If this wasn’t rock bottom for the Nationals, it sure felt like it. Mitchell Parker already had dug his team into a six-run hole with an abbreviated start that left many in the crowd booing with disapproval. Then came the 2-hour, 14-minute rain delay. Then once play resumed and the prospect of post-midnight baseball loomed, Jackson Rutledge gave up two more runs to a Marlins team that was piling on a Nats club stuck in a downward spiral with little hope of escape.

And then as Friday night was turning into Saturday morning, the home team decided to finally get its act together. If only it had been enough.

Despite a spirited rally that included seven runs scored between the seventh and eighth innings, the Nationals still ultimately fell short during an 11-9 loss to Miami, their sixth straight.

Unable to overcome Parker’s early struggles on the mound and then some shaky bullpen work later, the Nats fell to the Marlins for the third time in four head-to-head matchups this season, kicking off a critical homestand against two of the National League’s bottom-feeders with the kind of loss that will only leave all affected parties feeling worse than they already did.

"We're a good team. I think there's just a lot of ups and downs in baseball," said James Wood, who did his part tonight with three hits and four RBIs. "We know we're a good team. We know we're capable of being an elite offense. When stretches like that happen, you can't really panic over them."

NEW YORK – Twelve days ago, the Nationals were coming off their second straight high-scoring win over the Diamondbacks and within two games of a .500 record. Their offense was humming, having scored nine or more runs in each outing of their four-game win streak.

But ever since then, runs have come at a premium. In the nine games since that 11-7 win in Arizona leading up to today’s finale against the Mets, the Nats scored just 15 runs for an average of just 1.7 per game.

And with today’s 4-3 loss completing a sweep in New York, that average isn’t much better as the Nats suffered a 22-inning scoreless streak from the sixth inning Tuesday night through the eighth today.

That’s not to take away from the Mets’ pitching this week. Their bullpen was lights out following Griffin Canning on Tuesday, David Peterson tossed a complete-game shutout last night and Kodai Senga continued his impressive start to the season today. But this Nats offense seems to be struggling against anyone and everyone.

Senga and his “ghost” forkball entered this afternoon’s finale with a 1.59 ERA that ranked second in the major leagues. After 5 ⅔ dominant innings, the right-hander now leads the majors with a 1.47 ERA.

NEW YORK – Manager Davey Martinez was hoping to get some “thump” from his right-handed-heavy lineup. The Nationals rank in the lower third in the National League in batting average and OPS against left-handed pitching.

Although a new-look lineup featured six right-handed hitters, they faced a tough task in Mets southpaw David Peterson, who entered the night with a 2.80 ERA.

And try as they might, there was no “thump” to be had. In fact, there was anything but “thump” from the Nats during this 5-0 shutout loss in front of 40,681 fans at Citi Field.

Peterson, who also owned a not-so-impressive 1.259 WHIP at the start of the game, held the Nationals to just six hits without any walks while completing the first complete game and shutout of his six-year major league career.

“I think he was just getting ahead and getting early contact," said James Wood. "I think that let him go the distance today.”

There was, undoubtedly, a healthy amount of bad luck associated with the Nationals’ 7-1 loss to the Cubs tonight. They hit the ball with authority a bunch of times and had little to show for it.

But they also hurt their own cause with a number of unforced errors. They ran themselves into multiple outs on the bases. They failed to make several makeable plays in the field. And Jake Irvin couldn’t make a pitch in some key situations where the right-hander needed to be better.

The end result: a lopsided loss in the rubber game of this series, foiling a golden opportunity to take the series from a very good Chicago club after having already won four of their last five series.

"Hey, they're in first place for a reason," manager Davey Martinez said. "You see what they can do. They put the ball in play. They've been hitting the ball hard all year. They make good defensive plays. And their pitching keeps them in the game. We can do that as well. I've seen signs of it. We've got to do it consistently."

Particularly notable this week is the drastic drop-off in offensive production from what had been the majors’ hottest-hitting team not long ago. The Nationals totaled nine-plus runs in four consecutive games out West, capped off with their historic, 10-run top of the first Saturday night in Arizona.

During their recently completed road trip to Seattle and Arizona, the Nationals took 240 total plate appearances. Only five of them were taken by a full-time, right-handed batter: Riley Adams, who started one of the six games behind the plate in place of Keibert Ruiz.

Every other plate appearance the entire week was taken by someone who either bats left-handed all the time or switch-hits, a highly unusual situation for any major league club.

