54 days. 44 games. 31 wins.
The Washington Nationals haven't just been the best team in baseball since May 24. They're on one of the hottest streaks in franchise history.
Washington's 31 wins in this 44-game stretch are tied for the most in a span of 44 games in Nationals history. The 2014 Nats put together a stretch of 31 wins in 44 games from Aug. 9 to Sept. 25 of that season. The 2019 Nats tied that record on July 16 with an 8-1 win over the Orioles, but it doesn't seem like the wins are going to stop rolling in any time soon.
On May 23, the Nats had the second-worst record in the National League and the fourth-worst in all of Major League Baseball. They were 12 games below .500, fourth in the NL East, 10 games back from the division lead and 8.5 back from a Wild Card spot.
As things stood on July 17, the Nats owned the fourth-best record in the National League, were second in their division and were sitting atop the NL Wild Card race.
They boasted a 17-4 record against divisional opponents during that stretch of games, including sweeps of the Braves in Atlanta, the Phillies in Philadelphia and the Marlins twice -- once in Miami and once at home in DC.
The top of the Nats' rotation has been lights-out during the last two months. Ace Max Scherzer has been nothing short of dominant. Over his last seven starts, he is 7-0 with a 0.87 ERA and 79 strikeouts. Stephen Strasburg is 7-1 in his last eight starts. Anibal Sanchez is 7-2 with a 2.40 ERA in his last nine starts. Patrick Corbin threw a shutout in a 5-0 win over Miami on May 25, the day after the team's hot streak began. In his last five starts, he's 5-0 with a 1.59 ERA and 45 strikeouts.
The Nationals bats have been just as dominating. During the 44-game stretch, the offense has simply been on fire.
• Juan Soto slashed .333/.434/.587 with 50 hits, 35 runs, 9 homers and 29 RBIs.
• Anthony Rendon slashed .300/.375/.569 with 48 hits, 34 runs, 11 homers and 35 RBIs.
• Howie Kendrick slashed .383/.443/.617 with 36 hits, 21 runs and 23 RBIs.
• Trea Turner slashed .285/.344/.469 with 51 hits and 29 runs -- not to mention two walk-off hits (June 5 and July 2).
• Adam Eaton slashed .288/.398/.388 with 40 hits and 25 runs.
• Victor Robles collected 33 hits and 23 RBIs in 36 starts.
• Matt Adams collected 23 hits, 19 runs, 24 RBIs and 10 HR in only 25 starts.
• Kurt Suzuki had 22 hits, 21 RBIs, 11 runs and 6 HR in 21 starts.
• And "Mr. Walk-off" himself, Ryan Zimmerman, slashed .321/.355/.429 with 9 hits and 3 RBIs in his first seven starts after returning from the IL. Zim collected his 1,000th RBI on July 5 against the Royals.
The Nationals will look to continue their hot play during the upcoming 10-game homestand capped off by a pivotal series against the Braves. After raising their playoff chances to 83.8% (Fangraphs) in less than two months, it is needless to say that confidence and camaraderie in the clubhouse is on the rise as well.
Keep the #CurlyW's coming.
All statistics are accurate as of end of play on July 16, 2019.