page_title: History of the Washington Nationals
section_title: 2007
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Washington Nationals / History / Seasons / 2007
caption_attribution_description: Ryan Zimmerman
context_page_description: The Washington Nationals are a Major League Baseball team formed in 1969 as the Montreal Expos. In 2005, the Expos moved to Washington, D.C. and were renamed the Nationals. The franchise won the National League pennant in 2019, and has won its division five times. They won the World Series in 2019 against the Astros in game 7.
context_section_description: After losing four starters (Liván Hernández, Tony Armas, Ramón Ortiz and Pedro Astacio) from the prior year, the Nationals invited an extraordinary 36 pitchers to spring training.
  On Opening Day, the Nationals lost their starting shortstop Cristian Guzmán and center fielder Nook Logan for five weeks due to injuries. At the end of April, starting pitcher Jerome Williams hurt his ankle while batting and was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Then, in the space of just 10 days in May, Shawn Hill, John Patterson, and Jason Bergmann went on the disabled list. Jerome Williams returned, pitched one game, and went back on the DL with a shoulder injury. The Washington Post's wrote: "Almost everything that could sink a team's attitude has befallen the Nationals. They started the year 1–8, then they lost eight in a row to drop to 9–25."
  They put journeymen Mike Bacsik, Micah Bowie, Tim Redding, and Jason Simontacchi, along with rookie reliever Levale Speigner into the starting rotation, amidst predictions that the 2007 Nationals might equal the 1962 Mets' record of futility of 120 losses in one season. But the Nationals bounced back, going 24–18 in their next 42 games through June 25. But on that day, a day in which Bergman made his first start off the DL, the Nationals received the news that shortstop Cristian Guzmán, their leadoff hitter (and second on the team with a .329 batting average) was lost for the rest of the season due to a thumb injury he had received the day before tagging out a runner.
  The Nationals finished the 2007 season 73–89, improving their record by two more wins than in 2006.
  On April 17, 2007, one day after the shootings on the campus of Virginia Tech where 33 faculty and students were murdered in the largest mass shooting in US history, the Nationals wore Virginia Tech baseball hats as they hosted the Atlanta Braves. The idea was e-mailed to team President Stan Kasten by Nationals fan Dave Lanham following the shootings. One of these hats was sent to the National Baseball Hall of Fame to be displayed.
  On May 12, 2007, the Nationals hosted the Florida Marlins. Tied 3–3 in the bottom of the ninth, Marlins pitcher Jorge Julio faced Ryan Zimmerman with the bases loaded and two outs. Zimmerman hit the 2–2 pitch over the right-center field wall for a walk-off grand slam. Also during this game, right fielder Austin Kearns hit the Nationals' first inside-the-park home run. The game ended at 1:42AM after two separate extended rain delays.
  On August 7, 2007, while on the road against the San Francisco Giants, Nationals pitcher Mike Bacsik allowed Barry Bonds' 756th career home run, giving him first place on the career home run list. However, the Nationals won the game 8–6.
  On September 23, 2007, the Nationals played their final game at RFK Stadium, a 5–3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
caption: Ryan Zimmerman
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