

The Nationals’ TV ratings are up slightly this year. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

The Nationals’ playoff odds and National League East division lead are greater now than they were last year at this time. The team’s local television ratings on MASN and MASN2 are up slightly, too.

The Nationals averaged a 2.75 rating in the D.C. television market through the all-star break, according to SportsBusiness Journal’s annual midseason assessment of regional sports network (RSN) ratings for MLB’s 29 U.S.-based franchises. Last year at the all-star break, the Nationals had a 2.69 average rating, which was a 41 percent increase over their midseason average rating in 2014. Washington’s 2.75 average rating ranks 21st in the league and the Nationals’ 67,300 average homes in the first half of the season ranks 14th.

[The latest on the MASN dispute, including a ruling in favor of the O’s]

Meanwhile, the Orioles’ average rating in the Baltimore market at the all-star break was 7.16, third-highest among the 29 teams analyzed by SportsBusiness Journal and a 27 percent increase over last year at the same time. Like the Nationals, the Orioles are leading their division.

Forbes’ Maury Brown examined teams’ RSN ratings through June during prime time (Monday-Sunday, 7-11 p.m.), which excludes afternoon games and night games during West Coast road trips. The Nationals’ ranked 19th among the league’s 29 American teams by this measure with a 2.76 average rating, while the Orioles ranked fourth with an average rating of 7.7. The Nationals’ and Orioles’ average household numbers during prime-time broadcasts were 68,000 and 85,000, respectively, according to Forbes.

The Royals led all of baseball with a 12.23 average rating for games on FS Kansas City in the Kansas City market before the all-star break.

For a local comparison, the Capitals averaged a 1.14 rating on CSN during the 2015-16 regular season, while the Wizards’ local television ratings dropped 34 percent to a .86 average rating last season.