Nationals face unprecedented layoff after latest rainout

Weather has caused numerous problems for Major League Baseball since the start of the season, but no team has more cause to complain than the Washington Nationals do.

Washington’s Friday night game against the Los Angeles Dodgers was postponed due to weather, making it the third game this week impacted by rain. Tuesday night’s home game against the New York Yankees was suspended in the top of the sixth and will not be concluded until June 18, while Wednesday’s game was rained out entirely.

With Friday night’s game off as well, that means the Nationals will not have played a game since Sunday — which is unprecedented in franchise history.

The Nationals haven't played an official game since Sunday.

It's the first time in franchise history that they've gone 5 straight days without playing an official game (excluding national events and strikes).

H/t @EliasSports https://t.co/397HTRt6Y4

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 18, 2018

The Nationals pushed Friday night’s game back a day and scheduled a doubleheader, but if the weather forecast is any indication, things may not get much better for the weekend.

Local DC weather forecast calls for 1 to 3 inches of rain by the end of the weekend. Some areas here will get as much as a foot of rain this week. Weatherman calling his shot — 100 pct chance of rain Saturday

— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) May 18, 2018

While things could certainly be worse, the Nationals may go close to a week without playing a baseball game. Normally they might appreciate the rest, but there will be scheduling repercussions for this many postponements down the road.