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The last time the Nats lost 10 straight? Manny Acta was the manager.
The two longest single-season losing streaks in Nationals history — suffered 17 years apart — have a couple of things in common. Each skid began with a 5-0 loss to a former Cy Young Award winner (CC Sabathia in 2008, Jacob deGrom earlier this month), and each skid hit double digits after a home loss to the lowly Colorado Rockies — who were merely bad in 2008, not historically dreadful as they are this season.
'The only thing the Nationals have beaten in the last 10 days, then, is themselves,' The Washington Post's Zach Berman wrote after Washington's 7-2 defeat to the Rockies on Aug. 17, 2008, which marked the team's 10th straight loss and the end of a stretch of 20 games in 20 days. 'In this case, it was topping nine-game losing streaks the team suffered two other times this season. It was being swept in yet another series this season, including six of the past eight. … The manager and the players all insist the effort is there. Production and health are not.'
'Obviously it's not easy,' then-Nationals manager Manny Acta, who would be fired midway through the 2009 season, told reporters. 'Guys want to catch the ball, want to hit the ball and they want to throw strikes. They're just not doing it right now.'
'When we're in a little stretch like this, everybody's trying to give it their all, and you're like, 'I've got to do it,' instead of almost like, 'I'm gonna do it,'' Nationals outfielder Ryan Langerhans said. 'You just get up there and you want to get it done so bad sometimes it ends up working against you.'
Langerhans sounded a bit like closer Kyle Finnegan, who admitted he was 'trying to do too much' after his blown save Monday extended Washington's losing streak to nine games.
'I don't think it's a secret what's been going on with our team,' Finnegan said of the Nationals' tailspin, which featured Manager Dave Martinez defending his coaching staff when asked where the blame lied, then saying the next day that his comments were not about his players, though he had mentioned them. 'Just really wanting to get a win, get back in the win column. That's maybe a little bit of what we've been struggling with. Guys trying to make a big moment for our team, trying to snap us out of it, whatever. But we just got to focus on the things that are in our control.'
The 2008 Nationals were somewhat fortunate: With the Beijing Olympics in full swing, the team's record losing streak — which would reach 12 games — was relegated to the inside pages of The Post's Sports section. The 12-game skid featured four shutouts, including a 12-0 loss to the Mets at home, and a 5-4, 13-inning loss to the Brewers on a walk-off home run by Gabe Kapler.
Washington finally snapped the losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Aug. 21.
'It's a big weight off our shoulders,' closer Joel Hanrahan said after recording a two-inning save. 'People writing about it everywhere, losing 12 in a row and whatnot. We just had to get that one and see where it takes us.'
The Nationals' only other losing streak of at least nine games in one season since 2008 came in July 2022, amid the second of five straight losing seasons — and counting — after the team's World Series title and one year after they dealt Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline. Washington's ninth consecutive loss that year, a 6-3 defeat against the Atlanta Braves at home, was a footnote to the bigger story of the day, which was that the team would consider trading Juan Soto after the slugger turned down a 15-year, $440 million offer.
'It feels really bad to see stuff going out like that because I'm a guy who keeps everything on my side. I keep everything quiet,' Soto said before Washington's 15th loss in 16 games. ' … For me, this is the team I've been [with] since, what, 2015? I've been with this team, and I feel good with it. When I get to know the city more, it feels great. Why should I need to change?'
Soto's 20th homer helped the Nationals snap their losing streak the following day. He was traded to the San Diego Padres two weeks later.
Coming off an 89-loss season, the Nationals were expected to struggle in 2008. Washington was nearly 30 games under .500 and well out of the race when its record losing streak began in Milwaukee. Acta's lineup for the 10th consecutive loss featured Emilio Bonifácio leading off, Aaron Boone batting cleanup and Wil Nieves (who?!) at catcher.
This year's team — in large part because of the players acquired in the blockbuster Soto trade — was expected to take a step forward after consecutive 71-91 seasons. A four-game winning streak to close the month of May pulled Washington to within two games of .500, but that's a distant memory now. Washington is 2-13 since then, with 10 consecutive losses, including five straight to the last-place Miami Marlins and Rockies.
