# 2010 Washington Nationals season

The Washington Nationals' 2010 season was the sixth season for the American baseball franchise of Major League Baseball in the District of Columbia, and the 42nd since the original team was started in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It involved the Nationals attempting to win the National League East after a 59–103 season the year before – the worst record of any MLB team in 2009. Jim Riggleman was kept as full-time manager after being instituted on July 12, 2009 after Manny Acta's firing.
Highlights from the season include Stephen Strasburg's 14-strikeout Major League debut on June 8 against the Pittsburgh Pirates and a bench-clearing brawl on September 1 at the Florida Marlins.
The Nationals finished 2010 in last place in the NL East for the third year in a row with a 69–93 record, though they did have a ten-game improvement from 2009. They had a 41–40 record at home, their first winning home record since 2006.
Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman won the Silver Slugger Award for the second straight year as the best offensive third baseman in the National League.
As the Texas Rangers won their first pennant that season, the Nationals became one of only two teams to have never played in the World Series, along with the Seattle Mariners

## Offseason

On December 7, 2009, the Nationals traded a player to be named later to the New York Yankees for Brian Bruney; they sent Jamie Hoffman to the Yankees on December 10, 2009, to complete the trade.

## Spring training

The Nationals held their 2010 spring training in Viera, Florida, with home games played at Space Coast Stadium.

## Regular season
### Season standings
#### National League East

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 97 | 65 | .599 | — | 54‍–‍30 | 43‍–‍35 |
| Atlanta Braves | 91 | 71 | .562 | 6 | 56‍–‍25 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Florida Marlins | 80 | 82 | .494 | 17 | 41‍–‍40 | 39‍–‍42 |
| New York Mets | 79 | 83 | .488 | 18 | 47‍–‍34 | 32‍–‍49 |
| Washington Nationals | 69 | 93 | .426 | 28 | 41‍–‍40 | 28‍–‍53 |

#### National League Wild Card

vteDivision leaders :
| Team | W | L | Pct. |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 97 | 65 | .599 |
| San Francisco Giants | 92 | 70 | .568 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 91 | 71 | .562 |
vteWild Card team (Top team qualifies for postseason) :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| Atlanta Braves | 91 | 71 | .562 | — |
| San Diego Padres | 90 | 72 | .556 | 1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 86 | 76 | .531 | 5 |
| Colorado Rockies | 83 | 79 | .512 | 8 |
| Florida Marlins | 80 | 82 | .494 | 11 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 80 | 82 | .494 | 11 |
| New York Mets | 79 | 83 | .488 | 12 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 77 | 85 | .475 | 14 |
| Houston Astros | 76 | 86 | .469 | 15 |
| Chicago Cubs | 75 | 87 | .463 | 16 |
| Washington Nationals | 69 | 93 | .426 | 22 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 65 | 97 | .401 | 26 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 57 | 105 | .352 | 34 |

#### Record vs. opponents

2010 National League recordvte Source: :
| Team | AZ | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LAD | MIL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | WSH | AL |
| Arizona | – | 3–4 | 1–6 | 2–5 | 9–9 | 3–3 | 4–3 | 5–13 | 3–4 | 5–1 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 8–10 | 5–13 | 4–5 | 3–4 | 6–9 |
| Atlanta | 4–3 | – | 4–2 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 11–7 | 5–1 | 5–3 | 5–2 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 6–3 | 4–2 | 4–3 | 2–6 | 8–10 | 9–6 |
| Chicago | 6–1 | 2–4 | – | 4–12 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 7–11 | 3–4 | 9–6 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 5–10 | 3–5 | 2–5 | 9–6 | 4–2 | 8–10 |
| Cincinnati | 5–2 | 2–3 | 12–4 | – | 2–5 | 5–2 | 10–5 | 5–4 | 11–3 | 4–2 | 2–5 | 10–6 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 6–12 | 4–3 | 8–7 |
| Colorado | 9–9 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 5–2 | – | 3–4 | 2–4 | 7–11 | 5–4 | 3–3 | 1–6 | 3–4 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 3–4 | 5–3 | 9–6 |
| Florida | 3–3 | 7–11 | 2–4 | 2–5 | 4–3 | – | 3–3 | 4–2 | 4–4 | 12–6 | 5–13 | 6–2 | 3–6 | 2–5 | 3–2 | 13–5 | 7–8 |
| Houston | 3–4 | 1–5 | 11–7 | 5–10 | 4–2 | 3–3 | – | 2–4 | 8–7 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 11–4 | 2–5 | 2–7 | 10–5 | 4–4 | 3–12 |
| Los Angeles | 13–5 | 3–5 | 4–3 | 4–5 | 11–7 | 2–4 | 4–2 | – | 4–2 | 3–4 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 4–11 |
| Milwaukee | 4–3 | 2–5 | 6–9 | 3–11 | 4–5 | 4–4 | 7–8 | 2–4 | – | 5–2 | 1–5 | 13–5 | 3–4 | 2–5 | 8–7 | 4–2 | 9–6 |
| New York | 1–5 | 7–11 | 4–3 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 6–12 | 4–3 | 4–3 | 2–5 | – | 9–9 | 6–1 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 9–9 | 13–5 |
| Philadelphia | 4–2 | 10–8 | 2–4 | 5–2 | 6–1 | 13–5 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 9–9 | – | 2–4 | 5–2 | 3–3 | 4–4 | 12–6 | 10–8 |
| Pittsburgh | 4–2 | 3–6 | 10–5 | 6–10 | 4–3 | 2–6 | 4–11 | 3–4 | 5–13 | 1–6 | 4–2 | – | 0–6 | 2–4 | 6–9 | 1–5 | 2–13 |
| San Diego | 10–8 | 2–4 | 5–3 | 4–2 | 6–12 | 6–3 | 5–2 | 10–8 | 4–3 | 3–3 | 2–5 | 6–0 | – | 12–6 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 9–6 |
| San Francisco | 13–5 | 3–4 | 5–2 | 4–3 | 9–9 | 5–2 | 7–2 | 10–8 | 5–2 | 4–3 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 6–12 | – | 3–3 | 4–2 | 7–8 |
| St. Louis | 5–4 | 6–2 | 6–9 | 12–6 | 4–3 | 2–3 | 5–10 | 4–3 | 7–8 | 3–3 | 4–4 | 9–6 | 4–3 | 3–3 | – | 3–3 | 9–6 |
| Washington | 4–3 | 10–8 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 3–5 | 5–13 | 4–4 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 3–3 | – | 5–13 |

### Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters :
| Name | Position |
| Nyjer Morgan | Center fielder |
| Willie Harris | Right fielder |
| Ryan Zimmerman | Third baseman |
| Adam Dunn | First baseman |
| Josh Willingham | Left fielder |
| Adam Kennedy | Second baseman |
| Iván Rodríguez | Catcher |
| Ian Desmond | Shortstop |
| John Lannan | Starting pitcher |

### Notable transactions

* May 24, 2010: The Nationals sent Andrew Brown to the St. Louis Cardinals as part of a conditional deal.
* July 29, 2010: The Nationals traded Matt Capps to the Minnesota Twins for Wilson Ramos and minor-leaguer Joe Testa.
* July 30, 2010: The Nationals traded Cristian Guzmán to the Texas Rangers for Tanner Roark and minor-leaguer Ryan Tatusko.
* August 7, 2010: The Nationals purchased Brian Bixler from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

### Draft

The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place from June 7 to June 9. With their first pick – the first pick overall – the Nationals selected outfielder Bryce Harper. Other notable players the Nationals selected were pitcher Sammy Solis (second round, 51st overall), pitcher A. J. Cole (fourth round, 116th overall), pitcher Matt Grace (eighth round, 236th overall), pitcher Aaron Barrett (ninth round, 266th overall), and pitcher Robbie Ray (12th round, 356th overall).

### Attendance

The Nationals drew 1,828,066 fans at Nationals Park in 2010, a slight improvement over their 2009 attendance. However, it placed them 14th in attendance for the season among the 16 National League teams, down from 13th the previous year. Their highest attendance at a home game was on April 5, when they drew 41,290 for a game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Opening Day, while their lowest was 10,999 for a game against the Houston Astros on September 20. Their average home attendance was 22,569 per game, their lowest since arriving in Washington in 2005.

### Game log

Legend :
| | Nationals win |
| | Nationals loss |
| | Postponement |
| Bold | Nationals team member |
2010 game log :
April (13–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 5Phillies11 – 1Halladay (1-0)Lannan (0-1)41,2900-1
2April 7Phillies8 – 4Hamels (1-0)Marquis (0-1)Madson (1)27,2400-2
3April 8Phillies6 – 5Clippard (1-0)Figueroa (0-1)Capps (1)20,2171-2
4April 9@ Mets8 – 2Pelfrey (1-0)Batista (0-1)28,0551-3
5April 10@ Mets4 – 3Lannan (1-1)Pérez (0-1)Capps (2)33,0442-3
6April 11@ Mets5 – 2Hernández (1-0)Santana (1-1)Capps (3)33,6723-3
7April 12@ Phillies7 – 4Hamels (2-0)Marquis (0-2)Madson (2)44,7913-4
8April 14@ Phillies14 – 7Figueroa (1-1)Bergmann (0-1)45,4383-5
9April 15@ Phillies7 – 5Clippard (2-0)Báez (0-1)Capps (4)44,1574-5
10April 16Brewers5 – 3Bruney (1-0)Hawkins (0-2)Capps (5)17,2345-5
11April 17Brewers8 – 0Hernández (2-0)Wolf (1-1)18,6736-5
12April 18Brewers11 – 7Vargas (1-0)Marquis (0-3)18,7896-6
13April 19Rockies5 – 2Stammen (1-0)Cook (0-2)Capps (6)11,6237-6
14April 20Rockies10 – 4de la Rosa (2-1)Olsen (0-1)15,0377-7
15April 21Rockies6 – 4Clippard (3-0)Betancourt (0-1)Capps (7)11,1918-7
16April 22Rockies2 – 0Jiménez (4-0)Hernández (2-1)Morales (3)15,5188-8
17April 23Dodgers5 – 1Atilano (1-0)Haeger (0-2)23,8599-8
18April 24Dodgers4 – 3 (13)Monasterios (1-0)Batista (0-2)18,0399-9
19April 25Dodgers1 – 0Olsen (1-1)Billingsley (1-1)Capps (8)18,39510-9
20April 26@ Cubs4 – 3 (10)Mármol (1-0)Bruney (1-1)37,85010-10
21April 27@ Cubs3 – 1Hernández (3-1)Gorzelanny (0-3)Capps (9)37,44011-10
22April 28@ Cubs3 – 2Atilano (2-0)Dempster (2-1)Capps (10)36,66012-10
23April 30@ Marlins7 – 1Olsen (2-1)Nolasco (2-1)20,85613-10 :
May (13–16)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
24May 1@ Marlins7 – 1Volstad (2-2)Stammen (1-1)34,88613-11
25May 2@ Marlins9 – 3Johnson (3-1)Lannan (1-2)13,16913-12
26May 4Braves6 – 3Hernández (4-1)Kawakami (0-5)Capps (11)17,09814-12
27May 5Braves7 – 6 (10)Medlen (1-1)Capps (0-1)Wagner (3)15,61614-13
28May 6Braves3 – 2Clippard (4-0)O'Flaherty (1-1)17,13115-13
29May 7Marlins4 – 2Volstad (3-2)Bruney (1-2)Oviedo (5)20,16115-14
30May 8Marlins5 – 4Clippard (5-0)Badenhop (0-4)Capps (12)21,63316-14
31May 9Marlins3 – 2Clippard (6-0)Hensley (1-1)Capps (13)21,29917-14
32May 10@ Mets3 – 2Atilano (3-0)Maine (1-2)Batista (1)29,31318-14
33May 11@ Mets8 – 6Valdés (1-0)Clippard (6-1)Rodríguez (5)31,60618-15
34May 12@ Mets6 – 4Clippard (7-1)Rodríguez (2-1)Capps (14)33,02419-15
35May 13@ Rockies14 – 6 (8)Slaten (1-0)Chacín (2-1)20,79520-15
–May 14@ RockiesPostponed (rain) Rescheduled for May 15 as part of a doubleheader
36May 15 (1)@ Rockies6 – 2Jiménez (7-1)Hernández (4-2)29,11120-16
37May 15 (2)@ Rockies4 – 3Hammel (1-2)Burnett (0-1)Corpas (1)35,25820-17
38May 16@ Rockies2 – 1Bélisle (1-0)Clippard (7-2)Corpas (2)42,87420-18
39May 17@ Cardinals6 – 2Lohse (1-3)Stammen (1-2)38,00520-19
40May 18@ Cardinals3 – 2Carpenter (5-1)Clippard (7-3)Franklin (9)36,34520-20
41May 19Mets5 – 3Storen (1-0)Valdés (1-1)Capps (15)19,38421-20
42May 20Mets10 – 7Valdés (2-1)Atilano (3-1)23,61221-21
43May 21Orioles5 – 3Hernández (1-5)Olsen (2-2)Simón (6)27,37821-22
44May 22Orioles7 – 6Walker (1-0)Hendrickson (1-2)Capps (16)30,29022-22
45May 23Orioles4 – 3 (10)Slaten (2-0)Meredith (0-2)27,53523-22
46May 25@ Giants4 – 2Wellemeyer (3-4)Hernández (4-3)Wilson (11)27,98123-23
47May 26@ Giants7 – 3Atilano (4-1)Lincecum (5-1)30,23024-23
48May 27@ Giants5 – 4Casilla (1-0)Burnett (0-2)Wilson (12)28,25124-24
49May 28@ Padres5 – 3Lannan (2-2)Richard (4-3)Capps (17)23,46825-24
50May 29@ Padres4 – 2Latos (5-3)Martin (0-1)Bell (14)25,95625-25
51May 30@ Padres3 – 2 (11)Gregerson (1-1)Burnett (0-3)28,59125-26
52May 31@ Astros14 – 4Atilano (5-1)Oswalt (3-7)34,70426-26 :
June (8–19)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
53June 1@ Astros8 – 7López (2-0)Capps (0-2)25,24926-27
54June 2@ Astros5 – 1Rodríguez (3-7)Lannan (2-3)26,73626-28
55June 3@ Astros6 – 4Lindstrom (2-1)Capps (0-3)21,81426-29
56June 4Reds4 – 2Clippard (8-3)del Rosario (1-1)Capps (18)33,77427-29
57June 5Reds5 – 1Leake (5-0)Atilano (5-2)22,89627-30
58June 6Reds5 – 4 (10)Cordero (2-3)Slaten (2-1)Masset (1)27,20227-31
59June 8Pirates5 – 2Strasburg (1-0)Karstens (1-2)Capps (19)40,31528-31
60June 9Pirates7 – 5Storen (2-0)Carrasco (1-2)Capps (20)18,87629-31
61June 10Pirates4 – 2Hernández (5-3)Duke (3-7)Clippard (1)21,76730-31
62June 11@ Indians7 – 2Westbrook (4-3)Atilano (5-3)Pérez (6)22,04130-32
63June 12@ Indians7 – 1Hernández (5-5)Martin (0-2)19,48430-33
64June 13@ Indians9 – 4Strasburg (2-0)Huff (2-8)32,87631-33
65June 15@ Tigers7 – 4Scherzer (3-6)Lannan (2-4)Valverde (14)24,82131-34
66June 16@ Tigers8 – 3Verlander (8-4)Hernández (5-4)24,76731-35
67June 17@ Tigers8 – 3Bonderman (3-4)Atilano (5-4)33,63031-36
68June 18White Sox2 – 1 (11)Putz (2-2)Storen (2-1)Jenks (14)40,32531-37
69June 19White Sox1 – 0Peavy (6-5)Martin (0-3)36,48731-38
70June 20White Sox6 – 3García (8-3)Lannan (2-5)Putz (1)31,76331-39
71June 21Royals2 – 1Hernández (6-4)Chen (3-2)Capps (21)13,59232-39
72June 22Royals4 – 3Atilano (6-4)Lerew (0-1)Capps (22)21,16833-39
73June 23Royals1 – 0Bannister (7-5)Strasburg (2-1)Soria (17)31,91333-40
74June 25@ Orioles7 – 6Simón (2-1)Clippard (8-4)43,48433-41
75June 26@ Orioles6 – 5Berken (1-1)Burnett (0-4)Simón (8)28,63533-42
76June 27@ Orioles4 – 3Hernández (3-6)Clippard (8-5)Simón (9)22,95133-43
77June 28@ Braves5 – 0Hudson (8-3)Strasburg (2-2)42,88933-44
78June 29@ Braves7 – 2Stammen (2-2)Lowe (9-6)19,04534-44
79June 30@ Braves4 – 1Jurrjens (1-3)Martin (0-4)Wagner (16)20,09134-45 :
July (12–13)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
80July 1Mets2 – 1Capps (1-3)Feliciano (2-4)20,16735-45
81July 2Mets5 – 3Niese (6-2)Atilano (6-5)Rodríguez (19)24,41035-46
82July 3Mets6 – 5Capps (2-3)Rodríguez (2-2)39,21436-46
83July 4Mets9 – 5Takahashi (7-3)Stammen (2-3)Rodríguez (20)29,23436-47
84July 6Padres6 – 5Capps (3-3)Gregerson (2-4)14,03937-47
85July 7Padres7 – 6Martin (1-4)Garland (8-6)Capps (23)13,76238-47
86July 8Padres7 – 1Latos (10-4)Atilano (6-6)17,36438-48
87July 9Giants8 – 1Strasburg (3-2)Cain (6-8)34,72339-48
88July 10Giants10 – 5Casilla (2-2)Clippard (8-6)23,97739-49
89July 11Giants6 – 2Bumgarner (2-2)Hernández (6-5)Wilson (23)22,40339-50
All–Star Break (July 12–14)
90July 16@ Marlins4 – 0Strasburg (4-2)Nolasco (9-7)27,03740-50
91July 17@ Marlins2 – 0Johnson (10-3)Hernández (6-6)Oviedo (21)23,00540-51
92July 18@ Marlins1 – 0Sanabia (1-1)Stammen (2-4)Oviedo (22)21,05740-52
93July 19@ Reds7 – 2Cueto (9-2)Martin (1-5)21,24340-53
94July 20@ Reds8 – 7Leake (7-1)Atilano (6-7)Cordero (26)22,87640-54
95July 21@ Reds8 – 5Strasburg (5-2)Arroyo (10-5)Capps (24)37,86841-54
96July 22@ Reds7 – 1Hernández (7-6)Vólquez (1-1)23,11542-54
97July 23@ Brewers7 – 5Loe (1-1)Burnett (0-5)Axford (14)34,82242-55
98July 24@ Brewers4 – 3Axford (6-1)Storen (2-2)41,98742-56
99July 25@ Brewers8 – 3Bush (5-8)Detwiler (0-1)42,41442-57
100July 27Braves3 – 0Batista (1-2)Hanson (8-7)Capps (25)40,04343-57
101July 28Braves3 – 1Hudson (11-5)Hernández (7-7)Wagner (23)24,26343-58
102July 29Braves5 – 3Olsen (3-2)Lowe (10-9)Capps (26)30,26344-58
103July 30Phillies8 – 1Stammen (3-4)Oswalt (6-13)32,59045-58
104July 31Phillies7 – 5Storen (3-2)Lidge (1-1)38,04946-58 :
August (11–18)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
105August 1Phillies6 – 4 (11)Contreras (6-3)Balester (0-1)Lidge (11)35,80746-59
106August 2@ Diamondbacks3 – 1Hernández (8-7)López (5-10)Burnett (1)16,79347-59
107August 3@ Diamondbacks6 – 1Saunders (7-10)Olsen (3-3)17,16447-60
108August 4@ Diamondbacks7 – 2Stammen (4-4)Kennedy (6-9)15,67048-60
109August 5@ Diamondbacks8 – 4Enright (3-2)Detwiler (0-2)16,63848-61
110August 6@ Dodgers6 – 3Lannan (3-5)Kershaw (10-7)Storen (1)39,15349-61
111August 7@ Dodgers3 – 2 (10)Broxton (4-3)Burnett (0-6)44,89649-62
112August 8@ Dodgers8 – 3Lilly (5-8)Marquis (0-4)43,63949-63
113August 10Marlins8 – 2Sánchez (9-7)Strasburg (5-3)25,93949-64
114August 11Marlins9 – 5Volstad (6-8)Olsen (3-4)15,06149-65
115August 12Marlins5 – 0Nolasco (13-8)Hernández (8-8)16,49649-66
116August 13Diamondbacks4 – 2Lannan (4-5)Saunders (7-12)Burnett (2)19,54950-66
117August 14Diamondbacks9 – 2Kennedy (7-9)Marquis (0-5)22,40050-67
118August 15Diamondbacks5 – 3Clippard (9-6)Norberto (0-2)Storen (2)21,69551-67
119August 17@ Braves10 – 2Minor (1-0)Olsen (3-5)16,91151-68
120August 18@ Braves3 – 2Wagner (7-2)Burnett (0-7)18,10551-69
121August 19@ Braves6 – 2Lannan (5-5)Lowe (11-11)15,59352-69
122August 20@ Phillies1 – 0Halladay (16-8)Marquis (0-6)Lidge (17)45,09352-70
123August 21@ Phillies8 – 1Slaten (3-1)Kendrick (8-6)45,26653-70
124August 22@ Phillies6 – 0Oswalt (9-13)Olsen (3-6)44,53953-71
125August 23Cubs9 – 1Coleman (1-1)Hernández (8-9)17,92153-72
126August 24Cubs5 – 4Zambrano (5-6)Lannan (5-6)Mármol (23)18,25053-73
127August 25Cubs4 – 0Dempster (12-8)Marquis (0-7)18,34453-74
128August 26Cardinals11 – 10 (13)Slaten (4-1)Hawksworth (4-8)22,31754-74
129August 27Cardinals4 – 2García (12-6)Olsen (3-7)Franklin (22)22,87154-75
130August 28Cardinals14 – 5Hernández (9-9)Lohse (2-6)30,68855-75
131August 29Cardinals4 – 2Lannan (6-6)Wainwright (17-9)Storen (3)24,78256-75
132August 30@ Marlins9 – 3Marquis (1-7)Sanabia (3-2)18,32657-75
133August 31@ Marlins1 – 0 (10)Hensley (3-4)Storen (3-3)18,50657-76 :
September (11–15)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
134September 1@ Marlins16 – 10Volstad (9-9)Olsen (3-8)18,04557-77
135September 3@ Pirates8 – 5Duke (7-12)Hernández (9-10)Hanrahan (3)19,73457-78
136September 4@ Pirates9 – 2Lannan (7-6)Maholm (7-14)30,26358-78
137September 5@ Pirates8 – 1Marquis (2-7)Morton (1-11)18,05759-78
138September 6Mets13 – 3Olsen (4-8)Pelfrey (13-9)20,22460-78
139September 7Mets4 – 1Gee (1-0)Maya (0-1)Takahashi (4)13,83560-79
140September 8Mets3 – 2Dickey (10-6)Hernández (9-11)Takahashi (5)16,00260-80
141September 10Marlins3 – 1Sanabia (4-2)Lannan (7-7)Hensley (1)17,18060-81
142September 11Marlins4 – 1Sánchez (12-9)Marquis (2-8)Hensley (2)17,94160-82
143September 12Marlins6 – 5Sanches (1-2)Zimmermann (0-1)Hensley (3)16,78860-83
144September 13@ Braves4 – 0Lowe (13-12)Maya (0-2)18,64760-84
145September 14@ Braves6 – 0Hernández (10-11)Jurrjens (7-6)26,95461-84
146September 15@ Braves4 – 2Lannan (8-7)Minor (3-1)Storen (4)19,23762-84
147September 17@ Phillies9 – 1Oswalt (13-13)Marquis (2-9)45,33862-85
148September 18@ Phillies5 – 2Kendrick (10-9)Zimmermann (0-2)Lidge (23)45,22262-86
149September 19@ Phillies7 – 6Worley (1-1)Storen (3-4)44,93662-87
150September 20Astros8 – 2Norris (9-8)Hernández (10-12)10,99962-88
151September 21Astros8 – 4Clippard (10-6)Paulino (1-9)11,89363-88
152September 22Astros4 – 3Clippard (11-6)Fulchino (2-1)Burnett (3)12,21364-88
153September 23Astros7 – 2Detwiler (1-2)Figueroa (5-4)14,63365-88
154September 24Braves8 – 3Zimmermann (1-2)Hudson (16-9)22,51566-88
155September 25Braves5 – 0Lowe (15-12)Maya (0-3)23,82466-89
156September 26Braves4 – 2Burnett (1-7)Farnsworth (3-2)Storen (5)21,62567-89
157September 27Phillies8 – 0Halladay (21-10)Lannan (8-8)14,30967-90
158September 28Phillies2 – 1Storen (4-4)Contreras (6-4)19,11768-90
159September 29Phillies7 – 1Blanton (9-6)Detwiler (1-3)20,02668-91 :
October (1–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
160October 1@ Mets2 – 1 (10)Takahashi (10-6)Clippard (11-7)29,42468-92
161October 2@ Mets7 – 2Igarashi (1-1)Clippard (11-8)30,38668-93
162October 3@ Mets2 – 1 (14)Peralta (1-0)Pérez (0-5)Batista (2)30,84969-93 :

## Player stats
### Batting

Table is sortable.
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 | Iván "Pudge" Rodríguez | 111 | 398 | 32 | 106 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 49 | .266 | 2 |
| 1B | Adam Dunn | 158 | 558 | 85 | 145 | 36 | 2 | 38 | 103 | .260 | 0 |
| 2B | Adam Kennedy | 135 | 342 | 43 | 85 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 31 | .249 | 14 |
| SS | Ian Desmond | 154 | 525 | 59 | 141 | 27 | 4 | 10 | 65 | .269 | 17 |
| 3B | Ryan Zimmerman | 142 | 525 | 85 | 161 | 32 | 0 | 25 | 85 | .307 | 4 |
| LF | Josh Willingham | 114 | 370 | 54 | 99 | 19 | 2 | 16 | 56 | .268 | 8 |
| CF | Nyjer Morgan | 136 | 509 | 60 | 129 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 24 | .253 | 34 |
| RF | Michael Morse | 98 | 266 | 36 | 77 | 12 | 2 | 15 | 41 | .289 | 0 |
| OF | Roger Bernadina | 134 | 414 | 52 | 102 | 18 | 3 | 11 | 47 | .246 | 16 |
| 2B | Cristian Guzmán | 89 | 319 | 44 | 90 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 25 | .282 | 4 |
| OF | Willie Harris | 132 | 224 | 25 | 41 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 32 | .183 | 5 |
| IF | Alberto González | 114 | 186 | 19 | 46 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .247 | 0 |
| C | Wil Nieves | 59 | 158 | 10 | 32 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 16 | .203 | 0 |
| OF | Justin Maxwell | 67 | 104 | 16 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 12 | .144 | 5 |
| 2B | Danny Espinosa | 28 | 103 | 16 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 15 | .214 | 0 |
| C | Wilson Ramos | 15 | 52 | 3 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .269 | 0 |
| OF | Willy Taveras | 27 | 35 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .200 | 1 |
| LF | Kevin Mench | 27 | 27 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .111 | 0 |
| C | Carlos Maldonado | 4 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .273 | 0 |
| C | Jamie Burke | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Liván Hernández | 35 | 61 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .148 | 0 |
| P | John Lannan | 25 | 44 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .091 | 0 |
| P | Craig Stammen | 36 | 38 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .237 | 0 |
| P | Scott Olsen | 17 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .083 | 0 |
| P | Luis Atilano | 126 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .040 | 0 |
| P | Jason Marquis | 17 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .136 | 0 |
| P | Stephen Strasburg | 12 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .050 | 0 |
| P | J. D. Martin | 10 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | 0 |
| P | Jordan Zimmermann | 7 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | 0 |
| P | Miguel Batista | 58 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .125 | 0 |
| P | Yunesky Maya | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .143 | 0 |
| P | Ross Detwiler | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| P | Tyler Clippard | 78 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 0 |
| P | Joel Peralta | 39 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| P | Tyler Walker | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| P | Matt Chico | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| P | Drew Storen | 54 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 0 |
| P | Garrett Mock | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| P | Jesse English | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Matt Capps | 47 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| P | Joe Bisenius | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Jason Bergmann | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Doug Slaten | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Brian Bruney | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Sean Burnett | 73 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Collin Balester | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| | Team Totals | 162 | 5418 | 655 | 1355 | 250 | 31 | 149 | 634 | .250 | 110 |

### Pitching

Table is sortable.
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 | 10 | 12 | 3.66 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 211.2 | 216 | 93 | 86 | 64 | 114 |
| SP | John Lannan | 8 | 8 | 4.65 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 143.1 | 175 | 82 | 74 | 49 | 71 |
| SP | Craig Stammen | 4 | 4 | 5.13 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 128.0 | 151 | 78 | 73 | 41 | 85 |
| SP | Luis Atilano | 6 | 7 | 5.15 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 85.2 | 96 | 56 | 49 | 32 | 40 |
| SP | Scott Olsen | 4 | 8 | 5.56 | 17 | 15 | 0 | 81.0 | 93 | 54 | 50 | 27 | 53 |
| SP | Jason Marquis | 2 | 9 | 6.60 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 58.2 | 76 | 47 | 43 | 24 | 31 |
| CL | Matt Capps | 3 | 3 | 2.74 | 47 | 0 | 26 | 46.0 | 51 | 20 | 14 | 9 | 38 |
| RP | Tyler Clippard | 11 | 8 | 3.07 | 78 | 0 | 1 | 91.0 | 69 | 33 | 31 | 41 | 112 |
| RP | Miguel Batista | 1 | 2 | 3.70 | 58 | 1 | 2 | 82.2 | 71 | 36 | 34 | 39 | 55 |
| RP | Sean Burnett | 1 | 7 | 2.14 | 73 | 0 | 3 | 63.0 | 52 | 17 | 15 | 20 | 62 |
| RP | Drew Storen | 4 | 4 | 3.58 | 54 | 0 | 5 | 55.1 | 48 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 52 |
| SP | Stephen Strasburg | 5 | 3 | 2.91 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 68.0 | 56 | 25 | 22 | 17 | 92 |
| | Joel Peralta | 1 | 0 | 2.02 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 49.0 | 30 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 49 |
| | J. D. Martin | 1 | 5 | 4.13 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 48.0 | 56 | 30 | 22 | 11 | 31 |
| | Doug Slaten | 4 | 1 | 3.10 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 40.2 | 34 | 18 | 14 | 19 | 38 |
| | Tyler Walker | 1 | 0 | 3.57 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 35.1 | 35 | 16 | 14 | 8 | 30 |
| SP | Jordan Zimmermann | 1 | 2 | 4.94 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 31.0 | 31 | 20 | 17 | 10 | 27 |
| | Ross Detwiler | 1 | 3 | 4.25 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 29.2 | 34 | 22 | 14 | 14 | 17 |
| | Yunesky Maya | 0 | 3 | 5.88 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 26.0 | 30 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 12 |
| | Collin Balester | 0 | 1 | 2.57 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 21.0 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 28 |
| | Brian Bruney | 1 | 2 | 7.64 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 17.2 | 21 | 18 | 15 | 20 | 16 |
| | Jesse English | 0 | 0 | 3.86 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| | Matt Chico | 0 | 0 | 3.60 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| | Joe Bisenius | 0 | 0 | 9.64 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| | Garrett Mock | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.1 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 3 |
| | Jason Bergmann | 0 | 1 | 15.43 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| | Team Totals | 69 | 93 | 4.13 | 162 | 162 | 37 | 1435.0 | 1469 | 742 | 658 | 512 | 1068 |

### Team leaders

Qualifying players only.

#### Batting

| Stat | Player | Total |
| Avg. | Ryan Zimmerman | .307 |
| HR | Adam Dunn | 38 |
| RBI | Adam Dunn | 103 |
| R | Adam Dunn Ryan Zimmerman | 85 85 |
| H | Ryan Zimmerman | 161 |
| SB | Nyjer Morgan | 34 |

#### Pitching

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Tyler Clippard | 11 |
| L | Liván Hernández | 12 |
| ERA | Liván Hernández | 3.66 |
| SO | Liván Hernández | 114 |
| SV | Matt Capps | 26 |
| IP | Liván Hernández | 211.2 |

## Awards and honors
### All-Stars

* Matt Capps, P

### Annual awards

* Silver Slugger: Ryan Zimmerman, 3B
Ryan Zimmermann won the Silver Slugger Award for the second consecutive year, becoming the first Washington Nationals player to win two Silver Slugger Awards.

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Syracuse Chiefs | International League | Trent Jewett |
| AA | Harrisburg Senators | Eastern League | Randy Knorr |
| A | Potomac Nationals | Carolina League | Gary Cathcart |
| A | Hagerstown Suns | South Atlantic League | Matthew LeCroy |
| A-Short Season | Vermont Lake Monsters | New York–Penn League | Jeff Garber |
| Rookie | GCL Nationals | Gulf Coast League | Bobby Williams |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Potomac