After a week and a half of gorgeous weather in Southern California, the Nationals returned home and must now deal with the harsh reality of summer life back on the East Coast: Heat, humidity and rain.

Tonight’s homestand opener against the Tigers has been postponed, the club announced, due to the significant line of thunderstorms passing through the region this afternoon and evening. They’ll now play a day-night doubleheader Wednesday, with the rescheduled game at 1:05 p.m. in advance of the originally scheduled game at 6:45 p.m.

The Nats never had to consider any weather issues during their nine-game trip to Los Angeles, San Diego and Anaheim, with temperatures generally in the 70s and nothing but sunshine pouring down from the sky. It’s a different story back here in D.C., where temperatures have been in the 90s and dew points in the 70s, ingredients ripe for thunderstorms.

The first round of rain already blew through Nationals Park this afternoon, canceling batting practice for both teams. Though there is currently a break in the precipitation, several inches more are expected the rest of the evening and into Wednesday morning.

Fans who held tickets to tonight’s postponed game can use them for admittance to Wednesday’s 1:05 p.m. game. A separate ticket is required for the originally scheduled 6:45 p.m. game. The series still wraps up Thursday at 6:45 p.m., with a postgame fireworks show planned in advance of Friday’s traditional 11:05 a.m. Independence Day game against the Red Sox.

SAN DIEGO – As he watches his teammates play every night from the dugout, Dylan Crews tries to trick his mind into thinking he’s still a part of the active roster. Deep down, he knows he’s not, and there’s nothing he can do on the field to help the Nationals win. But it’s the only way the rookie outfielder knows how to keep his mind in the right place as he navigates his way through rehab from a strained oblique.

“I’ve been good,” he said today as the Nats prepared to open a three-game series against the Padres. “I’m trying to stay locked in as much as I can. It’s all new to me. I try to stay locked in as if I was playing the game every day. But right now, it’s a different chapter in this whole story. I’m just trying to stay locked in and win my day every day.”

It’s been nearly five weeks now since Crews suffered the injury on a check-swing. The good news: He was finally cleared to travel with the rest of the team on this nine-game West Coast trip, and he recently began taking some very light swings to test his core.

It’s not much. Crews isn’t allowed to take full swings or hit an actual baseball. He’s running at about 85-to-90 percent, he surmised, but only on a treadmill. He’s not doing any kind of work on the field yet.

But he’s making progress, and the prospect of ramping things up looms in the not-too-distant future.

LOS ANGELES – Dylan Crews won’t be making his Dodger Stadium debut this weekend, and it’s probably killing him to have to come to grips with that fact. But the Nationals’ rookie outfielder is here with his teammates at Chavez Ravine, making his first road trip since he landed on the injured list one month ago and finally cleared to begin basic baseball activities.

Crews, out since May 21 with a strained left oblique muscle, took his first swings since suffering the injury Thursday, and the plan is for him to now slowly ramp things up in hopes of getting back on the active roster as soon as possible.

“We’re not putting a timetable on it. We’re just going by how he feels and what the trainers say,” manager Davey Martinez said. “But yesterday he was able to take some really light dry swings, which is definitely encouraging.”

Crews isn’t hitting a baseball yet, nor is he participating in defensive drills with his teammates. But he was thrilled to learn he’d be joining the Nats on this three-city, Southern California trip after being left at home in D.C. for the team’s last two road swings.

That’s a product both of his readiness to begin the kind of baseball activity the team’s coaching and training staffs want to see in person, but also a desire to keep the 22-year-old actively involved even when he’s not actively playing yet.

Riley Adams has received more playing time in recent weeks than at any point in the last year-plus, certainly more than he ever does when Keibert Ruiz is healthy. Each of the Nationals’ catchers has started six games so far in June, a stark contrast from the previous stretch that saw Ruiz behind the plate in 14 of 16 games.

The idea was to get Adams into some kind of rhythm at the plate. The results, though, have been anything but.

Adams currently finds himself in an 0-for-30 slump, reaching base only once (via his only walk of the season), striking out 13 times. His batting average is down to .091 (5-for-55), his OPS down to .325, lowest among all National League players with at least 50 plate appearances.

