Photo by Tony DeFilippo.

Beside their continued on-field success, and the one-sided debate over the end of Stephen Strasburg’s season, the Nationals have also made headlines this week for fans being stranded in Navy Yard after a 13-inning, rain-delayed game ended after Metrorail’s normal closing time of 12 a.m.

Since that infuriating Monday night, the Nationals, the District and Metro have been in a bit of a rabble over the prospect of keeping Metro running late when games don’t end at the most convenient time for public transit. Keeping one station open late means the entire system has to keep going, a process that costs $29,500 an hour, the transit agency told DCist earlier this week.

And when Metro is held open because of an event, that bill falls to whichever entity is hosting the event—in this case, the Nationals. But the team, which already lives in a $770 million taxpayer-funded ballpark, has said it would rather the District pick up the tab.

Here’s the thing, though: If the District, Metro and the Nationals are going to bicker over who should front the cost of system-wide overtime, they had better settle it soon, because most likely, the Nationals are going to the playoffs.

What does Major League Baseball’s postseason have to do with Metrorail’s early closing time? Well, in the playoffs, many games start later than usual and they almost often go longer. During the regular season, the Nationals start their night games at the customary, leisurely 7:05 p.m.

But that’s stuff for local audiences. In the playoffs, with a national audience, night games, even on the East Coast, often start well past 8 p.m. The third and fourth games of last year’s American League Divisional Series between the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers—both from cities in Eastern Daylight Time—started at 8:37 p.m. Game 5 started at 8:07 p.m.

Then there’s the length of the games. In 2009, more than half of all postseason games lasted longer than three hours 30 minutes, and several went for more than four hours. Divisional series are scheduled so that there are two or three games every day of that round. The Nationals could have one or two afternoon games, especially if they’re playing an opponent from the East or Central divisions. But if they pull a night game midweek, just do the math: 8:37 p.m. plus three hours 30 minutes equals no Metro.

Unless the team, the District and Metro settle this matter, Nationals fans enjoying their first whiffs of autumnal glory run a very legitimate risk of being stranded after the final out.

Or maybe the Nats could strike a deal with Uber. We hear those are all the rage right now.