The woeful Washington Nationals made MLB history over the weekend.
In spite of taking two of three games from the disenchanting San Diego Padres, the Nationals failed to sweep their 90th-straight series. That broke a record for the longest streak of series without a sweep in MLB history. The previous streak was held by the Philadelphia Athletics – currently of Oakland, soon to be of Las Vegas – set from 1914-1917.
It's been a rough stretch of seasons for the Washington Nationals since the team won the World Series in 2019. Washington has not come close to a winning season since hoisting the MLB championship trophy and has finished dead last in the National League East every season since.
The Washington Nationals have shown some improvement this season as they continue to rebuild following a massive fire sale of nearly all the players that contributed to the 2019 title.
Washington enters a three-game series at the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday with a 30-47 record, good for a .390 winning percentage. Last season, the Nationals had the worst record in MLB, finishing 55-107 for a .340 winning percentage, finishing 46 games behind the NL East-winning Atlanta Braves.
The Washington Nationals have been fairly woeful for a majority of their time in the nation's capitol after moving from Montreal before the 2005 season. Other than a stretch of five playoff appearances from 2012-2019, the team has finished at or below .500 10 times, and are working on No. 11 this year.
With 30 wins through 77 games, the Nationals are also on pace for their fourth 100-loss season since moving to Washington. In 36 seasons as the Montreal Expos, the organization lost 100 games just twice – including the expansion season of 1969.
However, Montreal made the playoffs just once, in 1981. The 1994 Expos were destined to make the postseason and had MLB's best record at 74-40 when the season was canceled due to labor strife.
Washington Nationals have not swept a three-game series since 2021
The Nationals have not swept a three-game series since June 13-15, 2021, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Washington also had a pair of two-game series sweeps against the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies that season.
However, a win on Tuesday would give the Nationals a third consecutive victory. Washington remains percentage points ahead of the Colorado Rockies, who hold the NL's worst record.