Who knew last night would turn into a squeaker? The Nats scored 4 early runs on 2 back-to-back doubles, and Livan Hernandez was on track for a shutout (which, surprisingly enough, we believe he hasn’t done this season). And then … well, the important thing is that they won. So make that win streak a season-best seven.

And make that a 1.5 game lead on the rival Phillies, the Nats’ largest lead yet and the widest distance between any two teams in the division. Of course, the interests of sobriety permit us to note that even Florida, in last place, are still just 3.5 games back. It’s called parity, and the Nats are just under par.

Tonight’s game (7:05 p.m., channel 20) against Seattle could be interesting. Neither our pitcher (Ohka) nor theirs (Pineiro) are having an easy time of it this season. Ohka’s still dealing with injury; Pineiro’s still dealing with a 6.55 ERA. If there’s a chance for the Nats to break out of NL small ball, it could be this weekend.

But the edge goes to the Nats, and it isn’t even close: Seattle, just under .500 for the season, is a sorry 8-23 on the road. At this point, DCist is prepared to believe the Washington Nationals will go undefeated for the remainder of the season, before falling to St. Louis in the playoffs. Of course, we believe a lot of things.

Bonus reason to watch: It seems highly likely that Ichiro will notch his 1,000th career hit over the 3-game series. Unfortunately, chances are the millenium mark will be breached by a slap-single to left field. So if you try to dive for that historic ball, DCist will really look forward to seeing it.