Nationals' skid comes at inopportune time

ATLANTA -- As Juan Soto pulled into second base, he turned toward the Nationals’ dugout, clapped his hands and implored his teammates to get on their feet. It was as if he was attempting to will the rest of the Nationals’ offense back to life, his two-run double in the eighth inning, perhaps, opening the door for another spirited late-inning comeback.

But the Braves shut the door, as they have all weekend, crushing the Nats’ hopes of closing the gap in the National League East. The first three games in Atlanta have gone about as badly as the Nationals could have imagined, and after dropping Saturday’s contest at SunTrust Park, 5-4, they have lost four consecutive games and five of their past six.

? Box score

The loss pushed Washington to 10 games behind Atlanta in the NL East and needing a victory Sunday to avoid being swept. More importantly, however, might be their narrowing advantage in the NL Wild Card race. They still own a two-game lead over the Cubs for the top Wild Card slot, but Washington’s lead over the surging D-backs has dwindled to 3 1/2 games.

“We just feel a little bit down, but we still have a chance,” said Soto, who collected his 100th RBI of the season, becoming just the sixth player to achieve the feat in his age-20 season or earlier. “We got another series with [the Braves], so we got to keep it going. We got a game tomorrow we got to win and then get these guys in the next series. Try to win all the series we have and let's see what happens at the [end]."

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The Nationals picked an inopportune time for their longest losing streak in months, a five-game skid from May 19-23. It was following that stretch, which culminated with being swept by the Mets at Citi Field where Washington took off and played like one of the best teams in baseball for months. The only team in baseball with a better record since May 24, happens to be the Braves, who have opened up a commanding lead in the division.

Atlanta’s starting pitchers have held the Nats to just one run in 19 innings so far this series after a solo home run from Asdrúbal Cabrera in the fifth inning Saturday off Julio Teheran, his only blemish in six innings. In addition to being shut down by the Braves’ starting pitching, the Nats have been unable to come away with a timely hit and have watched as their aspirations of chasing down a division title all but fade away.

Now they must regroup to hold onto their spot in the postseason, which seemed all but assured in recent weeks, but is suddenly becoming too close for their comfort.

“The word of the day today was simplicity. Let’s keep everything simple,” manager Dave Martinez said. “That’s what I want them to do. Stay one game at a time, stay in the moment, we’re in the here and now.

“September there’s a lot of things going on. One, we’re in a pennant race. Two, it’s the last month, [so] everybody is trying to put up numbers. It takes the whole team. Remember I said that. It takes everybody on the roster, and everybody has to participate, and when we do that we’re really good.”

Worth noting
? Kurt Suzuki was being examined for a right elbow injury after he felt a sharp pain during a throw down to second base. Suzuki lobbied to hit in the top of the eighth inning, but Martinez did not want to chance it and removed him from the game.