-1745819772711.png){kind=logo}
As the baseball world turns to tonight’s Major League Baseball Draft and the upcoming All-Star Game festivities, there were still games to be played today before the close of the season’s unofficial first half.
For the Nationals, that meant going for a series win against the first-place Rangers before they make the second overall pick later tonight.
It’s been a tough week – and to a greater extent month – for the Nats on South Capitol Street. Entering today’s finale, they had lost 15 of their last 17 home games, last night’s 8-4 win being one of the two exceptions.
But after losing six straight at home after Friday, the Nationals now enter the All-Star break as the winners of two straight with this afternoon’s 7-2 victory over the Rangers in front of 17,547 fans in attendance.
“Well, it's a good way to finish off. Boys played well," manager Davey Martinez said after the game. "It was good. You're playing a team that's got some horses over there. To come out the way we did the last two games was awesome. These guys, I'm proud of the way they're playing and the way they played."
The Orioles have made the following roster moves:
- Reinstated INF Ryan Mountcastle from the 10-day Injured List.
- Optioned LHP Bruce Zimmermann to Triple-A Norfolk.
The Orioles announced a roster move this morning, reinstating first baseman Ryan Mountcastle from the injured list and optioning left-hander Bruce Zimmermann to Triple-A Norfolk.
Mountcastle was set to complete his 20-day rehab assignment with Norfolk after going on the IL with vertigo. He hasn’t played for the Orioles since June 8 in Milwaukee and was in a 4-for-30 slump.
Mountcastle told the media in Minnesota that he hadn’t felt the effects of vertigo in the past. He isn’t in the lineup.
Today’s transaction leaves the Orioles with 12 pitchers and 14 position players. Manager Brandon Hyde used only two relievers yesterday, Bryan Baker and Danny Coulombe, behind starter Tyler Wells in a 6-2 win.
The Orioles play their final game of the season’s first half this afternoon. They’re two behind the first-place Rays in the division, and both teams have 35 losses.
The day before the All-Star break is always a slow one. It’s especially slow when playing a noon game after a night game that included an hour and 17-minute rain delay.
Guys are packing their bags to head home for the break and making sure all of their gear is ready to be shipped to meet the team in St. Louis at the end of the week.
So let’s talk more about the Nationals’ biggest development over this weekend, shall we?
Joey Meneses’ swing may be back.
After only hitting two home runs over the first 87 games of the season, he hit three in less than 24 hours in the previous two. Over the first two games against the Rangers, Meneses has gone 4-for-8 with a double, three homers, four RBIs and no strikeouts.
Before we turn our attention to the Nationals’ No. 2 overall pick in tonight’s MLB Draft and the upcoming All-Star Game festivities, there is still one more game to be played before the unofficial first half of the season ends.
The Nats will look to close this first part of the season on a high note, one of the few they’ve seen at home this season. They have lost 15 of their last 17 home games and need a win this afternoon for some sort of momentum heading into the break.
Patrick Corbin will hope to lead the Nats to that victory in his 19th start. The left-hander is 5-10 with a 5.13 ERA and 1.593 WHIP this season. He got knocked around for six runs and 10 hits over five innings during his July 4 start against the Reds, which came after one of his best starts as a National in the form of seven shutout innings and nine strikeouts against the Mariners. Corbin is 4-3 with a 4.75 ERA and 1.373 WHIP in eight interleague starts this season.
A familiar face will start for the Rangers. Dane Dunning was a first-round pick (29th overall) by the Nats in the 2016 draft. The University of Florida product was traded that December along with Lucas Giolito and Renaldo López to the White Sox in exchange for Adam Eaton. Dunning was traded again in 2020 to the Rangers as part of the two-player package for Lance Lynn.
The 28-year-old right-hander is enjoying his best year in the majors with an 8-1 record, 2.61 ERA and 1.100 WHIP over 19 appearances (11 starts). He’s pitched to a 2.28 ERA over his last four starts, allowing no more than two runs in any of them. His only start against the Nationals came last year here in D.C., when he completed six innings of one-run ball while taking a no-decision in the Nats’ 2-1 win.
MINNEAPOLIS - A four-game win streak by the Orioles as the first half is about to end today was a nice response to a 1-6 stretch. Where some feared they could get swept by the Yankees after losing Monday and Tuesday in the Bronx, they are 4-0 since and have outscored their opposition 29-7.
They've won a couple of close games, one in extra innings, gotten four games of clutch hits, had one resounding blowout and one comfortable win and otherwise showed a nice finishing kick.
They are who you thought they were if you thought that was a solid playoff contender and one with one of MLB's best records.
Some of Birdland's angst and panic by a few recently was unfounded.
And last night, Atlanta beat Tampa Bay 6-1, handing the Rays a seventh straight loss. The Orioles moved to within two games of first place and the O's and Rays both now have 35 losses.
Since they arrived in Washington nearly two decades ago, the Nationals have been in this position – owners of one of the top two picks in the Major League Baseball Draft – twice. In each case, they owned the No. 1 pick. And in each case, they drafted a generational talent whose name and reputation were already well-known throughout the sport.
Tonight, they’re back in this position for the first time since 2009-10, when they selected Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper and set a course toward an eight-year run of success and an eventual World Series title.
It’s not the No. 1 pick this time around. But if ever there was a year to have the No. 2 pick, this appears to be it. No matter who they end up with, the Nationals are going to draft a player every notable expert insists is good enough to be the No. 1 player selected in the country. Not to mention one who should find himself on a fast track to the big leagues.
“This pick could be somebody that changes us really quick, within one or two years,” manager Davey Martinez recently admitted. “It’s definitely exciting how this is all going to work out.”
There was little drama the last time the Nats were here. Everybody knew Strasburg was the choice in 2009, and everybody knew Harper was the pick in 2010. That’s not the case this time.
The first two rounds of the draft air tonight beginning at 7 p.m. on ESPN and MLB Network. Pick your prospect poison.
The Orioles have the 17th, 53rd and 63rd selections tonight, the latter in Competitive Balance Round B. This is the latest that they’ve gone since taking Georgia high school left-hander DL Hall 21st in 2017.
Hall remains in Sarasota on a program to build strength and velocity before reentering Triple-A Norfolk’s rotation. That’s the last we’ve heard about him.
I saw that the Tides placed outfielder Heston Kjerstad on the temporary inactive list yesterday, had a brief panic attack and remembered that he played in last night’s All-Star Futures Game in Seattle.
Kjerstad started in right field and went 1-for-2. Jackson Holliday came off the bench, because being the No. 1 prospect in baseball doesn't guarantee you a spot in the lineup, and struck out in his only at-bat.
Forgive anyone who sat through today’s proceedings at Nationals Park and worried things were going to end up just like they did the previous five days here. It was hot again. It was humid again. It rained again. A first-place team was in the visitors’ dugout again. Surely, another loss by the home team was forthcoming again, right?
Not so fast. The conditions may have felt familiar, but the end result was most unfamiliar. The Nationals actually won.
Yes, for only the second time in their last 17 home games, the Nats emerged victorious, storming out to an early lead against the Rangers, then weathering another rain delay before cruising to an 8-3 win before a crowd of 29,042 that barely remembered how to celebrate such an occasion.
That crowd was treated to a 4-0 lead by the Nationals before they even made an out in the first, an 8-0 lead by the time the third inning came to a close.
"I talk about it all the time: It's a lot different ballgame if you go out there and score first," manager Davey Martinez said. "I hope these guys learned today by going out there and putting some runs up on the board early, our pitcher gets to relax a little bit, and they get to relax a little bit and have some fun. Hopefully, we come out tomorrow and do the same thing."
Jeimer Candelario is back in the Nationals lineup after one day off with a knee injury, but he’s not back at third base yet.
Candelario, who was struck in the right knee with a pitch during the 10th inning of Thursday’s loss to the Reds, sat out Friday night’s series opener against the Rangers. He attempted to take swings in the cage prior to the game but wasn’t comfortable doing it.
The 29-year-old gave it another try today and felt better, telling manager Davey Martinez he could hit but probably not play the field. So he’ll serve as designated hitter for this afternoon’s game.
“We talked to him; he said he could hit,” Martinez said. “We’ll just DH him today, and hopefully by tomorrow he’ll get back on the field.”
The Nationals sorely missed Candelario’s bat during Friday’s loss, one that saw them score only two runs, each via Joey Meneses solo homers. Candelario has statistically been the team’s second-best hitter this season, trailing only Lane Thomas with 12 homers and an .814 OPS. He’s also second in the National League with 27 doubles.
Will the Nationals win a home game today? If they do, will they pop champagne in the clubhouse? At this point, anything’s possible.
Having begun this homestand 0-5, and having lost 15 of their last 16 home games overall, the Nats are desperate for something positive to happen on South Capitol Street. The good news: All the top relievers should be available today after sitting Friday night. So if Jake Irvin can give them five or six quality innings (no guarantee, of course) they should at least be in a good position to compete late.
Above all else, though, this lineup needs to start scoring some runs. The Nationals have totaled 14 runs on this homestand, an average of 2.8 per game for those who need help with the math. They’re asking an awful lot of their pitching staff to compensate for that. Perhaps they can finally enjoy some success this afternoon against Rangers lefty Andrew Heaney.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. TEXAS RANGERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 86 degrees, wind 6 mph right field to left field
NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
DH Jeimer Candelario
1B Joey Meneses
C Keibert Ruiz
LF Stone Garrett
3B Ildemaro Vargas
2B Luis García
CF Alex Call
Joey Meneses didn’t need to be told. He knew how long it had been since he’d hit a baseball over a fence in a game.
Not that it stopped anyone and everyone from talking to him about it. Which, in turn, made it awfully hard not to think about it.
“Absolutely,” the Nationals designated hitter said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “It seems like everybody reminds you of that. Friends. Teammates. Just in general, it seems like you get a comment saying: ‘Why aren’t the home runs coming?’ So you always have it in your mind.”
Perhaps that’s what prompted Meneses to do what he did in the bottom of the sixth Friday night: Toss his bat in defiant celebration and look at his dugout after he ended a two-month home run drought with a two-homer game.
“It’s somewhat of a relief,” he said. “I can take a deep breath and relax a little bit. It’s my job to hit, so it was great to be able to hit two home runs today.”
MINNEAPOLIS – Cole Irvin was not “swirvin” this time. Irvin, who uses that nickname in his Twitter handle, was very much in balance and control tonight and he was setting down the Minnesota Twins with regularity.
His season ERA was 6.32 at game time, but his ERA since his latest return to the Orioles roster June 10 was 3.44 in five games. He gave up two runs in eight innings his last two starts, one rain interrupted. He had shown signs he was getting his act together.
Tonight, in front of 32,724 fans at Target Field in the opener of this three-game series, we saw more evidence.
Irvin left with a lead but could not get a win tonight.
But the Orioles did.
On the night they lost for the 15th time in their last 16 home games – a stretch of futility that is increasingly hard to fathom – the Nationals saw Trevor Williams give up two runs early and two runs late. They saw Joan Adon make his 2023 major league debut and give up home runs to two of the first three batters he faced. They saw Joey Meneses finally end his power slump with a pair of solo homers.
All of those developments were notable within the context of this particular game, a 7-2 loss to the Rangers. None was necessarily earth-shattering in the larger scheme of things.
In this rebuilding season, the focus has been and will continue to be on the handful of young players who could be building blocks for the future. And CJ Abrams has always been near the top of the list of players who fit that description.
So the most significant thing that happened tonight may not have been the end result, but the name of the player Davey Martinez wrote down in the No. 1 position on his lineup card.
"He's had almost 300 plate appearances now, so I think it's time," the manager said. "I think it's time we push him up, see what he can do. He's got all the ability to be a really good leadoff hitter. Now he's just got to understand what he needs to do every day to do that: That's to be consistent, not chase and try to get on base. Not try to do too much."
MINNEAPOLIS – Orioles outfielder Austin Hays is now going to start in the All-Star game for the American League next week in Seattle. Now Baltimore needs to get him back in their starting lineup and that should happen at Minnesota on Saturday afternoon.
Hays and Adolis Garcia of Texas were named starters today and will join Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena in the AL starting outfield due to injuries to Aaron Judge and Mike Trout.
“Hyder (manager Brandon Hyde) called me this morning to let me know,” Hays said this afternoon before the Orioles-Twins series opener at Target Field. “Lot of excitement. Just really excited to wear this team’s name on my chest out there and start the All-Star game.”
Hays already has gotten advice from teammate Cedric Mullins, who was a starter in the 2021 game due to an injury then also to Trout.
"He said there is a lot going on, just try to live in the moment. Lot of moving parts. It moves really fast and there is a lot of stuff scheduled. Just try to enjoy every second and go with the flow like everything will happen will really quickly. Try to enjoy each moment as much as you can,” said Hays.
MINNEAPOLIS – After a remarkable night in New York - and a 14-1 blowout win over the Yankees - the Orioles' suddenly resurgent offense is in for a real test this weekend. The O's open a series against the Minnesota Twins, a new hot team that leads MLB in team ERA.
The Orioles went 15-for-26 at-bat last night in the first four innings and led 13-0 in the Bronx. By that point of the game, Gunnar Henderson and Ryan O'Hearn had already combined for nine RBIs. Henderson was 4-for-4 with two homers, three runs and five RBIs.
There have been three rookies to record 4+ hits and 5+ RBIs in a road game against the Yankees since RBIs became an official stat in 1920 – Don Wheeler in 1949, Maikel Franco in 2015 and yesterday.
The Orioles set season highs in runs and hits. The previous tops was 13 runs and 17 hits and they had 20 last night.
Heading into Wednesday's game at Yankee Stadium, the Orioles had lost six of seven games. But now they have back-to-back wins by 6-3 and 14-1.
The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Joan Adon from Triple-A Rochester and optioned left-handed pitcher Joe La Sorsa to Triple-A Rochester on Friday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
Adon, 24, joins the Nationals for the first time this season after beginning the season with Triple-A Rochester. In his last six outings for the Red Wings, Adon went 1–2 with a 3.44 ERA (13 ER/34.0 IP) with 27 strikeouts and 14 walks. He worked at least 5.0 innings in each of those starts, including four 6.0-inning performances. In all, Adon went 2–5 with a 4.81 ERA (41 ER/76.2 IP) with 67 strikeouts and 35 walks in 15 starts in Triple-A this season.
Adon made his first Opening Day roster in 2022 and recorded his first career win on April 19 vs. Arizona (6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 SO). Adon finished the 2022 Triple-A season strong, going 2–0 with a 2.84 ERA and a .205 opponents’ average in his final five starts after Sept. 1.
La Sorsa, 25, was 0–0 with a 18.00 ERA in five games with the Nationals in 2023.
A Nationals pitching staff that was overtaxed the last few days will have a fresh arm for the final series of the first half: Joan Adon.
Adon was recalled from Triple-A this afternoon, giving the Nats someone who could churn out a good number of innings if needed out of the bullpen against the Rangers. Left-hander Joe La Sorsa was optioned to Rochester to clear a roster spot.
The events of the last two days made some kind of move inevitable. La Sorsa threw 51 pitches in two innings of relief Wednesday night, making him unavailable to return until at least Saturday. Jordan Weems threw 27 pitches that night, then returned to throw 28 on Thursday, likely knocking him out a few days as well.
The 1-hour, 43-minute rain delay in the second inning Thursday really threw a wrench into plans, with starter MacKenzie Gore unable to continue after throwing only 17 pitches. Manager Davey Martinez wound up using six relievers to cover the remaining 8 2/3 innings necessary in a 10-inning loss to Cincinnati.
Hence the decision to promote Adon, who was scheduled to start for Rochester on Thursday night but was instead informed he was to report to D.C. The 24-year-old right-hander has made 15 starts at Triple-A this season, going 2-5 with a 4.81 ERA and 1.578 WHIP.
The Nationals had no luck against the Reds this week, dropping four straight to the surprise leaders of the National League Central. Will they fare any better this weekend against the Rangers, the surprise leaders of the American League West?
Texas has enjoyed its resurgence not as much through a rebuilding farm system like Cincinnati, but through a spending spree in recent years that included Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom. That last addition hasn’t worked out, but the others have done well, especially Seager, owner of a 1.040 OPS. Having said that, the Rangers enter this series on a bit of a downswing, having dropped nine of their last 13 games.
The Nationals need to play better all around this weekend. It begins tonight with Trevor Williams, who continues to give his team a chance, even if the right-hander doesn’t exactly dominate on the mound. Williams probably needs to provide some length tonight, given the fact Davey Martinez had to burn up his whole bullpen after Thursday’s second-inning rain delay.
The lineup gets another crack at an opposing left-hander, in this case, Cody Bradford. The 25-year-old makes only his seventh career appearance tonight, having tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief four days ago against the Astros. Davey Martinez will not have Jeimer Candelario, who sits after getting hit by a pitch on his right knee Thursday. He will, however, have CJ Abrams batting leadoff for the first time this season, with Lane Thomas second. More on that notable change to come ...
WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. TEXAS RANGERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 83 degrees, wind 5 mph left field to right field
Austin Hays vowed to play again before the All-Star break, a bruised left hip keeping him out of the lineup since Sunday.
The day he learned that he’d been selected to his first All-Star team.
Hays is on the bench again tonight, marked absent hours after he found out that he’s starting for the American League.
Baseball life is full of surprises for Hays, who said yesterday that the good news about his selection was “kind of short-lived” following his collision with Twins first baseman Donovan Solano. A knee to the hip bringing pain after his euphoria. The roller coaster that he didn’t want to ride.
He’s taking batting practice and working out, as he did yesterday in New York, and starting Tuesday night at T-Mobile Park due to injuries to Aaron Judge and Mike Trout.