But wait, it gets weirder. Though only five of the Nats’ 240 plate appearances were taken by someone who only bats right-handed, a whopping 167 of them were taken by someone who throws right-handed. That’s because six of the team’s current nine regular position players (infielders Nathaniel Lowe, Luis Garcia Jr., CJ Abrams and Jose Tena, plus outfielders James Wood and Daylen Lile) all bat exclusively left-handed despite throwing right-handed.

“I never really put a thought on that,” Tena said, via interpreter Mauricio Ortiz. “But now that you’re saying it … yeah. It feels good to know there are other teammates who also do it.”

Players who bat left/throw right aren’t that unusual in the majors. Of the 540 position players who have appeared in a big league game so far this season, 132 of them bat left/throw right. That’s the second-most-common combination, well behind the 294 players who bat right/throw right. There are 59 switch-hitters (55 who throw right-handed). There are 53 true southpaws who both bat and throw left-handed. And then there are the two real misfits who bat right/throw left: Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers, both from the Astros.

PHOENIX – Informed late Saturday night that the Nationals had just completed their first winning month in nearly two years, only their second winning month in four years, Nathaniel Lowe was pleasantly surprised.

“Oh? Sweet,” the veteran first baseman interjected.

Lowe, of course, would have had no way of knowing such information. He wasn’t here when the Nats began to tear down their roster in July 2021. He wasn’t here when they finally put things together enough to go 17-11 in August 2023, a modest blip during an otherwise losing season. He only joined the organization this winter, having spent the previous four years with a Rangers team that won the World Series in 2023.

“We should get used to it,” he said. “You play this game to win. So ideally you show up every day with a chance to compete and win. Losing is not why we play at all.”

The Nationals are not a winning team yet. They got home from Arizona early this morning sporting a 28-31 record, having lost Sunday’s series finale to the Diamondbacks. Real success remains elusive for this franchise, which hasn’t gotten to two games over .500 since the end of June 2021, at which point everything fell apart and the plan to rebuild emerged.

PHOENIX – Remember when the Nationals scored six total runs over four games? It happened less than a week ago.

You’re forgiven if you can’t recall such historical facts, because over the last 72 hours this same lineup has managed to turn itself into a powerhouse.

They did it during back-to-back wins in Seattle, the first leg of this West Coast trip. And now they did it in the opener of their weekend series here at Chase Field, riding two more homers from James Wood and Josh Bell and two more clutch hits from Robert Hassell III to a 9-7 victory over the Diamondbacks.

That’s three straight games the Nationals have scored nine runs, a feat achieved only seven times in club history and not since Aug. 17-19, 2019.

"We talked about it in spring: We know we can be an offensive threat," Bell said. "And right now, it seems like it's a different person every night ... aside from Woody. It seems like it's every night for him. It's definitely fun to be a part of it."

SEATTLE – MacKenzie Gore did his job, churning out six scoreless innings and escaping an emotional bases-loaded jam to end his night. And James Wood did his job, delivering the clutch hit off a lefty that gave the Nationals a two-run lead to put Gore in line for the win.

For the Nats to emerge victorious at T-Mobile Park and pull off an impressive road series win over a good Mariners club, though, several others were going to have to do their job before night’s end.

By the time the Nationals gathered at the center of the diamond to celebrate at the end of the 10th inning, there were no shortage of teammates to congratulate, from Jose A. Ferrer to Daylen Lile to Nathaniel Lowe to Luis García Jr. to Josh Bell, whose titanic blast to right capped off a stunning seven-run rally that lifted the visitors to a 9-3 win that turned from a taut pitchers’ duel into a wild extra-inning rout.

It may have required some extra work late at night, not to mention the first seven-run rally in extra innings in club history, but the Nationals left Seattle with back-to-back wins over a first-place opponent and now head to Arizona having won eight of 11, thanks to some offensive fireworks at the end of a captivating ballgame.

"Starters are keeping us in games," Bell said. "And when our offense clicks, we can put five, six, seven runs across the board at any given moment."

SEATTLE – As lost as they looked at the plate Tuesday night against Logan Evans, the Nationals could not have looked more comfortable when they dug in this evening against George Kirby.

As labored as his recent starts against a number of opponents had felt, Trevor Williams could not have looked more in control tonight when he faced the same Seattle lineup that exploded for nine runs the previous night.

Baseball’s a funny game sometimes, and perhaps it has caused even more head-scratching for the 2025 Nationals than ever before. Because it’s hard to know which version of this team is going to show up on any given night. But when the good version does report for duty as it did tonight in a 9-0 pasting of the Mariners, it sure is fun to watch.

Behind four solo homers from Luis García Jr., Josh Bell, James Wood and Robert Hassell III (the first of his career) and six scoreless innings from Williams, the Nats cruised to an easy victory only 24 hours after they were dominated in the series opener.

