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Washington Nationals lose another late lead: NL wild-card race tightens

Chris Graham

washington nationalsStop me if you’ve heard this one before: the Washington Nationals couldn’t hold a late lead.

Miami scored four runs ithe seventh off three Nats relievers to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 win on Sunday.

The loss drops the Nationals (85-69) into a tie for the top spot in the NL wild-card race with streaking Milwaukee (86-70), which completed a weekend sweep of Pittsburgh on Sunday, giving the Brewers 14 wins in their last 16 games.

The Chicago Cubs (82-74) continued their late-season collapse, losing to St. Louis on Sunday, giving the Cardinals (89-67) a four-game sweep in Wrigley Field.

Washington has eight games left, including a grueling four-day, five-day series with Philadelphia (79-74) that begins on Monday, and includes a Tuesday doubleheader.

The Nationals should have gone into the final week on a winning streak. Rookie Austin Voth was solid in the spot start, allowing a run on three hits in five innings, leaving the game with a 3-1 lead.

The trio of Hunter Strickland, Wander Suero and Tanner Rainey would take care of that in the four-run Marlins seventh.

Story by Chris Graham

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].