The 2013 Washington Nationals season was the Nationals' ninth season for the baseball franchise of Major League Baseball in the District of Columbia, the sixth season at Nationals Park, and the 45th since the original team was started in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The Nationals finished the year second place in the National League East with an 86–76 record, but were unable to return to the postseason after their division-winning 2012 campaign. The 2013 season was also the last with manager Davey Johnson, who retired following the end of the season.
Offseason
On November 29, 2012, the Nationals traded minor-leaguer Alex Meyer to the Minnesota Twins for Denard Span.baseball-reference.com Trades between Washington Nationals & Minnesota Twins
On January 16, 2013, Washington took part in a three-team trade in which the Oakland Athletics sent A. J. Cole, Blake Treinen, and a player to be named later to the Nationals, the Nationals sent Michael Morse to the Seattle Mariners, and the Mariners sent John Jaso to the Athletics. The Athletics sent minor-leaguer Ian Krol to the Nationals on March 20, 2013, to complete the trade.baseball-reference.com Trades between Washington Nationals & Oakland Athletics
Spring training The Nationals held their 2013 spring training in Viera, Florida, with home games played at Space Coast Stadium.
Season standings
National League East
National League Wild Card
Record vs. opponents
Opening Day lineup +Opening Day StartersName Position Denard Span Center fielder Jayson Werth Right fielderBryce Harper Left fielderRyan Zimmerman Third basemanAdam LaRoche First basemanIan Desmond ShortstopDanny Espinosa Second basemanWilson Ramos CatcherStephen Strasburg Starting pitcher
Notable transactions June 11, 2013: The Nationals traded Henry Rodriguez to the Chicago Cubs for minor-leaguer Ian Dickson.baseball-reference.com Trades between Washington Nationals & Chicago Cubs July 8, 2013: The Nationals traded minor-leaguer Ivan Pineyro and a player to be named later to the Chicago Cubs for Scott Hairston, cash, and a player to be named later. July 10, 2013: The Nationals traded a player to be named later to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Brian Jeroloman. Late in the day, the Nationals sent Brian Bocock to the Pirates to complete the trade.baseball-reference.com Trades between Washington Nationals & Pittsburgh Pirates August 19, 2013: The Nationals purchased David DeJesus from the Chicago Cubs. August 23, 2013: The Nationals traded Kurt Suzuki to the Oakland Athletics for minor-leaguer Dakota Bacus and traded David DeJesus to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later; the Rays sent minor-leaguer Matthew Spann to the Nationals on September 19, 2013, to complete the trade.baseball-reference.com Trades between Washington Nationals & Tampa Bay Rays
Major league debuts Erik Davis (June 2, 2013) Taylor Jordan (June 29, 2013) Nate Karns (May 28, 2013) Jeff Kobernus (May 25, 2013) Ian Krol (June 5, 2013) Anthony Rendon (April 21, 2013) Tanner Roark (August 7, 2013) Zach Walters (September 6, 2013)
Culture and entertainment In January 2013 the Nationals announced that they would add a fifth Racing President to the Presidents Race that took place during every home game. The new president, William Howard Taft ("Bill"), joined the original four Racing Presidents – George Washington ("George"), Thomas Jefferson ("Tom"), Abraham Lincoln ("Abe"), and Theodore Roosevelt ("Teddy") – all of whom had raced since 2006. The addition of Bill honored the real President Taft, who started the tradition of the presidential ceremonial first pitch in 1910 at a Washington Senators game at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C., and also is widely credited with having accidentally created the seventh-inning stretch while attending a game. Bill debuted in the Opening Day Presidents Race on April 1, 2013, and won his first race on May 11, going on to win 11 races before the season ended.
