# 2005 Washington Nationals season

The 2005 Washington Nationals season was the first for the team formerly known as the Montreal Expos since moving to Washington, D.C., and 37th overall for the franchise. The team signed four key free agents during the off-season: Vinny Castilla, José Guillén, Cristian Guzmán and Esteban Loaiza. Although they recorded an 81–81 record, the Nationals nevertheless finished last for a second consecutive year although they were only nine games behind the National League East champion Atlanta Braves.

## Offseason

* On November 9, 2004, the Nationals traded Maicer Izturis and Juan Rivera to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for José Guillén.
* On November 24, 2004, the Nationals traded minor leaguer Antonio Sucre to the Pittsburgh Pirates for J. J. Davis.
* On January 19, 2005, they signed Esteban Loaiza as a free agent.
* On February 8, 2005, they agreed to terms with Mike Shuster via a walk on.
* On February 9, 2005, they signed Melvin Nieves, also as a free agent.
* On February 13, 2005, the Nationals traded minor leaguer Jerry Owens to the Chicago White Sox for Alex Escobar.
* On February 15, 2005, they traded Alejandro Machado to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later; the Red Sox sent minor-leaguer Carlos Torres to the Nationals on March 28, 2005, to complete the trade.
* On March 22, 2005, the Nationals traded minor leaguer A. J. Wideman to the Toronto Blue Jays for Tyrell Godwin
* On March 24, 2005, they traded Seth Greisinger to the Atlanta Braves as part of a conditional deal.

## Spring training

The Nationals held their 2005 spring training in Viera, Florida, with home games played at Space Coast Stadium.

## Advertising and marketing

The Nationals' marketing slogan for the season was "Let Yourself Go." Nationals Vice President of Sales and Marketing David Cope explained that the slogan told "people to come to the game, to let themselves come out here [to Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium]. But then once you're here, have fun, let loose. We don't want it to feel like stuffy old D.C.—and it doesn't."

## Mascot

Screech, the mascot of the Washington Nationals, made his debut near the beginning of the 2005 season. A bald eagle who wears the home cap and jersey of the team, he was "hatched" on April 17, 2005, at the "Kids Opening Day" promotion at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium during the third home game in Nationals history, a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. A nine-year-old fourth-grade student in Washington, Glenda Gutierrez, designed the mascot and won a contest sponsored by the team, explaining that Screech was "strong and eats almost everything." The first, chubby version of Screech appeared during the team's first four seasons in Washington; just before the start of the 2009 season, the Nationals replaced him with a thin version who debuted in March 2009, explaining that Screech had "grown up" and become a "teenager."

## Broadcast media difficulties

The Nationals' broadcasting deal for 2005 was put together at the last minute and led to difficulties for fans attempting to follow the team on radio or television. Its two flagship radio stations – FM-104.1 WWZZ in Waldorf, Maryland, and AM-1050 WFED in Silver Spring, Maryland – had weak signals and were not audible in many of Washington's suburbs. On television, the Nationals′ network, the new Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), was carried on DirecTv, RCN Cable, and Verizon′s fiberoptic service and WTTG Channel 5 and WDCA Channel 20 broadcast 79 games, but the Washington area's dominant cable television provider, Comcast, refused to carry MASN during the season because of an ongoing legal battle with MASN over broadcast rights to Baltimore Orioles games. The limitation of radio and television coverage forced many Nationals fans to rely on print media and in-person attendance at games to follow the team during 2005.

## Regular season

The Nationals had a terrific first half, as they had a 51–32 record by July 5 and were leading the Atlanta Braves by 4.5 games. However, the team struggled in its final 79 games, going 30-49 and scoring only 299 runs (3.78 per game). They were also shut out 7 times during that span. Nevertheless, the team was able to finish the season at .500; this was only the fourth time in 10 years that the franchise had finished at or above .500.

### Highlights

* The Washington Nationals first regular season game was on April 4, 2005 against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The Nationals' Brad Wilkerson, the last player to ever wear a Montreal Expo jersey for the Expos, had the honor of being the first batter for the Washington Nationals and he promptly responded with the first hit in the new team's history. But Kenny Lofton hit a three-run homer and Jon Lieber pitched 52⁄3 effective innings, leading the Phillies to an 8–4 victory over the new Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. (Lieber was credited with the win for the Phillies and would also score a win for Philadelphia in the last game of the 2005 Nationals season.) Outfielder Terrmel Sledge hit the Nats' first home run in the April 4 contest.
* Scorecard: April 4, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Washington | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 1 |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | x | 8 | 14 | 1 |
| W: Lieber (1-0) L: Hernandez (0-1) |||||||||||||
| HRs: Terrmel Sledge, Kenny Lofton Attendance: 44,080. Length of game: 3:19. Umpires: HP: Darling, 1B: Poncino, 2B: Wegner, 3B: Nauert |||||||||||||
* On April 6, 2005, the Washington Nationals recorded their first-ever regular season win by beating the Phillies, 7–3. The win came in their second game of the season and was highlighted by Wilkerson's hit for the cycle.
* On April 14, 2005, the Washington Nationals won their first regular season home game at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., by a score of 5–3 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. President George W. Bush kept up a tradition of sitting U.S. Presidents by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch on opening day in Washington, exactly 95 years after William Howard Taft started the tradition at Griffith Stadium in 1910. There were 45,596 fans in attendance, including former Senators players and Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. Liván Hernández threw eight shutout innings, and Vinny Castilla was denied the chance to hit for the cycle when Diamondback reliever Lance Cormier hit him with a pitch in the bottom of the eighth; Castilla needed only a single to complete the cycle. Chad Cordero recorded the save for Washington.
* On August 4, 2005, Brad Wilkerson became the first Washington Nationals player to ever hit a grand slam, against then Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher, Duaner Sánchez. The Nationals won the game 7–0, on a four-hit complete-game shutout by John Patterson.
* In their 8–0 victory over the Colorado Rockies on August 13, the Nationals allowed 19 baserunners without giving up a run, an MLB record for a 9-inning game.
* During his August–September callup, Ryan Zimmerman recorded 23 hits in 58 at bats. He thus became the first member of the Washington Nationals to complete the season with a batting average of at least .300 in at least 50 at bats.
* The Nationals led all National League teams in interleague play in 2005, recording 12 wins.

### Season standings
#### National League East

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Atlanta Braves | 90 | 72 | .556 | — | 53‍–‍28 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 88 | 74 | .543 | 2 | 46‍–‍35 | 42‍–‍39 |
| Florida Marlins | 83 | 79 | .512 | 7 | 45‍–‍36 | 38‍–‍43 |
| New York Mets | 83 | 79 | .512 | 7 | 48‍–‍33 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Washington Nationals | 81 | 81 | .500 | 9 | 41‍–‍40 | 40‍–‍41 |

#### Record vs. opponents

2005 National League recordvte Source: :
| Team | AZ | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LAD | MIL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | WSH | AL |
| Arizona | — | 3–3 | 5–2 | 2–4 | 11–7 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 13–5 | 2–4 | 1–6 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 10–9 | 7–11 | 2–5 | 2–4 | 8–10 |
| Atlanta | 3–3 | — | 6–1 | 7–3 | 2–4 | 10–8 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 13–6 | 9–10 | 4–3 | 1–5 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 10–9 | 7–8 |
| Chicago | 2–5 | 1–6 | — | 6–9 | 4–3 | 5–4 | 9–7 | 4–2 | 7–9 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 11–5 | 4–3 | 5–2 | 10–6 | 1–5 | 6–9 |
| Cincinnati | 4–2 | 3–7 | 9–6 | — | 3–3 | 2–4 | 4–12 | 3–4 | 6–10 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 9–7 | 4–2 | 3–5 | 5–11 | 5–1 | 7-8 |
| Colorado | 7–11 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 3–3 | — | 3–3 | 1–5 | 11–8 | 1–5 | 3–4 | 2–4 | 3–7 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 4–4 | 2–4 | 6–9 |
| Florida | 4–2 | 8–10 | 4–5 | 4–2 | 3–3 | — | 4–3 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 8–10 | 9–10 | 3–4 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 9–9 | 10–5 |
| Houston | 3–3 | 1–5 | 7–9 | 12–4 | 5–1 | 3-4 | — | 4–2 | 10–5 | 5–5 | 6–0 | 9–7 | 4–3 | 3–4 | 5–11 | 5–2 | 7–8 |
| Los Angeles | 5–13 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 8–11 | 2–5 | 2–4 | — | 5–1 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 5–2 | 11–7 | 9–10 | 2–5 | 2–4 | 5–13 |
| Milwaukee | 4–2 | 3–3 | 9–7 | 10–6 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 5–10 | 1–5 | — | 3–3 | 4–5 | 9–7 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 5–11 | 4–4 | 8–7 |
| New York | 6–1 | 6–13 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 4–3 | 10–8 | 5–5 | 3–3 | 3–3 | — | 11–7 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 2–5 | 11–8 | 5–10 |
| Philadelphia | 4-3 | 10–9 | 4–2 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 10–9 | 0–6 | 3–3 | 5–4 | 7–11 | — | 4–3 | 6–0 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 11–8 | 7–8 |
| Pittsburgh | 4–3 | 3–4 | 5–11 | 7–9 | 7–3 | 4–3 | 7–9 | 2–5 | 7–9 | 3–3 | 3–4 | — | 3–4 | 2–4 | 4–12 | 1–5 | 5–7 |
| San Diego | 9–10 | 5–1 | 3–4 | 2–4 | 11–7 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 7–11 | 4–3 | 2–4 | 0–6 | 4–3 | — | 12–6 | 4–3 | 5–1 | 7–11 |
| San Francisco | 11–7 | 2–4 | 2–5 | 5–3 | 11–7 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 10–9 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 1–5 | 4–2 | 6–12 | — | 2–4 | 3–3 | 6–12 |
| St. Louis | 5–2 | 3–3 | 6–10 | 11–5 | 4–4 | 4-3 | 11–5 | 5–2 | 11–5 | 5–2 | 2–4 | 12–4 | 3–4 | 4–2 | — | 4–2 | 10–5 |
| Washington | 4–2 | 9–10 | 5–1 | 1–5 | 4–2 | 9-9 | 2–5 | 4–2 | 4–4 | 8–11 | 8–11 | 5–1 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 2–4 | — | 12–6 |
Nationals vs. American League :
| Team | AL West | AL West | AL West | AL West | |
| Team | LAA | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Washington | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–3 |

### Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters :
| Name | Position |
| Brad Wilkerson | Center fielder |
| Cristian Guzmán | Shortstop |
| José Vidro | Second baseman |
| José Guillén | Right fielder |
| Nick Johnson | First baseman |
| Vinny Castilla | Third baseman |
| Termel Sledge | Left fielder |
| Brian Schneider | Catcher |
| Liván Hernández | Starting pitcher |

### Notable transactions

* May 14, 2005: The Nationals traded Endy Chávez to the Philadelphia Phillies for Marlon Byrd.
* May 31, 2005: The Nationals released Melvin Nieves.
* June 10, 2005: The Nationals traded Tomo Ohka to the Milwaukee Brewers for Junior Spivey.
* July 13, 2005: The Nationals signed Mike Stanton as a free agent and traded J. J. Davis, Zach Day, and cash to the Colorado Rockies for Preston Wilson.
* July 20, 2005: The Nationals selected Kenny Kely off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds.
* August 6, 2005: The Nationals sent Steve Randolph to the San Francisco Giants as part of a conditional deal.
* August 30, 2005: The Nationals traded minor leaguer Ben Cox to the San Francisco Giants for Deivi Cruz.
* September 29, 2005: The Nationals traded Mike Stanton to the Boston Red Sox for minor-leaguers Rhys Taylor and Yader Peralta.

### Draft

The 2005 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on June 7 and 8. With their first pick – the fourth pick overall – the Nationals selected third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who would advance through the minor leagues quickly and join the Nationals in September. Other notable players the Nationals selected were outfielder Justin Maxwell (fourth round, 114th overall), pitcher Marco Estrada (sixth round, 174th overall), pitcher John Lannan (11th round, 324th overall), pitcher Craig Stammen (12th round, 354th overall), pitcher Ryan Buchter (33rd round, 984th overall), first baseman Tyler Moore (41st round, 1,222nd overall), and pitcher Scott Barnes (43rd round, 1,280th overall). Moore and Barnes did not sign with the team.

### Attendance

The Nationals drew 2,731,993 fans at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 2005, placing them eighth in attendance for the season among the 16 National League teams.

### Game log

Game log :
April (13-11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 4@ Philadelphia Phillies4-8Lieber (1-0)Hernández (0-1)44,0800-1
2April 6@ Philadelphia Phillies7-3Eischen (1-0)Worrell (0-1)23,4351-1
3April 7@ Philadelphia Phillies5-4 (10)Cordero (1-0)Cormier (0-1)21,6932-1
4April 8@ Florida Marlins0-9Willis (1-0)Ohka (0-1)19,3272-2
5April 9@ Florida Marlins3-2 (10)Cordero (2-0)Alfonseca (0-1)30,7393-2
6April 10@ Florida Marlins0-8Beckett (2-0)Patterson (0-1)25,0893-3
7April 11@ Atlanta Braves2-11Hampton (1-0)Day (0-1)16,5843-4
8April 12@ Atlanta Braves4-3Ayala (1-0)Kolb (0-1)Cordero (1)20,1224-4
9April 13@ Atlanta Braves11-4Ohka (1-1)Thomson (1-1)19,0935-4
10April 14Arizona Diamondbacks5-3Hernández (1-1)Vázquez (0-2)Cordero (2)45,5966-4
11April 16Arizona Diamondbacks9-3Patterson (1-1)Ortiz (1-1)34,9437-4
12April 17Arizona Diamondbacks7-3Tucker (1-0)Koplove (1-1)35,4638-4
13April 18Florida Marlins4-9Willis (3-0)Ohka (1-2)24,0038-5
14April 19Florida Marlins3-6Moehler (1-0)Hernández (1-2)25,9908-6
15April 20Atlanta Braves2-0Day (1-1)Ramírez (1-1)Cordero (3)27,3749-6
16April 21Atlanta Braves1-2Reitsma (1-0)Cordero (2-1)Kolb (5)30,7289-7
17April 22@ New York Mets1-3Glavine (1-2)Loaiza (0-1)Looper (2)28,4889-8
18April 23@ New York Mets5-10Seo (1-0)Ohka (1-3)44,0589-9
19April 24@ New York Mets11-4Hernández (2-2)Zambrano (1-2)43,31310-9
20April 25Philadelphia Phillies4-5Lidle (1-2)Day (1-2)Wagner (4)24,95610-10
21April 26Philadelphia Phillies3-1Patterson (2-1)Lieber(4-1)Cordero (4)23,33211-10
22April 27Philadelphia Phillies0-3Cormier (1-1)Loaiza (0-2)Wagner (5)27,48311-11
23April 29New York Mets5-1Hernández (3-2)Seo (1-1)Cordero (5)30,62712-11
24April 30New York Mets5-3Ohka (2-3)Zambrano (1-3)Carrasco (1)40,91313-11 :
May (14-14)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
25May 1New York Mets3-6Hernández (2-0)Ayala (1-1)Looper (4)27,33313-12
26May 2@ Los Angeles Dodgers6-2Loaiza (1-2)Erickson (1-3)34,07914-12
27May 3@ Los Angeles Dodgers2-4Weaver (3-2)Rauch (0-1)Brazobán (9)41,19014-13
28May 4@ Los Angeles Dodgers5-2Hernández (4-2)Pérez (4-2)33,08115-13
29May 6@ San Francisco Giants9-3Rauch (1-1)Lowry (1-3)40,42516-13
30May 7@ San Francisco Giants11-8Ayala (2-1)Accardo (0-1)Cordero (6)40,22017-13
31May 8@ San Francisco Giants3-4 (13)Christiansen (2-0)Rauch (1-2)36,90317-14
32May 9@ Arizona Diamondbacks4-3Hernández (5-2)Valverde (0-1)Cordero (7)19,44018-14
33May 10@ Arizona Diamondbacks2-3Estes (3-3)Armas (0-1)Lyon (12)23,18118-15
34May 11@ Arizona Diamondbacks2-3Cormier (2-0)Rauch (1-3)Lyon (13)21,01118-16
35May 13Chicago Cubs3-6Ohman (1-0)Ayala (2-2)Wellemeyer (1)36,58518-17
36May 14Chicago Cubs4-3Hernández (6-2)Zambrano (3-2)Cordero (8)42,82919-17
37May 15Chicago Cubs5-4Carrasco(1-0)Bartosh (0-2)Cordero (9)44,10320-17
38May 16Milwaukee Brewers5-2Armas (1-1)Davis (4-5)Ayala (1)26,60621-17
39May 17Milwaukee Brewers2-8Obermueller (1-0)Vargas (0-1)26,42721-18
40May 18Milwaukee Brewers1-0Majewski (1-0)Capuano (3-3)29,21622-18
41May 19Milwaukee Brewers3-2Hernández (7-2)Santos (1-4)Cordero (10)30,96823-18
42May 20Toronto Blue Jays1-6Lilly (2-4)Vargas (0-2)Walker (1)17,46523-19
43May 21Toronto Blue Jays0-7Halladay (7-2)Armas (1-2)24,51823-20
44May 22Toronto Blue Jays9-2Ohka (3-3)Towers (5-2)28,40824-20
45May 23@ Cincinnati Reds3-5Milton (3-5)Loaiza (1-3)Weathers (1)17,63024-21
46May 24@ Cincinnati Reds3-4 (15)Keisler (1-0)Ayala (2-3)36,53924-22
47May 25@ Cincinnati Reds3-12Belisle (2-4)Vargass (0-3)20,49724-23
48May 27@ St. Louis Cardinals3-6Morris (5-0)Armas (1-3)Isringhausen (13)47,38324-24
49May 28@ St. Louis Cardinals1-3Suppan (4-5)Loaiza (1-4)Isringhausen (14)49,12324-25
50May 29@ St. Louis Cardinals3-2Hernández (8-2)Carpenter (7-3)Cordero (11)47,01225-25
51May 30Atlanta Braves3-2Ohka (4-3)Davies (2-1)Cordero (12)39,70526-25
52May 31Atlanta Braves5-4Ayala (3-3)Colón (0-2)Cordero (13)29,51227-25 :
June (20-6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
53June 1Atlanta Braves4-5Smoltz (4-2)Carrasco (1-1)Reitsma (2)28,28027-26
54June 2Atlanta Braves8-6Carrasco (2-1)Kolb (1-5)Cordero (14)29,22528-26
55June 3Florida Marlins3-2 (11)Ayala (4-3)Bump (0-3)29,43929-26
56June 4Florida Marlins7-3Kim (1-0)Leiter (2-6)33,19830-26
57June 5Florida Marlins6-3Ayala (5-3)Riedling (2-1)Cordero (15)40,99531-26
58June 7Oakland Athletics2-1Armas (2-3)Zito (2-7)Cordero (16)26,87932-26
59June 8Oakland Athletics7-2Loaiza (2-4)Glynn (0-2)28,74933-26
60June 9Oakland Athletics4-3Hernández (9-2)Blanton (1-6)Cordero (17)26,67234-26
61June 10Seattle Mariners9-3Ayala (6-3)Hasegawa (1-2)28,70735-26
62June 11Seattle Mariners2-1Patterson (3-1)Putz (1-2)Cordero (18)39,10836-26
63June 12Seattle Mariners3-2Armas (3-3)Franklin (2-8)Cordero (19)37,17037-26
64June 13@ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim1-11Byrd (6-5)Loaiza (2-5)40,79037-27
65June 14@ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim6-3Majewski (2-0)Shields (5-4)Cordero (20)43,87438-27
66June 15@ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim1-0Drese (5-6)Colón (8-4)Cordero (21)43,50539-27
67June 17@ Texas Rangers1-8Rogers (9-2)Patterson (3-2)33,65339-28
68June 18@ Texas Rangers4-7Rodríguez (2-0)Armas (3-4)48,66339-29
69June 19@ Texas Rangers8-2Hughes (1-0)Wilson (0-1)34,47440-29
70June 20@ Pittsburgh Pirates7-4Hernández (10-2)Redman (4-5)Cordero (22)21,89341-29
71June 21@ Pittsburgh Pirates4-11Pérez (6-5)Drese (5-7)26,00641-30
72June 22@ Pittsburgh Pirates5-4Carrasco (3-1)Gonzalez (0-3)Cordero (23)24,06442-30
73June 24Toronto Blue Jays3-0Loaiza (3-5)Towers (5-7)Cordero (24)36,68943-30
74June 25Toronto Blue Jays5-2Hernández (11-2)Lilly (5-8)Cordero (25)39,88144-30
75June 26Toronto Blue Jays5-9Speier (1-1)Ayala (6-4)Batista (14)33,55744-31
76June 28Pittsburgh Pirates2-1Drese (6-7)Fogg (4-4)Cordero (26)35,82845-31
77June 29Pittsburgh Pirates3-2Ayala (7-4)Torres (2-3)Cordero (27)31,21346-31
78June 30Pittsburgh Pirates7-5Loaiza (4-5)Wells (5-8)Cordero (28)37,36147-31 :
July (9-18)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
79July 1@ Chicago Cubs4-3Hernández (12-2)Prior (5-2)Carrasco (2)38,97348-31
80July 2@ Chicago Cubs4-2Armas (4-4)Williams (1-3)Cordero (29)40,48849-31
81July 3@ Chicago Cubs5-4 (12)Eischen (2-0)Mitre (2-4)40,00650-31
82July 4New York Mets2-5Hernández (4-2)Kim (1-1)Looper (18)44,33150-32
83July 5New York Mets3-2Loaiza (5-5)Martínez (9-3)Cordero (30)35,08751-32
84July 6New York Mets3-5Glavine (6-7)Hernández (12-3)Looper (19)38,14851-33
85July 7New York Mets2-3 (11)Bell (1-3)Ayala (7-5)Looper (20)44,49251-34
86July 8@ Philadelphia Phillies8-7Drese (7-7)Tejeda (3-2)Cordero (31)44,68852-34
87July 9@ Philadelphia Phillies0-1Wagner (2-1)Carrasco (3-2)33,36552-35
88July 10@ Philadelphia Phillies4-5 (12)Cormier (3-2)Kim (1-2)34,12452-36
All–Star Break (July 11–13)
89July 14@ Milwaukee Brewers2-4Wise (3-2)Majewski (2-1)Turnbow (18)30,61152-37
90July 15@ Milwaukee Brewers3-4 (10) Santana (2-3)Ayala (7-6)40,69052-38
91July 16@ Milwaukee Brewers5-3Loaiza (6-5)Bottalico (2-2)Cordero (32)45,07953-38
92July 17@ Milwaukee Brewers3-5Ohka (6-4)Drese (7-8)Turnbow (19)23,54353-39
93July 18Colorado Rockies4-5Acevedo (1-0)Cordero (2-2)Fuentes (13)30,16553-40
94July 19Colorado Rockies4-0Patterson (4-2)Chacón (1-6)Cordero (33)30,65554-40
95July 20Colorado Rockies2-3Jennings (6-9)Hernández (12-4)Fuentes (14)32,38154-41
96July 21Houston Astros2-3Oswalt (13-8)Loaiza (6-6)Lidge (22)36,84054-42
97July 22Houston Astros1-14Clemens (8-4)Drese (7-9)38,01954-43
98July 23Houston Astros4-2Armas (5-4)Backe (8-7)Cordero (34)42,68055-43
99July 24Houston Astros1-4 (14)Springer (3-3)Carrasco (3-3)Lidge (23)39,20355-44
100July 26@ Atlanta Braves2-3 (10)Reitsma (3-2)Stanton (1-3)43,30855-45
101July 27@ Atlanta Braves3-4Kolb (3-6)Majewski (2-2)Reitsma (11)40,62555-46
102July 28@ Atlanta Braves4-5Sosa (6-1)Drese (7-10)Reitsma (12)40,26955-47
103July 29@ Florida Marlins3-4Beckett (10-6)Armas (5-5)Jones (19)29,32255-48
104July 30@ Florida Marlins0-3Burnett (8-6)Patterson (4-3)Jones (20)25,30855-49
105July 31@ Florida Marlins4-2Hernández (13-4)Moehler (6-8)Cordero (35)30,39756-49 :
August (13-15)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
106August 2Los Angeles Dodgers4-5Weaver (9-8)Loaiza (6-7)Brazobán (21)36,27756-50
107August 3Los Angeles Dodgers3-1Armas (6-5)Houlton (4-5)Cordero (36)36,55257-50
108August 4Los Angeles Dodgers7-0Patterson (5-3)Penny (5-7)35,48458-50
109August 5San Diego Padres5-6Linebrink (5-1)Cordero (2-3)Hoffman (28)34,49258-51
110August 6San Diego Padres2-3Astacio (3-10)Drese (7-11)Hoffman (29)38,07658-52
111August 7San Diego Padres0-3Peavy (10-4)Loaiza (6-8)36,44058-53
112August 9@ Houston Astros6-5Patterson (6-3)Astacio (2-5)Cordero (37)34,25559-53
113August 10@ Houston Astros6-7Rodríguez (7-5)Hernández (13-5)Lidge (28)34,30959-54
114August 11@ Houston Astros3-6Pettitte (10-8)Drese (7-12)35,03659-55
115August 12@ Colorado Rockies4-2Loaiza (7-8)Wright (6-13)Cordero (38)28,59860-55
116August 13@ Colorado Rockies8-0Armas (7-5)Kim (3-9)31,44761-55
117August 14@ Colorado Rockies9-2Patterson (7-3)Acevedo (2-3)24,55262-55
118August 15@ Philadelphia Phillies6-3Hernández (14-5)Myers (10-6)40,62763-55
August 16@ Philadelphia PhilliesPostponed (rain) Rescheduled for August 18 as part of a double header
119August 17@ Philadelphia Phillies3-4Lieber (12-10)Loaiza (7-9)Wagner (28)33,45063-56
120August 18 (1)@ Philadelphia Phillies1-2Padilla (6-11)Armas (7-6)Wagner (29)30,04663-57
121August 18 (2)@ Philadelphia Phillies5-4Ayala (8-6)Urbina (4-4)Cordero (39)34,49264-57
122August 19@ New York Mets0-1Seo (5-1)Patterson (7-4)Looper (24)38,19664-58
123August 20@ New York Mets8-9 (10)Hernández (6-5)Majewski (2-3)51,78564-59
124August 21@ New York Mets7-4 (10)Loaiza (8-9)Benson (9-5)42,41265-59
125August 23Cincinnati Reds2-6Hudson (5-6)Armas (7-7)35,65665-60
126August 24Cincinnati Reds5-3Patterson (8-4)Ortiz (8-9)Cordero (40)32,64166-60
127August 25Cincinnati Reds3-5Claussen (9-8)Hernández (14-6)Weathers (11)40,76266-61
128August 26St. Louis Cardinals4-1Loaiza (9-9)Suppan (12-10)Cordero (41)37,88567-61
129August 27St. Louis Cardinals0-6Marquis (10-13)White (0-1)44,25467-62
130August 28St. Louis Cardinals0-6Thompson (2-0)Halama (1-2)41,13067-63
August 29@ Atlanta BravesPostponed (rain) Rescheduled for August 31 as part of a double header
131August 30@ Atlanta Braves3-2Bergmann (1-0)Sosa (9-3)Cordero (42)20,00168-63
132August 31 (1)@ Atlanta Braves3-5Ramírez (11-8)Loaiza (9-10)Farnsworth (8)25,55568-64
133August 31 (2)@ Atlanta Braves4-3Stanton (2-3)Reitsma (3-5)Cordero (43)69-64 :
September (12-15)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
134September 1@ Atlanta Braves7-8 (10)Davies (7-3)Ayala (8-7)19,05369-65
135September 2Philadelphia Phillies1-7Padilla (8-12)Halama (1-3)28,93969-66
136September 3Philadelphia Phillies5-4 (12)Carrasco (4-3)López (0-1)30,56170-66
137September 4Philadelphia Phillies6-1Loaiza (10-10)Floyd (1-2)32,25171-66
138September 5Florida Marlins5-2Hernández (15-6)Vargas (5-3)32,15072-66
139September 6Florida Marlins2-4Valdez (2-1)Rasner (0-1)Jones (35)24.93672-67
140September 7Florida Marlins1-12Willis (20-8)Halama (1-4)25,70272-68
141September 8Florida Marlins4-8Beckett (13-8)Patterson (8-5)27,62572-69
142September 9Atlanta Braves8-6Majewski (3-3)Foster (4-2)Cordero (44)36,29573-69
143September 10Atlanta Braves0-4Sosa (11-3)Hernández (15-7)44,08373-70
144September 11Atlanta Braves7-9McBride (1-0)Cordero (2-4)Farnsworth (12)31,38473-71
145September 13@ New York Mets4-2Majewski (4-3)Glavine (10-13)Cordero (45)34,14374-71
146September 14@ New York Mets6-3Loaiza (11-10)Benson (9-8)Cordero (46)24,04975-71
147September 15@ New York Mets6-5 (10)Bergmann (2-0)Hernández (6-6)Majewski (1)21,44176-71
148September 16@ San Diego Padres5-1Patterson (9-5)Peavy (12-7)38,48077-71
149September 17@ San Diego Padres5-8 (12)Linebrink (7-1)Rauch (1-4)37,70777-72
150September 18@ San Diego Padres1-2Otsuka (2-6)Eischen (2-1)38,05477-73
151September 20San Francisco Giants3-4Taschner (2-0)Hernández (15-8)Benítez (17)32,40377-74
152September 21San Francisco Giants1-5Hennessey (5-8)Patterson (9-6)Benítez (18)32,07677-75
153September 22San Francisco Giants2-0Rauch (2-4)Tomko (7-15)Cordero (47)29,80778-75
154September 23New York Mets2-5 (10)Hernández (8-6)Majewski (4-4)Heilman (2)30,19478-76
155September 24New York Mets2-5Glavine (12-13)Hernández (15-9)Hernández (2)32,46778-77
156September 25New York Mets5-6Padilla (2-1)Hughes (1-1)Heilman (3)29,96778-78
157September 26@ Florida Marlins4-0Carrasco (5-3)Vargas (5-5)11,46779-78
158September 27@ Florida Marlins11-1Stanton (3-3)Willis (22-10)11,50780-78
159September 28@ Florida Marlins11-7Loaiza (12-10)Moehler (6-12)11,96181-78
160September 30Philadelphia Phillies3-4Lidle (13-11)Hernández (15-10)Wagner (37)30,37581-79 :
October (0-2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
161October 1Philadelphia Phillies4-8Myers (13-8)Patterson (9-7)32,90381-80
162October 2Philadelphia Phillies3-9Lieber (17-13)Carrasco (5-4)Wagner (38)36,49181-81 :

## Player stats
### Batting

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
Complete offensive statistics are available here.
| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | AVG | SB |
| C | Brian Schneider | 116 | 369 | 38 | 99 | 20 | 1 | 10 | 44 | .268 | 1 |
| 1B | Nick Johnson | 131 | 453 | 66 | 131 | 35 | 3 | 15 | 74 | .289 | 4 |
| 2B | José Vidro | 87 | 309 | 38 | 85 | 21 | 2 | 7 | 32 | .275 | 0 |
| SS | Cristian Guzmán | 142 | 456 | 39 | 100 | 19 | 6 | 4 | 31 | .219 | 7 |
| 3B | Vinny Castilla | 142 | 494 | 53 | 125 | 36 | 1 | 12 | 66 | .253 | 4 |
| LF | Marlon Byrd | 74 | 216 | 20 | 57 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 26 | .264 | 5 |
| CF | Brad Wilkerson | 148 | 565 | 76 | 140 | 42 | 7 | 11 | 57 | .248 | 8 |
| RF | José Guillén | 148 | 551 | 81 | 156 | 32 | 2 | 24 | 76 | .283 | 1 |
| MI | Jamey Carroll | 113 | 303 | 44 | 76 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 22 | .251 | 3 |
| OF | Ryan Church | 102 | 268 | 41 | 77 | 15 | 3 | 9 | 42 | .287 | 3 |
| CF | Preston Wilson | 68 | 253 | 34 | 66 | 14 | 1 | 10 | 43 | .261 | 3 |
| C | Gary Bennett | 68 | 199 | 11 | 44 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 21 | .221 | 0 |
| IF | Carlos Baerga | 93 | 158 | 18 | 40 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 19 | .253 | 0 |
| 2B | Junior Spivey | 28 | 77 | 15 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 7 | .221 | 2 |
| UT | Tony Blanco | 56 | 62 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .177 | 1 |
| 3B | Ryan Zimmerman | 20 | 58 | 6 | 23 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .397 | 0 |
| UT | Wil Cordero | 29 | 51 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .118 | 0 |
| MI | Deivi Cruz | 20 | 51 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .255 | 0 |
| OF | Brandon Watson | 25 | 40 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | .175 | 0 |
| OF | Termel Sledge | 20 | 37 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | .243 | 2 |
| UT | Jeffrey Hammonds | 13 | 32 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .219 | 0 |
| OF | J. J. Davis | 14 | 26 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .231 | 1 |
| OF | Matthew Cepicky | 11 | 25 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .240 | 0 |
| IF | Rick Short | 11 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .400 | 0 |
| CF | Endy Chávez | 7 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .222 | 0 |
| IF | Brendan Harris | 4 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 0 |
| RF | Kenny Kelly | 17 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | 1 |
| C | Keith Osik | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| PH | Tyrell Godwin | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| 2B | Henry Mateo | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| P | Liván Hernández | 35 | 82 | 7 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | .244 | 0 |
| P | Esteban Loaiza | 34 | 74 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .162 | 0 |
| P | John Patterson | 31 | 59 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .102 | 0 |
| P | Tony Armas Jr. | 19 | 32 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .125 | 0 |
| P | Ryan Drese | 12 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .071 | 0 |
| P | Tomo Ohka | 11 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | 0 |
| P | Héctor Carrasco | 64 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| P | Zach Day | 12 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .125 | 0 |
| P | Jon Rauch | 15 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .143 | 0 |
| P | Gary Majewski | 79 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| P | Sun-woo Kim | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| P | John Halama | 10 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | 0 |
| P | Jason Bergmann | 15 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | 0 |
| P | Luis Ayala | 68 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | 0 |
| P | Joey Eischen | 58 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | 0 |
| P | Claudio Vargas | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 0 |
| P | Matt White | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| P | Mike Stanton | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| P | Joe Horgan | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Chad Cordero | 74 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Antonio Osuna | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | T. J. Tucker | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Travis Hughes | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | C. J. Nitkowski | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Darrell Rasner | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| | Team Totals | 162 | 5426 | 639 | 1367 | 311 | 32 | 117 | 615 | .252 | 45 |

### Pitching

Note: Pos = Position; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
Complete pitching statistics are available here.
| Pos | Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| SP | Liván Hernández | 15 | 10 | 3.98 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 246.1 | 268 | 116 | 109 | 84 | 147 |
| SP | Esteban Loaiza | 12 | 10 | 3.77 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 217.0 | 227 | 93 | 91 | 55 | 173 |
| SP | John Patterson | 9 | 7 | 3.13 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 198.1 | 172 | 61 | 56 | 45 | 59 |
| SP | Tony Armas Jr. | 7 | 7 | 4.97 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 101.1 | 100 | 57 | 56 | 54 | 59 |
| SP | Ryan Drese | 3 | 6 | 4.98 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 59.2 | 66 | 38 | 33 | 22 | 26 |
| CL | Chad Cordero | 2 | 4 | 1.82 | 74 | 0 | 47 | 74.1 | 55 | 24 | 15 | 17 | 61 |
| RP | Héctor Carrasco | 5 | 4 | 2.04 | 64 | 5 | 2 | 88.1 | 59 | 23 | 20 | 38 | 75 |
| RP | Gary Majewski | 4 | 4 | 2.93 | 79 | 0 | 1 | 86.0 | 80 | 32 | 28 | 37 | 50 |
| RP | Luis Ayala | 8 | 7 | 2.66 | 68 | 0 | 1 | 71.0 | 75 | 23 | 21 | 14 | 40 |
| RP | Joey Eischen | 2 | 1 | 3.22 | 57 | 0 | 0 | 36.1 | 34 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 30 |
| | Tomo Ohka | 4 | 3 | 3.33 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 54.0 | 44 | 23 | 20 | 27 | 17 |
| | Zach Day | 1 | 2 | 6.75 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 36.0 | 41 | 29 | 27 | 25 | 16 |
| | Jon Rauch | 2 | 4 | 3.60 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 30.0 | 24 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 23 |
| | Sun-woo Kim | 1 | 2 | 6.14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 29.1 | 41 | 20 | 20 | 8 | 17 |
| | Mike Stanton | 2 | 1 | 3.58 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 27.2 | 31 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 14 |
| | John Halama | 0 | 3 | 4.64 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 21.1 | 23 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 11 |
| | Jason Bergmann | 2 | 0 | 2.75 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 19.2 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 21 |
| | Travis Hughes | 1 | 1 | 5.54 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| | Claudio Vargas | 0 | 3 | 9.24 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 12.2 | 22 | 15 | 13 | 7 | 5 |
| | T. J. Tucker | 1 | 0 | 6.39 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 12.2 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 5 |
| | Darrell Rasner | 0 | 1 | 3.68 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 7.1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| | Joe Horgan | 0 | 0 | 21.00 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 4 | 5 |
| | Matt White | 0 | 1 | 9.00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| | C. J. Nitkowski | 0 | 0 | 8.10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| | Antonio Osuna | 0 | 0 | 42.43 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 0 |
| | Team Totals | 81 | 81 | 3.87 | 162 | 162 | 51 | 1458.0 | 1456 | 673 | 627 | 539 | 997 |

### Team leaders
#### Batting

| Stat | Player | Total |
| Avg. | Nick Johnson | .289 |
| HR | Preston Wilson José Guillén | 25 (10 with Nationals) 24 |
| RBI | Preston Wilson José Guillén | 90 (43 with Nationals) 76 |
| R | José Guillén | 81 |
| H | José Guillén | 156 |
| SB | Brad Wilkerson | 8 |

#### Pitching

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Liván Hernández | 15 |
| L | Liván Hernández Esteban Loaiza | 10 |
| ERA | John Patterson | 3.13 |
| SO | John Patterson | 185 |
| SV | Chad Cordero | 47 |
| IP | Liván Hernández | 246.1 |

## Awards and honors
### Nationals among league leaders
#### Batting

| Stat | Player | Total | NL Rank | MLB Rank |
| OBP | Nick Johnson | .408 | 6 | 8 (tie) |
| 2B | Brad Wilkerson | 42 | 7 (tie) | 11 (tie) |
| 3B | Brad Wilkerson | 7 | 7 (tie) | 12 (tie) |

#### Pitching

| Stat | Player | Total | NL Rank | MLB Rank |
| SV | Chad Cordero | 47 | 1 | 1 |
| HLD | Gary Majewski Luis Ayala | 23 | 5 6 (tie) | 10 (tie) 12 (tie) |
| W | Liván Hernández | 15 | 9 (tie) | 16 (tie) |

### All-Stars

* Liván Hernández, SP

### Annual awards

* National League Rolaids Relief Man Award: Chad Cordero

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | New Orleans Zephyrs | Pacific Coast League | Tim Foli |
| AA | Harrisburg Senators | Eastern League | Keith Bodie |
| A | Potomac Nationals | Carolina League | Bob Henley |
| A | Savannah Sand Gnats | South Atlantic League | Randy Knorr |
| A-Short Season | Vermont Expos | New York–Penn League | José Alguacil and Bobby Williams |
| Rookie | GCL Nationals | Gulf Coast League | Wendell Kim |