As the Nationals have promoted some of their top prospects to the major league level this season – with more on the way – they have also moved some newer players up the minor league ranks.

Seaver King, last year’s first-round pick (No. 10 overall) out of Wake Forest, was recently promoted from High-A Wilmington to Double-A Harrisburg, just 45 games into his first full professional season.

King, who is ranked as the Nats’ No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 8 by Baseball America, hadn’t really experienced a promotion in his short time with the Nationals. After he was drafted, he finished the 2024 season by playing 20 games with Single-A Fredericksburg. Then he started this year straight at High-A before moving up to Double-A.

“It's something I haven't experienced quite yet. But it was good,” King said last week on the “District Chat” podcast. “We were on the road, so I got to enjoy my last bus ride with the guys in Wilmington. I got to spend my off-day there as well. And then drive up here, get ready for the game, and then come here after the game, after a walk-off win feeling good, and now I gotta unpack. So it's kind of one day of just tough work, but after that it's really enjoyable.”

The 22-year-old’s numbers at Wilmington didn’t blow anyone away, especially after a slow start to the season. But a .263 average, .687 OPS, 12 extra-base hits, 17 RBIs and 12 stolen bases while playing half of your games at pitcher-friendly Frawley Stadium is impressive enough to earn a promotion.

NEW YORK – Twelve days ago, the Nationals were coming off their second straight high-scoring win over the Diamondbacks and within two games of a .500 record. Their offense was humming, having scored nine or more runs in each outing of their four-game win streak.

But ever since then, runs have come at a premium. In the nine games since that 11-7 win in Arizona leading up to today’s finale against the Mets, the Nats scored just 15 runs for an average of just 1.7 per game.

And with today’s 4-3 loss completing a sweep in New York, that average isn’t much better as the Nats suffered a 22-inning scoreless streak from the sixth inning Tuesday night through the eighth today.

That’s not to take away from the Mets’ pitching this week. Their bullpen was lights out following Griffin Canning on Tuesday, David Peterson tossed a complete-game shutout last night and Kodai Senga continued his impressive start to the season today. But this Nats offense seems to be struggling against anyone and everyone.

Senga and his “ghost” forkball entered this afternoon’s finale with a 1.59 ERA that ranked second in the major leagues. After 5 ⅔ dominant innings, the right-hander now leads the majors with a 1.47 ERA.

NEW YORK – Two rehabbing Nationals took important steps in their respective recoveries yesterday at Citi Field.

Derek Law, recovering from right forearm inflammation, threw a 25-pitch simulated game, with Paul DeJong, recovering from a fractured nose after being hit in the face with a fastball, stepping into the batter’s box against him. Law’s fastball topped out at 93 mph, while he also mixed in his slider and changeup, per manager Davey Martinez.

It was the first time Law has thrown a simulated game against live hitters since spring training, when he was shut down near the end of camp when he felt that his body wasn’t recovering as it would normally. Speaking in front of his locker this morning, the right-handed reliever said he feels good the day after throwing off the mound.

“It was great. For me, the main thing was the recovery aspect,” he said before today’s finale against the Mets. “That was the issue in spring. It wasn't necessarily ramping up. I could always get there. But after those first couple of ones in spring, I needed every bit of, probably, three days to recover. And that was kind of the main issue. Moving forward today, I feel great. The bounceback was there, which, obviously, you need that as a reliever. So I was just really happy with that, mostly. The stuff was there. I need a little bit of fine tuning, probably. But I still have a couple of lives to go, and probably two, maybe three rehab games. I don't know, depending on how I feel. But yeah, everything is good. Recovery is good.”

This injury popped up in March after Law pitched to a 2.80 ERA and 1.178 WHIP in 90 innings over 75 appearances in 2024, by far the most he’s pitched in a single season in his eight-year career, in terms of both innings and games. That workload might have taken a toll on the 34-year-old, as his body failed to recover properly while he was getting ready for this season, a sensation that he finds difficult to put into words.

NEW YORK – For the fifth time this season, the Nationals enter the final game of a series needing a win to avoid a sweep. They’ve been swept twice: by the Blue Jays in the second series of the regular season and by the Cardinals last month. They’ll need to beat the Mets this afternoon to avoid a third sweep and a five-game losing streak.

