The Washington Nationals have arrived, as sweep of Boston Red Sox shows

The Washington Nationals arrived this week. From late Tuesday night, when Bryce Harper’s first walk-off hit landed in left field to beat the Mets in 12 innings, until Sunday afternoon, when Washington won, 4-3, to finish a three-game sweep of the Red Sox at Fenway Park, every part of a fast-rising first-place franchise was on display. After 111 years as — almost always — a baseball afterthought, this Washington team, with the second-best record in the majors and a charismatic cast, has caught the whole sport’s eye.

Harper provided the bookend moments. Held out of the starting lineup Sunday, the 19-year-old rookie still managed to score the winning run. After a pinch-hit walk in the ninth, he dashed around the bases — catch me if you can — on a hit-and-run liner down the right field line by Roger Bernadina. As the rattled Red Sox slightly bobbled a relay throw, Harper slid home and slapped home plate with his hand. The kid may be the symbol, but he has simply drawn a spotlight to everything about the team, from Tyler Clippard’s three straight saves at Fenway to the dominance of a Nats rotation that stifled the Red Sox.

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The Nats arrived on Thursday, too, although in an entirely different sense. A crowd of 32,096, easily the largest at Nats Park for a weekday matinee, showed up despite a paucity of Mets fans. This was an almost purely Nats crowd, part of a quietly rising attendance boom that’s been growing with each homestand.

Washington’s gate is up 30.4 percent over 2011, date-for-date. Last week, the Nats (average attendance: 28,335) pushed past the Mets, Diamondbacks as well as the Marlins, despite their new park in Miami.

The Nats also arrived, big time, on Friday night at Fenway Park when Stephen Strasburg struck out 13, Harper was a triple shy of the cycle and Boston was beaten so soundly that Nats cheers, including plenty from knowledgeable New Englanders, were the main sound. Strasburg, 24 in July, showed he’s no longer a budding star. He, too, has arrived with a 2.48 ERA and 208 strikeouts in just 29 career starts. Baseball has few better pitchers.

On Saturday, Gio Gonzalez also beat the Bosox, showing why he’s second to Strasburg in the National League in strikeouts as well as the game’s hardest pitcher to hit this season. The Nats’ rangy infielders, Ryan Zimmerman, Danny Espinosa and Ian Desmond, glittered all day. Sean Burnett and Clippard closed for a bullpen that’s among the best despite lacking its best, Drew Storen, who will return in July.

With the Nats leading the strong NL East thanks to the best team ERA in the sport (2.98), the savvy baseball reporters in New York and Boston praised the Nats as fresh protagonists and worthy additions to the game’s grand theater in this and future years.

“The most fascinating team in baseball,” the Boston Herald said.

Like a blurred shape in a dim room that suddenly jumps into crisp resolution when a light is switched on, the Nats have suddenly come into focus. They had been noted previously; now they will be closely observed.