Manager Davey Martinez said the 28-year-old hasn’t been able to keep his bat in the hitting zone long enough, his hips opening too soon as the bat lags behind. And as the 0-fers have continued, the pressure has only mounted to try to snap out of it, compounding the problem.

“He’s trying too hard to do well. So is everybody else,” Martinez said, referencing the team’s current offensive struggles during a nine-game losing streak. “We’ve got to get him to slow his feet down a little bit. He’s got a tremendous amount of power. Just get him to stay on the ball and not worry about doing much.”

Robert Hassell III arrived in the big leagues with a bang, going 2-for-5 with two runs and a stolen base in his first career game, going 3-for-5 with his first homer a week later, then delivering another pair of two-hit games shortly after that.

It’s been a struggle since for the Nationals rookie, though, who is finding out what most every other hitter in major league history has been forced to figure out along the way: Pitchers are going to make adjustments and figure out how to exploit your weaknesses.

“He’s young. He’s up here and trying to figure things out,” manager Davey Martinez said. “They’ve made some adjustments after the first week. He’s got to start making adjustments now on the pitchers.”

The 23-year-old outfielder arrived May 22 to significant fanfare, given his success at Triple-A Rochester and his longstanding reputation as top hitting prospect who was part of the Nationals’ massive package from the Padres in the Juan Soto trade. And nine games in, Hassell was living up to the billing, batting .270 (10-for-37) with six RBIs and a number of quality at-bats that suggested a mature hitting approach for someone so inexperienced. Things have taken a downturn since. Over his last nine games, Hassell is batting just .172 (5-for-29) with one RBI, 11 strikeouts and a .379 OPS.

The biggest concern? The rookie is swinging at everything, both inside and outside the zone. He has yet to draw a walk in 66 major league plate appearances.

The Nationals returned home after a week on the West Coast with high spirits. They won four of their six games against the Mariners and Diamondbacks, and now they’re about to begin a highly anticipated series with the Cubs, who own one of the best records in baseball.

And as manager Davey Martinez provided some pre-series updates on a few of his injured players, the good news kept coming as it related to their Gold Glove-caliber center fielder.

Jacob Young, who has been on the 10-day injured list since May 23 (retroactive to May 20) with a left shoulder AC sprain, officially begins a minor league rehab assignment tonight with Double-A Harrisburg. The 25-year-old was able to swing his bat and hit over the weekend, crossing off the final mark on his checklist.

So what’s the plan for Young this week?

“To play,” Martinez said. “He's been doing everything, but he finally started hitting; he felt good. The last two days, he was really taking a lot of swings. We broke it down for him as if he was playing in a game. So now he's just going to go down there and get at-bats. We'll see how he does the next few days.”

Though he’s sporting an impressive bruise on his upper left leg, Nationals ace MacKenzie Gore appears to be fine and doesn’t expect to miss his next scheduled start.

Gore was struck by a 101.4 mph comebacker off Willy Adames’ bat in the top of the second Friday night, and though he went on to complete the play and pitch six scoreless innings against the Giants, the leg stiffened up on him by the top of the seventh. After Gore issued a leadoff walk to Jung Hoo Lee and then two straight balls to Matt Chapman, manager Davey Martinez and director of athletic training Paul Lessard came to the mound to check on him and convinced him to depart the game.

One day later, the left-hander appears to be fine, if admittedly still a little sore.

“He’s got a nice bruise, but he’s fine,” Martinez said. “I talked to him. He said he’ll be good.”

Gore was able to pitch an additional five innings after getting hit by the line drive by using heat on his leg while the Nats were batting, keeping it warm. But on an unseasonably cool late-May night, he couldn’t keep it warm all the way into the seventh and reached a point where his leg felt dead.

A doctor’s review of the MRI taken on Dylan Crews confirmed the club’s initial diagnosis of a left oblique strain, but manager Davey Martinez could not offer anything resembling a timetable for the Nationals rookie to return.

Crews, who already had been dealing with a sore lower back and left side for about a week, experienced additional pain on a check-swing attempt in the fifth inning Tuesday night against the Braves. He was placed on the 10-day injured list the following afternoon, with top outfield prospect Robert Hassell III called up from Triple-A Rochester to take his roster spot.

The timetable for oblique strains varies from player to player and based on the severity of each injury. Nationals first baseman/designated hitter Andrés Chaparro suffered a left oblique strain during batting practice March 14 prior to a spring training game and tonight is finally beginning a rehab assignment with Rochester after going 4-for-15 with a double and a homer in five rehab games for the Nats’ rookie-level Florida Complex League team.

Asked how Crews’ injury compares to Chaparro’s ailment, Martinez redirected his answer to compliment Crews’ physical and mental makeup.

“I’ll be honest with you: When I played, I didn’t even know what an oblique was,” the manager said. “Every guy is different. He’s a very strong kid, I know that. He’s going to work diligently to get back as soon as possible. But we want to make sure that when he does come back, this doesn’t become a problem for him. Hopefully sooner than later, but we’re going to give him as much time as he needs to get him ready.”

Robert Hassell III’s major league debut will have to wait 24 hours. The Nationals’ newest outfielder won’t complain.

Tonight’s game between the Nats and Braves was postponed due to rain in the area, the announcement coming about 90 minutes after the team officially promoted Hassell from Triple-A Rochester and placed Dylan Crews on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain.

With Atlanta set to make another trip to D.C. this season, tonight’s game won’t be made up until a Sept. 16 day-night doubleheader, with a new 1:05 p.m. game added in advance of the previously scheduled 6:45 p.m. contest.

The two teams will complete this series as planned at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, with tonight’s starters (Trevor Williams, AJ Smith-Shawver) pushed back to pitch then.

Barring a change of heart by his manager, Hassell figures to be part of Thursday’s lineup for the Nationals. He was due to start in center field and bat seventh tonight, though it’s possible he’ll shift to right field if Jacob Young is ready to return from a jammed left shoulder.

It’s a cold, rainy day in the nation’s capital, with the chance of baseball being played on time and to completion tonight much less than 100 percent. It’s dry for the moment, but there’s more rain forecast for this evening, so stay tuned for updates.

If they play, it’s a fairly significant day for the Nationals, who are promoting outfielder Robert Hassell III from Triple-A Rochester for the first time. The corresponding move just announced sends Dylan Crews to the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain.

It remains to be seen how much playing time the 23-year-old Hassell gets, but he should get some opportunity to show how ready he is for the big leagues, and then potentially stick in the long term.

The Nats lineup has suddenly turned productive, especially early in games. That group has now scored at least four runs off opposing starters within the first two innings of the last three games, a welcome departure from the previous week (and, to be honest, much of the season to date). It would be a very welcome development if that trend continues tonight against AJ Smith-Shawver, who six days ago held the same lineup to one unearned run on two hits over six innings at Truist Park.

Trevor Williams faced Smith-Shawver that day, as well, and was solid for four innings (one run allowed) before falling apart in the fifth (three more runs allowed). That loss left Williams at 2-5 with a 5.91 ERA. Statistically speaking, he’s been the worst member of the Nationals rotation. At some point, they need to see better results from the veteran, lest his spot become available to a younger starter.

Have the Nationals suddenly found a new formula for winning baseball: Jumping out to an early lead against the opposing starter, then riding the strength of their suddenly improved bullpen to close out a narrow victory?

It’s certainly not the way the Nats tried to win games through most of the season’s first six weeks. But it’s sure working to perfection now, the latest – and perhaps most impressive – example coming tonight during a 5-3 triumph over the Braves.

Thanks to four early runs plated off the intimidating Spencer Strider, a workmanlike start out of Mitchell Parker and then 3 2/3 scoreless innings from their relievers, the Nationals won their fourth straight in impressive fashion.

"We talk so much about trying to beat up the starter and score first, and it's come to fruition the last couple days," manager Davey Martinez said. "It's been great. Our bullpen comes in with a little cushion; it's good for them, too. The boys are really playing well."

The only downside: Dylan Crews departed after the fifth inning, having felt something in his lower back/left side on a check-swing. The rookie center fielder, who homered for the second consecutive game, admitted he has been dealing with soreness in that area for the last week, since making a diving play in Atlanta, and it reached a point where he couldn't continue tonight.

