The Washington Nationals have been oddly bad in day games, and that starts with their star players
The Washington Nationals came out flat for the 4th of July, losing 11-2 earlier today. While the early start is funky, it is really no surprise that the Nationals struggled with it and their opponents did not. The Nats have struggled in day games all season long.
For the season, the Nationals now have an abysmal 13-25 record in day games. Meanwhile, the Nationals have a much more respectable 24-26 record at night. It has been a noticeable pattern throughout the season. The Nats often look sleepy in day games, especially when they have won the night before.
Frankly, this starts with the Nationals star players who have some pretty significant day vs night splits. The player with the starkest gap between day and night production is James Wood. It is strange because you would assume Wood is amazing anytime anywhere, but that has not totally been the case this year.
Wood’s .734 OPS in day games is not terrible or anything, but it is not up to the standards he has set for himself. A .221 average in day games is downright strange for a player of his talent level. It is especially crazy when you compare it to his night time numbers.
When the sun is gone and the lights are on, Wood is a shining star. He is hitting .344 with a 1.118 OPS in night games. Of Wood’s 23 home runs, 17 have come in night games. A lot of this is probably just noise, but it is worth monitoring. Maybe there is something in Wood’s routine he has to tweak in day games moving forward.
CJ Abrams also has some sizable day vs night splits. They are nowhere near as extreme as Wood’s but they still exist. In day games, Abrams has been solid, hitting .260 with a .765 OPS. However, he has taken his game to another level in night games, with a .308 average and .906 OPS.
With their two best hitters not performing as well in day games, it is no surprise to see a big dip in the Nats overall production when the sun is out. They are hitting .234 with a .673 OPS in the day time. That pails in comparison to their .256 average and .731 OPS in night games. For context, a .731 OPS would put them top 10 in the league while a .673 OPS would place them bottom 5 in baseball.
To make matters even worse, the pitching also regresses in the daytime. The Nationals have a bad but not atrocious 4.89 ERA in night games. Things really unravel during the day, with the staff posting a 5.36 ERA.
With these numbers, it is no surprise that the Nationals are 13-25 in day games. Showing up in these earlier games has to be a point of emphasis for Davey Martinez. There are just too many day games like today where the Nats just fail to show up.
Part of becoming a good team is learning to play well regardless of time and place. With that comes consistency and with consistency comes winning. The Nationals are a highly inconsistent team and this trend could help explain why that could be.