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

The Nationals were down 6-0 in the top of the third Sunday afternoon. It was hot. It was muggy. They’d already clinched at least a four-game weekend split with the Phillies. And it would’ve been easy at that moment to be content with that.

But when Trea Turner lined a two-out single to right field, Dylan Crews charged the ball and did what his baseball instincts told him to do, no matter the score. He fired the ball toward the plate, hoping to get it there in time to nab Harrison Bader, who was trying to score from second.

The throw was on time. It was on target. And it one-hopped perfectly into the mitt of Drew Millas, who applied a swipe tag just as Bader was trying to slide into the plate. Umpire Jacob Metz ruled him out, and the Nats ran off the field with a much-needed emotional boost.

“I think any moment, you’re just trying to find a spark to get everybody going,” Crews said. “Luckily, I was in a position to get a spark going and was able to get the guy out at home to flip over the inning. It could be anybody that could be that spark, and luckily I was there to help us with the momentum.”

The throw, clocked at 95.4 mph, was impossible to ignore.

When the Nationals needed to clear a roster for Dylan Crews’ return from the 60-day injured list last week, they chose to designate starting first baseman Nathaniel Lowe for assignment and keep seldom-used infielder Jose Tena.

Now, after a four-game split with the Phillies, the Nats have sent Tena down in favor of another first baseman.

The club announced following Sunday’s wild 11-9 loss it had optioned Tena to Triple-A Rochester. No corresponding move was announced, but a source familiar with the decision confirmed the plan to promote Andres Chaparro, which was first reported by Rochester journalist Dan Glickman.

This set of transactions underscores several points: 1) Tena really wasn’t likely to get much playing time, even though he did start a couple of games over the weekend, 2) Chaparro provides a needed right-handed bat to a lineup that has been too lefty-heavy and 3) The Nationals dropped Lowe not because they needed to, but because they wanted to.

Regarding that final point, the decision to designate Lowe caught many by surprise, given his status as one of the team’s only experienced position players and the fact his $10.3 million salary was tops on the roster this year. But it had become clear over the last month-plus that Lowe simply wasn’t producing enough, and that his continued presence didn’t match up with the organization’s intended plan in both the short- and long-term.

Consider this morning’s series finale on South Capitol Street a play in four acts, the second portion a hope-filled drama, the opening and third ones a full-blown Shakespearean tragedy before the final one left the crowd yearning for more but ultimately unsatisfied.

The encouraging portions came entirely during the third and ninth innings, when the Nationals erased a sizeable deficit and turned what looked like it would be another unsightly blowout in a day game into a suddenly competitive affair.

Alas, that alone wasn’t going to be enough to top the Phillies. An ugly opening to this 11:35 a.m. matinee from Mitchell Parker and the Nats defense, then a slog of a final six innings by the bullpen ultimately equaled an 11-9 loss to the Phillies.

Despite a spirited rally from down 6-0 to tied 6-6 in the third, then Paul DeJong's three-run homer in the ninth to turn 11-6 into 11-9, the Nationals couldn't finish the job. Daylen Lile doubled to bring the tying run to the plate and force Philadelphia closer Jhoan Duran into the game. But Duran won an eight-pitch battle with Dylan Crews, then struck out pinch-hitter James Wood on three pitches to end the game.

"I think it just shows the heart we've got," Crews said. "It takes a lot to come out here and play a really good team like that. We do an excellent job of not giving up, especially in the late innings."

What an unexpected weekend this has become. The Nationals have strung together three consecutive quality starts. And the bullpen, in spite of an ugly top of the seventh Friday night, has only been scored upon in one of eight innings so far in this series against the Phillies, leading to two wins and one other highly competitive game. And now we come to the finale, with an unlikely opportunity to win three of four from the division leaders.

That, of course, is easier said than done, for several reasons. It begins with Mitchell Parker, who takes the mound today on the heels of three straight subpar starts in which he’s allowed a total of 17 runs in only 14 1/3 innings. That stretch has raised his ERA to an unsightly 5.55. The lefty is going to have to be significantly better today against the Philly lineup, especially out of the chute in the top of the first. And even if he does his job, the Nats bullpen is going to be without closer Jose A. Ferrer, who recorded six outs Saturday and has recorded at least four outs three times in his last four appearances.

At the plate, the Nationals actually haven’t done that much this weekend, totaling seven runs in three games. Given their own pitching concerns, they probably need a big day at the plate against Aaron Nola (making his return from the injured list) to give themselves their best shot at a win.

A friendly reminder: Today’s game has an extra-early 11:35 a.m. first pitch, and it’s being televised exclusively on the Roku streaming service. It’s a joint booth calling the game, pairing up Phillies play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy with Nats analyst Kevin Frandsen, plus the one and only Dan Kolko serving as sideline reporter.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 11:35 a.m. EDT
TV: Roku
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 93 degrees, wind 6 mph out to center field

In these, the dog days of August during a miserable season, there are still distinct glimmers of light for the Nationals. For all the chaos they’ve endured this year, there remain more than a few prominent young core players who still have the ability to make 2025 meaningful in the larger picture.

And when they come together like they did today during a 2-0 victory over the Phillies, it reminds suffering fans and team employees alike there’s still some hope for what lies ahead.

"The pieces are there," James Wood said. "We've just got to continue to learn and grow. I think wins like this are great. I think everyone in this locker room here knows we have the potential to play with anybody. It's just a matter of doing it consistently, and stringing together days like today."

It was right there for 36,042 paying customers to see on a steamy Saturday afternoon, with Cade Cavalli authoring seven scoreless innings against one of the most intimidating lineups in baseball. It extended to the batter’s box, where the Nationals scored both of their runs in the bottom of the fifth via Wood’s two-out double, with recent first-round picks Dylan Crews and Brady House coming around to score.

And it was even there on the mound for the final two innings, with Jose A. Ferrer recording the final six outs for his third career save, the young lefty retiring the Phillies’ biggest names to lock up the victory and ensure at least a four-game weekend split against the National League East leaders.