The Washington Nationals are guaranteed a spot in the National League wild card game.
The Nationals entered Tuesday needing to sweep a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies and a Chicago Cubs’ loss against Pittsburgh. Washington got the sweep, beating the Phillies 4-1 in the day and 6-5 in the nightcap. Meanwhile, the Pirates exploded for seven runs in the seventh thanks in large to four errors by the Cubs in the frame. The Pirates beat the Cubs 9-2, clinching the Nationals’ playoff berth.
This will be the Nationals fifth postseason bid in the last eight years. Their first as a wild card.
And they’ll take the one-game playoff against presumably the Milwaukee Brewers, especially after they started the season 19-31. The Nationals went on a 58-27 stretch that placed them firm into the postseason picture.
Washington (88-69) hold a one-game lead over Milwaukee (87-70), whose magic number is down to one, for home-field advantage in the NL Wild Card game. Both teams have five games remaining on schedule. The Nationals will need to maintain that lead in the standings because the Brewers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker by winning the season-series 4-2.
The other question that remains is who will get the start on the mound for the Nationals. Will it be ace Max Scherzer or the NL leader in wins Stephen Strasburg?
That’s a question to be answered by manager Davey Martinez at a later date. For now, the Nationals will soak in the glory after one roller coaster turnaround to their season.
