But then came Colorado. With their second consecutive victory over the Rockies on Saturday night, a 8-0 shutout, the Nationals assured themselves of their first series win on the road since they swept the Cubs back on July 1-3.

There are any number of factors for the diminished results of the past six weeks. In addition to 21 moves to the disabled list throughout the season -- adding up to a total of 1,065 games lost to injuries -- the Nationals have experienced a slew of individual slumps that have contributed to the collected collapse.

One way or another, the weekend in Colorado has signaled a turnaround for the Nationals, as several hitters have found their swings and the starting pitching has put together back-to-back quality starts.

"It's a confidence thing," said manager Frank Robinson, comparing the team's state of mind entering Sunday's game with the chance to sweep to the state of mind the team exhibited when they led the division from June 4 to July 20. "When we were playing very well and had a team down two games to nothing, the next day, we'd feel that we were going to win that ballgame.

"I don't know if you'd call it a killer instinct or not. It's about confidence. The way you're playing. We'd win those games, we'd pull them out, we were coming from behind, and they'd believe in themselves and have confidence and success.

"When you're going how we're going right now, you're not quite sure of yourself. This is the first time in the second half we've put ourselves in this position [to sweep a series]. We'd like to keep it cranked up a bit. It'd be a nice time, heading to Philadelphia and New York."

Beginning Monday, the Nats play 33 of their final 45 games within their division, which gives them every opportunity to make up the 5 1/2 games separating them from Atlanta.

"We know what we have to do," said Robinson of the secret to success down the stretch. "We have to start playing better. We have to stop making mistakes that cost us a ballgame -- the missed opportunities offensively, the missed location on pitches to certain hitters.

"We're not on top of our game, but we still feel like we can compete with the other ballclubs in this division. But we're going to have to go out and do it now. We can't talk, we can't think it. Starting tomorrow, we have to go out and do it."

Robinson has no doubt about where the necessary confidence comes from. There is no chicken-and-egg mystery about which comes first, the victories or the belief in the ability to secure them.

"Confidence comes after winning," he said. "You can talk about having confidence all you want to, but if you go out and get beat up, your confidence goes. If you go out and you win, your confidence builds and builds and builds."

Elevator going up: The awakening bats in the lineup are key ingredients in the team's recent success. The return of Jose Vidro from the DL on July 5 has revitalized the top of the order, and his versatility in the two-spot while hitting .268 since rejoining the club has helped spark the Nats' offense of late.

"He's not swinging the bat the way he's capable when he's completely healthy, but he's swinging the bat better," said Robinson. "It makes a big difference. He can get things started. Having him in that second spot is almost like having a second leadoff hitter."

The Nats have also benefited from better production at the bottom of the lineup lately, led largely by Brian Schneider in the seventh -- and, more recently, sixth -- spot. He is hitting .348 with six homers and 22 RBIs since the beginning of June.

"It's probably the first extended period of time that he's swung the bat this way," said Robinson. "He'd go up the elevator, and go down the elevator, up the elevator and down the elevator. He'd be up to about .270, and that elevator would go to the basement before he started back up.

"This time he just seems so comfortable and so confident about what he's going to do and how he's going to do it. And he's having success. It almost oozes out at home plate. You can see it. He has an idea, and he's carrying that plan out. With two strikes, he used to be almost an automatic out. Now he's getting quality hits."

Cristian Guzman is also coming along in the eighth spot of the order. Despite entering Sunday's game with a .190 average, he was 10-for-38 while hitting in eight of his last 12 games. He was robbed of an RBI hit on Saturday night by a diving play at first from Todd Helton, and Robinson sees Guzman as just inches away from converting that kind of contact into base hits.

The depth of production is a relief from the days when the lineup seemed to hit a dead end at the fifth spot.

"Out, out, out and the pitcher," said Robinson, describing the old six-to-eight spots. "It takes you out of three innings. Earl Weaver used to sit there on the bench with seven, eight and nine, and say, 'Well, we'll have a chance to score next inning.' "

On deck: In Philadelphia on Monday, Livan Hernandez (13-5, 4.07 ERA) makes the first start of a key stretch of games against division opponents. He is winless thus far in August, yielding four and five runs in his two starts, respectively, after completing a stretch of 17 quality outings in his previous 19 starts.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.