# 2008 Washington Nationals season

The Washington Nationals' 2008 season was the fourth season for the franchise in the District of Columbia, and the 40th since the original team was started in Montreal, Quebec, in 1969. It also marked the first season the Nationals played at Nationals Park. The team finished in last place in the National League East with a record of 59–102, the worst record in Major League Baseball.

## Offseason

On November 30, 2007, the Nationals traded Ryan Church and Brian Schneider to the New York Mets for Lastings Milledge. On December 3, 2007, they traded minor-leaguer Glenn Gibson to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Elijah Dukes, and on the following day they traded Jonathan Albaladejo to the New York Yankees for Tyler Clippard.

## Advertising and marketing

The Nationals′ marketing slogan for 2008 was "Welcome Home." The slogan welcomed Nationals fans to their new "home" at Nationals Park, where the Nationals began play in 2008 after three seasons at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium.

## Spring training

The Nationals held their 2008 spring training in Viera, Florida, with home games played at Space Coast Stadium.

## Regular season
### March

The Nationals opened the 2008 MLB season by hosting the Atlanta Braves in a nationally televised night game on March 30, 2008. It was the first professional regular-season game to be played at the Nationals' new facility Nationals Park. President George W. Bush threw the ceremonial first pitch to Nationals' manager Manny Acta, and Ryan Zimmerman hit a two-out, walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to mark an exciting beginning to the 2008 season. The Nationals also blew out the Phillies 11-6.

### April

The Nationals clinched the series against the Phillies, winning 1-0. However, the Nationals struggled after a promising 3-0 start, losing 16 of their next 19 games to start off 6-16. They improved for the rest of the month, earning splits at Atlanta and at home against the Mets, and winning series against the Braves and the Pirates. Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass at Nationals Park in front of 47,000 people on April 17 while the Nationals were on a road trip.

### May

The Nats started May winning 3 of the first 4 games of the month, earning them a 14-18 record, but lost 2 of 3 at Houston and were swept by the Florida Marlins at home. Then they took 3 of 4 against the struggling Mets at Shea Stadium, but in the first Beltway Series of 2008 they were nipped by the Orioles at Baltimore and lost two of three against the high-powered Phillies' offense. They split a series two games apiece against the Brewers and lost a series to the Padres. The Nats then beat up on the Diamondbacks in the first game of a series.

### September

The team finished 59-102, the worst record in Major League Baseball. Six of the team's coaches were dismissed the day before the final game (a loss to the 2008 World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies); only manager Manny Acta and pitching coach Randy St. Clair were retained.

### Season standings

vteNL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 92 | 70 | .568 | — | 48‍–‍33 | 44‍–‍37 |
| New York Mets | 89 | 73 | .549 | 3 | 48‍–‍33 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Florida Marlins | 84 | 77 | .522 | 7½ | 45‍–‍36 | 39‍–‍41 |
| Atlanta Braves | 72 | 90 | .444 | 20 | 43‍–‍38 | 29‍–‍52 |
| Washington Nationals | 59 | 102 | .366 | 32½ | 34‍–‍46 | 25‍–‍56 |

### Record vs. opponents

2008 National League recordvte Source: :
| Team | AZ | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LAD | MIL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | WSH | AL |
| Arizona | – | 3–5 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 15–3 | 2–7 | 4–2 | 8–10 | 2–5 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 6–9 |
| Atlanta | 5–3 | – | 0–6 | 3–3 | 4–3 | 10–8 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 3–6 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 2–5 | 5–1 | 2–5 | 2–5 | 6–12 | 8–7 |
| Chicago | 4–2 | 6–0 | – | 8–7 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 8–9 | 5–2 | 9–7 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 14–4 | 5–2 | 4–3 | 9–6 | 3–3 | 6–9 |
| Cincinnati | 4–2 | 3–3 | 7–8 | – | 1–5 | 6–2 | 3–12 | 1–7 | 10–8 | 3–4 | 3–5 | 6–9 | 4–3 | 5–1 | 5–10 | 4–3 | 9–6 |
| Colorado | 3–15 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 5–1 | – | 5–3 | 3–3 | 8–10 | 4–3 | 3–6 | 0–5 | 5–2 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 7–8 |
| Florida | 7–2 | 8–10 | 3–4 | 2–6 | 3–5 | – | 4–2 | 3–4 | 5–1 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 2–5 | 14–3 | 5–10 |
| Houston | 2–4 | 3–3 | 9–8 | 12–3 | 3–3 | 2–4 | – | 4–3 | 7–8 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 8–8 | 3–3 | 7–1 | 7–8 | 4–2 | 7–11 |
| Los Angeles | 10–8 | 2–4 | 2–5 | 7–1 | 10–8 | 4–3 | 3–4 | – | 4–2 | 3–4 | 4–4 | 5–2 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 5–10 |
| Milwaukee | 5–2 | 6–3 | 7–9 | 8–10 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 8–7 | 2–4 | – | 2–4 | 1–5 | 14–1 | 4–3 | 6–0 | 10–5 | 6–2 | 7–8 |
| New York | 3–3 | 7–11 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 6–3 | 10–8 | 2–5 | 4–3 | 4–2 | – | 11–7 | 4–3 | 2–5 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 12–6 | 9–6 |
| Philadelphia | 4–3 | 14–4 | 4–3 | 5–3 | 5–0 | 8–10 | 4–3 | 4–4 | 5–1 | 7–11 | – | 4–2 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 5–4 | 12–6 | 4–11 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–4 | 5–2 | 4–14 | 9–6 | 2–5 | 2–3 | 8–8 | 2–5 | 1–14 | 3–4 | 2–4 | – | 3–4 | 4–2 | 10–7 | 3–4 | 6–9 |
| San Diego | 8–10 | 1–5 | 2–5 | 3–4 | 9–9 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 7–11 | 3–4 | 5–2 | 2–4 | 4–3 | – | 5–13 | 1–6 | 5–1 | 3–15 |
| San Francisco | 7–11 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 7–11 | 3–3 | 1–7 | 9–9 | 0–6 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 13–5 | – | 4–3 | 7–0 | 6–12 |
| St. Louis | 4–3 | 5–2 | 6–9 | 10–5 | 4–3 | 5–2 | 8–7 | 4–2 | 5–10 | 3–4 | 4–5 | 7–10 | 6–1 | 3–4 | – | 5–1 | 7–8 |
| Washington | 2–4 | 12–6 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 3–14 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 2–6 | 6–12 | 6–12 | 4–3 | 1–5 | 0–7 | 1–5 | – | 8–10 |
Nationals vs. American League :
| Team | AL Central | AL Central | AL Central | AL Central | AL Central |
| Team | BAL | LAA | MIN | SEA | TEX |
| Washington | 3—3 | 1—2 | 0—3 | 3—0 | 1–2 |

### Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters :
| Name | Position |
| Cristian Guzmán | Shortstop |
| Lastings Milledge | Center fielder |
| Ryan Zimmerman | Third baseman |
| Nick Johnson | First baseman |
| Austin Kearns | Right fielder |
| Paul Lo Duca | Catcher |
| Elijah Dukes | Left fielder |
| Ronnie Belliard | Second baseman |
| Odalis Pérez | Starting pitcher |

### Notable transactions

* July 22, 2008: The Nationals traded Jon Rauch to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Emilio Bonifacio.
* July 31, 2008: The Nationals traded Jhonny Núñez to the New York Yankees for Alberto González.
* August 17, 2008: The Nationals traded Luis Ayala to the New York Mets for a player to be named later. The Mets sent Anderson Hernández to the Nationals to complete the trade on August 20, 2008.

### Draft

The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on June 5 and 6. With their first pick – the ninth pick overall – the Nationals selected pitcher Aaron Crow. Other notable players the Nationals selected were shortstop Danny Espinosa (third round, 87th overall), catcher Adrián Nieto (fifth round, 151st overall), pitcher Tommy Milone (10th round, 301st overall), pitcher Louis Coleman (14th round, 421st overall), first baseman Tyler Moore (16th round, 481st overall), shortstop Steve Lombardozzi Jr. (19th round, 571st overall), pitcher Cory Mazzoni (26th round, 781st overall), pitcher Chris Heston (29th round, 871st overall), catcher Rob Brantly (46th round, 1,378th overall), and outfielder Alex Dickerson (48th round, 1,432nd overall). Crow, Coleman, Mazzoni, Heston, Brantly, and Dickerson all opted not to sign with the team. Moore finally did sign with the Nationals; it was the third time they had drafted him, but he had opted not to sign with them the first two times (in 2005 and 2006).

### Attendance

The Nationals drew 2,320,400 fans at Nationals Park in 2008, placing them 13th in attendance for the season among the 16 National League teams. Boosted by the opening of Nationals Park at the beginning of the season, it was their second-best attendance total in their short history in Washington, exceeded only by the 2,731,993 they drew in 2005, their first season in Washington.

### Game log

2008 game log :
March (2–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1March 30Braves3–2Rauch (1–0)Moylan (0–1)39,3891–0
2March 31@ Phillies11–6Rivera (1–0)Gordon (0–1)44,5532–0 :
April (9–17)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
3April 2@ Phillies1–0Redding (1–0)Hamels (0–1)Rauch (1)44,9863–0
4April 3@ Phillies8–7 (10)Condrey (1–0)Colomé (0–1)25,8313–1
5April 4@ Cardinals5–4Looper (1-0)Pérez (0–1)Isringhausen (2)37,1913–2
6April 5@ Cardinals5–4Wainwright (1–0)Chico (0–1)Flores (1)41,4633–3
7April 6@ Cardinals3–0Lohse (1–0)Lannan (0–1)Isringhausen (3)41,9123–4
8April 7Marlins10–7Pinto (1–0)Redding (1–1)20,4873–5
9April 9Marlins10–4Olsen (1–0)Bergmann (0–1)23,3403–6
10April 10Marlins4–3Hendrickson (2–1)Pérez (0–2)Gregg (2)24,5493–7
11April 11Braves3–0Hudson (2–0)Chico (0–2)Moylan (1)28,0513–8
12April 12Braves10–2Smoltz (2–0)Lannan (0–2)32,5323–9
13April 13Braves5–4Redding (2–1)Glavine (0–1)Rauch (2)29,1514–9
14April 15@ Mets6–0Pelfrey (2–0)Pérez (0–3)46,5674–10
15April 16@ Mets5–2Maine (1–1)Chico (0–3)Wagner (2)46,1064–11
16April 17@ Mets3–2 (14)Sosa (2–1)Hanrahan (0–1)47,7854–12
17April 18@ Marlins6–4Redding (3–1)J. Miller (1–1)Rauch (3)13,2795–12
18April 19@ Marlins6–5Gregg (2–0)Rivera (1–1)18,9445–13
19April 20@ Marlins6–1Olsen (3–0)Ayala (0–1)11,6355–14
20April 21@ Braves7–3Hudson (3–1)Chico (0–4)16,7065–15
21April 22@ Braves6–0Lannan (1–2)Smoltz (3–1)23,4826–15
22April 23Mets7–2Santana (3–2)Redding (3–2)32,7806–16
23April 24Mets10–5O'Connor (1–0)Pérez (2–1)29,7507–16
24April 25Cubs5–3Rauch (2–0)Howry (0–1)35,1548–16
25April 26Cubs7–0Zambrano (4–1)Chico (0–5)35,1888–17
26April 27Cubs2–0Lannan (2–2)Lilly (1–4)Rauch (4)33,7959–17
27April 29Braves6–3Rivera (2–1)Boyer (0–3)Rauch (5)25,28510–17
28April 30Braves3–2 (12)Rivera (3–1)Acosta (0–1)29,47311–17 :
May (13–16)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
29May 1Pirates3–2Ayala (1–1)Grabow (1–1)Rauch (6)24,72312–17
30May 2Pirates11–4Marte (2–0)Lannan (2–3)26,00112–18
31May 3Pirates9–8Colomé (1–1)Maholm (2–3)Rauch (7)34,12813–18
32May 4Pirates5–2Redding (4–2)Snell (2–2)30,56414–18
33May 6@ Astros6–5Brocail (2–0)Ayala (1–2)Valverde (7)30,33514–19
34May 7@ Astros4–3Valverde (4–1)Hanrahan (0–2)30,43214–20
35May 8@ Astros8–3Lannan (3–3)Backe (2–4)33,43315–20
36May 9Marlins7–3Nolasco (2–3)Redding (4–3)23,37915–21
37May 10Marlins11–0A. Miller (3–2)O'Connor (1–1)28,66315–22
38May 11Marlins5–4Kensing (2–0)Ayala (1–3)Gregg (7)25,87115–23
39May 12@ Mets10–4Pérez (1–3)Figueroa (2–3)45,32116–23
40May 13@ Mets6–3Maine (5–2)Lannan (3–4)Wagner (8)46,61816–24
41May 14@ Mets5–3Redding (5–3)Vargas (0–1)Rauch (8)48,52917–24
42May 15@ Mets1–0Bergmann (1–1)Pelfrey (2–4)Rauch (9)51,76918–24
43May 16@ Orioles5–3Olson (3–0)Hill (0–1)Sherrill (16)29,26618–25
44May 17@ Orioles6–5Burres (4–4)Pérez (1–4)Sherrill (17)32,66218–26
45May 18@ Orioles2–1Lannan (4–4)Guthrie (2–4)Rauch (10)33,74519–26
46May 19Phillies4–0Redding (6–3)Myers (2–5)25,39420–26
47May 20Phillies1–0Gordon (4–2)Rauch (2–1)Lidge (11)28,10520–27
48May 21Phillies12–2Moyer (4–3)Chico (0–6)28,05520–28
49May 23Brewers5–1Sanches (1–0)Suppan (2–4)28,00721–28
50May 24Brewers5–2McClung (2–1)Lannan (4–5)Torres (2)30,02921–29
51May 25Brewers7–6Rauch (3–1)Mota (1–3)35,56722–29
52May 26Brewers4–3 (11)Villanueva (3–5)Rivera (3–2)Torres (3)28,55222–30
53May 27@ Padres4–2Bell (1–3)Manning (0–1)Hoffman (10)18,74422–31
54May 28@ Padres6–4Pérez (2–4)Estes (1–1)Rauch (11)19,20123–31
55May 29@ Padres5–2Bell (2–3)Rivera (3–3)Hoffman (11)25,02123–32
56May 30@ D-backs7–4Hanrahan (1–0)Owings (6–3)Rauch (12)25,39124–32
57May 31@ D-backs4–0Webb (10–2)Bergmann (1–2)38,50724–33 :
June (9–18)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
58June 1@ D-backs5–0Haren (6–4)Hill (0–2)28,24924–34
59June 3Cardinals6–1Lohse (6–2)Pérez (2–5)26,87524–35
—June 4CardinalsPostponed (rain) Rescheduled for June 5 as part of a doubleheader
60June 5 (1)Cardinals4–1Wellemeyer (7–1)Lannan (4–6)Franklin (7)27,26424–36
61June 5 (2)Cardinals10–9 (10)Sanches (2–0)Franklin (2–2)32,35725–36
62June 6Giants10–1Lincecum (8–1)Bergmann (1–3)25,98725–37
63June 7Giants6–0Sánchez (5–3)Hill (0–3)30,65225–38
64June 8Giants6–3Zito (2–9)Mock (0–1)Wilson (17)30,22425–39
65June 9Giants3–2Cain (3–4)Clippard (0–1)Wilson (18)26,20925–40
66June 10@ Pirates7–6Hanrahan (2–2)Capps (0–1)Rauch (13)12,95726–40
67June 11@ Pirates3–1Snell (3–6)Lannan (4–7)Capps (16)15,43926–41
68June 12@ Pirates7–5Gorzelanny (5–5)Bergmann (1–4)Marte (1)16,30626–42
69June 13@ Mariners7–6Hill (1–3)Dickey (1–2)Rauch (14)35,94127–42
70June 14@ Mariners5–2Clippard (1–1)Batista (3–8)Rauch (15)32,14528–42
71June 15@ Mariners6–2Colomé (2–1)Lowe (1–3)38,54829–42
72June 17@ Twins2–1Hernández (7–4)Lannan (4–8)Nathan (18)20,92029–43
73June 18@ Twins11–2Slowey (4–6)Bergmann (1–5)23,84129–44
74June 19@ Twins9–3Perkins (3–2)Hill (1–4)24,79329–45
75June 20Rangers4–3 (14)Hanrahan (3–2)Wright (4–3)30,35930–45
76June 21Rangers13–3Gabbard (2–3)Mock (0–2)Mendoza (1)32,97530–46
77June 22Rangers5–3Padilla (10–3)Ayala (1–4)Wilson (15)32,69030–47
78June 23Angels3–2Lackey (5–1)Rivera (3–4)Rodríguez (31)24,80530–48
79June 24Angels8–3Garland (7–4)Hill (1–5)28,53130–49
80June 25Angels5–4Rauch (4–1)Shields (3–2)29,18031–49
81June 27Orioles4–2Hanrahan (4–2)Cabrera (5–4)Rauch (16)35,83032–49
82June 28Orioles9–1Olson (6–3)Lannan (4–9)Cormier (1)39,47932–50
83June 29Orioles3–2 (12)Hanrahan (5–2)Sherrill (2–3)39,82433–50
84June 30@ Marlins6–5 (10)Gregg (6–2)Rauch (4–2)10,88833–51 :
July (5–19)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
85July 1@ Marlins9–6Balester (1–0)Hendrickson (7–7)12,16634–51
86July 2@ Marlins4–2Nolasco (9–4)Manning (0–2)23,62434–52
87July 3@ Reds5–3Cueto (7–8)Colomé (2–2)Cordero (16)23,25934–53
88July 4@ Reds3–0Arroyo (6–7)Bergmann (1–6)Cordero (17)22,62634–54
89July 5@ Reds3–2Cordero (4–1)Hanrahan (5–3)37,12134–55
90July 6@ Reds6–5Vólquez (11–3)Balester (1–1)Cordero (18)28,81434–56
91July 8D-backs2–0Webb (13–4)Pérez (2–6)Lyon (19)26,82034–57
92July 9D-backs5–0Lannan (5–9)Owings (6–8)25,86235–57
93July 10D-backs7–5 (11)Qualls (2–6)Ayala (1–5)27,33035–58
94July 11Astros10–0Redding (7–3)Paronto (0–1)Shell (1)33,65336–58
95July 12Astros6–4Rodríguez (4–3)Balester (1–2)Valverde (24)30,68236–59
96July 13Astros5–0Backe (6–9)Pérez (2–7)31,46336–60
All–Star Break (July 14–16)
97July 18@ Braves7–6Hudson (10–7)Redding (7–4)González (4)39,86136–61
98July 19@ Braves8–2Lannan (6–9)Jurrjens (9–5)43,28537–61
99July 20@ Braves15–6Pérez (3–7)Reyes (3–9)29,32038–61
100July 22@ Giants6–3Zito (5–12)Bergmann (1–7)Wilson (26)34,81338–62
101July 23@ Giants6–4Espineli (1–0)Ayala (1–6)Wilson (27)35,53938–63
102July 24@ Giants1–0Cain (6–8)Redding (7–5)36,96338–64
103July 25@ Dodgers3–2Billingsley (10–9)Lannan (6–10)Broxton (3)47,31338–65
104July 26@ Dodgers6–0Lowe (8–8)Pérez (3–8)42,12238–66
105July 27@ Dodgers2–0Kershaw (1–3)Bergmann (1–8)Broxton (4)38,66038–67
106July 29Phillies2–1Myers (4–9)Balester (1–3)Lidge (25)34,03938–68
107July 30Phillies8–5Moyer (10–6)Redding (7–6)Lidge (26)31,79838–69
108July 31Phillies8–4Kendrick (9–5)Lannan (6–11)31,65838–70 :
August (14–15)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
109August 1Reds5–2Pérez (4–8)Bailey (0–5)30,57239–70
110August 2Reds10–6Manning (1–2)Lincoln (1–3)30,97040–70
111August 3Reds4–2Balester (2–3)Cueto (7–11)Hanrahan (1)32,93941–70
112August 4@ Rockies9–4Redding (8–6)Cook (14–7)33,14342–70
113August 5@ Rockies8–2Corpas (2–3)Ayala (1–7)27,48342–71
—August 6@ RockiesPostponed (rain) Rescheduled for August 7 as part of a doubleheader
114August 7 (1)@ Rockies6–3Bergmann (2–8)Francis (3–8)Hanrahan (2)30,44843–71
115August 7 (2)@ Rockies6–3Pérez (5–8)Jiménez (8–10)Hanrahan (3)30,44844–71
116August 8@ Brewers5–0Sabathia (6–0)Balester (2–4)43,20944–72
117August 9@ Brewers6–0Sheets (11–5)Redding (8–7)42,97444–73
118August 10@ Brewers5–4Mota (3–5) (13)Ayala (1–8)42,42344–74
119August 11@ Brewers7–1Bush (7–9)Mock (0–3)42,19644–75
120August 12Mets4–3Santana (10–7)Rivera (3–5)Feliciano (1)32,18644–76
121August 13Mets12–0Maine (10–7)Bergmann (2–9)Stokes (1)30,81444–77
122August 14Mets9–3Pérez (9–7)Balester (2–5)31,05844–78
123August 15Rockies4–3de la Rosa (6–6)Redding (8–8)Fuentes (23)27,96544–79
124August 16Rockies13–6Hernández (1–1)Lannan (6–12)28,90944–80
125August 17Rockies7–2Cook (15–8)Pérez (5–9)31,46744–81
126August 19@ Phillies5 – 4Madson (3-1)Shell (0-1)Lidge (31)44,14344-82
127August 20@ Phillies4 – 0Myers (6-10)Balester (2-6)45,16644-83
128August 21@ Phillies4-3Rivera (4-5)Madson (3-2)Hanrahan (4)41,56845-83
129August 22@ Cubs13-5Lannan (7-12)Cotts (0-2)40,51346-83
130August 23@ Cubs9-2Dempster (15-5)Pérez (5-10)40,70846-84
131August 24@ Cubs6-1Harden (9-2)Bergmann (2-10)40,68246-85
132August 26Dodgers2-1Balester (3-6)Derek LoweHanrahan (5)26,11047-85
133August 27Dodgers5-4Redding (9-8)Maddux (6-11)Hanrahan (6)22,90748-85
134August 28Dodgers11-2Lannan (8-12)Kershaw (2-5)26,33849-85
135August 29Braves7-3Pérez (6-10)CampilloHanrahan22,73750-85
136August 30Braves9-8Shell (1-1)V. Núñez (0-2)30,32651-85
137August 31Braves8-4Mock (1-3)Elmer Dessens (0-1)31,09052-85 :
September (7–17)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
138September 1Phillies7–4Redding (10–8)Kendrick (11–8)28,39353–85
139September 2Phillies4–0Hamels (12–8)Lannan (8–13)23,15053–86
140September 3Phillies9–7Rivera (5–5)C. Durbin (5–4)23,12254–86
141September 4@ Braves2–0Parr (1–0)Martis (0–1)Gonzalez (9)18,70854–87
142September 5@ Braves10–5Jurrjens (12–9)Bergmann (2–11)25,06454–88
143September 6@ Braves8–5 (10)Hanrahan (6–3)Gonzalez (0–2)Shell (2)34,36955–88
144September 7@ Braves7–4 (14)Shell (2–1)Bennett (2–6)Hanrahan (8)30,75356–88
145September 9@ Mets10–8Smith (4–3)Manning (1–3)Ayala (6)50,38256–89
146September 10@ Mets13–10Smith (5–3)Rivera (5–6)Ayala (7)52,43156–90
147September 12@ Marlins2–1Olsen (7-10)Martis (0-2)Lindstrom (3)12,12156–91
148September 13@ Marlins4–2Johnson (5-1)Redding (10-9)Lindstrom (4)16,30756–92
149September 14@ Marlins8–7A. Miller (6-9)Shell (2-2)Rhodes (2)12,02456–93
150September 15Mets7–2Lannan (9–13)P. Martínez (5–5)21,75957–93
151September 16Mets1–0Pérez (7–10)Pelfrey (13–10)Hanrahan (9)24,99758–93
152September 17Mets9–7Knight (1–0)Martis (0–3)Ayala (8)25,01958–94
153September 18Mets7–2Santana (14–7)Redding (10–10)25,42658–95
154September 19Padres11–6(14)Hampson (2-1)Speigner (0-1)28,60058-96
155September 20Padres6–1Young (6-6)Lannan (9-14)27,47458-97
156September 21Padres6–2Baek (6-10)Pérez (7-11)29,60858-98
157September 23Marlins9–4Martis (1-3)Olsen (8-11)20,65759–98
158September 24Marlins9–4Johnson (7-1)Redding (10-11)23,29959–99
--September 25MarlinsCancelled (rain) No make-up game was scheduled
159September 26@ Phillies8–4Blanton (9–12)Balester (3–7)44,14559–100
160September 27@ Phillies4–3Moyer (16–7)Lannan (9–15)Lidge (41)45,17759–101
161September 28@ Phillies8–3Walrond (1–1)Pérez (7–12)44,94559–102 :

## 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
| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | AVG | SB |
| LF | Willie Harris | 140 | 367 | 28 | 92 | 14 | 4 | 13 | 43 | .251 | 13 |
| CF | Lastings Milledge | 138 | 523 | 65 | 140 | 24 | 2 | 14 | 61 | .268 | 24 |
| SS | Cristian Guzmán | 138 | 579 | 77 | 183 | 35 | 5 | 9 | 55 | .316 | 6 |
| 3B | Ryan Zimmerman | 106 | 428 | 51 | 121 | 24 | 1 | 14 | 51 | .283 | 1 |
| 1B | Aaron Boone | 104 | 232 | 23 | 56 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 28 | .241 | 0 |
| 2B | Felipe López | 100 | 325 | 34 | 76 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 25 | .234 | 4 |
| IF | Ronnie Belliard | 96 | 296 | 37 | 85 | 22 | 0 | 11 | 46 | .287 | 3 |
| C | Jesus Flores | 90 | 301 | 23 | 77 | 18 | 1 | 8 | 59 | .256 | 0 |
| RF | Austin Kearns | 86 | 313 | 40 | 68 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 32 | .217 | 2 |
| RF | Elijah Dukes | 81 | 276 | 48 | 73 | 16 | 2 | 13 | 44 | .264 | 13 |
| OF | Ryan Langerhans | 73 | 111 | 17 | 26 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 12 | .234 | 2 |
| P | Saúl Rivera | 72 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| C | Wil Nieves | 68 | 176 | 15 | 46 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 20 | .261 | 0 |
| CI | Kory Casto | 66 | 163 | 15 | 35 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 16 | .215 | 1 |
| P | Joel Hanrahan | 65 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| LF | Wily Mo Pena | 64 | 195 | 10 | 40 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 10 | .205 | 0 |
| P | Luis Ayala | 60 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| P | Jesús Colomé | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Charlie Manning | 56 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| 1B | Dmitri Young | 50 | 150 | 15 | 42 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 10 | .280 | 0 |
| UT | Pete Orr | 49 | 75 | 10 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | .253 | 1 |
| UT | Paul Lo Duca | 46 | 139 | 13 | 32 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 12 | .230 | 1 |
| P | Jon Rauch | 44 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| 2B | Emilio Bonifacio | 41 | 157 | 26 | 39 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 12 | .248 | 6 |
| P | Steven Shell | 39 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| 1B | Nick Johnson | 38 | 109 | 15 | 24 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 20 | .220 | 0 |
| OF | Rob Mackowiak | 38 | 53 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .132 | 0 |
| P | Tim Redding | 34 | 47 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .170 | 0 |
| P | Odalis Perez | 30 | 53 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .151 | 0 |
| P | John Lannan | 29 | 45 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .022 | 0 |
| P | Jason Bergmann | 29 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| 2B | Anderson Hernandez | 28 | 81 | 11 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17 | .333 | 0 |
| P | Garrett Mock | 26 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| OF | Roger Bernadina | 26 | 76 | 10 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .211 | 4 |
| C | Johnny Estrada | 23 | 53 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .170 | 0 |
| IF | Alberto González | 17 | 49 | 9 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 9 | .347 | 0 |
| P | Collin Balester | 15 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .200 | 0 |
| P | Mike Hinckley | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Ray King | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Marco Estrada | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Matt Chico | 10 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .154 | 0 |
| C | Luke Montz | 10 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .143 | 0 |
| P | Brian Sanches | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Shawn Hill | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| P | Levale Speigner | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Chad Cordero | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Shairon Martis | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| P | Michael O'Connor | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| P | Chris Schroder | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| P | Tyler Clippard | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 |
| | Team Totals | 161 | 5491 | 641 | 1376 | 269 | 26 | 117 | 608 | .251 | 81 |

### 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
| Pos | Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
| SP | Tim Redding | 10 | 11 | 4.95 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 182.0 | 195 | 110 | 100 | 65 | 120 |
| SP | John Lannan | 9 | 15 | 3.91 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 182.0 | 172 | 89 | 79 | 72 | 117 |
| SP | Odalis Perez | 7 | 12 | 4.34 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 159.2 | 182 | 87 | 77 | 55 | 119 |
| RP | Joel Hanrahan | 6 | 3 | 3.95 | 69 | 0 | 9 | 84.1 | 73 | 40 | 37 | 42 | 93 |
| RP | Saúl Rivera | 5 | 6 | 3.96 | 76 | 0 | 0 | 84.0 | 90 | 41 | 37 | 35 | 65 |
| CL | Jon Rauch | 4 | 2 | 2.98 | 48 | 0 | 17 | 48.1 | 42 | 18 | 16 | 7 | 44 |
| SP | Collin Balester | 3 | 7 | 5.51 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 80.0 | 92 | 53 | 49 | 28 | 50 |
| SP | Jason Bergmann | 2 | 11 | 5.09 | 30 | 22 | 0 | 139.2 | 153 | 94 | 79 | 47 | 96 |
| | Steven Shell | 2 | 2 | 2.16 | 39 | 0 | 2 | 50.0 | 34 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 41 |
| | Brian Sanches | 2 | 0 | 7.36 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 11.1 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 10 |
| RP | Jesús Colomé | 2 | 2 | 4.31 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 71.0 | 61 | 38 | 34 | 39 | 55 |
| | Tyler Clippard | 1 | 1 | 4.35 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10.1 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| | Charlie Manning | 1 | 3 | 5.14 | 57 | 0 | 0 | 42.0 | 35 | 25 | 24 | 31 | 37 |
| | Garrett Mock | 1 | 3 | 4.17 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 41.0 | 37 | 20 | 19 | 23 | 46 |
| | Shairon Martis | 1 | 3 | 5.66 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 20.2 | 18 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 23 |
| | Mike O'Connor | 1 | 1 | 13.00 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9.0 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 4 |
| | Shawn Hill | 1 | 5 | 5.83 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 63.1 | 88 | 47 | 41 | 23 | 39 |
| RP | Luis Ayala | 1 | 8 | 5.77 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 57.2 | 63 | 41 | 37 | 22 | 36 |
| | Marco Estrada | 0 | 0 | 7.82 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 12.2 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 5 | 10 |
| | Ray King | 0 | 0 | 5.68 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| | Levale Speigner | 0 | 1 | 11.25 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 1 |
| | Chris Schroder | 0 | 0 | 5.4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| | Matt Chico | 0 | 6 | 6.19 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 48.0 | 63 | 34 | 34 | 17 | 31 |
| | Chad Cordero | 0 | 0 | 2.08 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| | Mike Hinckley | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| | Team Totals | 59 | 102 | 4.66 | 161 | 161 | 28 | 1434.0 | 1496 | 825 | 742 | 588 | 1063 |

### Team leaders

Qualifying players only.

#### Batting

| Stat | Player | Total |
| Avg. | Cristian Guzmán | .316 |
| HR | Lastings Milledge Ryan Zimmerman | 14 14 |
| RBI | Lastings Milledge | 61 |
| R | Cristian Guzmán | 77 |
| H | Cristian Guzmán | 183 |
| SB | Lastings Milledge | 24 |

#### Pitching

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Tim Redding | 10 |
| L | John Lannan | 15 |
| ERA | John Lannan | 3.91 |
| SO | Tim Redding | 120 |
| SV | Jon Rauch | 17 |
| IP | John Lannan Tim Redding | 182.0 182.0 |

## Awards and honors
### All-Stars

* Cristian Guzmán, SS

## Washington's top 20 prospects

1. Chris Marrero, 1B/OF
2. Ross Detwiler, LHP
3. Collin Balester, RHP
4. Michael Burgess, OF
5. Jack McGeary, LHP
6. Josh Smoker, LHP
7. Jordan Zimmermann, RHP
8. Justin Maxwell, OF
9. Colton Willems, RHP
10. John Lannan, LHP
11. Jake Smolinski, OF
12. Tyler Clippard, RHP
13. Adam Carr, RHP
14. Ian Desmond, SS
15. Garrett Mock, RHP
16. Stephen King, SS
17. Esmailyn Gonzalez, SS
18. Shairon Martis, RHP
19. Brad Peacock, RHP
20. Kory Casto, OF/3B

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Columbus Clippers | International League | Tim Foli |
| AA | Harrisburg Senators | Eastern League | John Stearns |
| A | Potomac Nationals | Carolina League | Randy Knorr |
| A | Hagerstown Suns | South Atlantic League | Darnell Coles |
| A-Short Season | Vermont Lake Monsters | New York–Penn League | Ramón Avilés |
| Rookie | GCL Nationals | Gulf Coast League | Bob Henley |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Potomac