WASHINGTON – A Cincinnati Reds team that looked like a playoff contender in New York pitched like a team making October vacation plans by the time they got done losing 10-8 to the not-good Nationals in Washington in the opener of a three-game series Monday.

At the beginning of the season, this would be an unimaginable thing to say, but the Washington Nationals look like a team poised to lose 100 games. They are on pace to lose 99 right now, but have been sinking like a stone ever since the start of June.