Washington Nationals’ lineup for series finale with the Boston Red Sox...

The defending World Series champions are 12-18 after 30 games in this 60-game 2020 MLB campaign, 5.0 games out, stuck in last place in the NL East, with a 4-6 record in their last 10 games.

So, what are Washington Nationals’ manager Davey Martinez’s thoughts at the midway point of the season?

“We’re actually — really for me, things are starting to come together, they really have,” the skipper said after last night’s 5-3 loss in Fenway Park.

“We have to start playing consistently now. But guys are starting to swing the bat. You see what Trea [Turner is] doing. Howie [Kendrick] has been swinging the bat well.

“We got some of these young kids that are playing really well, they’re fitting in. We’re trying some moving parts, but these guys are all starting to blend and starting to play together really good.

“I like where we’re at. We still got a lot of games. A lot of games. So, at this point, nobody seems to be running away with it, we just got to get on a roll here, win two, three out of four, come back and win two, three, or four, and then we’ll be right back in this mess, so, but I’m proud of the guys. We talked about this before. It’s not an easy year. It’s difficult.”

“Obviously I think we’d love to win more,” Turner said, after extending a hit streak to 14 in a row, and an on-base streak to 20-straight games with a 5 for 5 night at the plate in Fenway Park.

“But I always go back to are we in games? And we are. I feel like every night we’re in the game.”

While things haven’t gone their way in the first half of the season, Martinez said he does think the pieces are there for a competitive club.

“It’s fun to watch these guys. They’re having fun, and that’s all I can ask of them. To go out there and compete, and they’re doing that.

“All those guys, man, they don’t like losing, and that’s something we instilled in them. We want to go out there and have fun and play, but we like to compete and we like to win.

“When we win it’s a great celebration every night. When we lose, it’s not fun for anybody.

“But they want to come back. They’re already talking about coming back tomorrow and wining the series, so that’s what I love about these guys.”

Will the Nationals win the series with the Red Sox behind starter Austin Voth? The rubber match of the three-game set gets underway at 1:35 PM ET in Boston.

HERE’S THE NATIONALS’ LINEUP FOR THE FINALE IN FENWAY PARK: