For one weekend, the Washington Nationals managed to resemble a decent baseball team, an achievement made possible with the help of the stumbling Cincinnati Reds.

The Nationals completed only their second sweep of the year Sunday, jumping ahead with a four-run first inning in a 4-2 victory that followed a Reds’ players-only meeting.

Rookie Collin Balester (2-3) allowed one run in 5 1-3 innings, Lastings Milledge hit his ninth home run and Austin Kearns had three hits for the Nationals.

Not counting a win in a one-game series with Atlanta on opening day, the Nationals now have two sweeps _ both against fellow last-place teams. They took three in a row in Seattle during an interleague series in June.