Nationals Held Players-Only Meeting After Shutout Loss to Red Sox

As the losses continue to pile up for the Washington Nationals, frustration boiled over after Wednesday's 3-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

Per the Associated Press, the Nationals held a players-only meeting following their fifth straight loss that dropped their record to 42-43 and seven games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East. 

The Nationals were a season-high 11 games over .500 following a 7-5 win against the San Francisco Giants on June 9, but have since gone just 5-17 to sit five games out of a playoff spot. 

Bryce Harper said after Wednesday's loss there isn't any reason to panic because the Nationals have been in this position before:

"We're a good team, and we're going to go out there and compete with anybody. We just have to keep grinding and keep doing our thing and good things will happen. We've never been in this position before, and I think it's an exciting time for us. In years past, we've won the division by a lot of games. We're able to be behind right now and I'm excited to get there and test it."

Washington has won the NL East four times in the previous six seasons but has yet to advance past the National League Division Series. 

There is added urgency for the Nationals to get over the hump this year with Harper scheduled to become a free agent in the offseason. They started 2018 tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers (10-1) for the second-best odds among NL teams to reach the World Series, trailing only the Chicago Cubs (9-2).