Battle for the bottom: History is on the line for the worst teams in baseball

The battle for the bottom in Major League Baseball has primarily been a fight between five or six teams in 2025

The usual suspects, the White Sox, the Marlins, the A's, and of course the historically bad Colorado Rockies

But in the last couple weeks, the Washington Nationals entered the fray

The Nats were mired in an 11-game tailspin. The last three of those losses coming at home to, of all teams, the Rockies

Thursday, outfielder James Wood decided enough is enough. He hit a homer in the fourth to give his team a 2-0 lead

but the Rockies fought back, and they looked like they would earn a four-game sweep in Washington, D.C.

until Wood walked it off with a dramatic bomb in the 11th inning

You can hear the relief in manager Davey Martinez's voice post-game. We kept saying the whole game, I said, somehow somebody will win this game

We've got to have the right moment. And what a moment for the kid to come up there and lift us like that

and really get us out of his funk. That was awesome. The second-year player from nearby Rockville, Maryland

leads the team with a 284 average, 20 homers, and 56 RBI this season

Before their 11-game skid, the Nats were playing near 500 baseball with a 30-33 record

Yeah I just think it a big weight off our shoulders I mean we been playing hard just hitting the ball hard just hasn bounced our way So I mean it just good to get right in the right column Which leads us to the question

is anyone close to the Rockies in the Major League basement? Colorado has 17 wins with a month to go before the All-Star break

on pace for the worst record ever. With almost 100 games left, a lot can change

The White Sox, who set the modern-day record for losses in a season

last year with 121, have only 23 so far. The Pirates and Marlins are both at 29 wins

the A's have just 30, and the Orioles and Nationals are tied at 31 apiece

Martinez got emotional when talking about his team's fight Thursday. Winning in the major leagues is hard

It really is. Winning a game like that after losing so many in a row

what a feeling, right? I mean, it's a great feeling. So let's hold on to that feeling

Let's come back tomorrow and do it again. The Nats may not have much luck in the coming days as they begin a nine-game West Coast trip this weekend

starting in Los Angeles and then on to San Diego, two of the best teams in the league

As for the rest of the bottom dwellers, the Rockies, A's, and Marlins are actually showing signs of life

all of them winning five of their last ten games. Historically bad

Well, we've got three and a half months until we find out. For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis