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MLB’s new schedule has put the Nationals in an unfamiliar position

Twins 3, Nationals 1

The Nationals' Jeimer Candelario, right, celebrates with Dominic Smith after scoring in the first inning Sunday. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
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MINNEAPOLIS — The Washington Nationals’ schedule has looked quite a bit different over the season’s first few weeks. In previous years, they surely would have faced more division rivals by now, reuniting with hitters and pitchers whose tendencies they know after matching up with them frequently.

Instead, the Nationals on Sunday wrapped up a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins, whom they hadn’t played since their World Series-winning season of 2019. The Nationals fell, 3-1, at Target Field to fall short of their first three-game series sweep since June 2021.

By allowing three runs in six innings, Patrick Corbin turned in his second straight quality start, but solo shots in the fourth inning by Jorge Polanco and Michael A. Taylor proved costly. The Twins (12-10) added a third run on a two-out single by Polanco in the fifth.

The Nationals (7-14) had taken a 1-0 lead on a Keibert Ruiz RBI double in the first but managed just two hits the rest of the way. Both of them came in the fifth: CJ Abrams singled, but Victor Robles didn’t run out a bunt, and it turned into a double play. Alex Call singled in the next at-bat, then got picked off.

“We had a little something going there in the fifth inning, and Victor couldn’t get the bunt down,” Manager Dave Martinez said. “If we get the bunt down, we score. But I thought Corbin did a great job; he pitched really well. We couldn’t score any runs.”

The matchup was Washington’s 14th interleague game, most in the majors. The Seattle Mariners rank second with 12, and the San Francisco Giants have played 11.

In a first this season, every team in the majors will meet — similar to how NBA and NHL schedules are set up. For the Nationals, that means more travel and, early on, a heavy dose of American League opponents.

“Doesn’t seem to bother me at all, and I think that the guys like it,” Martinez said. “We get to come here, get to see some new faces, some old faces for me with [Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli] — I had him as a player. We go way back. But we get to see some different teams and play some different teams until we get back into the National League.”

Joey Meneses keeps the line moving as Nats score their first series win

The new schedule format decreases the number of matchups with division rivals to 13. Each team plays six games against six intraleague opponents and seven games against four intraleague opponents for a total of 64 games. The biggest difference: the 46 interleague games per team.

The argument for the change, from a marketing perspective, is that stars from opposite leagues will meet every season. From a competition angle, the hope is that the new format levels the playing field.

Some divisions — such as the National League East in recent years — feature more strong teams than others. With the new format, the goal is that strength of schedule will matter less in determining who makes the playoffs. Facing division opponents less often might be a positive for the Nationals, who in 2022 went 17-59 against the NL East, which sent three teams to the postseason. No team had fewer wins against division opponents than the Nationals had last season.

“I think sometimes in spring [training] when we play the Mets a lot and Miami and then play them a bunch during the season, it just feels like you’re always facing the same teams,” Corbin said. “I guess that’s one good thing [about the new schedule format] — just facing someone else, seeing some other guys.”

The Nationals’ second series of the season was a three-game interleague set in which they were swept by the MLB-best Tampa Bay Rays. After splitting a four-game series with the Colorado Rockies, Washington played 11 straight games against AL opponents. The Nationals dropped two of three at the Los Angeles Angels, then picked up one win in three games against Josh Bell’s Cleveland Guardians. The Baltimore Orioles shut out Washington in back-to-back games last week before this trip to Minneapolis.

Martinez said ahead of Friday’s series opener that the Nationals had multiple meetings and spent extra time watching video to go over opponents they are less familiar with. Right-hander Josiah Gray said after his start against the Orioles that he has to be more in-depth as he prepares for those teams. The same can be said of Washington’s hitters.

“It’s definitely a little bit different, but it’s a challenge that every team is going to go through,” first baseman Dominic Smith said. “I think it’ll help in the next year or two seeing all these guys all the time. That’ll make it a little bit easier. But it’s definitely different playing a ton of American League teams.”

The Nationals earned their first series win of the year by taking the first two games against the Twins. They did see a familiar face on the mound Saturday: longtime Miami Marlins righty Pablo López, whom they solved for five runs in four innings.

More are on the way: On Tuesday, the Nationals open a three-game series at the New York Mets for their first matchups with a division opponent since they faced the Atlanta Braves on the season’s opening weekend. Before that, though, Martinez said he likes what he has seen from his team against some of the other league’s best teams.

“In order to be the best, you got to beat the best, right? And I’m okay with that,” Martinez said. “I want these guys to learn from that as well. We’ve been bumping heads with some really good teams, and for the most part, we’ve been right there.”

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