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The days of Harrisburg being horrible appear to be history.

The Senators finished 55-86 last year to suffer their fifth consecutive losing season. The Washington Nationals organization decided enough was enough.

‘‘It was an embarrassment for the organization last year to only win 50-some games here at this level,’’ Harrisburg manager John Stearns said. ‘‘You want to develop players, but in doing so, you want to try and win, too.’’

The Curve got their first look at the vastly improved Senators on Tuesday and didn’t stack up while losing their fourth straight game. Harrisburg scored twice in the first inning and never looked back in a 6-2 win before 2,689 fans at Blair County Ballpark.

The Senators, who lead the Southern Division at 15-9, clearly have better players than last year. Equally as important, they also have a better attitude.

‘‘I think that these guys are really serious about coming to the ballpark ready to go,’’ said pitcher Mike Hinckley, a member of last year’s 55-win team. ‘‘The attitude is a lot different. There’s a lot of heart here.’’

The minor leagues may be about development, but it’s tough to develop on a team that’s 31 games under .500.

‘‘It becomes really hard because guys get [at] each other a lot, the fuses are short,’’ Hinckley said. ‘‘Obviously it’s more fun to win, and when you’re winning, guys are picking each other up, there’s a sense of encouragement.’’

The Senators didn’t have a lot of that a year ago, or for the past five years, really. They also didn’t have enough good players or team chemistry to win consistently.

‘‘I don’t know if I would even say [we have] better players because the group we had last year was a good group of guys,’’ Hinckley said. ‘‘It’s just all about your mindset, it’s all about heart, it’s all about attitude.

‘‘You have the best 25-man roster that you can have, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have any heart and will to win. Just show up and, ’oh, we’re here,’ that’s not going to get it done.’’

Stearns said the Nationals’ scouting department has done a good job signing prospects, and he added the organization is much deeper from a talent standpoint than in years past.

‘‘We want to be competitive here this year because we were not competitive at this level last year,’’ Stearns said.

Harrisburg is proof things can change in a hurry in the minor leagues, and so are the Curve. Altoona has posted six consecutive winning seasons, and it will be a challenge for this year’s club to extend that streak.

‘‘It’s a better team [than last season], there’s no question,’’ Curve manager Tim Leiper said of the Senators. ‘‘You look at their guys, they’ve got some athletes out there. Their whole outfield is good, strong, young and fast.’’

Curve starter Yoslan Herrera (1-3) gave up three runs — two earned — in four innings for the loss. Harrisburg’s Marco Estrada (2-2) allowed a run on four hits over six innings for the win.

Game recap

Key player: Harrisburg’s Luis Jimenez had a two-run homer and three RBIs.

Key plays: Yoslan Herrera gave up two singles and two walks to fall behind 2-0 in the first.

Key stat: The Curve have lost a season-high four straight games.

How they scored

Top 1st: Bergolla singled, scored on bases-loaded walk to Jimenez (0-1); Bernadina singled, scored on Montz sacrifice fly (0-2).

Top 2nd: Yepez singled, scored on Bergolla groundout (0-3).

Bottom 4th: Dorta singled, scored on Corley double (1-3).

Top 7th: Bernadina walked, scored on Bergolla sacrifice fly (1-4).

Top 8th: Maxwell singled, scored on Jimenez two-run homer (1-6).

Bottom 8th: Dorta tripled, scored on Pacheco groundout (2-6).

 

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