For the Washington Nationals’ latest loss — Monday’s 3-2 defeat at the San Diego Padres, in which they played sloppily with few signs of life — there were at least plenty of excuses.
The Nationals were coming off a late night. The first pitch of Sunday’s series finale at the Dodgers came at 7:10 p.m. Pacific time, and it took nearly three hours for Los Angeles to complete the sweep. Then Washington had to make the journey down the coast, not reaching San Diego until the early hours of Monday. Most players got only a few hours of sleep before the Labor Day matinee.