For two days over the weekend, the Nationals looked like the kind of offensive club Davey Martinez envisioned all along.

They jumped on opposing starters, taking early leads and then expanding them. They delivered singles and doubles with runners in scoring position. They blasted multiple home runs. They even drew a few walks.

And because of all that, they twice led the Orioles by seven runs before the second inning came to an end, setting them on course to win both games with relative ease and complete a three-game sweep at Camden Yards.

So, what was the difference?

“We were aggressive in the zone,” Martinez said. “We took some pitches. We worked good counts. And when we got the ball in the zone, we swung the bats really well.”

As much as CJ Abrams’ leadoff homer on the first pitch of Sunday’s game in Baltimore set the tone for the Nationals, his dazzling defensive gem to set in motion a 6-4-3 double play that ended the 10-4 victory might actually have been more spectacular.

Abrams ranged far to his left to snag Ryan Mountcastle’s grounder up the middle, then flipped the ball directly from his glove to Luis Garcia Jr., who in one motion stepped on second base and threw across his body to first to complete the web gem.

“That double play is how me and Luis do it in practice. It’s a lot of fun,” Abrams said afterward, perhaps beaming even more than he was when discussing the two home runs he hit during the game. “We were glad to end it that way.”

Maybe there’s some symbolism to take away from it all. As fantastic as he was at the start of Sunday’s game, Abrams was more proud of what he did to end it. It’s a feeling he’d like to experience again this fall.

One year ago, Abrams was putting together a brilliant first half performance that earned him the first All-Star selection of his career. He was on top of the world, the young face of the rebuilding Nationals and one of the best shortstops in baseball.

BALTIMORE – The Nationals arrived here late Thursday night following a frustrating series in Atlanta following a frustrating homestand against the Guardians and Cardinals. A season that felt promising not long ago now felt like it was one more bad series from slipping away.

And then something clicked when they walked into Camden Yards on Friday. Maybe it was the fact they were facing an Orioles team whose season really has slipped away, leading to the dismissal of their manager. Maybe it was something the Nats did themselves, especially at the plate.

Whatever the case, it was a welcome development. Today’s 10-4 victory, which for the second straight day featured an early seven-run explosion, was exactly what the Nationals needed, exactly when they needed it.

At 21-27, they’ve still got plenty of work to do. But if they can come anywhere close to duplicating their performance from this weekend’s three-game sweep, things may just work out in the long run after all.

"It's awesome that we bounced back like that," outfielder Dylan Crews said. "Obviously, you don't want things to go like they did in Atlanta, or even before that. But we're going to go out here and flip the page, and that's what we did. We're going to use this as momentum going forward."

The Nationals needed improvements all across the board to snap their three-game losing streak. Following last night’s 10-0 blowout loss to the Cardinals in the series opener, they needed better pitching and better offense.

Unfortunately, they got neither in their fourth straight loss, this one by a score of 4-2 with frustration mounting on an otherwise lovely 72-degree spring day in the District.

Recently, it had been the sixth inning that has buried the Nationals, with their opponents scoring a combined 18 runs in that frame over the last 11 games. But today, their woes came around much earlier.

After a perfect first inning on 12 pitches, Trevor Williams labored through a 35-pitch second that resulted in the Cardinals jumping out to an early 4-0 lead.

With one out, the right-hander, who was looking to right his own ship, hit a batter and issued a walk. A forceout at second put runners on the corners, but with only one out needed to get out of the inning.

Two things that appear to simultaneously be true about the 2025 Nationals: 1) Their bullpen has the potential to turn any late lead into a late deficit, and 2) Their lineup has the potential to make up for it on any given day.

The Nats never should’ve needed to come from behind to beat the Guardians, 10-9 today in the opener of a single-admission doubleheader. They held a seemingly comfortable, four-run lead heading to the seventh inning. Alas, with this bullpen, no lead is safe, and so they found themselves trailing by two runs by the time the bottom of the seventh arrived.

At which point they proceeded to get four runs back, retake the lead and this time hold on for another wild win in a season that has already featured too many of these for everyone’s blood pressure.

Leading 6-2 at the end of six innings thanks to some clutch hits and a gutsy pitching performance from Jake Irvin despite another shaky top of the first, the Nationals watched as Jose A. Ferrer and Jorge López give up six runs via six singles (two of which never left the infield), a double and a walk.

It was the latest meltdown by a bullpen that thought it was getting back on track with four straight strong games to begin May but fell right back into the same old traps that defined the month of April.

On a day in which they got another quality (if abbreviated) start from Brad Lord and then a bunch of zeroes from members of their bullpen who haven’t put up many of those this season, the Nationals gave themselves a golden opportunity to beat the best team in baseball for the second time in 24 hours.

Surprisingly effective pitching is great, but it does still take some modicum of offense to win a ballgame, and the Nats had very little of that during a 2-0 loss to the Mets on a rainy, then windy, Saturday on South Capitol Street.

Despite holding New York’s potent lineup in check aside from one early homer off Lord, the Nationals missed their chance to follow up Friday night’s inspired win with another one before a crowd of 33,867 that weathered two early rain delays followed by strong wind gusts during a day game that turned into a night game.

“You look at what’s going on, you think we’re going to snap out of it and get a couple of hits,” manager Davey Martinez said. “It just didn’t happen today with guys on base. We got some hits, but not any big hits, timely hits.”

The Nats totaled seven hits (all singles) and two walks against Clay Holmes and a quintet of Mets relievers. They took only two at-bats with runners in scoring position, both in the bottom of the seventh.

When we look back on it days, weeks, months, even years from now, Friday night’s 5-4 win over the Mets may seem like just an ordinary divisional victory for the Nationals. But those who watched and lived it know it was so much more.

After a 3-0 lead vanished in the eighth inning, what had started as a positive night had suddenly turned a heartbreaking one with the Nats down by one run with only six outs to go.

But the Nationals prevailed with a ninth-inning rally, thanks in large part to the bottom of the order and the team’s young stars. It was all capped off by the first walk-off hit of James Wood’s young career.

So much happened last night, it couldn’t possibly be processed in one post. Let’s take some time to revisit some of the finer points of the Nats’ best win of the season to date …

Jake Irvin shows toughness in strong start
Although it is easy to forget, we should remember that the Nats almost lost their starting pitcher to injury two batters into the game.

The Nationals’ home schedule has been difficult on paper to date. All five opponents who have come to D.C., including the Mets for this weekend’s wraparound series, entered the year with high aspirations of playing in October. And all five, with the exception of the Orioles, started today above .500.

The combined record of the Phillies, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Orioles and Mets entering today was 71-53, good for a .573 winning percentage. The Nats’ record against those first four daunting opponents: 7-5, good for a .583 winning percentage.

This young Nationals squad has done what they said they would do from the start of spring training: Show their stuff against the top dogs in the league.

And just when they thought their eighth victory against a tough opponent was snatched away from them, this young Nationals group put together a ninth-inning rally to walk off the Mets 5-4 in a truly wild game in the District.

“A little tick for tack,” said manager Davey Martinez after one of the craziest wins in his career. “I'm proud of the boys. They fought. We talk about that all the time. We played hard for 27 outs and we fought. Man, I'll tell you right now, CJ (Abrams, who scored the winning run) was hauling ass. He really was. I don't know how else to explain it, but that was awesome to see.”

DENVER – As demoralizing as the first two legs of this three-city road trip were, the Nationals at least could take some solace knowing the location of their final stop: Coors Field.

Nothing turns a slumping lineup productive like some thin mountain air. And though they had to wait 19 hours for a mid-April snowstorm to pass through before finally opening their weekend series against the Rockies, the Nats happily accepted the much-needed offense that came with it.

Then again, nothing turns an already struggling bullpen into an absolute mess like Coors Field does, which meant not even a 10-run lead this afternoon was truly safe.

Despite getting four opposite-field homers, two of them by rookie Dylan Crews, and a 13-strikeout performance from starter MacKenzie Gore, the Nationals still had to hang on for dear life as their beleaguered bullpen gave up nine runs before closing out a way-too-tense, 12-11 victory.

"You know how many games like that I've seen here?" manager Davey Martinez sighed. "Whew, a lot."