Michael Soroka will take the mound for his eighth start with a 3-3 record, 4.86 ERA and 1.108 WHIP. The right-hander is coming off a dominant performance when he outdueled Patrick Corbin in his return to Nats Park with six shutout innings and seven strikeouts against the Rangers.

Soroka is 4-1 with a 3.08 ERA and 1.105 WHIP in seven career starts against the Mets. He’s been even better at Citi Field, where he’s 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA and 1.114 WHIP in four starts.

Meanwhile, the Nats offense will have to deal with Kodai Senga and his “ghost” forkball. The right-hander is 6-3 with a 1.59 ERA that ranks second in the major leagues. He has given up more than two runs in an outing only once this season. When he last faced the Nats on April 25 in D.C., he held them to two runs over six innings. However, the Nats did win that game.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 1:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (out-of-market only) MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 87 degrees, wind 12 mph from left to right

NEW YORK – Manager Davey Martinez was hoping to get some “thump” from his right-handed-heavy lineup. The Nationals rank in the lower third in the National League in batting average and OPS against left-handed pitching.

Although a new-look lineup featured six right-handed hitters, they faced a tough task in Mets southpaw David Peterson, who entered the night with a 2.80 ERA.

And try as they might, there was no “thump” to be had. In fact, there was anything but “thump” from the Nats during this 5-0 shutout loss in front of 40,681 fans at Citi Field.

Peterson, who also owned a not-so-impressive 1.259 WHIP at the start of the game, held the Nationals to just six hits without any walks while completing the first complete game and shutout of his six-year major league career.

“I think he was just getting ahead and getting early contact," said James Wood. "I think that let him go the distance today.”

NEW YORK – Looking to add some “thump” against left-handed pitching, Nationals manager Davey Martinez is deploying his new-look, righty-heavy lineup against the only southpaw starter they are scheduled to face during this three-game series against the Mets.

The most notable addition is Andrés Chaparro serving as the designated hitter in place of Josh Bell and hitting cleanup. Chaparro, who was recalled from Triple-A Rochester yesterday in hopes of being an impact right-handed bat, had two at-bats in last night’s loss after pinch-hitting for Bell in the eighth inning. He knocked a double off left-hander José Castillo into the right-center field in his first major league at-bat since September.

Other notable changes for tonight’s lineup: Amed Rosario is playing third base in place of José Tena and batting second; Riley Adams is catching in place of Keibert Ruiz; and Jacob Young is in center field instead of Robert Hassell III.

So what is Martinez looking for in those right-handed at-bats against David Peterson, who is the owner of a 2.80 ERA and 1.259 WHIP?

“Just work good at-bats,” the skipper said. “Chaparro, as you saw yesterday, he faced a lefty yesterday, he stayed on the ball and hit the ball well to right-center field. So I'm expecting kind of the same thing today. Just kind of stay on the ball and get some good swings off.”

NEW YORK – The Nationals almost did everything they needed to in order to win Tuesday’s series opener against the Mets. They got a strong pitching performance from starter MacKenzie Gore. They got production from the top of the lineup, particularly CJ Abrams. But they didn’t get a shutdown performance from the bullpen nor added offense late in the game.

Jake Irvin will try to duplicate what Gore did against a tough New York lineup. The right-hander enters his 14th start with a 5-2 record, 4.02 ERA and 1.226 WHIP. And despite the challenges the Mets present, Irvin has had success against them in his career. He has a 2.51 ERA in his last four starts against the National League East rivals over the past two seasons, including 7 ⅓ innings of one-run ball back in D.C. on April 25.

At the plate, the Nats will trot out a right-handed-heavy lineup to face lefty David Peterson. The 29-year-old veteran is 4-2 with a 2.80 ERA and 1.259 WHIP in 12 starts. He did not face the Nats earlier this year, but he’s 5-1 with a 3.07 ERA and 1.240 WHIP in 12 career appearances (nine starts) against them.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 7:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 81 degrees, wind 11 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
3B Amed Rosario
LF James Wood
DH Andrés Chaparro
1B Nathaniel Lowe
RF Alex Call
C Riley Adams
2B Luis García Jr.
CF Jacob Young

NEW YORK – CJ Abrams is at a crossroads in his third full season with the Nationals. After playing like one of the top shortstops in the game over the season’s first two months, he entered Tuesday’s series opener against the Mets in a slump: Over his previous 17 games, he only hit .143 with a .430 OPS and three extra-base hits.

So the question is: Does he let the slump derail his campaign, or does he re-discover his earlier success to make a run at his second straight All-Star selection, this one in his hometown of Atlanta?

Hopefully, last night’s performance was an indication that he’ll trend toward the latter.

Abrams finished the night 3-for-4 after reaching base in each of his first four plate appearances via two doubles, his ninth home run of the season and a hit-by-pitch. It was the second game in his career he had produced three or more extra-base hits, with the other being when he went 3-for-5 with a double and two home runs in Baltimore on May 18.

That was also the last game he had homered in and the beginning of his tough 17-game stretch.

NEW YORK – For the first time since the 2022 Juan Soto blockbuster trade with the Padres, six players from that deal were on the field at the same time. Who would have thought back then it would be at Citi Field three years later?

With Soto now playing for the Mets, the former National could look across the field to see Josh Bell (who joined him in going to San Diego) back with the Nats and four of the five prospects they were traded for in MacKenize Gore, CJ Abrams, James Wood and Robert Hassell III.

And wouldn’t you know it, most of those pieces from one of the biggest trades in major league history played big roles in tonight’s game.

The outcome was not a welcomed sight for the Nats, who lost 5-4 in 10 innings to the National League-leading Mets in front of 38,472 fans in Queens.

And although it probably was a welcomed sight for the Nats to see Abrams and Gore as the catalysts early in the game, it was not so to see Jose A. Ferrer and Kyle Finnegan blow it late.

NEW YORK – Before starting a three-game series against the Mets tonight, the Nationals answered a question that had been lingering since Sunday night: Who would fill the open roster spot?

After Sunday’s loss to the Rangers, the Nats optioned Nasim Nuñez to Triple-A Rochester, requiring a corresponding move when they arrived at Citi Field. The answer: Andrés Chaparro was officially recalled from Rochester in hopes he'll provide the Nats a much-needed right-handed boost.

“Very happy to be back in a major league clubhouse,” Chaparro said, via interpreter Mauricio Ortiz. “And it's also a lot of emotions because of what I went through last year with my baby. But again, happy to be back.”

What the 26-year-old and his family went through last year with his baby was an unbelievable tragedy. After his daughter, Gio Andrea, was born prematurely at the end of the season, she sadly passed away in late October.

That surely put his baseball life in the back seat. But Chaparro entered spring training with a good chance to make his first Opening Day roster, only to have that chance ripped away from him after a good camp when he injured an oblique muscle.

NEW YORK – After a 2-4 homestand, the Nationals are back on the road for a quick trip to Citi Field to play three games against the Mets. The Nats are actually a respectable 15-17 on the road this season. But they’re only 3-7 in away games against their National League East rivals.

The Nats have the right man on the mound for tonight’s opener as they try to get back to their winning ways. MacKenzie Gore has been nothing short of excellent to start this season, with a 2.87 ERA, 1.142 WHIP and major league-best 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings. The lefty has only been charged with a total of three runs over his last four starts, including back-to-back shutout performances over 13 innings against the Mariners and Cubs.

But perhaps more important for the Nationals is what they do against the guy who takes the mound for the other team. Griffin Canning has been impressive to start his first year in New York. The veteran right-hander is 6-2 with a 2.90 ERA and 1.322 WHIP over his 12 starts. And he’s coming off an impressive six shutout innings with seven strikeouts against the Dodgers his last time out.

The Nats did make a roster move this morning to help the offense: They officially recalled Andrés Chaparro from Triple-A to take the roster spot of Nasim Nuñez, who was optioned to Rochester after Sunday’s game.

But wait, the Nationals weren’t done. They also claimed right-hander Ryan Loutos off waivers from the Dodgers this afternoon and optioned him to Rochester, filling the 40-man roster.

Luis García Jr. has not had the start to the season he hoped for. Entering last night’s series opener against the Cubs, he was hitting only .247 with a .691 OPS. At the same time last year, those numbers were .264 and .729, respectively. And he finished his breakout 2024 campaign with a .282 average and .762 OPS.

Yes, the 25-year-old has been the victim of some bad luck. His expected batting average is now up to .299 and his “squared up” percentage is 34.4, with both good enough to be in the 91st percentile in the major leagues.

As he tries to get back to the level of production he put up last year, García is focusing on getting back to hitting the ball the opposite way and up the middle of the field.

Last year during his career-best season, García hit the ball the opposite way 27.5 percent of the time and straight up the middle 46.3 percent. Those percentages are down to 18.3 and 42.7, respectively, so far this season.

But last night’s showing was a good step in the (opposite) direction.

The Nationals returned home from the West Coast as one of the hottest teams in baseball. Entering tonight after a 4-2 road trip, their 11-5 record since May 14 was the fourth-best in the major leagues.

Their next challenge? The Cubs, who were tied for the best record in the majors over the same stretch at 12-4 and who were singularly the best over a longer stretch at 15-5 in their last 20 games.

A great litmus test for this young Nats team that started this homestand only three games below .500.

Unfortunately, the Nats now find themselves four games under .500 after tonight’s 8-3 loss to the Cubs in the series opener, a game in which they let an early lead slip away.

“It was a weird game," manager Davey Martinez said after his team lost for just the second time in their last six games. "A couple of mistakes on defense. And then, really, the one inning it was the walks. The walks got us that inning, and then a base hit. So we just got to come back tomorrow. We try to eliminate all that stuff. And today was just weird.”

The Nationals returned home after a week on the West Coast with high spirits. They won four of their six games against the Mariners and Diamondbacks, and now they’re about to begin a highly anticipated series with the Cubs, who own one of the best records in baseball.

And as manager Davey Martinez provided some pre-series updates on a few of his injured players, the good news kept coming as it related to their Gold Glove-caliber center fielder.

Jacob Young, who has been on the 10-day injured list since May 23 (retroactive to May 20) with a left shoulder AC sprain, officially begins a minor league rehab assignment tonight with Double-A Harrisburg. The 25-year-old was able to swing his bat and hit over the weekend, crossing off the final mark on his checklist.

So what’s the plan for Young this week?

“To play,” Martinez said. “He's been doing everything, but he finally started hitting; he felt good. The last two days, he was really taking a lot of swings. We broke it down for him as if he was playing in a game. So now he's just going to go down there and get at-bats. We'll see how he does the next few days.”

The Nationals return home after a very successful 4-2 West Coast road trip against two contending teams. The competition doesn’t ease up on South Capitol Street, however, as they face another first-place squad in the Cubs.

Craig Counsell’s club has the second-best record in the National League at 37-22, trailing only the Mets by a half-game. They are 14-4 since May 12, the best record in the majors in the span, with the Nats just behind them at 11-7.

The Nats offense will try to stay hot against rookie right-hander Cade Horton, who is the owner of a 2-0 record, 3.98 ERA and 1.230 WHIP over his first four major league appearances (three starts).

Meanwhile, Trevor Williams will look to carry over his dominance from his last outing, against the Mariners, in which he pitched six shutout innings on three hits, no walks and two strikeouts. The veteran right-hander is 3-5 with a 5.69 ERA and 1.446 WHIP over 11 starts this season and 4-8 with a 4.55 ERA and 1.518 WHIP in 18 career appearances (14 starts) against the Cubbies.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. CHICAGO CUBS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 81 degrees, wind 8 mph out to left field

Injuries happen over the course of a 162-game season. There’s no avoiding it. Teams need to be prepared.

Organizational depth plays a key role in a team’s success over the course of the six-month season. You need quality players as backups, ideally ones that play in a similar fashion as the players you hope you don’t, but inevitably do, lose to injury.

So when the Nationals had to place Dylan Crews (left oblique strain) and Jacob Young (left shoulder AC sprain) on the injured list last week, they were happy to have two prospects ready to fill the roster spots.

Robert Hassell III and Daylen Lile, ranked as the Nats’ Nos. 11 and 9 prospects, respectively, per MLB Pipeline, have had their moments in their short stint in the majors so far. The tools that have made them some of the highest-rated prospects in the farm system have been on display in their quick swings, speed on the basepaths and glovework in the outfield.

Sure, they may need more seasoning at the plate. After becoming the first National to record a multi-hit game and a stolen base in his major league debut, Hassell is hitless in his last three games. Lile is 2-for-8 in his first three major league games after only 18 games at Triple-A Rochester.

So far in this series between the Nationals and Giants, one team scores and the other does not. That was the case in each of the first two games that the squads split via shutouts.

Surely, that meant they were destined for more offensive output in Sunday’s finale in front of an announced crowd of 31,581 at Nationals Park, right?

Early on, it seemed that way. But the Nats were unable to overcome an early deficit in an eventual 3-2 loss to the Giants, giving Washington its first series loss in the last three matchups.

After MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin pitched quality starts in the first two games of this three-game set, it was Michael Soroka’s turn to attempt to get deep in the game and give his team a chance at a win.

Soroka cruised through his first inning, throwing seven of eight pitches for strikes. But he labored over the next two frames to bring his pitch count to 60 after just three innings.

The Nationals are still waiting to see if their All-Star closer is available for this afternoon’s series finale against the Giants. If not, they have no problem giving him some more rest before tomorrow’s off-day and the upcoming six-game West Coast road trip.

Kyle Finnegan has been dealing with arm fatigue after pitching two innings in the Nats’ two wins over the Braves earlier this week. The right-hander recorded his 15th save, good for third in the major leagues, with a perfect ninth inning on Tuesday and then was charged with his third blown save after giving up two hits and an unearned run in the ninth of Thursday’s extra-inning victory.

"Just a little arm fatigue after pitching twice against Atlanta,” Finnegan told reporters yesterday after not appearing in the 3-0 win over the Giants. “I just haven't quite bounced back yet. But I feel fine. It's just an abundance of caution, take an extra day."

Neither the closer nor the team feels too concerned about it. Ideally, he would be available to pitch this afternoon. But even if he’s not, the Nats are confident in their other closing candidates like Jorge López, who recorded his first save of the season Saturday.

“Just like fatigue,” Finnegan said. “Some outings you're more sore than others, really no reason why. Just a little more fatigued. But like I said, it's really not something I'm concerned with at all."

After Friday’s shutout loss to end a five-game win streak, the Nationals bounced right back to shut out the Giants yesterday to get back in the win column. They are now winners of seven of their last nine, and if they can win one more this afternoon, they’ll be winners of three straight series ahead of a long West Coast road trip.

Michael Soroka will try to do what MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin did the last two outings: Hold the Giants lineup to minimal damage and pitch deep into the game. The right-hander enters his fifth start with a 1-2 record, 5.95 ERA and 1.271 WHIP.

Meanwhile, the Nats bats will try to do something few have accomplished this season: Get to Robbie Ray. The veteran left-hander is undefeated at 6-0 with a 2.67 ERA and 1.221 WHIP over his 10 starts. The Giants have only lost one game Ray has started this year, his most recent one in which he pitched seven shutout innings against the Royals.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 68 degrees, wind 10 mph in from left field

The Nationals are promoting their top prospect up a level in their minor league system.

Travis Sykora, the No. 1 prospect in the Nats system and No. 61 overall per MLB Pipeline, is being promoted to High-A Wilmington, a source confirms.

Sykora dominated Single-A once again following his return from offseason hip surgery. He held opponents to one hit, one run and one walk while striking out 14 in just five innings over two starts with the Fredericksburg Nationals.

It was an easy return to form for the 21-year-old, who the Nats selected out of high school in the third round of the 2023 MLB Draft. The 6-foot-6 righty was named Carolina League Pitcher of the Year in 2024 after going 5-3 with a 2.33 ERA, 0.906 WHIP, 129 strikeouts and 13.7 strikeouts per nine innings across 20 starts.

He also dominated in the playoffs to help the FredNats win their first championship since moving to Fredericksburg in 2020.