With their No. 3 hitter on his way to the North Side of Chicago, the Nationals face the daunting proposition of making up for lost production from a lineup that doesn’t have a lot of proven producers to begin with.

Fortunately, they have a guy who has already proven he can deliver at the plate at the trade deadline.

Joey Meneses, who famously homered in his major league debut hours after the Nats traded Juan Soto one year ago, did it again tonight. The 31-year-old designated hitter opened the bottom of the second with a blast to left field, his sixth homer in 19 games. Then he delivered a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh that gave the Nationals the 5-3 lead over the Brewers they would hold onto the rest of the night.

Only 30 minutes after they dealt Jeimer Candelario to the Cubs for two prospects, the Nats took the field with a depleted lineup, hoping someone else could step up and produce some runs for them tonight and over the season’s final two months.

They wound up with two someones coming through: Lane Thomas, who drove in a pair of runs, and Meneses, who drove in the other three in a familiar position.

When the Nationals lineup for tonight’s series opener against the Brewers was published and Jeimer Candelario’s name wasn’t included, all eyes in the home clubhouse immediately turned toward the third baseman’s locker. Candelario, for the record, was there, in his usual Nats gear, preparing for batting practice.

Three hours later, he was no longer a National.

The Nats finalized a trade with the Cubs shortly before tonight’s game that will send Candelario back to the organization he began his career with, receiving two prospects in return, the club announced.

Kevin Made, a 20-year-old shortstop who was the Cubs’ 14th-ranked prospect, and DJ Herz, a 22-year-old left-hander who was their 16th-ranked prospect, will now join the Nationals organization.

Candelario was far and away the most likely Nationals player to be dealt before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. deadline. A number of teams, headlined by the Angels and Yankees, reportedly were interested in the 29-year-old, who entered the day with an .823 OPS, 30 doubles, 16 homers, 53 RBIs and 3.3 bWAR in 99 games played.

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Hobie Harris from Triple-A Rochester and placed right-handed pitcher Trevor Williams on the Bereavement List on Monday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Harris, 30, returns for his second stint with Washington after making the Nationals’ 2023 Opening Day roster. He appeared in 15 games out of Washington’s bullpen, pitching to a 5.40 ERA. Harris allowed two earned runs in 7.1 innings (2.45 ERA) across his final six outings before being optioned to Triple-A Rochester on May 20.

In nine games with the Red Wings, Harris went 1-2 with a 8.10 ERA. He was placed on the Injured List on June 10 and was activated on July 22. Harris allowed two earned runs on three hits in 3.1 innings across three outings prior to being recalled. 

Harris enjoyed his best professional season in 2022, leading International League pitchers (min. 50.0 IP) and ranking second in Milwaukee’s Minor League system in ERA (2.04) and opponents’ batting average (.164).

Williams, 31, is 5-6 with a 4.72 ERA in 22 starts for the Nationals this season.

NEW YORK – The first time came on the back end of a perfectly executed double-steal, with Jeimer Candelario drawing the throw to second to allow CJ Abrams to race home from third.

The second time came moments after a pickoff attempt, Abrams immediately swiping second ahead of the throw.

And by the third time Abrams attempted to steal Sunday afternoon at Citi Field, the Mets didn’t even bother attempting to throw him out.

The first three-steal game of Abrams’ career wasn’t enough to propel the Nationals to victory. They only scored two runs as a team, and one of those came via the aforementioned double-steal in the top of the first. But it did underscore just how far the 22-year-old shortstop has come in a short period of time, not only at the plate and in the field but on the bases as well.

Abrams is now 24-for-26 on the season on stolen-base attempts, and 21 for his last 21. He hasn’t been thrown out since May 3, when he took off for second too soon and was picked off by the Cubs’ Adbert Alzolay.

NEW YORK – When the Nationals’ lineup for today’s series finale against the Mets was posted and Lane Thomas’ name was notably missing, eyebrows surely were raised within the clubhouse, the fan base and perhaps around the rest of the majors.

Such is life in the final days of July, when any player who could be on the trade block doesn’t play.

Thomas’ day off, though, is nothing more than that. Manager Davey Martinez said he had been wanting to give his right fielder a breather for a while, and with a quick turnaround from Saturday night’s rain-delayed win, this felt like the right time to do it.

“He’s good. I’ve just got to give him a day,” Martinez said. “I just wanted to give him a day off today, and he’ll come back tomorrow and be ready to go.”

Thomas started 103 of the Nationals’ first 105 games this season, and both of his days off came way back in April. His performance and importance to a lineup short on consistent production has dictated his usage, and Martinez has been hesitant to sit him at all.

NEW YORK – It’s been quite a weekend here at Citi Field, with two rain delays, two wins for the Mets, one win for the Nationals and one massive trade of a New York pitcher who will forever be better known for pitching for Washington. Now it’s the finale of this four-game series, the Nats with a chance to head home with a split and rub some more salt in the Mets’ wounds.

Neither team released its starting lineup early, which is no surprise given the presence of the trade deadline in two days. No reason to unveil something that could change before gametime. But as far as we know, Jeimer Candelario is playing for the Nationals and Justin Verlander is starting for the Mets.

Verlander could be on his way out at some point in the next 48 hours, perhaps back to Houston, where he’d suddenly be going up against Max Scherzer and the Rangers in the American League West pennant race. If he does start today, he’ll be facing the Nats for the first time this season. The 40-year-old has been very good of late, with a 1.46 ERA in his last six starts.

Trevor Williams, meanwhile, faces his former team for the third time this season. The right-hander gave up four runs in five innings here in April, then allowed one run in 2 1/3 innings in a May start that was cut short by a long rain delay.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 1:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 77 degrees, wind 9 mph in from left field

NEW YORK – Luis García has faced 14 pitchers at least 10 times in his major league career. He’s had far more success against one of them than anyone else. And the identity of that one opponent may surprise you: Max Scherzer.

Yes, over the course of 11 head-to-head plate appearances against the three-time Cy Young Award winner and likely future Hall of Famer, García has six hits. One of those was a double. Two of them were homers.

Put that all together, and you’ve got a 1.727 OPS against one of the greatest pitchers of this generation. Even García has to smile and laugh when asked how he’s managed to do that.

“To be honest, I can’t even tell you,” he said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “I feel like maybe I go in there with greater focus, because it is Max Scherzer, and he’s a very good pitcher. I think one of his best pitches, if not his best pitch, is his fastball. And I’m a good fastball hitter, so maybe that’s it.”

García certainly handled Scherzer’s fastball well Friday night. He mashed one of them 406 feet to deep right-center, producing the Nationals’ one and only run off the 39-year-old right-hander during a 5-1 loss to the Mets.

The Orioles' Ryan Mountcastle played on a team that lost 110 games in 2021 and finished 48 games out of first place with just 52 wins. As the series with the New York Yankees began last night, this 2023 O's club already had 62 wins, the second most in the majors.

The turnaround from last place team to winning club happened pretty fast and 2022 Orioles won 31 more games than that 2021 club.

Now the Orioles sit atop the AL East, a division they trailed by 6.5 games on July 1 and by six games on July Fourth.

“It’s crazy. I mean, you look back and just two years ago, we were nowhere close to where we are at today. The turnaround is pretty crazy and we’ve had a lot of fun doing it,” Mountcastle said Friday before the series opener in the Baltimore clubhouse.

“I think all the teams in this division are really good teams. Day in and day out when we face each other it is a big battle. This weekend is a good test for us,” he said.

T.J. McFarland missed the brutality of the Orioles’ rebuild process.

He was a Rule 5 pick in the winter of 2012, after the Orioles snapped a streak of 14 consecutive losing seasons and defeated the Rangers in the wild card game. He appeared in 37 games in 2014, when they won the division and reached the American League Championship Series. He was released in February 2017 after their final playoff appearance, the wild card loss in Toronto.

The rhythm of McFarland’s career skipped him over the front office, managerial, coaching and philosophical changes in the organization. It brought him back this week, four teams later, after he agreed to a minor league contract and reported to Triple-A Norfolk.

“I missed all of that,” he said with a laugh during yesterday’s phone conversation. “I was here with the good years. It’s funny how everybody, even the young guys in Norfolk, they were asking me about Baltimore and I was like, ‘I don’t know anything about that. I was here when (Adam) Jones was here and (J.J.) Hardy was here and (Chris) Davis was here. We went to the playoffs three of the years I was here. It was like, I don’t remember any of the rebuild part.”

McFarland, 34, has tossed 2 1/3 scoreless and hitless innings in two games with the Tides, though he’s walked three batters. He gives the major league club a veteran left-handed option for the stretch run.

NEW YORK – Josiah Gray managed to pull it off Thursday night, playing with fire but emerging unscathed for six scoreless innings. MacKenzie Gore tried to pull off the same feat tonight at Citi Field, until he finally got burned at a most inopportune moment.

After pitching out of jams in each of his first four innings, Gore couldn’t pitch out of his last one in the fifth. The Nationals left-hander hung a slider to Pete Alonso and watched the ball soar to left field, the decisive three-run blow in what wound up a 5-1 loss to the Mets that might've been even more damaging had Jeimer Candelario suffered a significant injury in the top of the eighth.

Candelario, fortunately, appears to be fine after getting twisted up sliding into second base while trying to stretch a single into a double and briefly feeling discomfort in his left shoulder.

On that aggressive baserunning play with his team down four runs, Candelario beat the throw to second but had to try to touch the base with his left hand after his feet got twisted up. In the process, he grabbed second base umpire Vic Carapazza, and that caused whatever pain he felt in his own arm, prompting him to motion to the dugout for assistance. 

"Everything's good, everything's good," Candelario insisted. "I just tried to come back, but the umpire was right there. It's part of the game. It was scary, but I'm good."

NEW YORK – It’s a rare thing to see a Nationals lineup without Joey Meneses in it. Aside from two games he missed in May for the birth of his son, Meneses has been on the bench only five times this year.

He’s got tonight off, though, as manager Davey Martinez looks to field what he thinks may be a better matchup against Max Scherzer and simultaneously give Jeimer Candelario a chance to rest his feet.

With Meneses sitting, Candelario is serving as designated hitter against the Mets. That opens up third base for Ildemaro Vargas.

“I wanted to give Candy a DH day,” manager Davey Martinez said. “Facing Max, the slider can be tough. So I’m just giving him a day.”

Candelario has been taking a beating in recent weeks, getting hit by pitch four times in his last 14 games and also taking a bad-bounce grounder off his right thumb, resulting in a bone bruise that knocked him out of the lineup for two days.

NEW YORK – This isn’t the first time the Nationals have faced Max Scherzer since trading him away two years ago. This is actually the fifth time they’ll face their former ace, the second time this season. And Scherzer has done quite well against them, going 3-0 with a 2.78 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings.

But this may not be the same Scherzer we’ve seen in the past. He just turned 39 on Thursday. He’s given up four or five runs in three of his last four starts. His 4.20 ERA is his worst since 2011, and the two homers he’s surrendering per nine innings represents the worst rate of his career.

Making tonight’s matchup all the more compelling is the fact the Nationals send MacKenzie Gore to the mound. Former ace vs. potential future ace. Gore has a long way to go to show up in the same sentence as Scherzer, but he has shown plenty of glimpses of his dominance this season. For example, he’s allowed zero or one run in eight of his 20 starts. The problem: He’s allowed five or more runs in four of his last eight starts.

So which version of Gore will show up tonight? And will he be able to outperform Scherzer? Should be a fun one.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 7:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 87 degrees, wind 10 mph out to left field

NEW YORK – It was easy to focus on the manner in which the Nationals lost Thursday night’s game to the Mets, 2-1. Both runs allowed came off the bullpen, which had to adjust on the fly after a sudden downpour halted play with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning before Kyle Finnegan could throw his first pitch.

Davey Martinez, though, recognized the larger problem with Thursday’s game. It had nothing to do with the Nats pitching staff. It had everything to do with their lineup.

“We’ve got to start swinging the bats,” the manager said. “We’ve got guys on third base with less than two outs, in games like this, those runs are important. We’ve got to have better at-bats, any way you can to get the ball in the outfield. We’ve got to do a better job of that.”

The only run the Nationals scored in this game came in the top of the sixth, and it wasn’t exactly a rousing rally that made it possible. CJ Abrams drew a leadoff walk and then stole second. Jeimer Candelario reached on catcher’s interference. Joey Meneses singled through the left side of the infield to load the bases. And Keibert Ruiz then lofted a ball to right field for the sacrifice fly that scored Abrams.

That’s all they managed all night. Even though there were opportunities for more.

NEW YORK – Kyle Finnegan trotted in from the bullpen, took the ball from Davey Martinez and began warming up for what was about to be the biggest moment of the night. The bases were loaded with one out in the bottom of the eighth, the Nationals and Mets were tied and Finnegan was going to have to try to pitch his way out of this jam and send the game to the ninth still tied.

And then before he could actually throw his first pitch to Mark Canha, Finnegan turned to his right and saw the Citi Field grounds crew racing into action. Umpires motioned to everyone to get off the field. The PA announcer instructed fans to take cover. And this tie ballgame was thrust into a most untimely delay just moments before the skies over Flushing opened and dumped torrential rain and wind onto the now-covered field.

By the time it was finally OK to play again, some 97 minutes later, Finnegan was back on the mound, ready to face that bases-loaded jam again. And though the Nats closer did his job, it wasn’t enough to prevent the eventual winning run from scoring.

Canha’s sacrifice fly to right on Finnegan’s fifth pitch was enough to lift the Mets to a wild, 2-1 victory at the end of a long and strange night at the ballpark.

"As a a reliever, you're constantly getting warmed up and then sat down," Finnegan said. "So I just played it like that. I was fine. No issues."

NEW YORK – Two key Nationals relievers are ready to start facing live hitters in game-like situations. The club is motivated to get one of them off the injured list as soon as possible, not as much with the other.

Carl Edwards Jr. and Tanner Rainey are both scheduled to face hitters in a simulated game Friday in West Palm Beach, Fla., the first time each right-hander will reach that stage of his respective rehab program.

A simulated game is usually the final step for a recovering pitcher before he begins a minor league rehab assignment, but while Edwards may be ready to take that final step soon, the Nats appear likely to wait a bit longer with Rainey.

Edwards, on the 15-day IL with inflammation in his shoulder, has been out since June 19. The 31-year-old, who had a 3.69 ERA and two saves in 32 appearances before getting hurt, was going to be one of the Nationals’ top trade chips this summer. With the Aug. 2 deadline now only five days away, Edwards is almost out of time to make it back onto the active roster to prove to interested clubs he’s fully healthy again.

Teams are allowed to trade players who are on the IL – the Nats did it with Kyle Schwarber in 2021 – but the return for injured players is almost always going to be diminished to some extent. If the Nationals can get Edwards back on the active roster and to pitch at least once for them before Aug. 2, they might be able to find a taker willing to give up a prospect of more consequence for the veteran setup man.

NEW YORK – The Nationals just completed their best homestand of the season. They’ve won nine of their last 14 overall. Now they’ll see if they can keep it up on the road against a Mets team that desperately needs to turn things on, lest they actually become sellers at next week’s trade deadline.

Yeah, the situation is that dire here in Flushing, where the most expensive team in baseball has the eighth-worst record in baseball, is 17 1/2 games out of first place and 7 1/2 games out of the wild card race, with five teams to chase in front of it. If we’re being realistic, the Mets probably need to sweep this four-game series to make a compelling case for owner Steve Cohen to buy before Tuesday’s deadline.

The Nats will try to prevent that with their All-Star starter on the mound for the series opener tonight. Josiah Gray is coming off an excellent outing against the Giants, when he allowed one run and four hits over seven innings. He’s already pitched very well here at Citi Field this year, shutting out the Mets over six innings April 25.

Kodai Senga starts for New York. The 30-year-old rookie from Japan hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in a month, lowering his ERA to 3.27 in the process. He faced the Nationals in that same late-April series, allowing two runs in five innings but taking the loss.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 7:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 81 degrees, wind 6 mph out to left field

Jeimer Candelario tries his best not to think about it. There’s always another game to prepare for, batting practice to take, grounders to field. That’s how he keeps his mind off the subject everyone else wants to bring up with him: Next week’s trade deadline.

“You know how it is: I want to be able to live day by day,” the Nationals third baseman said. “I know the deadline is there, but I don’t want to pay attention to that. I want to keep going, helping my team where I’m at. Right now, I’m here. And I want to control what I can control right here.”

The Nationals have no superstars on the block this late July. Max Scherzer and Trea Turner were dealt two summers ago. Juan Soto and Josh Bell were dealt last year. The best chip they’ve got is Candelario, who is enjoying a strong season and is due to be a free agent, and that makes him far and away the most likely player on the roster to be moved before the Aug. 1 deadline.

Candelario, who signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Nats last winter after getting non-tendered by the Tigers, has professed his desire to stay in D.C. He’s performed well, and on Monday night delivered his 16th homer of the season to match Lane Thomas for the team lead, to go along with 28 doubles, 50 RBIs and an .821 OPS. He’s also played solid defense and would be a welcome addition for any contending team in need of help at third base.

Despite the noise surrounding him, Candelario has managed to continue to play well. He’s now hit six homers in July, more than any previous month.

CHICAGO – Rarely does a team deal away two stars, one of them a surefire Hall of Famer, in one trade deadline transaction. Now consider how rare it is for a team to do that two years in a row.

Suffice it to say, the Nationals’ 2021 and 2022 trade deadline moves were highly unusual. Teams just don’t generally put the likes of Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, Juan Soto and Josh Bell all on the trade block in the span of 12 months. Whether they should’ve done that or not is an old debate at this point. It’s too late now to change history.

What isn’t debatable is the significance of the Scherzer/Turner deal to the Dodgers in 2021 and the Soto/Bell deal to the Padres in 2022. Those two moves alone netted the Nationals four current young major leaguers, one of the highest-rated prospects in baseball, two more who could reach the majors in the coming years and two others who to date haven’t panned out.

“I think we impacted our franchise greatly,” general manager Mike Rizzo said this week when asked to look back at his last two deadlines. “I think that we put the rebuild process in overdrive. And I think that we’re further along than if we hadn’t done those two trade deadlines.”

We’re now 12 days away from this year’s trade deadline (Aug. 1), and this much is clear: While the Nationals do have a few quality players who could be attractive to contenders, they don’t have anyone who compares to the aforementioned fabulous four. There are no franchise-altering deals to be made this time, only some calculated transactions and some interesting decisions to be made on a few guys who still could or could not be part of the Nationals’ long-term plans.

CHICAGO – With a chance to win another road series, with a chance to use their few remaining reliable relievers late, the Nationals yet again put themselves in position to emerge victorious.

This time, despite an inspired rally to tie the game in the eighth, they watched as one of those few trusted relievers gave up the eventual winning run minutes later. Then they watched as one of the unproven relievers turned this game into another rout in a matter of seconds.

Mason Thompson, entrusted with a tie game in the bottom of the eighth, was the pitcher of record in what finished as an 8-3 loss to the Cubs. Cory Abbott gave up the grand slam that blew things wide open after Thompson was pulled with the bases loaded later in the inning.

Through injuries, demotions, promotions and a flurry of transactions in recent weeks, the Nats bullpen has devolved into a mess in its current incarnation. There's no immediate help coming. They have no choice but to keep putting the same group on the mound and hope things will finally click.

"It's still the same game," Thompson said. "At the end of the day, we've just got to go out there and do a better job of helping the team win."

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired right-handed pitcher SHINTARO FUJINAMI from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for minor league left-handed pitcher EASTON LUCAS.

Fujinami, 29, is 5-8 with an 8.57 ERA (47 ER/49.1 IP) with 52 hits, 48 total runs, six home runs, 30 walks (1 IBB), five hit batters, and 51 strikeouts in 34 games (7 starts) this season. After opening the year in the rotation, he was transitioned to a reliever in late April. Since June 1, he has a 3.26 ERA (7 ER/19.1 IP) with 17 hits, two home runs, six walks, one hit batter, and 20 strikeouts in 17 games (3 starts). All three of those starts after moving to the bullpen were 1.0 inning or less. 

A native of Sakai, Japan, Fujinami signed with the A’s as a free agent on January 13, 2023 after pitching 10 professional seasons with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He was a three-time NPB All-Star from 2013-15.

Fujinami, pronounced shin-TAR-oh foo-jee-NAH-mee, will be the second Japanese-born player in Orioles history, joining Koji Uehara from 2009-11.

Lucas, 26, was 1-0 with one save and a 2.93 ERA (10 ER/30.2 IP) with 19 hits, 11 total runs, six home runs, 13 walks, and 38 strikeouts in 21 combined games between Triple-A Norfolk and Double-A Bowie this season. He made his Triple-A debut with the Tides on June 9. Born in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Lucas was acquired by the O’s from Miami for infielder Jonathan Villar on December 2, 2019. He was originally selected by the Marlins in the 14^th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Pepperdine University (CA).