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The Washington Nationals have come out fighting this season. They weren't on many people's radars, but with the way they have hit the ball in the first half, they are now.
They are tied for first place with the Pittsburgh Pirates for most runs scored with 516, while they sit in second place in terms of runs batted in with 490.
That has helped them stay in the thick of things in the NL East; however, they did lose some ground in the standings after a rocky week at home.
MORE: Nationals' James Wood leading off with record-breaking power
Nationals fall multiple spots in power rankings after an up-and-down week
The Nationals took on the Houston Astros, who have been playing better baseball as of late, in a three-game series to kick off the week. There, they won two games and took the series.
Then, it was on to a three-game series against the New York Yankees that didn't go so well. They ended up losing 0-3, getting swept before the All-Star Break.
With the 2-4 week, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller has bumped this team down from No. 12 to No. 17 in his latest power rankings.
"James Wood set a franchise record this week, clubbing his eighth, ninth, and tenth leadoff home runs of the season. But as was also the case with leadoff dingers No. 6 and 7 last week, the Nationals still lost all of those games thanks to a bullpen that has blown a staggering 27 saves this season. That's eight more than the next-worst team, on pace to demolish MLB's single-season record of 36. And it's the reason that MLB's highest-scoring offense is free-falling out of the postseason picture."
As Miller mentions, the bullpen has been a huge problem this season. They are really hurting an offense that is playing well above expectations, which is a reason they now have a losing record.
That will have to be addressed before the deadline if they really want to get into the postseason picture.
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