Wire Taps: Nationals’ bullpen blows another; Matt Adams returns; Does Memorial Day record predict season?

Sports are supposed to be fun. They currently are not. That’s about what we’ve got for you. Here’s the news:

Memorial Day as a Natural Checkpoint (Fangraphs)
Memorial day winning percentage is a pretty good–but often inaccurate—predictor of where a team will be come October. The Nationals have some hope to improve based on precedent, but a massive improvement on their current expectation would only land them at 89 wins.

Go ahead and assign blame, but the Nationals’ crisis demands that some critical decisions be made (The Athletic)
The Nationals have encountered obstacle after obstacle, tripping over their own feet at every potential chance. They've had travel nightmares and injuries, a bad bullpen and a lineup unable to make contact. No matter who's to blame, the Nats have to make some decisions: what to do with this team they've assembled.

Sean Doolittle blows save in Nationals' loss (MLB.com)
The Nationals are now eleven under .500. Yeah, it's that bad.

Matt Adams returns to Nationals' lineup (MLB.com)
“He looked good, he felt good, he saw some velo, which for him, it’s all about getting ready for the fastball,” manager Dave Martinez said prior to the game. "He said he was ready. And then, like I said, I watched him take batting practice yesterday, I watched him run around, fielding, throwing everything. He looked really good.”

Nationals find another way to lose, this time with their best reliever (WaPo)
The Nats had somehow held a 1-0 lead into the eighth with two outs and Sean Doolittle coming in. There was a team meeting before the game; things looked like they might have turned. Then Juan Lagares, who has tormented this team for years, rocketed a three-run double, and Rajai Davis followed up with a three-run shot.

Nationals welcome Matt Adams back from injured list, send Adrián Sanchez to Class AA (WaPo)
Also: It'll be Kyle McGowin on Friday night against the Marlins.

Adams back in lineup, Rosenthal still struggling (MASN)
Davey Martinez could have sent Matt Adams down for a few days to get back into swing — but based on his batting practice results, he seemed ready enough to come back into the lineup. Also, Trevor Rosenthal had another abysmal night in Harrisburg.

Doolittle coughs up six runs in shocking loss to Mets (MASN)
“I’m disgusted with myself,” Doolittle said. “I let the team down. And it hurts.”

With Improved Swing Comes Improved Results For Nationals' Rhett Wiseman (Baseball America)
Wiseman is now hitting .298 with 11 homers in Double-A, with his renewed swing helping him climb the prospect rankings for Washington.