Washington Nationals’ lineup for 2nd of 4 with the Atlanta Braves in D.C.

After taking 2 of 3 from Atlanta in their first series of 2022, Washington’s Nationals have now dropped seven straight to the Braves, with last night’s 5-4 loss in Nationals Park. They’re 2-8 against their NL East rivals this season. They’ve also lost seven in a row overall now.

Going into last night, manager Davey Martinez said he and his club knew how good the defending World Series champions were, but his team, if they play the right way, could defeat anyone on any given night.

“I mean, you know, they’re good, we got to make our pitches, we got to play good defense, we got to do all the little things,” Martinez explained.

“The biggest thing for us right now, is, like I said, we got to swing the bats better. That’s the key. We’re hitting, but we’re not getting the timely hits that we need, so hopefully we’ll get that today.”

Mmmmmm not so much.

Martinez’s club went 3 for 9 with runners in scoring position, and seven left on base in their one-run loss, settling for one run on a groundout after loading the bases with no one out in the second, and adding two late runs to make it close, but they couldn’t snap their six-game losing streak overall, or the six-game losing streak against the Braves.

Before the start of the final series of the so-called “first half” of the 2022 campaign, the fifth-year manager said he wants his team to rest up and come out strong in the second half, but not look beyond the task at hand. Which is so on-brand.

“We definitely want to finish strong, but it’s all about today,” Martinez said. “Like I always say, stay in the moment, let’s get through today and go 1-0 today and we’ll go from there. Look, these boys, we lost some tough games as of recent. I really feel like we’re playing better, we’re usually just 1-2 hits away from busting out of something and winning some ballgames, so I just want these guys to continue to play hard and have fun.”

His message for the club after the loss last night? “I talked to them after the game, and I told them, I said, “Keep fighting. Keep fighting. I mean, I know you guys are playing hard, keep battling, things will change.

“We’ll get those big hits, we’ll get those big outs when we need them, but keep battling.”

Will the Nationals snap their seven-game losing streaks tonight?

HERE’S THE NATIONALS’ LINEUP FOR THE 2ND OF 4 WITH THE BRAVES: