On Sunday, the chips finally fell for the Washington Nationals, and the team that inspired throughout the summer found themselves able to make plans for the fall. Four New York homers and more key hits that didn’t quite come helped the Metropolitans sweep the Nats at home, dropping them to last place and .500 and mathematically eliminating the team from post-season play.

It was the culmination of a long, ugly second half for the club, which at one point had a five and a half game first place lead. Nevertheless, the Nats stayed in it through September. The final blow seemed to come on the 17th at the Padres, when San Diego erased a 5-0 lead in the ninth and won 8-5. The Nationals, within three games of the wild card at the time, promptly dropped six of seven thereafter. Dreams of October play in the team’s inaugural season were not to be realized.

There are still six games left in the season (three at Florida, and three at home against the Phillies, where the Nats can play spoiler). It’s likely that visitors to RFK during the latter series will see Frank feel out some of the younger players on the roster, including first round draft pick Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman has been a bright spot in the penultimate weeks of the season, hitting .440 in twenty-five at-bats, and giving fans hope for the future.