The Nationals are one of 22 MLB teams with Papa John's pizza promotions, but before Tuesday's series opener against the Mets, they were "tied with the bottom-dwelling Braves for second-to-last" in discounts triggered this season, according to Scott Allen of the WASHINGTON POST. Eight teams "merely must win and nine other teams only need to score a certain number of runs to activate the discount code" that gives fans in their markets 50% off online orders at Papa John's the following day. However, the Nationals "are the only team that must win and score at least seven runs." Past and projected team performance is "taken into account when deciding promotions, which partly explains why teams such as the Marlins, White Sox and Padres only need to score at least five runs -- win or lose -- to trigger the deal." Papa John's "introduced a Nationals-themed promotion" in '12 that gave fans half-priced orders the day after the team "won and scored at least five runs." After the Nationals "won while scoring at least five runs 62 times en route to winning the NL East title that season, the trigger was changed to a win and at least seven runs." The Nationals "triggered that discount 32, 29 and 35 times in the three seasons that followed, which is evidently in the ideal range for maximizing transaction growth." The Nationals this year have "won and scored at least seven runs" six times after last night's 7-1 win over the Mets. Meanwhile, Phillies fans this season have "been treated to half-price deals a league-high 22 times by virtue" of the team winning 22 games (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 5/17).
