One way to look at the Washington Nationals’ kick-in-the-groin sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees — three leads in the eighth inning, three dizzying losses — is that none of the previous blows this team has taken have permanently felled it.After Sunday’s 5-3 defeat against the Yankees — a game in which lefty Andrew Alvarez provided Washington’s stunning 28th blown save of the first half, hanging a 2-2 curveball that turned into Ben Rice’s two-run triple in the eighth — Nats fans have to cling to something, right?It can’t be the bullpen. Don’t talk about the bullpen. Gosh, who do they turn to in the bullpen?(Washington’s ERA in the eighth inning: 6.59. Washington’s ERA in the ninth inning: 6.78. Yikes.)“It hurts,” Alvarez said, and the silence in a clubhouse that was miserably packing for a much-needed All-Star break displayed just that: pain.Which teams fared well during MLB Draft Day 1?Keith Law“There’s been some tough games,” said right-hander Cade Cavalli, who threw six strong innings. “I think it’s in our character to fight back. We’ve been doing it.”This is the latest test, and it will define who the Nationals are after a first half that concludes with deep disappointment but that, for the most part, was surprisingly positive.The sweep dropped the Nationals, now 48-49, below .500 for the first time since June 4. How many of the 33,699 at Nationals Park would have put money on that before the season?“We’re a good ballclub,” Cavalli said.Look, it’s impossible to erase what happened against the Yankees, three games that should have been wins that evaporated into losses. But it’s also impossible to ignore how the Nationals responded to a litany of other setbacks that could have been crippling — a squandered 9-1 lead in San Francisco, three straight bullpen meltdowns against Philadelphia, on and on.“There were many points this year, I think, that people could say that, ‘Oh, this is where things go downhill,’” manager Blake Butera said. “… And the next day, or the day after that, we’re right back to winning whatever it is — one, two, three in a row and playing good baseball. So I think (I’m) just proud of how resilient our group’s been.”Maybe this is who the Nationals are — the good and the bad of it. Resilience, thus far, has been a significant part of the good. But so has the offense — “Ridiculous,” Cavalli called it — which by now has proven to be both consistent and relentless. Washington heads to the break tied for first in MLB in runs scored, second in home runs and slugging percentage, third in OPS and first in stolen bases. That’s 97 games of damage.Opponents have noticed.“It feels like it’s as heavy an offense as we’ve faced all season,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Certainly right up there. Some young, really emerging superstars, and then also some players that have kind of come of age — and then some really good role players, too, that give them some interesting platoon options.