He also hit the first pinch-hit home run of the season in San Diego. Each home run felt, at the time, that it might be one of those hits that could change the season.

It felt like that Monday in Philadelphia when, in the top of the ninth, Tracy crushed an 0-2 fastball by Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon down the right field line and just inside the foul pole to even the game, 4-4.

Tracy said on MASN's "Nats Xtra" he knew Papelbon would not make it easy on him during the at-bat.

"I told myself to be real short and real compact and try and get as loose as I could and just cut it off," Tracy said.

The Nationals were in the position to tie thanks to Ian Desmond's huge hit in the eighth that trimmed the deficit to 4-3.

But the Phillies managed to get the walk-off single to win it versus Fernando Abad in the bottom of the ninth and won, 5-4.

It was certainly a big moment for the Nationals and Tracy, yet it didn't feel so after it was taken away that quickly with the Phillies getting the last at-bat run to win it.

"You tie it up late and everybody's emotions are running high and feeling good, and they come out and put some good at-bats together at the end and steal it right back from you," Tracy said.

He said the four runs for the offense was a good step, but says the team believes they can score more than that each game despite recent offensive woes.

"We expect to put up runs every time we go up to the plate or every inning," Tracy said. "It may not happen, but I think everybody in here expects to come back even if we are down."

The Nationals did that one better - they had two teams clinch first-half crowns Sunday. Both Single-A squads, the low Single-A Hagerstown Suns and the high Single-A Potomac Nationals won their respective divisions in the first half of the season. This guarantees the Suns and P-Nats berths in the postseason playoffs.

It is also pretty amazing when a minor league team, especially at the Single-A level, wins a division with all the injuries, player changes and turnover to feed the higher level clubs.

Nationals director of player development Doug Harris was proud to see both teams clinch first place, Potomac taking the Carolina League first-half title Thursday with an 8-0 win and Hagerstown claiming the South Atlantic League first-half crown Sunday by virtue of Hickory's loss.

"Not that winning is everything, but this was a pretty good day," Harris said. "This is a byproduct of our players playing well and playing as a unit."

Potomac finished the first half of the season with a league-best 42-27 record thanks to a 9-8 win at Frederick on Sunday.

The P-Nats also send left-hander Robbie Ray, right-hander Blake Schwartz, outfielder Billy Burns, and catcher Adrian Nieto to Tuesday's Carolina-California League All-Star Game in San Jose. Nieto was chosen Sunday to replace Keys catcher Zane Chavez (oblique strain).

The Suns (38-29) defeated Lakewood on Sunday for their third straight win. Hickory is 39-31, finish 1/2 game back in the Northern Division.

The Nationals had no outs and runners on first and third in the sixth, but could not score. A Ryan Zimmerman strikeout and an Adam LaRoche double play groundout ended the threat.

In the seventh, the Nationals loaded the bases with nobody out. Jhonatan Solano lined into a double play and Roger Bernadina grounded out to end the threat.

It is a theme that has plagued the Nationals offense throughout the first two and a half months of the season: the inability to come up with the game-changing hit.

"We had the right guys up there, we just didn't get the job done," said manager Davey Johnson on MASN's "Nats Xtra." "We played it real conservative, trying to get a run in the seventh inning. We made some baserunning mistakes. It is just a frustrating day all the way around."

Johnson said the Nats had to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them on offense, but time in and time out they could not get that crucial base hit.

"When we had runners on third base with nobody out we just didn't score," Johnson said. "That is frustrating. We have to be able to do that if we are going to do anything this year."

The Nationals were 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, and neither of those hits scored runs. Cleveland was able to turn three important double plays to extinguish scoring chances.

In the series, the Nationals managed just 17 hits and eight runs. As has been the case more often than not this season, the starters kept them in the game but the offense did not deliver. On Friday, Gio Gonzalez allowed one run on three hits in a 2-1 Nationals loss. On Sunday, Strasburg's uneven performance surrendered just one run in a 2-0 setback.

Until the Nationals get the offense going, the starters are going to leave the mound without the decision they deserve. That is the biggest problem the team faces as it head to Philadelphia back square at the .500 mark.

The Indians won the first two games of the series pretty easily - 7-2 and 7-1. The Nationals' first two starters were Luis Atilano and J.D. Martin. The highlight early in the series was former Nationals outfielder Austin Kearns' two Friday night homers.

Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond and Roger Bernadina were the only players from 2013 that had regular at-bats in that series.

The largest crowd, and the game that everyone pointed to in the series was Sunday, when rookie Stephen Strasburg made his second career start and first on the road.

On June 8, 2010, Strasburg had made his major league debut at Nationals Park. Before 40,315, Strasburg went seven innings and struck out 14 hitters. He struck out three batters in the second, sixth and seventh innings. He walked none and allowed four hits, one a two-run shot by Delwyn Young.

Later, Strasburg came back and struck out Young in the seventh. It was one of the loudest roars I had ever heard at Nationals Park from the crowd, and made that night feel like a playoff game.

Strasburg notched the win, as the Nationals downed the Pirates 5-2.

That next weekend in Cleveland, I was the sideline reporter for that game. The Nationals arrived with a 30-31 record.

There was hype surrounding the fireball throwing first year player. I remember talking to Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley that weekend about Strasburg. Even Browns rookie cornerback Joe Haden, who grew up in Fort Washington, Md., sat in the Nationals dugout during batting practice to catch a glimpse of the baseball rookie everyone was talking about.

Strsburg struggled a bit that Sunday. During the game, he continually had issues with the mound dirt and his footing, where he would plant and where he would drive off that foot. He seemed to lose his footing on a few pitches. The grounds crew came oout to try to pack down the dirt. It may have contributed to his five walks.

But Strasburg was able to hold the Indians to just two hits, a Travis Hafner solo shot and a Carlos Santana single. Strasburg left in the sixth with the bases loaded and one out.

Thanks to Drew Storen, the Nationals got out of the sixth inning. Strasburg finished with 5 1/3 innings, allowing just that one run, striking out eight in a 9-4 win over Cleveland. Strasburg was suddenly 2-0.

It will be interesting to see ff the mound causes Strasburg any more frustration this time around. It will be another Sunday start in Cleveland. But the stakes are much different now and Strasburg is a much different pitcher.

The lineup also has Steve Lombardozzi at second base. That means this will be Anthony Rendon's first day off since returning to the roster for a second stint. Jayson Werth will be batting fifth.

Right-hander Justin Masterson (8-5, 3.68) takes on lefty Gio Gonzalez (3-3, 3.59).

Here is the lineup for the 33-32 Nationals:

Denard Span CF
Roger Bernadina LF
Ryan Zimmerman DH
Adam LaRoche 1B
Jayson Werth RF
Ian Desmond SS
Chad Tracy 3B
Kurt Suzuki C
Steve Lombardozzi 2B

Gio Gonzalez P

Indians lineup:

Michael Bourn CF
Jason Kipnis 2B
Nick Swisher 1B
Ryan Raburn DH
Carlos Santana C
Mark Reynolds 3B
Michael Brantley LF
Mike Aviles SS
Drew Stubbs RF

Justin Masterson P