Attendance The Nationals drew 2,652,422 fans at Nationals Park in 2013. Only the 2,731,993 they drew in their first season in Washington in 2005 exceeded it, and it placed them sixth in attendance for the season among the 15 National League teams, their highest attendance ranking for a single season at the time.baseball-reference.com 2013 Washington Nationalsbaseball-reference.com 2005 Washington Nationals Their highest attendance at a home game was on April 1, when they drew 45,274 for a game against the Miami Marlins on Opening Day, while their lowest was 24,394 for a game against the Marlins on August 28. Their average home attendance was 32,746 per game, second-highest since their arrival in Washington.baseball-almanac.com Washington Nationals Attendance Data
Game log
Legend Nationals win Nationals loss PostponementBoldNationals team member
|- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 1 || April 1 || Marlins || 2 – 0 || Strasburg (1-0) || Nolasco (0-1) || Soriano (1) || 45,274 || 1-0 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 2 || April 3 || Marlins || 3 – 0 || González (1-0) || Slowey (0-1) || Soriano (2) || 26,269 || 2-0 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 3 || April 4 || Marlins || 6 – 1 || Zimmermann (1-0) || LeBlanc (0-1) || || 25,123 || 3-0 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 4 || April 5 || @ Reds || 15 – 0 || Bailey (1-0) || Haren (0-1) || || 28,102 || 3-1 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 5 || April 6 || @ Reds || 7 – 6 (11) || Stammen (1-0) || Hoover (0-2) || || 34,762 || 4-1 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 6 || April 7 || @ Reds || 6 – 3 || Cueto (1-0) || Strasburg (1-1) || Chapman (2) || 32,514 || 4-2 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 7 || April 9 || White Sox || 8 – 7 || Stammen (2-0) || Peavy (1-1) || Soriano (3) || 24,412 || 5-2 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 8 || April 10 || White Sox || 5 – 2 || Zimmermann (2-0) || Floyd (0-2) || Soriano (4) || 24,586 || 6-2 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 9 || April 11 || White Sox || 7 – 4 || Haren (1-1) || Axelrod (0-1) || Soriano (5) || 24,785 || 7-2 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 10 || April 12 || Braves || 6 – 4 (10) || O'Flaherty (2-0) || Stammen (2-1) || Kimbrel (5) || 33,130 || 7-3 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 11 || April 13 || Braves || 3 – 1 || Hudson (2-0) || Strasburg (1-2) || Kimbrel (6) || 41,992 || 7-4 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 12 || April 14 || Braves || 9 – 0 || Maholm (3-0) || González (1-1) || || 39,389 || 7-5 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 13 || April 15 || @ Marlins || 10 – 3 || Zimmermann (3-0) || LeBlanc (0-3) || || 15,933 || 8-5 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 14 || April 16 || @ Marlins || 8 – 2 || Sanabia (2-1) || Haren (1-2) || || 16,200 || 8-6 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 15 || April 17 || @ Marlins || 6 – 1 || Detwiler (1-0) || Nolasco (0-2) || || 22,302 || 9-6 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 16 || April 19 || @ Mets || 7 – 1 || Harvey (4-0) || Strasburg (1-3) || || 26,675 || 9-7 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 17 || April 20 || @ Mets || 7 – 6 || Clippard (1-0) || Edgin (0-1) || Soriano (6) || 24,325 || 10-7 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 18 || April 21 || @ Mets || 2 – 0 || Gee (1-3) || Zimmermann (3-1) || Parnell (2) || 26,225 || 10-8 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 19 || April 22 || Cardinals || 3 – 2 || Miller (3-1) || Haren (1-3) || Mujica (2) || 27,263 || 10-9 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 20 || April 23 || Cardinals || 2 – 0 || Wainwright (4-1) || Detwiler (1-1) || Mujica (3) || 29,986 || 10-10 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 21 || April 24 || Cardinals || 4 – 2 || García (2-1) || Strasburg (1-4) || Mujica (4) || 33,694 || 10-11 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 22 || April 25 || Reds || 8 – 1 || González (2-1) || Arroyo (2-2) || || 24,748 || 11-11 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 23 || April 26 || Reds || 1 – 0 || Zimmermann (4-1) || Bailey (1-2) || || 32,995 || 12-11 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 24 || April 27 || Reds || 6 – 3 || Haren (2-3) || Leake (1-1) || Soriano (7) || 38,903 || 13-11 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 25 || April 28 || Reds || 5 – 2 || Cingrani (2-0) || Detwiler (1-2) || Chapman (5) || 36,457 || 13-12 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 26 || April 29 || @ Braves || 3 – 2 || Walden (1-0) || Clippard (1-1) || Kimbrel (9) || 22,870 || 13-13 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 27 || April 30 || @ Braves || 8 – 1 || Hudson (3-1) || González (2-2) || || 19,243 || 13-14
|- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 28 || May 1 || @ Braves || 2 – 0 || Zimmermann (5-1) || Maholm (3-3) || Soriano (8) || 22,460 || 14-14 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 29 || May 2 || @ Braves || 3 – 1 || Haren (3-3) || Medlen (1-4) || Soriano (9) || 19,806 || 15-14 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 30 || May 3 || @ Pirates || 3 – 1 || Burnett (3-2) || Detwiler (1-3) || Grilli (12) || 26,404 || 15-15 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 31 || May 4 || @ Pirates || 5 – 4 || Clippard (2-1) || Watson (1-1) || Soriano (10) || 29,975 || 16-15 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 32 || May 5 || @ Pirates || 6 – 2 || González (3-2) || Rodríguez (2-2) || || 24,186 || 17-15 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbbbbb" | – || May 7 || Tigers || colspan=6| Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for May 9 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 33 || May 8 || Tigers || 3 – 1 || Zimmermann (6-1) || Sánchez (3-3) || Soriano (11) || 34,893 || 18-15 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 34 || May 9 || Tigers || 5 – 4 || Haren (4-3) || Fister (4-1) || Soriano (12) || 28,742 || 19-15 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 35 || May 10 || Cubs || 7 – 3 || Detwiler (2-3) || Samardzija (1-5) || || 37,191 || 20-15 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 36 || May 11 || Cubs || 8 – 2 || Jackson (1-5) || Strasburg (1-5) || || 37,116 || 20-16 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 37 || May 12 || Cubs || 2 – 1 || Russell (1-0) || Soriano (0-1) || Gregg (6) || 38,788 || 20-17 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 38 || May 13 || @ Dodgers || 6 – 2 || Zimmermann (7-1) || Beckett (0-5) || || 32,337 || 21-17 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 39 || May 14 || @ Dodgers || 2 – 0 || Kershaw (4-2) || Haren (4-4) || Jansen (2) || 51,729 || 21-18 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 40 || May 15 || @ Dodgers || 3 – 1 || Greinke (2-0) || Detwiler (2-4) || League (9) || 36,721 || 21-19 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 41 || May 16 || @ Padres || 6 – 2 || Strasburg (2-5) || Vólquez (3-4) || || 24,234 || 22-19 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 42 || May 17 || @ Padres || 6 – 5 (10) || Soriano (1-1) || Street (0-3) || Storen (1) || 29,898 || 23-19 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 43 || May 18 || @ Padres || 2 – 1 || Stults (4-3) || Zimmermann (7-2) || Street (10) || 33,646 || 23-20 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 44 || May 19 || @ Padres || 13 – 4 || Cashner (3-2) || Haren (4-5) || || 27,080 || 23-21 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 45 || May 20 || @ Giants || 8 – 0 || Vogelsong (2-4) || Duke (0-1) || || 41,963 || 23-22 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 46 || May 21 || @ Giants || 4 – 2 (10) || Affeldt (1-0) || Maya (0-1) || || 41,642 || 23-23 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 47 || May 22 || @ Giants || 2 – 1 (10) || Clippard (3-1) || Affeldt (1-1) || Soriano (13) || 41,175 || 24-23 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 48 || May 24 || Phillies || 5 – 2 || Zimmermann (8-2) || Kendrick (4-3) || Soriano (14) || 28,980 || 25-23 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 49 || May 25 || Phillies || 5 – 3 || Durbin (1-0) || Storen (0-1) || Papelbon (9) || 38,012 || 25-24 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 50 || May 26 || Phillies || 6 – 1 || Strasburg (3-5) || Hamels (1-8) || || 39,033 || 26-24 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 51 || May 27 || Orioles || 6 – 2 || Hammel (7-2) || González (3-3) || || 41,260 || 26-25 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 52 || May 28 || Orioles || 9 – 3 || Duke (1-1) || Gausman (0-2) || || 35,664 || 27-25 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb"