More than three months into this season, it has become clear the Nationals trust Jake Irvin. And with the stars perfectly aligned today, they trusted their young right-hander more than ever before.

And thanks to one – and only one – big hit from his teammates, Irvin and the Nats emerged victorious on Independence Day in the nation’s capital.

Irvin completed eight innings for the first time in his career, allowing one hit, one walk and nothing else on a day when the Nationals bullpen was severely depleted and needed everything it could get from the 27-year-old starter. And when Jesse Winker blasted a pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the eighth, they had the only run they needed to pull off an inspired, 1-0 victory over the Mets.

"That was unbelievable, it really was," manager Davey Martinez said. "We definitely needed that."

Held to four singles by New York starter Jose Quintana, the Nationals finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth against reliever Adrian Houser. With a right-hander finally on the mound, Martinez sent Winker up to pinch-hit for Harold Ramírez, then watched the veteran blast a 1-0 curveball to right-center for the day’s first and only run and some long-awaited support for his starting pitcher.

DETROIT – If they wanted to pull off their first six-game winning streak since the final week of the 2019 regular season, the Nationals were going to need not only quality work from Patrick Corbin in an unexpected start. They were going to need not only run production from their lineup. They were also going to need a set of relievers not accustomed to closing out close games to finish the job on a day when the usual suspects weren’t available.

So even though they got quality work for Corbin, and even though they got just enough offense to leave the game tied in the seventh inning, the Nationals did not get the critical last part of today’s required winning formula and emerged with a 7-2 loss to the Tigers.

Seeking a series sweep and the team’s first six-game winning streak in nearly five years, the Nats watched as relievers Derek Law and Robert Garcia combined to allow six runs in 1 1/3 innings, turning a tight game into a lopsided one.

In winning five straight games for the first time since June 2021, the Nationals leaned heavily on their top three late-inning relievers: Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey and Dylan Floro. The domino effect of all that: None figured to be available for today’s series finale, leaving the fate of the game in the hands of others.

"Look, we rely on these guys throughout the whole year, and they've done really well," manager Davey Martinez said. "It just didn't happen today. ... It's just one game. We won the series. We get to home now and start a fresh one."

OAKLAND, Calif. – On a day when several struggling hitters finally came through in some big spots, and on a day when their No. 5 starter turned in his third consecutive strong outing, and on a day when they opened up what felt like a comfortable lead in the rubber game of a weekend series, the Nationals somehow still found themselves lamenting a loss at the end of the day.

How did they fall to the Athletics, 7-6, and drop this series? With a bottom-of-the-sixth bullpen meltdown the likes of which they won’t soon want to remember.

When the critical inning began, the Nats held a 6-1 lead, with Trevor Williams cruising toward what should have been his third straight win to begin the season. When the inning ended, that lead evaporated, with Williams pulled three batters in and relievers Derek Law and Jordan Weems allowing six runs to score, all with two outs.

Manager Davey Martinez could have left Williams in longer but knew the veteran’s history of late-inning troubles. But after using his top four relievers (Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey, Robert Garcia and Weems) each of the previous two days, Martinez’s options weren’t as appealing as they might otherwise have been.

Put that all together and you get a particularly frustrating loss for a team that was seeking its second straight series win to cap off a successful week in the Bay Area.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals are down to their final 96 hours in Florida, which would typically be around the time club officials are paring down the roster and making their final choices for the Opening Day 26-man squad. As they prepare to take the field tonight against the Cardinals, though, they still officially have 45 players in big league camp (39 of them healthy).

And it doesn’t sound like the paring down is coming yet.

“We still haven’t made any final roster decisions, really at anything, except the obvious,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I can tell you CJ’s going to play shortstop.”

So there’s your breaking news for now: CJ Abrams will be the starting shortstop. Try not to express too much shock at that surprise revelation.

“The next few days, we’ve got a lot of decisions to make,” Martinez continued. “These guys have all done really well. They’re making things hard. For me, it’s a good problem to have until the day comes when it’s not so good.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – On the heels of Friday’s doubleheader in Port St. Lucie, the Nationals return home for an early 12:05 p.m. exhibition today against the Cardinals. No rest for the weary.

The good news: The Nats are playing winning baseball right now, for whatever that’s worth. Friday’s 7-3 win over the Mets was their sixth straight, leaving their official Grapefruit League record a strong 12-8.

In a bit of a shakeup from the usual, Davey Martinez is using a bullpen game this afternoon. There were two reasons for this: 1) He’s trying to start lining up his regular starters for the regular season (hopefully we’re going to learn more about that in the next few days) and 2) He wants to give the relievers who are competing for spots in the Opening Day bullpen a chance to face major league hitters, which means they need to pitch the early innings.

One of those relievers in the mix is Derek Law, the veteran right-hander who signed a minor league deal shortly after camp opened. He’ll get the first inning today against St. Louis, so here’s his opportunity to make a statement. Also scheduled to pitch: Dylan Floro, Robert Garcia, Robert Gsellman and Luis Perdomo.

UPDATE: James Wood was scratched from the lineup, replaced in right field by Alex Call. Martinez is expected to provide an explanation postgame.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Spring training stats must be taken with more than a grain of salt. Perhaps a full bucket of salt.

Now, having said that, has anyone out there noticed how well the Nationals have pitched this spring?

Wednesday’s 2-1 exhibition victory over the Marlins was merely the latest example. That came on the heels of a 4-1 victory over the Mets. Combine the pitching totals from those two games and the Nats have surrendered a grand total of two runs on six hits, walking only three while striking out 14.

And this has been going on for 2 1/2 weeks now. Eighteen games into their Grapefruit League schedule, the Nationals rank second in the majors in ERA (3.51), WHIP (1.164) and opponents’ batting average (.224), third in walks per nine innings (3.0), fourth in home runs surrendered per nine innings (0.68) and fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.1).

There’s a lot to like about the way the entire staff has pitched to date, especially a number of guys who are competing for spots on the Opening Day roster.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals have backed off Dylan Floro’s throwing program after he reported shoulder tightness earlier this week, though the veteran reliever insisted it’s nothing serious and he has continued to play catch each day.

Floro, one of only three free agents to sign a major league deal with the Nats this winter, threw a live batting practice session Sunday but said he felt less than 100 percent the following day and reported it to the club’s medical staff.

“I threw live the other day, and I just didn’t recover the same as usual,” the right-hander said. “With it being early, I decided to just slow down, nitpick whatever’s going on. After that, it’s been getting better and better the last couple days. So, good progress right here.”

Floro has dealt with a similar issue in the past, usually during spring training. That experience allowed him to recognize it early this time and gives him some peace of mind moving forward.

“I dealt with it before, so I have an idea what it is,” he said. “What I know compared to where I was in years before, this is a much better situation than that. I know I’ll be fine.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals added another experienced reliever to their spring training mix today, signing right-hander Derek Law to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league camp.

The deal, confirmed by a source familiar with the terms, will become official once Law passes a physical. He’s expected to join the club within the next few days.

Law, 33, owns a 4.08 ERA, 1.438 WHIP and 12 saves in 247 career games with the Giants, Blue Jays, Twins, Tigers and Reds. He spent the entire 2023 season in Cincinnati’s bullpen, going 4-6 with a 3.60 ERA and 1.382 WHIP over 54 games.

A ninth-round pick of the Giants in the 2011 MLB Draft, Law burst onto the scene in 2016, delivering a 2.13 ERA and 0.964 WHIP in 61 games for San Francisco, then making three appearances during the postseason. He quickly regressed after that season and has spent the ensuing years moving from one organization to another.

Law did enjoy success over the last year and a half with the Reds, who somewhat surprisingly didn’t tender him a contract after season’s end, making him a free agent.