The Washington Nationals have reached a kind of unwanted milestone that says everything about how their 2026 season has gone.
On Tuesday night against the San Diego Padres, Washington blew its 38th save of the year, setting an MLB record in the process. Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic reported that the record-breaking moment came on an eighth-inning single up the middle from Manny Machado.
"The Washington Nationals have set MLB's blown saves record, with No. 38 coming via an eighth-inning single up the middle from Manny Machado," Nusbam writes.
That latest late-game collapse also stretched the Nationals’ losing streak to six straight.
It’s a brutal marker for a team that, at one point around the midpoint of the season, looked like it could hang around the postseason race. The problem never really changed: the bullpen kept giving games away. Washington’s offense has done enough to keep things interesting, but too many leads have vanished late for the bats to cover every mistake.
At 67-80, the Nationals are nowhere near the playoff picture now, and those 38 blown saves loom large in explaining why. A steadier bullpen might have kept them in the mix. With the kind of offense Washington has shown, that would have made them a difficult opponent in October.
Instead, the Nationals are stuck with a relief corps that has built a case for the worst in MLB history. No team had ever reached 38 blown saves in a single season before Tuesday night, and with the way Washington’s bullpen has operated, even 40 isn’t out of the question before the year is done.
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Padres Face Costly Adrian Morejon Decision This Offseason
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Morejon is set to reach free agency, and the market for top relievers has a way of moving quickly when a pitcher can handle big moments and miss bats. The Padres could try to protect themselves with a qualifying offer, a move that would give them a path to draft-pick compensation if he leaves, but it could also shape how aggressive other teams are willing to be once bidding begins. [Read more 🡒]