The Home Stretch

Sixteen games in sixteen days is all that separates the Washington Nationals from the playoffs. They have come this far and they are almost there. Here's how the rest of the season breaks down.

The Nationals have a 5.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East and a 1.5 game lead over the Cinncinati Reds in the MLB. The Nationals won't get the chance to play either team before the season ends.

Tonight, they begin a seven game homestand against the Dodgers and then Brewers. The only other time the Nationals have faced the Dodgers was when they were swept in LA. The Nationals will look to change that and, hopefully, sweep them back to LA.

Against the Brewers, the Nationals are 3-1 in a four game series that took place not long after the All-Star break. The Brewers haven't gotten much better since then so expect the Nationals to have the same success this time around.

The team then ends the season with two three games series against the Phillies and a three game series against the St Louis Cardinals.

The Nationals will have the chance to lockup the season championship when the face the Phillies, but the Phillies have been a formidable opponent for the Nationals. The Nationals can't seem to find the handle when playing the former World Series Champions. Those two series will by far be the toughest parts of this final 16 game stretch.

This is it! The Nationals have 16 games to lock up the NL East title and the MLB regular season best record bragging rights. The Nationals have almost completed one of the single greatest turn-arounds in sports history. All they have to do now, is finish.

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