The quiet of the Nationals’ clubhouse relayed all the information that once would have been impossible to process.
After being swept by the Mets, the preseason World Series favorites were now co-tenants of the NL East penthouse, sharing the space with a team that hadn’t posted a winning season since Shea Stadium crumbled.
In the disappointment, and likely disbelief, there was no different feeling about how the standings would look in October, with Sunday’s losing starter, Jordan Zimmermann, stating that facing the upgraded Mets is no more challenging than it was a month ago.
“I wouldn’t say it’s any more difficult,” Zimmermann said. “You make your pitches, you can get any of those guys out over there. Tonight was one of those nights where I made two mistakes and it looks a lot worse than it really was.
“We’re fine. We’re going to bounce back and there’s nobody in here that’s panicking right now.”
No panic was evident, but after going against Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, it has become apparent to Washington that the division race is unlikely to be decided anytime soon.
“We saw three of their horses and they’re on point, on all cylinders,” Bryce Harper said. “The Mets are a great team, and it’s definitely going to be a lot of fun down the stretch. Hopefully we can do what we do and play our game and not worry about what they’re doing.”