The Washington Nationals (67-81) went into the bottom of the eighth inning in Tuesday's loss with a 4-1 lead before the bullpen allowed four runs and recorded its 38th blown save of the season. The 2026 Nationals bullpen now owns the record for the most blown saves in a season since 1969, when saves became a statistic.

The San Diego Padres (78-68) would also best the Nationals on Monday and Wednesday to sweep the three-game series. 

The entire Nationals pitching staff has been a problem throughout the 2026 season. They have the third-highest team ERA at 4.75. The Nationals have used 38 different pitchers through their first 148 games. 

The Padres scored three runs off Jake Irvin on their way to a 3-2 win on Monday. Dylan Crews batted in the Nationals' only runs with a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning. 

Relief pitchers Jared Simpson and Erik Tolman allowed the four earned runs in the blown save on Tuesday. Yohandy Morales and Andrés Chaparro both hit solo home runs and Brady House had a two-RBI double for the Nationals. 

The newly brought-up starting pitcher Jackson Kent had another rough outing in Wednesday’s loss. He allowed five earned runs through the third and fourth innings. He was pulled before recording an out in the fourth inning.

Keibert Ruiz hit a solo home run, and Dylan Crews had an RBI single in the third inning for the Nationals' only two runs. 

Washington dropped below the New York Mets into the bottom spot of the NL East after being swept.

The 2025-26 Nationals offseason revamped the starting rotation with additions of Foster Griffin, Miles Mikolas and Zack Littell. But the bullpen was left largely neglected, spending minimal money on relievers. 

That decision has come back to bite the Nationals. After breaking the MLB record for blown saves in a single season, it is clear that the Nationals need to try a different approach in the 2026-27 offseason. 

The Nationals have been among the lowest payrolls in the league in recent years and are sitting at 26th for the 2026 season. Many fans have also criticized the team for refusing to extend good players, opting to trade them away instead.

But the bullpen needs to be an exception to the recent trend of low-budget moves. The Nationals should target proven bullpen arms that can keep the team competitive as their young hitters continue to develop. 

The No. 2 overall pick from the 2023 MLB draft has become a soft spot for Nationals fans. Some believe he can still develop into a franchise cornerstone, while others have lowered their expectations after his struggles in his first three stints in the Major Leagues.

Crews has shown positive signs for Nationals fans as he is building toward a strong finish to the season. He has put together strong splits of .286/.342/.471 and an OPS of .813 in the Nationals' last six series.

He finished the series against the Padres 5-for-11 with a home run and a walk. It was undoubtedly one of his best series in the Major Leagues. 

Crews will be entering an extremely important offseason. He will turn 25 before the next MLB season, and fans will be hoping for a big jump in his numbers. 

To add to the Nationals' bullpen problems, the starting pitching rotation has become a mess. When Kent was called up from Triple-A and Irvin returned from the injured list late in the season, the Nationals hoped to see signs of life in the rotation.

That hasn’t been the case as both pitchers have struggled. 

Kent has a 6.59 ERA through his first six starts in the MLB. He has allowed at least three earned runs in five of his starts and has only pitched past five innings once. Hitters have hit above .300 against his fastball and slider, which he goes to over half the time. 

Irvin has a 0-5 pitcher record in eight games since returning from the injured list. In half of those games, he has allowed over four earned runs. For the second year in a row, he has an ERA above 5.50. 

The Nationals will be hoping that they can turn it around over the last five series of the season, as both players may be candidates for the 2027 Opening Day roster. 

It looked like CJ Abrams had gotten rid of the second-half troubles that have plagued his young career, but the troubles have emerged in a cold September. 

CJ Abrams' batting average was at .280 on just August 18. After being swept by the Padres, his batting average is just .259 as of September 9. Abrams went 0-for-11 with just one walk in the series against his former team. He is now just 4-for-27 in August.

The Nationals now look to a home series against the Los Angeles Angels (56-90), where they’ll look to break their seven game losing streak. The three game series will begin on Friday, September 11 at 6:45 p.m. EST.