The Nationals got swept at home by the New York Yankees this stretch, dropping all three games, 3-5, 2-4, and 3-5. That's three losses in a row now, and it stings more because the Nationals had won their last game before this stretch, beating the Houston Astros 8-2 back on July 8.
The division picture slipped a bit too. The Nationals sit fourth in the National League East, and they've gone from 6.5 games back to 8 games back over this stretch. The Atlanta Braves lead the division and went 2-2 themselves this stretch, so the gap grew mostly from the Nationals' own losing. The Philadelphia Phillies went 3-1 and are now 2 games back of the leader, while the Nationals fell further behind in the wild card race too, from 3.5 back to 4 back.
The one bright spot was James Wood (RF). He went 3-for-5 with a home run and an RBI on July 10, then did it again on July 11, same line, another homer, another RBI. Over this stretch he hit .583 with 3 home runs and 3 RBI in just three games. Curtis Mead (1B) also had a strong night on July 11, going 2-for-3 with a homer and an RBI. On the mound, Cade Cavalli gave the Nationals a real chance on July 12, throwing 6 innings with 5 strikeouts and just 2 earned runs allowed, though the offense couldn't back him up enough.
There's no baseball to report for the last three days because the league paused for the All-Star Game on July 14. The Nationals are off until Friday, July 17, when they head to Sutter Health Park to open a three-game series against the Athletics.