It is an absolutely spectacular Saturday afternoon in the nation’s capital. I don’t know what we did to deserve this sustained fine weather in late-August, but eternal thanks to whomever is responsible for it. Now, can the home team make it worthwhile for everyone who comes to Nationals Park for this game?

The Nats are mired in a six-game losing streak, one that has featured several frustrating losses, but perhaps none as frustrating as Friday night’s series opener against the Rays. Despite totaling 12 hits and four walks, they scored only one run because they went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Obviously, that won’t cut it in any situation. They have to be better today against right-hander Ryan Pepiot and the Tampa Bay bullpen.

Speaking of people who need to be better, Jake Irvin desperately needs a bounceback performance. It’s too late to salvage this month (0-4, 9.55 ERA) but perhaps the right-hander can at least end it on a high note and head into September feeling better about himself.

And the Nationals need someone in the rotation to step up and finish the season strong, because they just announced their most significant injury in a while: MacKenzie Gore has been placed on the 15-day IL with left shoulder inflammation. We’ll find out more shortly, so please check back for the full article before today’s game, but clearly this is not good news, especially at this late point in the season. Mason Thompson was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take Gore’s roster spot for now.

TAMPA BAY RAYS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 76 degrees, wind 6 mph in from left field

PHILADELPHIA – When James Wood grounded into a double play with the bases loaded in the top of the eighth Sunday afternoon, there was plenty of reason for the Nationals slugger to be disappointed in himself. That 4-6-3 twin-killing may have brought home his team’s first run of the day, but it spoiled a golden opportunity to score a lot more than that during what wound up a 3-2 loss to the Phillies.

The real surprise about Wood’s at-bat, though, was the fact he actually made contact yet didn’t record a hit in the process.

In one of the stranger weekend performances you’ll ever see, Wood finished the series 4-for-12 with one walk and seven strikeouts. Do the math, and you’ll figure out the unusual part of this: Every batted ball he produced turned into a hit, until that killer ground ball to second. He struck out in every other at-bat.

Wood has worked hard to snap himself out of the prolonged slump he was mired in through most of July and into the early stages of August. He entered Sunday’s game batting .304 with an .886 OPS over his previous 14 games, looking much more like the best version of himself from the season’s first half.

But he’s not all the way back. Because while Wood is finally hitting the ball hard again, he’s not hitting the ball enough overall, leading to a gargantuan strikeout total.

PHILADELPHIA – Three-fifths of the Nationals rotation is giving them a chance to win right now. The other two-fifths is not, and that has become a real problem.

While MacKenzie Gore, Brad Lord and Cade Cavalli have offered the organization legitimate reason for short-term and long-term encouragement with their pitching performances, Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker haven’t come close to matching their teammates’ numbers. It would be one thing if those two were at least gutting out five or six innings and keeping the score close, but even that has become a challenge.

It happened to Parker during Saturday night’s loss to the Phillies. And it happened to Irvin this afternoon during a 3-2 loss to the National League East leaders.

It certainly didn’t help matters that the Nats lineup was rendered helpless by Philadelphia left-hander Ranger Suárez, who struck out a career-high 11 batters over seven scoreless innings. But Irvin’s inability to complete even three innings made it feel like this game was much more one-sided than it actually was.

This is the recurring theme for the Nationals at this stage of the season. Over the last 2 1/2 weeks, they’ve gone 7-2 in games started by Gore, Lord and Cavalli while going 1-7 in games started by Irvin and Parker.

PHILADELPHIA – Riley Adams could only laugh when presented with the question: When’s the last time he batted third?

“I don’t know,” the Nationals catcher replied. “Maybe in the minors last year?”

He’s right. Adams actually batted third for the Rochester Red Wings in their final game of the 2024 season, capping off a frustrating season that saw him twice demoted to Triple-A following prolonged periods of struggle in the big leagues.

And the way this season began, Adams could’ve found himself confronting that situation again. As recently as June 23, he was the not-so-proud owner of an .097 batting average and .383 OPS, numbers that could have left his career hanging in the balance.

But with the opportunity to start playing more consistently after Keibert Ruiz landed on the seven-day concussion injured list, Adams has resurrected his season. And it has all come together this month, leading to a .320/.404/.480 slash line in August that has raised his season batting average to .207 and his OPS to .641.

PHILADELPHIA – Good morning from Citizens Bank Park, where the Nationals and Phillies meet for the final time this season. A win today and the Nats would take the series, no small feat. They’d also finish the season series 6-7 against the top team in the National League East. All things considered, that’s not bad at all.

The preeminent storyline today: Can Jake Irvin get himself back on track and give his team a chance? The right-hander is in a serious rut right now, going 2-5 with a 7.36 ERA over his last 10 starts, raising his season ERA from 4.18 to 5.30. Home runs and walks have killed Irvin: He’s served up 2.3 homers and issued 4.2 walks per nine innings during that stretch.

The Nationals haven’t seen Ranger Suárez at all this season, so who knows what to expect when they face the Phillies left-hander? Suárez is having a good season (9-6, 3.25 ERA, 1.168 WHIP), but the Nats did get to him last year for eight runs and 11 hits in eight innings spread over two starts. Something else to consider: If the game is close late, will the Phillies have Jhoan Duran and top lefty reliever Matt Strahm available? Each pitched in the first two games of the series, so it’s possible each is unavailable this afternoon.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Citizens Bank Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 82 degrees, wind 10 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
DH James Wood
SS CJ Abrams
C Riley Adams
1B Andrés Chaparro
2B Paul DeJong
RF Dylan Crews
3B Brady House
LF Robert Hassell III
CF Jacob Young

PHILADELPHIA – They gave themselves another chance at another dramatic rally inside a sold-out Citizens Bank Park, in spite of the large hole Mitchell Parker dug for his teammates. The Nationals chipped away at the big deficit, got themselves to within two runs and had a chance to tie the game (or even take the lead) late against the Phillies' bullpen for the second straight night.

Perhaps it’s a good reminder just how special Friday night’s come-from-behind win was, though. These things generally don’t happen every night. And, in fact, it didn’t happen again tonight, the Phillies hanging on for a 6-4 victory to even the weekend series and set up a rubber match here Sunday afternoon.

The Nationals, who stormed back in the top of the ninth against Jhoan Duran in the opener, couldn’t make lightning strike twice, though they sure gave it a try. Brady House doubled and Robert Hassell III singled with one out off the All-Star closer, bringing the big boys to the plate representing the go-ahead run. But Duran managed to strike out James Wood and get CJ Abrams to line out to left to end the game and secure his seventh save in eight tries since his acquisition from the Phillies.

Few opponents have proven as tough on Duran as the Nats, though, who have now faced him six times in the last four weeks alone (the first two when he was still with the Twins). They've managed to bat .381 (8-for-21) against him, dramatically better than the .199 mark the rest of the sport has against him this year.

"I think we know we can beat this guy," Hassell said. "We know that anyway, but actually seeing it last night, coming into tonight, we were pretty confident."

PHILADELPHIA – Add another name to the list of Nationals position players getting a crash course at first base: Luis García Jr.

García has been taking grounders and scooping short-hop throws at first base in recent days, learning the nuances of the position from interim manager Miguel Cairo. He’s not ready to appear there in a game yet, but he’s admittedly handled his work there so far well.

“I feel comfortable,” García said, via interpreter Mauricio Ortiz. “Going into it, I think I feel more comfortable than what I expected.”

Originally a shortstop coming up through the minors – and briefly in the majors in 2022 – García made the full-time move to second base later that year and has remained there since. But while his offensive production ticked up, his defensive work diminished. After rating well with 5 Outs Above Average last season, he has plummeted to minus-7 OAA this season, ranking among the worst second basemen in the majors.

With the organization still searching for a long-term answer at first base, García has become the latest current major leaguer to get a look over there. Though Josh Bell has taken over the primary starting job since the Nats designated Nathaniel Lowe for assignment, Cairo has also used utility infielder Paul DeJong and recent Triple-A call-up Andres Chaparro at first base. Catcher Keibert Ruiz, on the 7-day concussion injured list nearly two months, has been getting some work there before games.

PHILADELPHIA – One of the Nationals’ best wins of the season was made possible by Dylan Crews and Daylen Lile’s offensive and baserunning exploits in the top of the ninth, not to mention by PJ Poulin’s two perfect innings of relief to close out an unexpected, 5-4 victory. But none of that would have been possible if not for Cade Cavalli’s quality start, which underscores an important point.

Three of the Nats’ five starters are giving them a chance to win right now. The other two are not. During this nice run against the Phillies and Mets, the team has gone 5-1 in games started by either Cavalli, MacKenzie Gore or Brad Lord, but 0-2 in games started by Mitchell Parker or Jake Irvin. And guess who starts the final two games of this series?

Parker has got to give the Nationals more than he has of late. The lefty has allowed 22 earned runs over his last 16 innings, the team going 0-4 in those starts. His ERA has skyrocketed to 5.83. And when he faced these same Phillies six days ago, he didn’t even make it out of the second inning. Somehow, some way, Parker has to figure out how to at least give his team a chance tonight.

The good news: The Nats beat up on Aaron Nola the same day the Phillies were beating up on Parker. They scored six runs off the veteran right-hander, all of them coming in the third inning, to knock him out of the game. They will be looking to do the same tonight, and perhaps provide enough run support to make up for a potentially shaky start by Parker.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Citizens Bank Park
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 80 degrees, wind 12 mph out to center field

PHILADELPHIA – PJ Poulin wasn’t part of the Tigers’ trade package for Kyle Finnegan, but he might as well have been.

When Detroit acquired Finnegan from the Nationals at the trade deadline for minor leaguers Josh Randall and R.J. Sales, another transaction was necessary to clear a 40-man spot for the veteran reliever. The odd man out wound up being Poulin, who was pitching well at Triple-A Toledo but was deemed expendable and thus was designated for assignment.

The Nats, of course, swooped in and claimed the 29-year-old left-hander off waivers, then surprised him by sending him not to Triple-A Rochester but straight to Washington to join a big league roster for the first time in his career.

Poulin, an 11th-round pick of the Rockies in 2018 out of the University of Connecticut, was stunned just to be in the majors. Three weeks later, could he have believed he would find himself on the mound in the bottom of the ninth at Citizens Bank Park, trying to close out a one-run win in front of a sellout crowd of Phillies fans?

“Uh, I mean … no,” he said with a laugh after contemplating how ludicrous that notion would have sounded at the time. “This has been like the best three weeks of my life.”

PHILADELPHIA – The lights went down at Citizens Bank Park, the cell phones turned on and a sellout crowd of 44,757 roared as Jhoan Duran entered from the bullpen for the top of the ninth. There may be no more imposing scene in baseball right now, and here were the young Nationals forced to confront it head-on.

And confront it they did, with their most impressive rally of the season and arguably their best win in a very long time.

Behind clutch hits and aggressive baserunning from rookies Dylan Crews and Daylen Lile, the Nationals took down Duran, scoring the tying and winning runs en route to a 5-4 victory that left this ballpark stunned and left the visitors’ dugout in jubilation.

"This is what playoff baseball is all about," said Crews, who has seen the Nats go 27-26 in the games he's played this season, compared to 26-49 when he sat or was on the 60-day injured list. "If we want to get to where we want to get to, we have to play in environments like this. ... This is playoff baseball."

Trailing by a run when they came up to bat in the ninth, having already squandered opportunities with runners in scoring position each of the previous three innings, the Nats finally converted against one of the best closers in the sport. And they did it behind the efforts of two rookie outfielders.

PHILADELPHIA – As Bob Carpenter enters the home stretch of his final season behind the microphone, plans are coming together to honor the retiring broadcaster at Nationals Park.

The Nationals announced today they will honor Carpenter prior to their Sept. 27 game against the White Sox, the penultimate game of the season.

The club will hold a retirement ceremony on the field beginning at 3 p.m. (first pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.), with a video tribute, messages from former players and colleagues and a special gift presentation. Carpenter’s name will be unveiled on the façade underneath the broadcast booth, where it will become a permanent fixture.

The first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive a commemorative “See! You! Later!” T-shirt honoring Carpenter’s signature home run call, and a limited number of special game scorecards will be available as well, reflecting the scorebook he has self-published for decades that has become the industry standard for baseball broadcasters at every level of the sport.

The weekend series also will feature the return of the “See You Tater” concessions concept at the “Change-Up” Food Hall in the center field plaza.

PHILADELPHIA – How about that surprising homestand? The Nationals wound up going 4-3 against the Phillies and Mets, looking pretty sharp in the process against the top two teams in the division. So what’s up next? How about a road trip to … Philadelphia and New York!

They won’t be facing the Mets again; this trip concludes at Yankee Stadium, not Citi Field. But first up, it is a rematch with the Phillies over the weekend, the Nats hoping to keep the good vibes going in a very familiar matchup.

Cade Cavalli looked great six nights ago against this same lineup, tossing seven scoreless innings on 90 pitches to earn his first major league win. It’s an entirely new challenge, though, to face the same team again, especially in back-to-back starts. Surely, the Phillies picked up on something about Cavalli in the first meeting. It’s up to the rookie right-hander (and the Nationals coaching staff) to figure out what, if any, adjustments he needs to make in the rematch.

Cavalli outdueled Taijuan Walker in that Saturday afternoon affair on South Capitol Street, and that’s who the Nationals are facing again tonight. The veteran right-hander allowed two runs over 6 2/3 innings, the big blow a two-out, two-run double by James Wood in the bottom of the fifth that accounted for all of the runs scored in the 2-0 victory.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Citizens Bank Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 79 degrees, wind 5 mph out to left field

The Nationals signed Shinnosuke Ogasawara over the winter believing the 27-year-old left-hander – the first Japanese free agent signing in club history – could become a viable major league starter, or at worst provide ready-to-go rotation depth at Triple-A Rochester.

The plan never was to use him as a reliever. Certainly not as a late-inning, high-leverage arm.

Funny how plans change. Because over the course of the last two weeks, Ogasawara has found himself pitching in a most unexpected role. And thriving in it.

Wednesday night provided the most dramatic example yet. Handed the ball for the top of the seventh with the Nats leading the Mets by one run, Ogasawara proceeded to retire Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Starling Marte in order, preserving a 5-4 lead that wound up holding through the game’s final out.

“He’s on a mission,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “I love the passion, the energy. That’s what you’re looking for when you put someone on the mound.”

The Nationals put themselves in position to win tonight’s game against the Mets thanks to a much-needed and improved offensive approach against Kodai Senga and another solid start by Brad Lord, at least until it nearly fell apart on him in the top of the sixth.

All of which left Miguel Cairo – and then Henry Blanco once Cairo was ejected during that same inning – to try to piece together the final 11 outs of this game with a bullpen loaded with inexperienced arms.

And then one by one, those inexperienced arms performed like seasoned veterans, four relievers coming together to deliver 3 2/3 innings of scoreless ball to secure a hard-earned 5-4 victory over New York.

"Anytime you can win a one-run ballgame is huge," right fielder Dylan Crews said. "That's what makes great teams great. ... That's a huge win for us right there, and we couldn't have done it without the bullpen."

The unlikely quartet that got the job done against one of the more imposing lineups in the National League? Cole Henry, Shinnosuke Ogasawara, Clayton Beeter and Jose A. Ferrer. That may not be how anyone would’ve drawn things up as recently as a month ago, but it’s what the Nationals have right now, so it’s what they used to beat the Mets.

Eli Willits is ready to make his minor league debut.

The Nationals are transferring this year’s No. 1 draft pick to Single-A Fredericksburg and plan for him to debut Thursday night, a source familiar with the organization’s plan confirmed.

Since signing for $8.2 million last month, Willits has been working out at the team’s spring training complex in West Palm Beach. He arrived too late to play in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League but still got reps over the last few weeks in intrasquad games and unofficial games against other organizations that train in the vicinity.

The question all along was whether the Nationals would decide the 17-year-old shortstop was ready to play with an affiliate. They ultimately decided he is ready and will now get a brief window to watch him play against minor leaguers who in most cases are several years older than Willits.

The FredNats are home this week against Fayetteville, then embark on a six-game trip next week to Lynchburg before returning home for the season’s final week against Carolina. The Single-A Carolina League regular season ends Sept. 7, so at most Willits will play in 18 games between now and then.

Last night’s game did not go well at all for the Nationals, on either side of the ball. On the mound, Jake Irvin got roughed up by the Mets for six runs (five of them coming in the top of the third). At the plate, the lineup was absolutely carved up by David Peterson for the umpteenth time. Put it all together, and you’ve got a completely lackluster, 8-1 loss.

What does tonight have in store? If nothing else, it will be interesting to see how Brad Lord fares in his 12th big league start, his second against the Mets. The rookie right-hander tossed only four innings that April night during a 2-0 loss. He’s fully built up for a longer workload tonight, provided he’s effective enough to warrant remaining in the game. The good news: He has been quite effective since rejoining the rotation, posting a 2.77 ERA and 1.154 WHIP in five starts.

At the plate, the Nationals simply have to put together better at-bats than they did last night against Peterson. The problem: They’ve had very little success in two previous cracks at Kodai Senga this season, including 5 2/3 innings of one-hit ball in June. Like Peterson, Senga can be really deceptive. The onus is on the Nats’ hitters to be patient and take what’s given to them, which means hitting the ball the other way if he keeps everything down and away.

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 82 degrees, wind 8 mph in from right field

METS
SS Francisco Lindor
RF Juan Soto
LF Brandon Nimmo
1B Pete Alonso
2B Jeff McNeil
DH Mark Vientos
3B Brett Baty
CF Cedric Mullins
C Luis Torrens

Most major league managers don’t participate in the nightly exchange of lineup cards prior to first pitch, preferring instead to hand off that assignment to various members of the coaching staff. When it came time for the traditional ritual Tuesday night at Nationals Park, both team’s skippers absolutely made sure they were the ones making their way toward home plate.

For the Nationals’ Miguel Cairo and the Mets’ Carlos Mendoza, this was no ordinary ballgame. This was history: The first time two Venezuelans managed against each other in a major league game. And when they greeted each other shortly before first pitch at 6:45 p.m. and posed for photos, it absolutely meant something to each man.

“I got chills,” Cairo said following the Nats’ 8-1 loss. “Because it was cool to see countrymen being managers in the big leagues at the same time playing together.”

There have been only four Venezuelan-born managers in big league history. Ozzie Guillén was the most well-known, the bombastic former shortstop managing the White Sox from 2004-11 and the Marlins in 2012. Al Pedrique took over the Diamondbacks during the 2004 season after Bob Brenly was fired but wasn’t retained that winter.

Cairo has now twice been promoted from bench coach to interim manager, first in 2022 with the White Sox after Tony La Russa went on medical leave, and of course this summer with Nationals after Davey Martinez was fired. Mendoza, meanwhile, was hired by the Mets last year and proceeded to lead them to the National League Championship Series.

There are few surer things in baseball right now than David Peterson mowing down the Washington Nationals.

Stick the Mets left-hander on the mound against this particular lineup, and you probably know the results before he ever throws a pitch. Just let Peterson throw his tantalizing assortment of 90 mph sinkers, breaking balls and changeups and watch as the Nats continue to flail away, making precious little solid contact.

It’s happened before. It happened again tonight. And unless the Nationals’ position players actually do something to adjust, it’s pretty much guaranteed to happen again the next time they meet.

Tonight’s 8-1 loss might have stood out if not for the fact it was a near-repeat of Peterson’s last start against the Nats, when he tossed a six-hit shutout at Citi Field.

They didn’t score off him the time before that, either. All told, Peterson had thrown 25 consecutive scoreless innings against the Nationals before they finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth tonight. And the dominance isn’t confined to this current inexperienced lineup. During a career that began in 2020, Peterson has now faced the Nats a total of 14 times (11 of them starts). The Mets’ record in those games: 13-1.

Andrés Chaparro’s last stint with the Nationals didn’t include much playing time, to put it mildly. He appeared in only four games during three weeks on the big league roster in June.

This time around, there should be considerably more at-bats for the 26-year-old first baseman/designated hitter, who was recalled from Triple-A Rochester in a roster swap with infielder José Tena.

“He’s going to be playing against left-handed pitchers,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “I’m going to try to mix it up. It depends how he does. But we want to see him, and he should have an opportunity to show what he can do.”

Sure enough, Chaparro is in tonight’s lineup against Mets left-hander David Peterson, batting seventh and starting at first base, with Josh Bell back in the DH role after several starts at first base over the weekend.

The Nats saw glimpses of Chaparro’s production late last season, when he totaled 12 doubles and four homers in 33 games. But he went just 1-for-11 in his earlier stint this summer, stuck on the bench behind both Bell and Nathaniel Lowe.

The Nationals survived the first of four consecutive series against playoff contenders from Philadelphia and New York, splitting their four-game series with the Phillies. Next up, it’s the Mets, who come to town in a bit of a tailspin, having lost 14 of their last 17 while dealing with all kinds of injuries. They did manage to win two in a row over the weekend against the Mariners, including Sunday night’s Little League Classic in Williamsport. So perhaps they’re on the mend. Either way, they can’t afford to lose this series to the Nats.

One of the surprising stalwarts of the New York rotation has been David Peterson, the veteran left-hander who has always resided at the back of the rotation but has ascended into a top starter this year, earning his first career All-Star selection. Peterson has been outstanding against the Nationals throughout his career, going 6-1 with a 2.64 ERA in 13 games (10 starts). That includes a six-hit, zero-walk shutout earlier this season at Citi Field.

Peterson’s opponent for that June 11 was Jake Irvin, who gave up four runs over five innings to take the loss. That was in stark contrast to Irvin’s April 25 start against the Mets, when he went 7 1/3 innings giving up only one run. He also dominated this lineup twice last season, memorably tossing eight innings of one-hit ball last July 4 and then also going 7 1/3 allowing only one run last September in Flushing.

Which version of Irvin shows up tonight? The Nationals would love for him to get back on track against an opponent he’s enjoyed success against more than once before.

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain, 71 degrees, wind 9 mph in from right field