The Washington Nationals’ record is looking all too familiar to 2019. 

The Nationals are 18-31 to start off the year, just about halfway to the all-star break. In 2019, the Nationals started off 19-31, and ended up taking home the Commissioner’s Trophy back to D.C from Houston. Rumors are currently that star Juan Soto could be traded before the deadline on Aug. 2. Soto can be compared to Ted Williams, one of the greatest to play the game. 

Pitcher Josiah Gray and catcher Keibert Ruiz are two of the players the Nationals acquired during the long off-season. Gray starts the season with his k/9 sitting at 9.9 currently. Gray’s ERA, which is his earned run average,  is sitting at 5.44, with a 4-4 record. Ruiz is slashing .282/.340/.382 through 131 at bats: first number being batting average, second being on base percentage, and third being Ruiz’s slugging percentage. 

Another addition to the Washington roster this offseason is Alcides Escobar. Escobar is a veteran as he is entering his 13th year in the league, and currently slashing .212/.261/.260 through 104 at bats. Escobar is versatile and can play third base, shortstop or second base. The Nationals also acquired former gold glove award winner Cesar Hernandez. Hernandez currently is playing second base and slashing .279/.328/.347. 

The Nationals signed Dee Strange-Gordon, who plays in the middle infield and the outfield. Strange-Gordon is a speedster as he is known for his quickness throughout his 11-year career. He is currently slashing .283/.283/.326. Makiel Franco signed with the Nationals over the off season as well. He is slashing .253/.279/.386. Franco plays third base. 

The Nationals just finished up a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the first returns of Trea Turner and Daniel Hudson in Nationals Park since they were traded. The Dodgers took two out of the three games in the series. The Nationals won the last game of the series and were the first team to shutout the Dodgers all year. 

The Nationals recently played the Colorado Rockies in a home four-game series hoping to bounce back and get hot. They split a four-game series 2-2. The series went back and forth as the Nationals won the first game, Rockies won the second game as well as the third and forth.

Sophomore Noah Parker said, “I will be watching this series as it means a lot for the Nationals to come up clutch and win the series.”  The Nationals will then play the New York Mets, who were ranked third via MLB.com in power rankings this week. As freshman Matthew Kunst said, “This is a big series for the Nationals as the Mets are at the top of their division as of right now.”