Are we having fun? Or are we ready to grill a burger on our frying-pan foreheads?

We were warned. We warned each other. But who listens, even to themselves? What the Washington Nationals and their followers are living right now — with their seven-game lead for a wild-card spot entering play Sept. 2 suddenly down to just ­1 1/ 2 games entering Thursday with 11 to play — is, if not the rule, very far from the exception in pennant races.

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Odds, such as those 2½ weeks ago that said the Nats were better than 99 percent to be in the playoffs, are just elementary school arithmetic. In truth, September baseball is a game of streaks, shrieks and “OMG!”

Whatever you expect — and especially the people you expect it from — is constantly turned on its head. Are the Nats choking? Yes, certainly, to some degree. Their play in a 5-1 loss Wednesday in St. Louis had “pressure and how not to enjoy it” stamped on almost every inning.

But pennant races have many turning points, many chances to reboot the brain and spirit. Sometimes you just get lucky — if you can grab that good fortune and not turn it into another illustration that your rabbit’s foot just got athlete’s foot.

For example, the Nats now go to Miami for three games with the worst team in the NL: the Marlins, against whom they’re 13-3. Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs must play the tough St. Louis Cardinals seven times in the last 11 games, starting Thursday.

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In just three days, things might and probably will look much different. But better? Or even worse? That’s what’s unusual about late-season baseball: Nothing happens for a long time, then everything happens all at once. To prepare our nervous systems for the Nats’ last 11 games in 10 days starting Friday, this is what a playoff race feels like — on a no-good, very bad day.

In the second inning Wednesday afternoon in St. Louis, Nationals third base coach Bob Henley waved home Victor Robles from second base on a single by Max Scherzer. Robles was thrown out by 15 feet, ending an inning in which Trea Turner was due up next with the bases loaded.

For years, the brass has ordered “Sendley” to test outfielders’ arms. The stats supposedly back this. Lord, does he oblige: The pile of dead ducks now seems as high as a D.C. monument. It sure fit the day’s tone.

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Later, Scherzer picked a Cardinal off second base, but Anthony Rendon froze and simply held the ball as two runners got back to their bases. In the seventh, a flyball that should have ended the inning with St. Louis ahead just 2-1 was lost in the sun by Juan Soto for a double.

Acting Nats manager Chip Hale let Scherzer try to get out of the inning, perhaps out of deference to his 11 strikeouts or his 97-mph fastball. It was a disaster. A squib scored a run. Still, Scherzer stayed. As if by cruel practical joke, Matt Wieters, a weak stick as a Nat, homered on Scherzer’s 109th pitch. Ballgame: 5-1 loss.

Are the Nats, who have lost 10 of their past 16 games, falling apart under pressure? Will a spectacular 58-27 resurrection after a 19-31 start just be a footnote to a September choke, surpassing bitter Nats disappointments in division series? Could be. Heading that way.

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But in a late race, almost every game contains more than one true perspective. Scherzer lost. But he was also Scherzer — finally. After 10 weeks as Hurt Max, Injured List Max, Reinjured Max, Back on the IL Max, Rehabilitating Max, Simulated Game Max, Pitch Limit Max, Training Wheels Max and Still Not Himself Max, Scherzer was finally a reasonable approximation of Hall of Fame hurler Mad Max.

If the Nats need him for two more regular season starts, he figures to be dominant again. If the Nats manage a wild-card spot before the last day of the season, he now looks like the proper choice to start. Before Wednesday, it was reasonable to wonder: If Max isn’t Max, why bother with this whole October thing? It’s not going anywhere.

On Monday, in a 4-2 loss, the Nats’ other key back-from-IL pitcher, Sean Doolittle, showed progress but in an odd, worrisome way. He fanned a pair — but with a change-up and slider. Not his fireballing style at all. He fired 93- to 95-mph fastballs at the letters but got foul balls, not swings and misses. His mechanics looked in sync, but that toe-tap delivery that Cubs Manager Joe Maddon claimed was illegal in the spring was back. That looks like a veteran pitcher grabbing for anything to get right.

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If Doolittle can, like Scherzer, make one last jump up to “normal,” he might complete a semi-decent bullpen. Remember, in this year of bullpen disasters, it’s all relative. Since the All-Star Game, Daniel Hudson, Fernando Rodney, Wander Suero, Tanner Rainey and Hunter Strickland have a 3.62 ERA in 112 innings for the Nationals. Only Cleveland (3.56) has a lower bullpen ERA for the year. And 4.48 is now the major league average.

Of all the Nats’ psychological weak points, the bullpen — with one save since Aug. 16 — is the one most likely to undermine the team’s year-long resilience. But what if it started to be somewhat stable? Oh, forget I suggested it.

Also, the Nats probably will be helped if they can get Manager Dave Martinez back in the dugout. After suffering chest pains Sunday, he underwent a cardiac catheterization to check his heart. He is apparently okay now. As soon as Martinez is cleared to fly, which may be as soon as Friday, GM Mike Rizzo said he can rejoin the team and manage. We may nag his bullpen managing, but let’s not deny he has helped elevate team morale. His players might want to reverse roles and pick him up.

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My wife, who likes sports but is not a “fan” of any of them, will not become a running character in this column, I promise. But she’s on a hot streak — unlike the Nats. All year, she has listened to friends agonize about the Nats’ bad start or awful bullpen or, now, September swoon. No amount of winning, even months of it, erases the next fear-fest.

“I hear sports is supposed to be ‘the thrill of victory’ and ‘the agony of defeat,’ ” she said. “But all I see is the agony. Whatever happens, there’s something to agonize about next. Why are people fans?”