After a near-perfect weekend, can Nationals sustain success?

WASHINGTON — In only the last week, the Washington Nationals pounded out 23 hits and 16 runs in one game — but just two hits and no runs in another.

Gio Gonzalez lasted just 3 1/3 innings in one game — while Max Scherzer threw a no-hitter in another.

Third baseman Anthony Rendon lunged over the dugout railing to catch a ninth-inning foul ball in one game, but two errors on the same play allowed Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Steven Souza Jr. to score on his own bunt in another.

The only consistency in Washington this season has been inconsistency. To start off the season, the Nationals lost 13 of 20 before they won 18 of 22 to surge to the top of the division, only to drop 16 of their next 25 to fall back into second.

On that note, they opened a three-game home series Friday against Pittsburgh, which had won eight in a row.

Naturally, the Nationals swept the Pirates easily, with Scherzer's no-no Saturday quickly followed by a nine-run first inning Sunday.

So what's next for a club that was expected to run away with the National League East after winning it by 17 games last season and then signing Scherzer to a seven-year, $210 million deal in the offseason?

"I don't think the attitude in the clubhouse has changed at all," outfielder Clint Robinson said. "We have a good group of veteran guys who have been through the ups and downs. They're kind of a calming influence on some of us younger guys who haven't been through it. They set a good example for us, and we know that if we just go out, put in the work and play the right way, we're going to win ballgames.

"This club's too talented not to."

The Nationals expect to have starter Stephen Strasburg back this week from a neck injury. That will make their rotation, projected to be the best in the major leagues before the season, completely healthy for the first time since May 14.

But even that hasn't ensured success for them this season. Strasburg's earned-run average was at 6.55 before his injury, and heading into Sunday, Gonzalez's was at 4.82, a career-high for a full season.

Of course, Gonzalez pitched seven shutout innings on Sunday, another outlier in a season full of them.

Washington has found consistency in some areas. One of them has been Scherzer, who has lived up to his billing with a 1.76 ERA, 123 strikeouts and just 14 walks in 102 1/3 innings.

Yet again Saturday, the Nationals handed him the ball in need of a strong outing — albeit after a terrific start from rookie Joe Ross on Friday — and Scherzer delivered an almost perfect one.

Center fielder Denard Span compared Scherzer to other aces across the league such as Seattle's Felix Hernandez, saying, "They're the guys that can stop a four-game losing streak, the guys that can get a team rolling and get us going. That's why you pay those guys a lot of money, because that's what they can do. That's how they impact a team and a game."

Outfielder Bryce Harper provides the spark on the other end. After a hamstring strain Thursday provided a scare and took him out of the lineup Friday, he hit his 23rd home run Saturday and added his 24th on Sunday to pace a nine-run first inning.

Perhaps the most consistent has been closer Drew Storen. Until a three-run outing in a 16-1 game on Tuesday, Storen had converted 19 of 20 save opportunities with a 1.11 ERA.

Through both the highs and lows of the season, Storen has been almost flawless.

"I don't worry about it either way," he said. "You've just got to minimize everything. It doesn't change my job. I've got to get three outs whether we've won 12 in a row or we've lost 12 in a row. If I were worried about the bigger trend out there, I'd be in trouble."

In the end, the Nationals only needed him once during the sweep of the Pirates. Scherzer ran the show on Saturday, and the bats took care of the rest on Sunday, putting Washington back in first place.

Still, asked about the stretch ahead, manager Matt Williams made a comment reminiscent of Hall of Famer Earl Weaver's "Momentum is only as good as the next day's starter."

"The last three guys that we've had start games have pitched really well," Williams said. "That sets our tone, certainly. Doesn't mean it's going to happen every day."

Gonzalez spread the credit around after his start, not the least of which went to the starters before him.

"Joe was the guy who anchored for us and started us off, and then Maxie, unbelievable game," Gonzalez said. "It was fun to watch, every pitch. You didn't mind sweating your butt off because he was pitching his butt off. It was fun to watch because Maxie's incredible. Mad Max doing what he does best, just going out there and dominating.

"It's kind of tough to follow up on him."

Gonzalez followed Scherzer, and Scherzer followed Ross. How the rotation follows them will determine whether this sweep is the one that lasts.

GALLERY: Recent no-hitters