With five of their final six series coming against sub-.500 clubs, the Nationals haven’t really had a chance to play any meaningful baseball down the stretch of the season. With one exception: This weekend’s series in New York.

The Mets are the only opponent on the Nats’ late-September schedule that both owns a winning record and is still fighting for a postseason berth. New York enters the day holding a slim, 2-game lead over the Diamondbacks and Reds (and possibly the Giants, pending the outcome of their game late Thursday night against the Dodgers) with nine to play.

Which means the Nationals have a real opportunity to make a difference this weekend, whether hurting or helping the Mets’ chances.

Given how poorly they played earlier this week against a fourth-place Braves team, there’s little reason to think they’re going to flip the switch and perform better against a much better opponent now. But in a strange twist to this most frustrating 2025 season, some of their best performances actually have come against better competition.

The Nats have a winning head-to-head record this year against seven opposing teams. And four of them are playoff contenders: the Tigers, Mariners, Diamondbacks and Reds. They’ve also won individual series along the way against the Dodgers, Mets, Cubs and Giants.

Inside their clubhouse Wednesday evening, the Nationals packed up their bags and prepared to depart for New York. What they really were looking forward to, though, was the day off they’ve got in the Big Apple before opening a three-game series Friday against the Mets.

It’s their first day off in two weeks, since the Thursday they had in Chicago on Sept. 4. In between, they played 14 games in 13 days, winning six and losing eight, the quality of baseball seemingly getting worse as the days passed. To wit: After winning four of their first five during this stretch, they proceeded to lose seven of their next nine.

It was, to be sure, a grueling two weeks. And that would have applied no matter the time of year, but was especially true here in September of a season that was lost months ago.

These Nationals are limping to the finish line, that much seemed clear as they were suffering a four-game sweep at the hands of the Braves this week. A Braves team, by the way, that has nothing to play for itself at the end of an even more frustrating season for a perennial contender that is about to finish with a losing record for the first time in eight years.

Why, then, did Atlanta look so energized during this series while the Nats looked so flat?

As the bottom of the fifth came to a close at windy, gray Nationals Park late this afternoon, the home team finally had reason to feel encouraged for the first time in this four-games-in-48-hours series against the Braves. Brad Lord had tossed five scoreless innings to continue his September resurgence. The lineup had figured out Atlanta starter Hurston Waldrep at last, scoring three runs in rapid fire to take the lead and snap a 15-inning scoreless streak.

And then Miguel Cairo sent Lord back to the mound for the top of the sixth, a curious decision in the moment that only looked worse when the rookie right-hander gave up hits to two of the three batters he faced before getting pulled.

Not that the bullpen performed any better. Clayton Beeter really turned the top of the sixth into a mess, the Braves ultimately scoring four runs before tacking on two more against newly promoted reliever Sauryn Lao and three more off Shinnosuke Ogasawara to hand the Nats a thoroughly frustrating 9-4 loss that completed a miserable three days at the park.

When this series opened Monday evening, the Nationals trailed the Braves by four games at the bottom of the National League East standings, still with a shot at catching them for fourth place before season’s end. Four straight losses to Atlanta, however, dashed any hope of that and left the Nats at 62-91, matching their loss total from each of the previous two years with nine games still to be played.

"It's never easy to lose," rookie right fielder Dylan Crews said. "We want to win every single day, trust me. We want to go out there and win every single time we walk out onto that field. But we've got to fix some things. We've got to command the strike zone a lot better, from both sides. We do that, a lot of good things happen."

The Nationals will get a look at another newly acquired reliver before season’s end, calling up right-hander Sauryn Lao from Triple-A and optioning Orlando Ribalta to Rochester before today’s series finale against the Braves.

Lao was claimed off waivers from the Mariners on Sept. 3, a 26-year-old rookie who pitched in two major league games for Seattle earlier this season after spending the first nine years of his professional career in the Dodgers organization.

Lao (whose name is pronounced “SOW-rin low”) made three appearances for Rochester following his acquisition from Seattle, allowing one run over 5 2/3 innings, with five hits, two walks and two strikeouts. He primarily throws a four-seam fastball that averages 92 mph and a slider that averages 86 mph, utilizing those two pitches an equal number of times in his brief big league career.

“It’s a fresh arm that can help us,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “We got him on waivers, and they want to see him, and this is a chance for him to show what he’s got, and if he can help us.”

Lao didn’t exactly take a conventional path to get here. The Dominican native was originally signed by the Dodgers in 2016 as a corner infielder, converting to a pitcher only in 2023 after his hitting career stalled out at Single-A. He has found new life in the new role, going 8-5 with a 3.46 ERA and 1.251 WHIP in 99 minor league games, including 19 starts for the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma this season.

It was a miserable Tuesday at Nationals Park, in more ways than one. There was a day-night doubleheader. There was a two-hour rain delay before they could start the nightcap. There were extra innings in that nightcap. And, ultimately, the Nationals lost both games to the Braves, leaving them in danger of a four-game sweep if they lose today’s series finale as well.

But it’s a new day, so who knows what might transpire when these teams meet again at 4:05 p.m. (weather permitting, yet again)?

It’s Brad Lord on the mound for the Nats, looking to finish out his rookie season strong after a little blip recently. Lord gave up seven runs in back-to-back starts against the Yankees and Rays, which made his ERA spike from 3.84 to 4.34. But he was much better his last two times out against the Cubs and Pirates, allowing a total of four runs in 11 2/3 innings, which has brought his ERA down to 4.21. He faced the Braves three times this season, all in May, but all as a reliever. So they’ll be seeing a different version of the right-hander this afternoon.

Offensively, the Nationals desperately need to get something going at the plate early against Hurston Waldrep after getting worked by Spencer Strider, José Suarez and Chris Sale in the first three games of the series. Waldrep, 23, is making only his 10th career start, but his major league debut actually came last summer at Nationals Park. How did the home team do that afternoon? They scored seven runs in the fourth inning off Waldrep, with the big blow being a three-run homer by Keibert Ruiz (who, alas, is not playing today).

ATLANTA BRAVES 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: Chance of rain, 66 degrees, wind 10 mph in from center field

The National League East standings suggest the Nationals aren’t much worse than the Braves, entering the night trailing their division foes by a mere four games in the battle to finish fourth at the end of a miserable season for both clubs.

The baseball that was on display tonight, though, offered up little evidence these two teams deserve to be lumped into the same category. This 11-3 loss felt far more like the lopsided losses the Nats routinely suffered at the hands of the playoff-bound Braves the previous four years.

At the plate, the Nationals were overwhelmed by a young flamethrower in an Atlanta jersey, in this case the resurgent Spencer Strider, who dominated over seven innings. On the mound, a Nats left-hander finishing out the string of a ragged season was battered around by experienced hitters, in this case Mitchell Parker taking the punishment.

It all made for a familiar, frustrating night on South Capitol Street, where the home team was overmatched in every way by the opposition, even if their respective positions in the standings suggest that shouldn’t have been the case.

"We didn't hit today," interim manager Miguel Cairo said. "They just hit better than us today. They were better. They beat us."

Jarlin Susana had surgery last week to repair his right lat muscle, a procedure that could impact the top pitching prospect’s availability for Nationals spring training.

Susana, the organization’s third-rated prospect behind shortstop Eli Willits and fellow right-hander Travis Sykora, injured himself during an Aug. 30 start for Double-A Harrisburg, departing after allowing three runs on one hit, three walks and a hit-by-pitch in 1 2/3 innings. A subsequent MRI revealed a lat strain, the Nats announced Sept. 5, though they were still consulting with doctors to determine a course of action.

The final determination was that the strain was significant enough to require surgery, which was performed last week. The Nationals did not offer a timeline for his recovery, but pitchers who need lat surgery typically miss a considerable amount of time.

Mets left-hander AJ Minter had season-ending lat surgery in early May. Brewers right-hander JB Bukauskas has missed the entire season following lat surgery in late February.

According to Major League Baseball’s injury glossary, Grade 1 lat strains are considered mild and require only 2-3 weeks of recovery, Grade 2 strains are considered moderate and require a month of recovery and Game 3 strains are considered severe because the muscle ruptures, requiring surgery with a considerably longer recovery period.

We’ve reached the final two weeks of the season, with only four series remaining on the Nationals’ schedule. And while they will face an interleague opponent (the White Sox) to wrap up 2025, before that they’ve got three straight series against fellow National League East opponents, two of them against the Braves.

And this first series vs. Atlanta is a four-games-in-three-days series, with a day-night doubleheader on the docket Tuesday. First up, though, is tonight’s 6:45 p.m. opener. It’ll be Mitchell Parker on the mound, hoping to pick up where he left off in Miami last week when he allowed just two runs over 7 2/3 innings in his best start in weeks. The left-hander was OK in two back-to-back starts against the Braves back in May, allowing seven runs over 10 innings but emerging with a win in one of the games and a no-decision in the other.

Spencer Strider was Parker’s opponent for the May 20 meeting between these teams, and the Nationals jumped all over him for three runs in the first and another in the second. Strider was making only his second start off the injured list at the time. And while it’s been a rocky road for the hard-throwing right-hander, he has been better of late, posting a 3.00 ERA over his last three outings.

ATLANTA BRAVES 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, 77 degrees, wind 9 mph in from right field

BRAVES
LF Jurickson Profar
1B Matt Olson
RF Ronald Acuña Jr.
2B Ozzie Albies
SS Ha-Seong Kim
C Drake Baldwin
DH Marcell Ozuna
CF Michael Harris II
3B Nacho Alvarez Jr.

The call came down to the bullpen as the bottom of the eighth was about to get underway Sunday afternoon. The Nationals and Pirates were tied 3-3, but Clayton Beeter was informed he should start warming up, because if his teammates scored that inning, he was going to be pitching the ninth.

Yes, in a save situation for the first time in his career. And how did the 26-year-old rookie handle that news?

“It felt pretty much the same,” he insisted. “Obviously, I knew what it was. But I felt confident that I was going to go out there and keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

Which is precisely what Beeter did do. Though he put two runners on base with two outs, the right-hander responded by striking out Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds to end the game, preserve a 4-3 victory and lock up his first career save.

How was it that Beeter found himself in this unlikely situation?

They waited it out all morning and early afternoon, the game tied since the end of the second inning, just looking for some kind of break to take the lead for good.

And when that break came in the form of another misplay in center field by Oneil Cruz, the Nationals took full advantage and then rode a makeshift bullpen to a 4-3 victory over the Pirates.

Daylen Lile provided the long-awaited club hit with a one-out double to left-center in the bottom of the eighth. And when Cruz (who already let one hit scoot under his glove earlier this weekend) did it again, James Wood (who started the rally with a walk) was able to race all the way home from first with the go-ahead run.

"At first, I was just thinking double. I thought it was going to be second and third," said Lile, who finished 2-for-2 with two walks, the rookie raising his OPS to .796. "And as soon as I saw it get past Cruz, I just kicked it into second gear, get to third base, and I saw James score."

Clayton Beeter, pressed into surprise closer service, then finished it off in the top of the ninth, overcoming a two-out walk and subsequent single to earn the first save of his career, capping an impressive game for the Nationals bullpen.

Cole Henry’s impressive rookie season has come to an unfortunate and premature end.

The Nationals placed Henry on the 15-day injured list this morning with a back strain, bringing an abrupt halt to the reliever’s first big league season with exactly 15 days remaining on the schedule.

Orlando Ribalta, who had just been optioned to Triple-A Rochester three days ago to clear a spot for MacKenzie Gore’s return from the IL, was recalled and will be back in the bullpen for today’s series finale against the Pirates.

Henry struggled during a high-leverage appearance Saturday afternoon. Entrusted with the top of the eighth with the Nats leading 1-0, he walked two of the three batters he faced, throwing only seven of his 18 pitches for strikes before getting pulled in favor of left-hander PJ Poulin, who allowed both inherited runners to score during what became a four-run rally for Pittsburgh.

It was Henry’s third consecutive shaky outing. He gave up three runs (two earned) on two hits, a hit-by-pitch and a wild pitch Monday in Miami, then returned to the mound two nights later and walked two during a scoreless inning.

Who’s up for some Sunday morning baseball? Yes, the Nationals and Pirates will kick off this NFL Sunday with a special 11:35 a.m. first pitch on South Capitol Street. But it’s not one of those early Roku games. We’ve got you covered in full on MASN for this one, which has the extra early start because it’s the annual Nats on Base Abroad game.

Two members of the 2019 World Series roster (Adam Eaton and Brian Dozier) will be watching the game from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar alongside U.S. service members stationed there. Given the time difference, the Nationals got permission to move the start time up two hours from the usual Sunday first pitch.

As for the game itself, the Nationals and Pirates square off in the rubber match of the weekend series, each of the first two games won with late offense (Friday by the Nats, Saturday by the Bucs). The Nationals hope to continue to get quality starting pitching with Cade Cavalli on the mound. The right-hander makes his eighth big league start of the season, having just faced the Marlins twice in a row and allowed two runs in five innings each time, earning the win each time.

Pittsburgh sends Mike Burrows to the mound. The rookie right-hander has solid numbers (3.99 ERA, 1.237 WHIP, 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings) but he’s been restricted to no more than five innings and no more than 80 pitches since the end of July.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 11:35 a.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 79 degrees, wind 4 mph in from right field

After the surprising brilliance of Andrew Alvarez and the clutch performances of Dylan Crews and Robert Hassell III, the Nationals found themselves in position this evening to win a game in which they didn’t put a single man on base until the sixth inning.

It would’ve made for quite the uplifting outcome at the end of what was shaping up to be a disastrous day at the plate against Pirates rookie flamethrower Bubba Chandler.

Instead, the disaster came not at the plate but on the mound in the top of the eighth when three Nats relievers combined to allow four decisive runs via a flurry of walks and well-placed singles, the difference in a 5-1 loss on South Capitol Street.

What began as a scoreless pitchers’ duel between rookie starters Alvarez and Chandler, the latter of which was perfect through five innings, turned into a late bullpen meltdown, something the Nationals’ relief corps hadn’t experienced in a while.

"You're not going to be perfect all the time," interim manager Miguel Cairo said of a bullpen that has been among the majors' best units over an extended stretch. "The bullpen has been outstanding the last 3-4 weeks. Sometimes, you're just not going to have it. And you've got to move on, come back tomorrow and be good."

The first three home runs of Brady House’s career weren’t just pulled. They were pulled straight down the left field line. Good swings, all of them. But mirror images, pretty much, in each case.

That made Friday night’s homer during the Nationals’ 6-5 win over the Pirates significant. Because it didn’t look like the other homers. This time, House drove the ball to right-center.

Leading off the bottom of the sixth, with his team trailing 3-0 at the time, House jumped on a first-pitch slider from Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller and drove it 402 feet the other way, the ball clearing the out-of-town scoreboard in right-center for a solo shot that ignited the whole lineup.

“I saw it, and I just tried to be on time that at-bat,” the rookie third baseman said. “Just happened to go out, so I’m happy about it.”

It’s been a tough rookie season in some ways for House, who was called up in June with a reputation as one of the organization’s top power prospects. He slugged .519, connecting for 13 homers, in 283 plate appearances at Triple-A Rochester. But the power has dried up in the majors: Even with Friday’s blast, he’s slugging a mere .344 with four homers in 238 plate appearances at the highest level.

Friday night’s series opener against the Pirates turned into a wild one, even though the first five innings were pretty uneventful. The Nationals came back from a 3-0 deficit to score six runs in the sixth and seventh innings, taking a 6-3 lead into the ninth. Then Jose A. Ferrer nearly blew the entire lead, only to be bailed out by James Wood’s perfect throw from left field to the plate for the second-to-last out of what wound up a 6-5 victory.

They’re back at it later this afternoon, with a matchup of rookies who have a combined six major league appearances between them.

Andrew Alvarez makes his third career start, and his first two have gone exceptionally well. The left-hander tossed five scoreless in his debut against the Marlins, then held the Cubs to two runs over 4 2/3 innings last time out. Now he faces a Pittsburgh lineup that has scored the fewest runs in baseball this season (532). (For comparison’s sake, the Nats have scored 632 runs, which ranks 20th out of 30 clubs.

Alvarez wasn’t considered a top prospect. Bubba Chandler definitely was, the third-round pick in the 2021 Draft entering this season as a top-15 prospect in the sport by multiple outlets. The Pirates used the right-hander in relief three times, now he makes his second start (though he got rocked by the Brewers for nine runs in 2 2/3 innings in that previous start.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES 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: Partly cloudy, 82 degrees, wind 5 mph out to left field

The Nationals knew all along James Wood was going to strike out a lot. And truth be told, when you glance at baseball’s strikeout leaderboard, you see a bunch of names with serious star power: Kyle Schwarber, Rafael Devers, Cal Raleigh and Shohei Ohtani all rank in the top 10 this season. Most high-strikeout guys are also high-production guys.

At the top of the list, though, stands Wood, who tonight tied and then broke the Nats’ club record with his 199th and 200th strikeouts of the season.

Ah, but there's more to Wood’s game than whiffs and called third strikes. He may not be producing in the second half of the season the way he did in the first, but he still has the ability to impact ballgames by impacting the baseball with extreme force. And, as it turns out, by firing baseballs to the plate from his position in left field.

Sure enough, what did Wood do tonight after striking out in his first two at-bats? He doubled twice, each of them coming in key moments that helped the Nationals rally from three runs down to take a three-run lead against the Pirates. And then, just when it looked like Jose A. Ferrer was about to blow his first save opportunity since becoming the closer more than a month ago, Wood fired a perfect strike to the plate to nail the potential tying run in the top of the ninth, helping secure the Nationals' 6-5 victory.

"He does insane things I've never seen players do before," third baseman Brady House said of his fellow 22-year-old. "It's almost like, it's awesome that he got the out, but I wasn't surprised at all. It's James. He does things that you can't imagine sometimes." 

MacKenzie Gore reported no issues with his shoulder the day after his return from the 15-day injured list, and the Nationals ace appears good to return to his regular five-day routine to finish out the season.

Gore, who missed the minimum allowable time on the IL with left shoulder inflammation, returned to start Thursday night’s game in Miami and allowed two runs over five solid innings, pulled after 78 pitches.

“He’s feeling good,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “It was good to see him come out and pitch five innings and be healthy. That’s the most important thing. But he’s feeling good.”

The left-hander was encouraged after the game, admitting he felt a little rusty in the first inning (during which both runs scored) but pleased he got sharper as the outing progressed. He retired seven of the last eight batters he faced.

“I thought we were fine,” Gore said. “Able to get through five. We knew we were going to stay around 75 (pitches). Just move forward from this. I felt much better than the last time out.”

There’s no rest for the weary. The Nationals just completed a seven-day road trip that concluded with a getaway night game in Miami. And now they’re right back to work tonight in the opener of a seven-game homestand against the Pirates and Braves that will include a day-night doubleheader Tuesday. Nobody said this would be easy.

Twenty-seven of the current 28 members of the Nationals’ active roster arrived early this morning from Miami. Brad Lord, on the other hand, flew home late Thursday afternoon, giving him a chance to get a good night’s sleep in advance of his start tonight. The rookie right-hander had a much-needed, bounceback start last weekend at Wrigley Field after back-to-back ugly outings, so hopefully he’s on track again and ready to finish the season strong. He faced the Pirates way back on April 14 at PNC Park, allowing four runs in 4 1/3 innings, taking the loss to Paul Skenes that evening.

The Nationals won’t be seeing Skenes this weekend, because he pitched Wednesday in Baltimore and will next pitch Monday in Pittsburgh. It’ll be veteran Mitch Keller, who unfortunately is best remembered around here for throwing the fastball that hit Paul DeJong in the face during that April series. Keller was quick to check on DeJong that night and apologize to him, so there’s no bad blood whatsoever between the two.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES 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: Clear, 77 degrees, wind 7 mph in from right field

PIRATES
SS Jared Triolo
1B Spencer Horwitz
RF Bryan Reynolds
DH Andrew McCutchen
2B Nick Gonzales
CF Oneil Cruz
3B Cam Devanney
LF Ji Hwan Bae
C Henry Davis

It’s been a long season, and given what occurred in July, it would be understandable if any Nationals fans out there saw their interest in the team wane in the ensuing months.

But if you’ve lost track, or have just turned your attention to football, it’s worth noting that we have now officially reached the home stretch of the 2025 season. The Nats have only 16 games left to play, which equates to one-tenth of the season.

It’s pretty much too late for anyone to change the narrative of the season as a whole, or on any individual level. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still a few things at stake over these final two weeks. Here are several to keep an eye on (when you’re not watching football) …

* James Wood’s homers and strikeouts
It’s been an incredibly disappointing second half for the young star. Go back to July 3, and he was on pace for 43 homers, 125 RBIs and 190 strikeouts. Now, he finds himself needing to homer three more times just to finish with 30, to drive in 12 more runs just to get to 100. As for the strikeouts, well, that rate has skyrocketed. He’s already at 198, well ahead of his previous pace. That means he’s only one shy of Adam Dunn’s single-season club record from 2010. More concerning, he’s only 25 away from Mark Reynolds’ major-league record of 223 from 2009 with the Diamondbacks.

* CJ Abrams’ push for 20-30
Abrams is sitting on 17 homers, so he needs three more to match last season’s total of 20. He’s already got 30 stolen bases, so he just needs to hit for some power to join the 20-30 Club for the second straight year.

MIAMI – MacKenzie Gore did his part in his return from the 15-day injured list. His teammates didn’t exactly do their part to help give their ace a chance to win in his return to the mound.

Despite getting five solid innings of two-run ball from Gore in his first start back from a mild case of shoulder inflammation, the Nationals again didn’t play clean baseball in the field and did precious little of consequence at the plate during a 5-0 loss to the Marlins.

And what a few days ago looked like a rousing road trip to begin September finished as something far less. With back-to-back losses to close out this four-game series at loanDepot Park, the Nats now head home having gone a respectable-but-not-dominant 4-3 on this trip to Chicago and Miami.

"We had a good road trip, a winning road trip," interim manager Miguel Cairo said. "The guys are playing hard. They keep fighting. But it was a good road trip in general."

Tonight’s finale, played before an announced crowd of 10,110 that brought the total paid attendance for the four-game series up to 35,774, saw the Nationals get shut out for the 12th time this season. It saw Cairo’s lineup manage seven hits, all of them singles, while drawing zero walks.