were able to win a series against the New York Yankees, but then were swept by the Chicago Cubs.

Washington will have those types of ups and downs in the final month of the year, as they have a lot of young players who are going to have growing pains. 

Entering the final stretch, Washington has a tough schedule with plenty of games against potential playoff teams, including within their own division.

Even though the Nationals aren’t in the postseason chase themselves, they can play spoiler.

Theo DeRosa of MLB.com recently spoke about how they can have an impact on the playoff race down the stretch. 

“Washington faces each of the three top teams in the NL East, hosting the Braves for two games (Sept. 10-11), traveling to Citi Field for three games with the Mets (Sept. 16-18) and closing the season with three games against the Phillies in D.C. (Sept. 27-29). The Nats also host the Royals for three games and visit the Cubs for four. With a few talented young starting pitchers and top prospects James Wood and Dylan Crews finding early success, the Nats are suddenly a dangerous club -- one few postseason hopefuls want to see on their schedule.”

The Yankees found out the hard way that Washington can play spoiler last week, as they took two of three from the Bronx Bombers. In what New York likely thought was an easy series win, they now find themselves in a tight race with the Baltimore Orioles because of their stumble against the Nationals.

Washington is going to have plenty of opportunities to play spoiler like they did against the Yankees, as they have series with the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and the Kansas City Royals remaining on their schedule. 

Divisional games are never easy since teams know each other so well from playing against each other a lot, so the Nationals could have a major impact on the NL East and Wild Card race coming down the stretch. 

For Washington, they know that the playoff-hopeful teams will be trying their hardest against them for the rest of the season. Furthermore, that will give the young core some nice experience and a taste of important baseball to further their development.