 to the season so far. They lead the NL East by 8.5 games over the Atlanta Braves. They kick off the second half of the season tonight in Pittsburgh with a first pitch at 640. The Nationals didn't have high expectations, maybe 500 this year. They played that way for the most part. They finished the first half, though, in not strong fashion due to poor starting pitching all of a sudden. They're in fourth place in the NL East at 44-53. They kick off the second half of the season tonight with