Need-to-know: Washington Nationals Survival Guide

Haven’t followed the hottest team in baseball much? We can help. What records are breaking? Why are they winning? Who’s getting married? Read on.

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Winningest pitcher

Gio Gonzalez has 19 victories so far. You have to go back to 1953 to find a pitcher who won more games for a Washington team. Bob Porterfield was 22-10 for the fifth-place Washington Senators that year. Ross Grimsley, in 1978, was the only 20-game winner for the Montreal Expos, whose franchise the Nationals took over in 2005.

John McDonnell / THE WASHINGTON POST

Winningest team ever?

Not yet. The last Washington pennant-winner, the 1934 Senators, went 99-63. Even if the Nationals surpass that total, it will be with an asterisk because of the longer modern season. At least, 1933 Senators' ''boy genius'' Joe Cronin, who was both player and manager.

. / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Yes, attendance could be better

As of Sept. 10, just over 2 million fans had seen the 70 home games at Nats Park so far. That's more than the Nats have drawn for any full season since 2008 (2.3 million), although breaking the full regular-season record of 2.7 million, set in the Nationals' inaugural year of 2005, looks out of reach. Silver Lining Dept.: TV ratings for Nationals games are up 75 percent from last year.

Alex Brandon / AP

Bryce Harper! Bryce Harper!

Harper, 19, the youngest-ever All-Star who was not a pitcher, has had two two-homer games in recent weeks. Only two other 19-year-olds have done so -- Mel Ott and Ken Griffey Jr. No teenager has had a three-homer game in the majors.

John McDonnell / TWP

The comeback kid

As of Sept. 11, only the Brewers had more homers than the Nationals, who have five players with more than 15 home runs. Adam LaRoche, with 29, is leading the club and is a contender for Comeback Player of the Year.

John McDonnell / THE WASHINGTON POST

Getting hotter

Another 15 homer-plus National is Ryan Zimmerman, whose batting average has grown with the season (He hit .243 the first half and is batting .341 so far in the second half.)

John McDonnell / THE WASHINGTON POST

...And more

Danny Espinosa (pictured), Ian Desmond and Bryce Harper also have more than 15 homers. Michael Morse, injured much of the year, has 13.

Bob Levey / GETTY IMAGES

7 Brides for 7 Nationals

Speaking of Morse, he may deserve a high-five for being one of seven Nationals getting married in the offseason. "Our girlfriends and fiancees are friends, so maybe it’s like a domino effect. ... Pressure. Somebody gets engaged and then the next person’s gotta do it and the next person’s gotta do it." Romantic, huh? Earlier in the season, Morse said his fiancee read him portions of "50 Shades of Grey.''

LARRY DOWNING / REUTERS

They win without Strasburg

The starting pitching has been so strong throughout the year that the team should absorb the loss of Stephen Strasburg, whose arm is being rested for the rest of the year part of his recovery from surgery in 2010. Gonzalez, Ross Detwiler, Edwin Jackson and Jordan Zimmermann are solid. As of Sept. 11, the Nats had a .679 winning percentage in games that Strasburg started. However, the team has a .602 winning percentage in games started by others -- still the best winning percentage in baseball.

Toni L. Sandys / THE WASHINGTON POST

The Davey effect

Talk about a turnaround specialist.The 2012 Nationals mark the third time Davey Johnson has orchestrated at least a 10 percent uptick in a team's winning percentage in his first full season as manager. The Nats were 80-81 last year (.498) and are 89-54 as of Sept. 11 (.622). That's a .124-point improvement. In 1984, his first season with the Mets, they went 90-72 (.556) a .136-point improvement over 1983 (68-94, .420). In 1994, his first full season with the Reds, they went 66-48 (.579), a .128-point improvement over 1993 (73-89, .451).

John McDonnell / THE WASHINGTON POST

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