WASHINGTON -- It is late July, but manager Blake Butera has the mindset of late September.
“We’re treating this like a playoff series,” Butera said.
The Nationals’ objective is to win every series. They already have achieved that 19 times this season, losing only 12 and tying two.
This weekend’s three-game series against the D-backs isn’t just an opportunity to improve that mark -- it’s also a chance to make a dent in the National League Wild Card race.
“We're gonna do everything we can to win these games,” Butera said, “To match up the best we can, do whatever we have to do to come out of these with wins because we know how important it is with these guys we're going up against in the standings.”
At the start of Friday’s games, the D-backs sat in the third Wild Card spot behind the Cubs and Phillies. Arizona held a narrow lead over Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Miami and Washington.
The Nationals lost the series opener, 3-2, to the D-backs. Their offense was limited to a two-run homer by Dylan Crews.
As the schedule would have it, there are two NL Wild Card battles going on this weekend. The Cubs are also playing the Pirates at PNC Park. Chicago emerged with a 10-inning win in that series opener.
The top three Wild Card spots did not change after Friday’s action, with the Pirates (two games back), Cardinals (2 1/2 games back), Marlins (three games back) and Nationals (three games back) close behind them.
“At the end of the day, when we do get in the playoffs, hopefully, when we get to that point, it feels like we've been there before because of how meaningful these games are,” Butera said.
“These reps are so important for us to know what that feels like, to know what works, what doesn't work, how you're supposed to prepare for these games, how you're supposed to execute. We want to stay loose, we want to play free. But there's just a little bit of extra edge, understanding the importance of these games.”
Three days after falling to the Rockies, 8-7, in Denver, the Nationals dropped another close matchup. They fell to 13-14 in one-run games. Crews went yard in the fourth inning, and the Nats did not reach base after the sixth inning.
“We treat every game like it's a very important game, not just this series alone,” Crews said. “I think we're in a good spot right now to put ourselves in a really good spot down the line. But I think to get to where we want to get to, we have to win one-run ballgames. We’ve got to come up with some big hits and some big innings to win these one-run ballgames -- and that's what the good teams do. So I have faith in this team that we can do that for sure, and we're going to keep going strong and keep moving forward.”
The majority of the Nats’ success has come away from Nationals Park. They are 13-3-1 in road series. In order to contend for a playoff spot, they will need to upgrade their 6-9-1 home series record. The Nats' home record stands at 20-32 after Friday’s loss.
“Obviously taking a series here would be really big,” said veteran Zack Littell. “Still, there’s so much baseball to play, too. It feels like a big series because they're right there. … We absolutely want to come in and win it. I think that we're treating it as a team doing what we've done all year. If we win every series from here to the end, or we win 90 percent of the series here to the end, we're going to be in a good spot, and I think that's the approach.”
Butera wants his young Nationals team to strike the balance of being cognizant of the matchup without putting too much pressure on themselves. If they stick to their approach, the Nats believe, the results will come. They have two more games in this series to make a dent in the standings.