The Washington Nationals haven't won ten games in a row since 2005. No major league team has won with five walk-offs in six games since 1986.
Nats' skipper Matt Williams has been part of the major league game since he debuted with the San Francisco Giants the Nationals play this weekend in 1987, a year after the '86 Houston Astros managed to walk off in five of six.
Williams knows what's happening now doesn't happen often.
"Those are pretty few and far between, for any team," he said of the current run last night.
"But it's not surprising the way that they prepare and the way that they go about it every day. And that's important to us and if you do that then you give yourself opportunity to win. So it starts with their preparation on an everyday basis, and they do that, so they have opportunities every day."
The Nationals will have to prepare for an opponent who has been particularly tough against them historically.
Giants' starter Tim Hudson flew to the nation's capital before the rest of the team in order to prepare for tonight's start in Nationals Park.
In 30 career starts against the Expos/Nationals, the 39-year-old right-hander is (17-5) with a 2.37 ERA, 47 walks (2.06 BB/9) and 142 Ks (6.23 K/9) in 205 IP, over which he's held hitters to a combined .233/.281/.334 line.
In Nationals Park, since it opened in 2008, the veteran starter is (5-1) with a 2.95 ERA, 14 walks (2.07 BB/9) and 37 Ks (5.46 K/9) in 61 IP, holding the Nats' to a .221/.274/.332 line.
Can the Nationals make it eleven straight?
• Here's the lineup that will try to beat Tim Hudson and the Giants:
#Nats vs. #SFgiants: Span CF, Rendon 3B, Werth RF, LaRoche 1B, Desmond SS, Harper LF, Ramos C, Cabrera 2B, Fister P pic.twitter.com/b8O7Y8wrNL
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 22, 2014
• BTW: FBB's Doghouse and I have been alone on Nats Nightly for the past two days, with no adult supervision, and I forgot/neglected to post the audio.
So while you wait for the series opener, listen to us discuss the Nats' winning streak, the stress of multiple walk-off wins, bobblehead fever, Trevor Cahill being the pitching equivalent of Bo Gentry from "Trouble with the Curve" and Tuffy Gosewisch having the best name in baseball even though "Tuffy' is not his real name: