2005 Washington Nationals season

The 2005 Washington Nationals season was the first for the team formerly known as the Montreal Expos since moving to Washington, D.C., and 37th overall for the franchise. The team signed four key free agents during the off-season: Vinny Castilla, José Guillén, Cristian Guzmán and Esteban Loaiza. Although they recorded an 81–81 record, the Nationals nevertheless finished last for a second consecutive year although they were only nine games behind the National League East champion Atlanta Braves.

2005 Washington Nationals
League	National League
Division	East
Ballpark	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
City	Washington, D.C.
Record	81–81 (.500)
Divisional place	5th
Owners	Major League Baseball
General managers	Jim Bowden
Managers	Frank Robinson
Television	MASN WDCA (UPN 20) WTTG (Fox 5) (Mel Proctor, Ron Darling, Kenny Albert)
Radio	WFED WWZZ (Charlie Slowes, Dave Shea)
← 2004 Seasons 2006 →

Offseason

• On November 9, 2004, the Nationals traded Maicer Izturis and Juan Rivera to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for José Guillén.^[1]
• On November 24, 2004, the Nationals traded minor leaguer Antonio Sucre to the Pittsburgh Pirates for J. J. Davis.^[2]
• On January 19, 2005, they signed Esteban Loaiza as a free agent.^[3]
• On February 8, 2005, they agreed to terms with Mike Shuster via a walk on.
• On February 9, 2005, they signed Melvin Nieves, also as a free agent.^[4]
• On February 13, 2005, the Nationals traded minor leaguer Jerry Owens to the Chicago White Sox for Alex Escobar.^[5]
• On February 15, 2005, they traded Alejandro Machado to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later; the Red Sox sent minor-leaguer Carlos Torres to the Nationals on March 28, 2005, to complete the trade.^[6]
• On March 22, 2005, the Nationals traded minor leaguer A. J. Wideman to the Toronto Blue Jays for Tyrell Godwin^[7]
• On March 24, 2005, they traded Seth Greisinger to the Atlanta Braves as part of a conditional deal.^[8]

Spring training

The Nationals held their 2005 spring training in Viera, Florida, with home games played at Space Coast Stadium.

Advertising and marketing

The Nationals' marketing slogan for the season was "Let Yourself Go." Nationals Vice President of Sales and Marketing David Cope explained that the slogan told "people to come to the game, to let themselves come out here [to Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium]. But then once you're here, have fun, let loose. We don't want it to feel like stuffy old D.C.—and it doesn't."^[9]

Mascot

Screech, the Washington Nationals' bald eagle mascot, as he appeared from 2005 through 2008. A much slimmer version of Screech debuted just before the beginning of the 2009 season.

Screech, the mascot of the Washington Nationals, made his debut near the beginning of the 2005 season. A bald eagle who wears the home cap and jersey of the team, he was "hatched" on April 17, 2005, at the "Kids Opening Day" promotion at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium during the third home game in Nationals history, a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. A nine-year-old fourth-grade student in Washington, Glenda Gutierrez, designed the mascot and won a contest sponsored by the team, explaining that Screech was "strong and eats almost everything." The first, chubby version of Screech appeared during the team's first four seasons in Washington; just before the start of the 2009 season, the Nationals replaced him with a thin version who debuted in March 2009, explaining that Screech had "grown up" and become a "teenager."^[10]

Broadcast media difficulties

The Nationals' broadcasting deal for 2005 was put together at the last minute and led to difficulties for fans attempting to follow the team on radio or television. Its two flagship radio stations – FM-104.1 WWZZ in Waldorf, Maryland, and AM-1050 WFED in Silver Spring, Maryland – had weak signals and were not audible in many of Washington's suburbs. On television, the Nationals′ network, the new Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), was carried on DirecTv, RCN Cable, and Verizon′s fiberoptic service and WTTG Channel 5 and WDCA Channel 20 broadcast 79 games, but the Washington area's dominant cable television provider, Comcast, refused to carry MASN during the season because of an ongoing legal battle with MASN over broadcast rights to Baltimore Orioles games. The limitation of radio and television coverage forced many Nationals fans to rely on print media and in-person attendance at games to follow the team during 2005.^[11]

Regular season

The Nationals had a terrific first half, as they had a 51–32 record by July 5 and were leading the Atlanta Braves by 4.5 games. However, the team struggled in its final 79 games, going 30-49 and scoring only 299 runs (3.78 per game). They were also shut out 7 times during that span. Nevertheless, the team was able to finish the season at .500; this was only the fourth time in 10 years that the franchise had finished at or above .500.

President George W. Bush throws out a ceremonial first pitch in 2005.

Highlights

• The Washington Nationals first regular season game was on April 4, 2005 against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The Nationals' Brad Wilkerson, the last player to ever wear a Montreal Expo jersey for the Expos,^{[note 1]} had the honor of being the first batter for the Washington Nationals and he promptly responded with the first hit in the new team's history. But Kenny Lofton hit a three-run homer and Jon Lieber pitched 52⁄3 effective innings, leading the Phillies to an 8–4 victory over the new Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. (Lieber was credited with the win for the Phillies and would also score a win for Philadelphia in the last game of the 2005 Nationals season.) Outfielder Terrmel Sledge hit the Nats' first home run in the April 4 contest.
• Scorecard: April 4, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Washington	0	1	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	4	13	1
Philadelphia	0	2	1	0	4	0	1	0	x	8	14	1
W: Lieber (1-0)   L: Hernandez (0-1)
HRs: Terrmel Sledge, Kenny Lofton Attendance: 44,080.[12] Length of game: 3:19. Umpires: HP: Darling, 1B: Poncino, 2B: Wegner, 3B: Nauert

• On April 6, 2005, the Washington Nationals recorded their first-ever regular season win by beating the Phillies, 7–3. The win came in their second game of the season and was highlighted by Wilkerson's hit for the cycle.
• On April 14, 2005, the Washington Nationals won their first regular season home game at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., by a score of 5–3 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. President George W. Bush kept up a tradition of sitting U.S. Presidents by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch on opening day in Washington, exactly 95 years after William Howard Taft started the tradition at Griffith Stadium in 1910. There were 45,596 fans in attendance, including former Senators players and Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. Liván Hernández threw eight shutout innings, and Vinny Castilla was denied the chance to hit for the cycle when Diamondback reliever Lance Cormier hit him with a pitch in the bottom of the eighth; Castilla needed only a single to complete the cycle. Chad Cordero recorded the save for Washington.
• On August 4, 2005, Brad Wilkerson became the first Washington Nationals player to ever hit a grand slam, against then Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher, Duaner Sánchez. The Nationals won the game 7–0, on a four-hit complete-game shutout by John Patterson.
• In their 8–0 victory over the Colorado Rockies on August 13, the Nationals allowed 19 baserunners without giving up a run, an MLB record for a 9-inning game.^[13]
• During his August–September callup, Ryan Zimmerman recorded 23 hits in 58 at bats. He thus became the first member of the Washington Nationals to complete the season with a batting average of at least .300 in at least 50 at bats.
• The Nationals led all National League teams in interleague play in 2005, recording 12 wins.

Season standings

National League East

• v
• t
• e

NL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Atlanta Braves	90	72	.556	—	53‍–‍28	37‍–‍44
Philadelphia Phillies	88	74	.543	2	46‍–‍35	42‍–‍39
Florida Marlins	83	79	.512	7	45‍–‍36	38‍–‍43
New York Mets	83	79	.512	7	48‍–‍33	35‍–‍46
Washington Nationals	81	81	.500	9	41‍–‍40	40‍–‍41

Record vs. opponents

2005 National League record v t e Source: MLB Standings Grid – 2005
Team	AZ	ATL	CHC	CIN	COL	FLA	HOU	LAD	MIL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL	WAS	AL
Arizona	—	3–3	5–2	2–4	11–7	2–4	3–3	13–5	2–4	1–6	3–4	3–4	10–9	7–11	2–5	2–4	8–10
Atlanta	3–3	—	6–1	7–3	2–4	10–8	5–1	3–3	3–3	13–6	9–10	4–3	1–5	4–2	3–3	10–9	7–8
Chicago	2–5	1–6	—	6–9	4–3	5–4	9–7	4–2	7–9	2–4	2–4	11–5	4–3	5–2	10–6	1–5	6–9
Cincinnati	4–2	3–7	9–6	—	3–3	2–4	4–12	3–4	6–10	3–3	3–4	9–7	4–2	3–5	5–11	5–1	7-8
Colorado	7–11	4–2	3–4	3–3	—	3–3	1–5	11–8	1–5	3–4	2–4	3–7	7–11	7–11	4–4	2–4	6–9
Florida	4–2	8–10	4–5	4–2	3–3	—	4–3	5–2	3–4	8–10	9–10	3–4	2–4	4–2	3–4	9–9	10–5
Houston	3–3	1–5	7–9	12–4	5–1	3-4	—	4–2	10–5	5–5	6–0	9–7	4–3	3–4	5–11	5–2	7–8
Los Angeles	5–13	3–3	2–4	4–3	8–11	2–5	2–4	—	5–1	3–3	3–3	5–2	11–7	9–10	2–5	2–4	5–13
Milwaukee	4–2	3–3	9–7	10–6	5–1	4–3	5–10	1–5	—	3–3	4–5	9–7	3–4	4–3	5–11	4–4	8–7
New York	6–1	6–13	4–2	3–3	4–3	10–8	5–5	3–3	3–3	—	11–7	3–3	4–2	3–3	2–5	11–8	5–10
Philadelphia	4-3	10–9	4–2	4–3	4–2	10–9	0–6	3–3	5–4	7–11	—	4–3	6–0	5–1	4–2	11–8	7–8
Pittsburgh	4–3	3–4	5–11	7–9	7–3	4–3	7–9	2–5	7–9	3–3	3–4	—	3–4	2–4	4–12	1–5	5–7
San Diego	9–10	5–1	3–4	2–4	11–7	4–2	3–4	7–11	4–3	2–4	0–6	4–3	—	12–6	4–3	5–1	7–11
San Francisco	11–7	2–4	2–5	5–3	11–7	2–4	4–3	10–9	3–4	3–3	1–5	4–2	6–12	—	2–4	3–3	6–12
St. Louis	5–2	3–3	6–10	11–5	4–4	4-3	11–5	5–2	11–5	5–2	2–4	12–4	3–4	4–2	—	4–2	10–5
Washington	4–2	9–10	5–1	1–5	4–2	9-9	2–5	4–2	4–4	8–11	8–11	5–1	1–5	3–3	2–4	—	12–6

Nationals vs. American League

Team	AL West
	LAA	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Washington	2–1	3–0	3–0	1–2	3–3

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters
Name	Position
Brad Wilkerson	Center fielder
Cristian Guzmán	Shortstop
José Vidro	Second baseman
José Guillén	Right fielder
Nick Johnson	First baseman
Vinny Castilla	Third baseman
Termel Sledge	Left fielder
Brian Schneider	Catcher
Liván Hernández	Starting pitcher

Notable transactions

• May 14, 2005: The Nationals traded Endy Chávez to the Philadelphia Phillies for Marlon Byrd.^[14]
• May 31, 2005: The Nationals released Melvin Nieves.^[4]
• June 10, 2005: The Nationals traded Tomo Ohka to the Milwaukee Brewers for Junior Spivey.^[15]
• July 13, 2005: The Nationals signed Mike Stanton as a free agent^[16] and traded J. J. Davis, Zach Day, and cash to the Colorado Rockies for Preston Wilson.^[17]
• July 20, 2005: The Nationals selected Kenny Kely off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds.^[18]
• August 6, 2005: The Nationals sent Steve Randolph to the San Francisco Giants as part of a conditional deal.^[19]
• August 30, 2005: The Nationals traded minor leaguer Ben Cox to the San Francisco Giants for Deivi Cruz.^[19]
• September 29, 2005: The Nationals traded Mike Stanton to the Boston Red Sox for minor-leaguers Rhys Taylor and Yader Peralta.^[16]

Draft

The 2005 Major League Baseball draft took place on June 7 and 8. With their first pick – the fourth pick overall – the Nationals selected third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who would advance through the minor leagues quickly and join the Nationals in September. Other notable players the Nationals selected were outfielder Justin Maxwell (fourth round, 114th overall), pitcher Marco Estrada (sixth round, 174th overall), pitcher John Lannan (11th round, 324th overall), pitcher Craig Stammen (12th round, 354th overall), pitcher Ryan Buchter (33rd round, 984th overall), first baseman Tyler Moore (41st round, 1,222nd overall), and pitcher Scott Barnes (43rd round, 1,280th overall).^[20] Moore and Barnes did not sign with the team.

Roster

2005 Washington Nationals
Roster
Pitchers 36 Tony Armas Jr. 56 Luis Ayala 57 Jason Bergmann 48 Héctor Carrasco 32 Chad Cordero 40 Zach Day 45 Ryan Drese 58 Joey Eischen 54 John Halama 61 Liván Hernández 39 Joe Horgan 34 Travis Hughes 31 Sun Woo Kim 21 Esteban Loaiza 38 Gary Majewski 47 C. J. Nitkowski 34 Tomo Ohka 13 Antonio Osuna 22 John Patterson 31 Darrell Rasner 51 Jon Rauch 30 Mike Stanton 52 T. J. Tucker 45 Claudio Vargas 47 Matt White		Catchers 29 Gary Bennett 55 Keith Osik 23 Brian Schneider Infielders  5 Carlos Baerga  2 Jamey Carroll  9 Vinny Castilla 25 Wil Cordero  4 Deivi Cruz 15 Cristian Guzmán 54 Brendan Harris 24 Nick Johnson  4 Henry Mateo 35 Rick Short 11 Junior Spivey  3 José Vidro 25 Ryan Zimmerman		Outfielders 28 Tony Blanco 26 Marlon Byrd 47 Matt Cepicky 47 Endy Chávez 19 Ryan Church 26 J. J. Davis  6 José Guillén 11 Jeffrey Hammonds 39 Kenny Kelly 18 Terrmel Sledge 00 Brandon Watson  7 Brad Wilkerson 44 Preston Wilson Other batters  1 Tyrell Godwin		Manager 20 Frank Robinson Coaches 12 Don Buford (First Base) 37 Dave Huppert (Third Base) 17 Tommy McCraw (Hitting) 60 Bob Natal (Bullpen) 14 Eddie Rodríguez (Bench) 49 Randy St. Claire (Pitching) 33 Jack Voigt (Assistant)

Attendance

The Nationals drew 2,731,993 fans at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 2005, placing them eighth in attendance for the season among the 16 National League teams.^[21]

Game log

Game log
April (13-11) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 4 @ Philadelphia Phillies 4-8 Lieber (1-0) Hernández (0-1) 44,080 0-1 2 April 6 @ Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 Eischen (1-0)[22] Worrell (0-1) 23,435 1-1 3 April 7 @ Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 (10) Cordero (1-0) Cormier (0-1) 21,693 2-1 4 April 8 @ Florida Marlins 0-9 Willis (1-0) Ohka (0-1) 19,327 2-2 5 April 9 @ Florida Marlins 3-2 (10) Cordero (2-0) Alfonseca (0-1) 30,739 3-2 6 April 10 @ Florida Marlins 0-8 Beckett (2-0) Patterson (0-1) 25,089 3-3 7 April 11 @ Atlanta Braves 2-11 Hampton (1-0) Day (0-1) 16,584 3-4 8 April 12 @ Atlanta Braves 4-3 Ayala (1-0) Kolb (0-1) Cordero (1) 20,122 4-4 9 April 13 @ Atlanta Braves 11-4 Ohka (1-1) Thomson (1-1) 19,093 5-4 10 April 14 Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 Hernández (1-1) Vázquez (0-2) Cordero (2) 45,596 6-4 11 April 16 Arizona Diamondbacks 9-3 Patterson (1-1) Ortiz (1-1) 34,943 7-4 12 April 17 Arizona Diamondbacks 7-3 Tucker (1-0) Koplove (1-1) 35,463 8-4 13 April 18 Florida Marlins 4-9 Willis (3-0) Ohka (1-2) 24,003 8-5 14 April 19 Florida Marlins 3-6 Moehler (1-0) Hernández (1-2) 25,990 8-6 15 April 20 Atlanta Braves 2-0 Day (1-1) Ramírez (1-1) Cordero (3) 27,374 9-6 16 April 21 Atlanta Braves 1-2 Reitsma (1-0) Cordero (2-1) Kolb (5) 30,728 9-7 17 April 22 @ New York Mets 1-3 Glavine (1-2) Loaiza (0-1) Looper (2) 28,488 9-8 18 April 23 @ New York Mets 5-10 Seo (1-0) Ohka (1-3) 44,058 9-9 19 April 24 @ New York Mets 11-4 Hernández (2-2) Zambrano (1-2) 43,313 10-9 20 April 25 Philadelphia Phillies 4-5 Lidle (1-2) Day (1-2) Wagner (4) 24,956 10-10 21 April 26 Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 Patterson (2-1) Lieber(4-1) Cordero (4) 23,332 11-10 22 April 27 Philadelphia Phillies 0-3 Cormier (1-1) Loaiza (0-2) Wagner (5) 27,483 11-11 23 April 29 New York Mets 5-1 Hernández (3-2) Seo (1-1) Cordero (5) 30,627 12-11 24 April 30 New York Mets 5-3 Ohka (2-3) Zambrano (1-3) Carrasco (1) 40,913 13-11
May (14-14) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 25 May 1 New York Mets 3-6 Hernández (2-0) Ayala (1-1) Looper (4) 27,333 13-12 26 May 2 @ Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 Loaiza (1-2) Erickson (1-3) 34,079 14-12 27 May 3 @ Los Angeles Dodgers 2-4 Weaver (3-2) Rauch (0-1) Brazobán (9) 41,190 14-13 28 May 4 @ Los Angeles Dodgers 5-2 Hernández (4-2) Pérez (4-2) 33,081 15-13 29 May 6 @ San Francisco Giants 9-3 Rauch (1-1) Lowry (1-3) 40,425 16-13 30 May 7 @ San Francisco Giants 11-8 Ayala (2-1) Accardo (0-1) Cordero (6) 40,220 17-13 31 May 8 @ San Francisco Giants 3-4 (13) Christiansen (2-0) Rauch (1-2) 36,903 17-14 32 May 9 @ Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3 Hernández (5-2) Valverde (0-1) Cordero (7) 19,440 18-14 33 May 10 @ Arizona Diamondbacks 2-3 Estes (3-3) Armas (0-1) Lyon (12) 23,181 18-15 34 May 11 @ Arizona Diamondbacks 2-3 Cormier (2-0) Rauch (1-3) Lyon (13) 21,011 18-16 35 May 13 Chicago Cubs 3-6 Ohman (1-0) Ayala (2-2) Wellemeyer (1) 36,585 18-17 36 May 14 Chicago Cubs 4-3 Hernández (6-2) Zambrano (3-2) Cordero (8) 42,829 19-17 37 May 15 Chicago Cubs 5-4 Carrasco(1-0) Bartosh (0-2) Cordero (9) 44,103 20-17 38 May 16 Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 Armas (1-1) Davis (4-5) Ayala (1) 26,606 21-17 39 May 17 Milwaukee Brewers 2-8 Obermueller (1-0) Vargas (0-1) 26,427 21-18 40 May 18 Milwaukee Brewers 1-0 Majewski (1-0) Capuano (3-3) 29,216 22-18 41 May 19 Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 Hernández (7-2) Santos (1-4) Cordero (10) 30,968 23-18 42 May 20 Toronto Blue Jays 1-6 Lilly (2-4) Vargas (0-2) Walker (1) 17,465 23-19 43 May 21 Toronto Blue Jays 0-7 Halladay (7-2) Armas (1-2) 24,518 23-20 44 May 22 Toronto Blue Jays 9-2 Ohka (3-3) Towers (5-2) 28,408 24-20 45 May 23 @ Cincinnati Reds 3-5 Milton (3-5) Loaiza (1-3) Weathers (1) 17,630 24-21 46 May 24 @ Cincinnati Reds 3-4 (15) Keisler (1-0) Ayala (2-3) 36,539 24-22 47 May 25 @ Cincinnati Reds 3-12 Belisle (2-4) Vargass (0-3) 20,497 24-23 48 May 27 @ St. Louis Cardinals 3-6 Morris (5-0) Armas (1-3) Isringhausen (13) 47,383 24-24 49 May 28 @ St. Louis Cardinals 1-3 Suppan (4-5) Loaiza (1-4) Isringhausen (14) 49,123 24-25 50 May 29 @ St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 Hernández (8-2) Carpenter (7-3) Cordero (11) 47,012 25-25 51 May 30 Atlanta Braves 3-2 Ohka (4-3) Davies (2-1) Cordero (12) 39,705 26-25 52 May 31 Atlanta Braves 5-4 Ayala (3-3) Colón (0-2) Cordero (13) 29,512 27-25
June (20-6) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 53 June 1 Atlanta Braves 4-5 Smoltz (4-2) Carrasco (1-1) Reitsma (2) 28,280 27-26 54 June 2 Atlanta Braves 8-6 Carrasco (2-1) Kolb (1-5) Cordero (14) 29,225 28-26 55 June 3 Florida Marlins 3-2 (11) Ayala (4-3) Bump (0-3) 29,439 29-26 56 June 4 Florida Marlins 7-3 Kim (1-0) Leiter (2-6) 33,198 30-26 57 June 5 Florida Marlins 6-3 Ayala (5-3) Riedling (2-1) Cordero (15) 40,995 31-26 58 June 7 Oakland Athletics 2-1 Armas (2-3) Zito (2-7) Cordero (16) 26,879 32-26 59 June 8 Oakland Athletics 7-2 Loaiza (2-4) Glynn (0-2) 28,749 33-26 60 June 9 Oakland Athletics 4-3 Hernández (9-2) Blanton (1-6) Cordero (17) 26,672 34-26 61 June 10 Seattle Mariners 9-3 Ayala (6-3) Hasegawa (1-2) 28,707 35-26 62 June 11 Seattle Mariners 2-1 Patterson (3-1) Putz (1-2) Cordero (18) 39,108 36-26 63 June 12 Seattle Mariners 3-2 Armas (3-3) Franklin (2-8) Cordero (19) 37,170 37-26 64 June 13 @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 1-11 Byrd (6-5) Loaiza (2-5) 40,790 37-27 65 June 14 @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 6-3 Majewski (2-0) Shields (5-4) Cordero (20) 43,874 38-27 66 June 15 @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 1-0 Drese (5-6) Colón (8-4) Cordero (21) 43,505 39-27 67 June 17 @ Texas Rangers 1-8 Rogers (9-2) Patterson (3-2) 33,653 39-28 68 June 18 @ Texas Rangers 4-7 Rodríguez (2-0) Armas (3-4) 48,663 39-29 69 June 19 @ Texas Rangers 8-2 Hughes (1-0) Wilson (0-1) 34,474 40-29 70 June 20 @ Pittsburgh Pirates 7-4 Hernández (10-2) Redman (4-5) Cordero (22) 21,893 41-29 71 June 21 @ Pittsburgh Pirates 4-11 Pérez (6-5) Drese (5-7) 26,006 41-30 72 June 22 @ Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 Carrasco (3-1) Gonzalez (0-3) Cordero (23) 24,064 42-30 73 June 24 Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 Loaiza (3-5) Towers (5-7) Cordero (24) 36,689 43-30 74 June 25 Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 Hernández (11-2) Lilly (5-8) Cordero (25) 39,881 44-30 75 June 26 Toronto Blue Jays 5-9 Speier (1-1) Ayala (6-4) Batista (14) 33,557 44-31 76 June 28 Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 Drese (6-7) Fogg (4-4) Cordero (26) 35,828 45-31 77 June 29 Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 Ayala (7-4) Torres (2-3) Cordero (27) 31,213 46-31 78 June 30 Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5 Loaiza (4-5) Wells (5-8) Cordero (28) 37,361 47-31
July (9-18) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 79 July 1 @ Chicago Cubs 4-3 Hernández (12-2) Prior (5-2) Carrasco (2) 38,973 48-31 80 July 2 @ Chicago Cubs 4-2 Armas (4-4) Williams (1-3) Cordero (29) 40,488 49-31 81 July 3 @ Chicago Cubs 5-4 (12) Eischen (2-0) Mitre (2-4) 40,006 50-31 82 July 4 New York Mets 2-5 Hernández (4-2) Kim (1-1) Looper (18) 44,331 50-32 83 July 5 New York Mets 3-2 Loaiza (5-5) Martínez (9-3) Cordero (30) 35,087 51-32 84 July 6 New York Mets 3-5 Glavine (6-7) Hernández (12-3) Looper (19) 38,148 51-33 85 July 7 New York Mets 2-3 (11) Bell (1-3) Ayala (7-5) Looper (20) 44,492 51-34 86 July 8 @ Philadelphia Phillies 8-7 Drese (7-7) Tejeda (3-2) Cordero (31) 44,688 52-34 87 July 9 @ Philadelphia Phillies 0-1 Wagner (2-1) Carrasco (3-2) 33,365 52-35 88 July 10 @ Philadelphia Phillies 4-5 (12) Cormier (3-2) Kim (1-2) 34,124 52-36 All–Star Break (July 11–13) 89 July 14 @ Milwaukee Brewers 2-4 Wise (3-2) Majewski (2-1) Turnbow (18) 30,611 52-37 90 July 15 @ Milwaukee Brewers 3-4 (10) Santana (2-3) Ayala (7-6) 40,690 52-38 91 July 16 @ Milwaukee Brewers 5-3 Loaiza (6-5) Bottalico (2-2) Cordero (32) 45,079 53-38 92 July 17 @ Milwaukee Brewers 3-5 Ohka (6-4) Drese (7-8) Turnbow (19) 23,543 53-39 93 July 18 Colorado Rockies 4-5 Acevedo (1-0) Cordero (2-2) Fuentes (13) 30,165 53-40 94 July 19 Colorado Rockies 4-0 Patterson (4-2) Chacón (1-6) Cordero (33) 30,655 54-40 95 July 20 Colorado Rockies 2-3 Jennings (6-9) Hernández (12-4) Fuentes (14) 32,381 54-41 96 July 21 Houston Astros 2-3 Oswalt (13-8) Loaiza (6-6) Lidge (22) 36,840 54-42 97 July 22 Houston Astros 1-14 Clemens (8-4) Drese (7-9) 38,019 54-43 98 July 23 Houston Astros 4-2 Armas (5-4) Backe (8-7) Cordero (34) 42,680 55-43 99 July 24 Houston Astros 1-4 (14) Springer (3-3) Carrasco (3-3) Lidge (23) 39,203 55-44 100 July 26 @ Atlanta Braves 2-3 (10) Reitsma (3-2) Stanton (1-3) 43,308 55-45 101 July 27 @ Atlanta Braves 3-4 Kolb (3-6) Majewski (2-2) Reitsma (11) 40,625 55-46 102 July 28 @ Atlanta Braves 4-5 Sosa (6-1) Drese (7-10) Reitsma (12) 40,269 55-47 103 July 29 @ Florida Marlins 3-4 Beckett (10-6) Armas (5-5) Jones (19) 29,322 55-48 104 July 30 @ Florida Marlins 0-3 Burnett (8-6) Patterson (4-3) Jones (20) 25,308 55-49 105 July 31 @ Florida Marlins 4-2 Hernández (13-4) Moehler (6-8) Cordero (35) 30,397 56-49
August (13-15) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 106 August 2 Los Angeles Dodgers 4-5 Weaver (9-8) Loaiza (6-7) Brazobán (21) 36,277 56-50 107 August 3 Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 Armas (6-5) Houlton (4-5) Cordero (36) 36,552 57-50 108 August 4 Los Angeles Dodgers 7-0 Patterson (5-3) Penny (5-7) 35,484 58-50 109 August 5 San Diego Padres 5-6 Linebrink (5-1) Cordero (2-3) Hoffman (28) 34,492 58-51 110 August 6 San Diego Padres 2-3 Astacio (3-10) Drese (7-11) Hoffman (29) 38,076 58-52 111 August 7 San Diego Padres 0-3 Peavy (10-4) Loaiza (6-8) 36,440 58-53 112 August 9 @ Houston Astros 6-5 Patterson (6-3) Astacio (2-5) Cordero (37) 34,255 59-53 113 August 10 @ Houston Astros 6-7 Rodríguez (7-5) Hernández (13-5) Lidge (28) 34,309 59-54 114 August 11 @ Houston Astros 3-6 Pettitte (10-8) Drese (7-12) 35,036 59-55 115 August 12 @ Colorado Rockies 4-2 Loaiza (7-8) Wright (6-13) Cordero (38) 28,598 60-55 116 August 13 @ Colorado Rockies 8-0 Armas (7-5) Kim (3-9) 31,447 61-55 117 August 14 @ Colorado Rockies 9-2 Patterson (7-3) Acevedo (2-3) 24,552 62-55 118 August 15 @ Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 Hernández (14-5) Myers (10-6) 40,627 63-55 August 16 @ Philadelphia Phillies Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for August 18 as part of a double header 119 August 17 @ Philadelphia Phillies 3-4 Lieber (12-10) Loaiza (7-9) Wagner (28) 33,450 63-56 120 August 18 (1) @ Philadelphia Phillies 1-2 Padilla (6-11) Armas (7-6) Wagner (29) 30,046 63-57 121 August 18 (2) @ Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 Ayala (8-6) Urbina (4-4) Cordero (39) 34,492 64-57 122 August 19 @ New York Mets 0-1 Seo (5-1) Patterson (7-4) Looper (24) 38,196 64-58 123 August 20 @ New York Mets 8-9 (10) Hernández (6-5) Majewski (2-3) 51,785 64-59 124 August 21 @ New York Mets 7-4 (10) Loaiza (8-9) Benson (9-5) 42,412 65-59 125 August 23 Cincinnati Reds 2-6 Hudson (5-6) Armas (7-7) 35,656 65-60 126 August 24 Cincinnati Reds 5-3 Patterson (8-4) Ortiz (8-9) Cordero (40) 32,641 66-60 127 August 25 Cincinnati Reds 3-5 Claussen (9-8) Hernández (14-6) Weathers (11) 40,762 66-61 128 August 26 St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 Loaiza (9-9) Suppan (12-10) Cordero (41) 37,885 67-61 129 August 27 St. Louis Cardinals 0-6 Marquis (10-13) White (0-1) 44,254 67-62 130 August 28 St. Louis Cardinals 0-6 Thompson (2-0) Halama (1-2) 41,130 67-63 August 29 @ Atlanta Braves Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for August 31 as part of a double header 131 August 30 @ Atlanta Braves 3-2 Bergmann (1-0) Sosa (9-3) Cordero (42) 20,001 68-63 132 August 31 (1) @ Atlanta Braves 3-5 Ramírez (11-8) Loaiza (9-10) Farnsworth (8) 25,555 [note 2] 68-64 133 August 31 (2) @ Atlanta Braves 4-3 Stanton (2-3) Reitsma (3-5) Cordero (43) 69-64
September (12-15) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 134 September 1 @ Atlanta Braves 7-8 (10) Davies (7-3) Ayala (8-7) 19,053 69-65 135 September 2 Philadelphia Phillies 1-7 Padilla (8-12) Halama (1-3) 28,939 69-66 136 September 3 Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 (12) Carrasco (4-3) López (0-1) 30,561 70-66 137 September 4 Philadelphia Phillies 6-1 Loaiza (10-10) Floyd (1-2) 32,251 71-66 138 September 5 Florida Marlins 5-2 Hernández (15-6) Vargas (5-3) 32,150 72-66 139 September 6 Florida Marlins 2-4 Valdez (2-1) Rasner (0-1) Jones (35) 24.936 72-67 140 September 7 Florida Marlins 1-12 Willis (20-8) Halama (1-4) 25,702 72-68 141 September 8 Florida Marlins 4-8 Beckett (13-8) Patterson (8-5) 27,625 72-69 142 September 9 Atlanta Braves 8-6 Majewski (3-3) Foster (4-2) Cordero (44) 36,295 73-69 143 September 10 Atlanta Braves 0-4 Sosa (11-3) Hernández (15-7) 44,083 73-70 144 September 11 Atlanta Braves 7-9 McBride (1-0) Cordero (2-4) Farnsworth (12) 31,384 73-71 145 September 13 @ New York Mets 4-2 Majewski (4-3) Glavine (10-13) Cordero (45) 34,143 74-71 146 September 14 @ New York Mets 6-3 Loaiza (11-10) Benson (9-8) Cordero (46) 24,049 75-71 147 September 15 @ New York Mets 6-5 (10) Bergmann (2-0) Hernández (6-6) Majewski (1) 21,441 76-71 148 September 16 @ San Diego Padres 5-1 Patterson (9-5) Peavy (12-7) 38,480 77-71 149 September 17 @ San Diego Padres 5-8 (12) Linebrink (7-1) Rauch (1-4) 37,707 77-72 150 September 18 @ San Diego Padres 1-2 Otsuka (2-6) Eischen (2-1) 38,054 77-73 151 September 20 San Francisco Giants 3-4 Taschner (2-0) Hernández (15-8) Benítez (17) 32,403 77-74 152 September 21 San Francisco Giants 1-5 Hennessey (5-8) Patterson (9-6) Benítez (18) 32,076 77-75 153 September 22 San Francisco Giants 2-0 Rauch (2-4) Tomko (7-15) Cordero (47) 29,807 78-75 154 September 23 New York Mets 2-5 (10) Hernández (8-6) Majewski (4-4) Heilman (2) 30,194 78-76 155 September 24 New York Mets 2-5 Glavine (12-13) Hernández (15-9) Hernández (2) 32,467 78-77 156 September 25 New York Mets 5-6 Padilla (2-1) Hughes (1-1) Heilman (3) 29,967 78-78 157 September 26 @ Florida Marlins 4-0 Carrasco (5-3) Vargas (5-5) 11,467 79-78 158 September 27 @ Florida Marlins 11-1 Stanton (3-3) Willis (22-10) 11,507 80-78 159 September 28 @ Florida Marlins 11-7 Loaiza (12-10) Moehler (6-12) 11,961 81-78 160 September 30 Philadelphia Phillies 3-4 Lidle (13-11) Hernández (15-10) Wagner (37) 30,375 81-79
October (0-2) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 161 October 1 Philadelphia Phillies 4-8 Myers (13-8) Patterson (9-7) 32,903 81-80 162 October 2 Philadelphia Phillies 3-9 Lieber (17-13) Carrasco (5-4) Wagner (38) 36,491 81-81

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Player stats

Batting

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases

Complete offensive statistics are available here.^[24]

Pos	Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	AVG	SB
C	Brian Schneider	116	369	38	99	20	1	10	44	.268	1
1B	Nick Johnson	131	453	66	131	35	3	15	74	.289	4
2B	José Vidro	87	309	38	85	21	2	7	32	.275	0
SS	Cristian Guzmán	142	456	39	100	19	6	4	31	.219	7
3B	Vinny Castilla	142	494	53	125	36	1	12	66	.253	4
LF	Marlon Byrd	74	216	20	57	15	2	2	26	.264	5
CF	Brad Wilkerson	148	565	76	140	42	7	11	57	.248	8
RF	José Guillén	148	551	81	156	32	2	24	76	.283	1
MI	Jamey Carroll	113	303	44	76	8	1	0	22	.251	3
OF	Ryan Church	102	268	41	77	15	3	9	42	.287	3
CF	Preston Wilson	68	253	34	66	14	1	10	43	.261	3
C	Gary Bennett	68	199	11	44	7	0	1	21	.221	0
IF	Carlos Baerga	93	158	18	40	7	0	2	19	.253	0
2B	Junior Spivey	28	77	15	17	7	0	2	7	.221	2
UT	Tony Blanco	56	62	7	11	3	0	1	7	.177	1
3B	Ryan Zimmerman	20	58	6	23	10	0	0	6	.397	0
UT	Wil Cordero	29	51	2	6	2	0	0	2	.118	0
MI	Deivi Cruz	20	51	2	13	1	0	0	1	.255	0
OF	Brandon Watson	25	40	8	7	1	1	1	5	.175	0
OF	Termel Sledge	20	37	7	9	0	1	1	8	.243	2
UT	Jeffrey Hammonds	13	32	3	7	1	0	0	1	.219	0
OF	J. J. Davis	14	26	0	6	0	0	0	2	.231	1
OF	Matthew Cepicky	11	25	1	6	3	0	0	3	.240	0
IF	Rick Short	11	15	4	6	2	0	2	4	.400	0
CF	Endy Chávez	7	9	2	2	1	0	0	1	.222	0
IF	Brendan Harris	4	9	1	3	1	0	1	3	.333	0
RF	Kenny Kelly	17	4	3	1	1	0	0	0	.250	1
C	Keith Osik	6	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
PH	Tyrell Godwin	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
2B	Henry Mateo	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
P	Liván Hernández	35	82	7	20	2	1	2	7	.244	0
P	Esteban Loaiza	34	74	3	12	2	0	0	4	.162	0
P	John Patterson	31	59	2	6	3	0	0	0	.102	0
P	Tony Armas Jr.	19	32	1	4	0	0	0	1	.125	0
P	Ryan Drese	12	14	0	1	0	0	0	0	.071	0
P	Tomo Ohka	11	16	1	4	0	0	0	0	.250	0
P	Héctor Carrasco	64	8	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
P	Zach Day	12	8	0	1	0	0	0	0	.125	0
P	Jon Rauch	15	7	1	1	0	0	0	1	.143	0
P	Gary Majewski	79	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
P	Sun-woo Kim	12	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
P	John Halama	10	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	.200	0
P	Jason Bergmann	15	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	.333	0
P	Luis Ayala	68	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	.333	0
P	Joey Eischen	58	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	.333	0
P	Claudio Vargas	4	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	.500	0
P	Matt White	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
P	Mike Stanton	30	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0
P	Joe Horgan	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	–	0
P	Chad Cordero	74	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	–	0
P	Antonio Osuna	34	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	–	0
P	T. J. Tucker	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	–	0
P	Travis Hughes	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	–	0
P	C. J. Nitkowski	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	–	0
P	Darrell Rasner	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	–	0
	Team Totals	162	5426	639	1367	311	32	117	615	.252	45

Pitching

Note: Pos = Position; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Complete pitching statistics are available here.

Pos	Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
SP	Liván Hernández	15	10	3.98	35	35	0	246.1	268	116	109	84	147
SP	Esteban Loaiza	12	10	3.77	34	34	0	217.0	227	93	91	55	173
SP	John Patterson	9	7	3.13	31	31	0	198.1	172	61	56	45	59
SP	Tony Armas Jr.	7	7	4.97	19	19	0	101.1	100	57	56	54	59
SP	Ryan Drese	3	6	4.98	11	11	0	59.2	66	38	33	22	26
CL	Chad Cordero	2	4	1.82	74	0	47	74.1	55	24	15	17	61
RP	Héctor Carrasco	5	4	2.04	64	5	2	88.1	59	23	20	38	75
RP	Gary Majewski	4	4	2.93	79	0	1	86.0	80	32	28	37	50
RP	Luis Ayala	8	7	2.66	68	0	1	71.0	75	23	21	14	40
RP	Joey Eischen	2	1	3.22	57	0	0	36.1	34	14	13	19	30
	Tomo Ohka	4	3	3.33	10	9	0	54.0	44	23	20	27	17
	Zach Day	1	2	6.75	12	5	0	36.0	41	29	27	25	16
	Jon Rauch	2	4	3.60	15	1	0	30.0	24	12	12	11	23
	Sun-woo Kim	1	2	6.14	12	2	0	29.1	41	20	20	8	17
	Mike Stanton	2	1	3.58	30	0	0	27.2	31	13	11	9	14
	John Halama	0	3	4.64	10	3	0	21.1	23	11	11	8	11
	Jason Bergmann	2	0	2.75	15	1	0	19.2	14	6	6	11	21
	Travis Hughes	1	1	5.54	14	0	0	13.0	18	8	8	8	8
	Claudio Vargas	0	3	9.24	4	4	0	12.2	22	15	13	7	5
	T. J. Tucker	1	0	6.39	13	0	0	12.2	20	9	9	2	5
	Darrell Rasner	0	1	3.68	5	1	0	7.1	5	3	3	2	4
	Joe Horgan	0	0	21.00	8	0	0	6.0	19	15	14	4	5
	Matt White	0	1	9.00	1	1	0	4.0	4	4	4	3	3
	C. J. Nitkowski	0	0	8.10	7	0	0	3.1	5	3	3	2	2
	Antonio Osuna	0	0	42.43	4	0	0	2.1	9	11	11	7	0
	Team Totals	81	81	3.87	162	162	51	1458.0	1456	673	627	539	997

Team leaders

Batting

Stat	Player	Total
Avg.	Nick Johnson	.289
HR	Preston Wilson José Guillén	25 (10 with Nationals) 24
RBI	Preston Wilson José Guillén	90 (43 with Nationals) 76
R	José Guillén	81
H	José Guillén	156
SB	Brad Wilkerson	8

Pitching

Stat	Player	Total
W	Liván Hernández	15
L	Liván Hernández Esteban Loaiza	10
ERA	John Patterson	3.13
SO	John Patterson	185
SV	Chad Cordero	47
IP	Liván Hernández	246.1

Awards and honors

Nationals among league leaders

Batting

Stat	Player	Total	NL Rank	MLB Rank
OBP	Nick Johnson	.408	6	8 (tie)
2B	Brad Wilkerson	42	7 (tie)	11 (tie)
3B	Brad Wilkerson	7	7 (tie)	12 (tie)

Pitching

Stat	Player	Total	NL Rank	MLB Rank
SV	Chad Cordero	47	1	1
HLD	Gary Majewski Luis Ayala	23	5 6 (tie)	10 (tie) 12 (tie)
W	Liván Hernández	15	9 (tie)	16 (tie)

All-Stars

• Liván Hernández, SP

Annual awards

• National League Rolaids Relief Man Award: Chad Cordero

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	New Orleans Zephyrs	Pacific Coast League	Tim Foli
AA	Harrisburg Senators	Eastern League	Keith Bodie
A	Potomac Nationals	Carolina League	Bob Henley
A	Savannah Sand Gnats	South Atlantic League	Randy Knorr
A-Short Season	Vermont Expos	New York–Penn League	José Alguacil and Bobby Williams
Rookie	GCL Nationals	Gulf Coast League	Wendell Kim

^[25][26]

Notes

1. On July 6, 2019, the Nationals wore 1969 Montreal Expo throwback uniforms for a game against the Kansas City Royals.
2. The two games on August 31 were played as a single-admission doubleheader with attendance counted only for the two games combined.