"There's always going to be a tomorrow," García said, via interpreter Mauricio Ortiz. "So you have to erase what happened the last day, come in here, work hard and get the win."

SEATTLE – It’s one thing to be aggressive at the plate. It’s quite another thing to have so little success being aggressive at the plate and making no obvious adjustment to reverse that trend.

The Nationals have often shown that unfortunate propensity in recent seasons, and tonight they took it to new (and increasingly agonizing) lengths. During a 9-1 trouncing at the hands of the Mariners, they made quick outs early against Logan Evans, then continued to make quick outs against Seattle’s rookie starter and never did anything to fix it.

By the time Eduard Bazardo completed what Evans started, the Nats ensured tonight would rank among the most futile offensive efforts in club history: They saw 98 total pitches, tied for the 11th fewest they've seen in a nine-inning game over the last 20-plus seasons.

"We're trying to work and see pitches. But when he's like that and you know he's attacking like that, you've got to go up there and be ready to hit," manager Davey Martinez said of Evans, who threw 65 of his 88 pitches for strikes. "You might get just one pitch like that down the middle, and then all of a sudden you're fighting. Tip my cap to him. He kept going out there and kept throwing strikes."

The Nationals nearly failed to draw a walk for the third consecutive game, a distinction they had achieved only once before in club history (September 2016). Josh Bell’s free pass in the top of the eighth finally snapped their streak of impatience at 26 innings.

Whatever concern there may have been a few weeks ago about Jake Irvin and his surprisingly sudden inability to strike guys out, feel free to ignore that.

Two strong outings later, Irvin has put any fears to rest. And then some after today’s brilliant outing at Nationals Park.

With eight scoreless innings, Irvin dominated the Giants with relentless efficiency. And thanks to James Wood’s two-run blast in the bottom of the first and Robert Hassell III’s first career RBI in the seventh, the Nationals coasted to a 3-0 win before an enthusiastic crowd of 36,873 that came to see Jayson Werth and Howie Kendrick on their bobblehead day and departed with a rousing victory to celebrate as well, one that was completed a scant 1 hour, 52 minutes.

"It was sweet," Irvin said. "Nats Park was freaking packed. Fans came out. You can feel that energy, and we fed off of it."

Irvin was in peak form all afternoon, recording strikeouts when given the opportunity but more importantly recording quick outs when San Francisco’s hitters were aggressively putting everything in play.

It would’ve been a bit too easy had the Nationals simply closed out tonight’s game without any bullpen drama. So they decided to make their fifth consecutive win a bit more exciting.

Despite Kyle Finnegan’s blown save in the top of the ninth – one made possible by a José Tena fielding error – the Nats came back to walk off the Braves on Amed Rosario’s sharp single to left in the bottom of the 10th.

With Robert Hassell III (making his major league debut) serving as the automatic runner to begin the inning, Alex Call put down a perfect sacrifice bunt to put the rookie 90 feet away. Rosario (making his first appearance since suffering a nasty cut near his left knee six days ago that required stitches) turned on a 1-1 changeup from left-hander Dylan Lee and ripped a single to left, allowing Hassell to race home with the winning run to cap a memorable debut.

"It felt great," said Hassell, who became the first player in club history with two hits and a stolen base in his big league debut. "Truly the most important thing is we got the W. It feels amazing to win."

Finnegan took the mound with a one-run lead in hand, hoping to finish off what was shaping up to be an impressive bullpen effort that already included 4 1/3 innings of one-run (unearned) ball. The Nats' closer did get himself into trouble with a leadoff single, but after inducing a popout, he got Austin Riley to hit a sharp grounder to third for what could’ve been a game-ending, 5-4-3 double play. Alas, Tena couldn’t get a handle on the ball, leaving everybody safe and prolonging the game.

The Nationals couldn’t have asked for a better weekend in Baltimore, where they swept the fading Orioles thanks to a long-awaited offensive surge. Now, can they keep it going back at home against the Braves?

In a rematch of last week’s series in Atlanta, the Nationals know they need to do more offensively, especially against the opposing starters. And they’ve got to face a doozy of one tonight in Spencer Strider. The young ace of the Braves staff made his return from Tommy John surgery last month, only to strain his hamstring after one start. Now he returns again, his arm fully healthy and ready to unleash his impressive arsenal. Will he be rusty? Will he be limited? Those could be key questions tonight.

Mitchell Parker faces the Braves for the second time in a week, looking for better results this time around. The lefty gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings at Truist Park, though in a more positive development he issued only two walks while striking out six.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ATLANTA BRAVES
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, 70 degrees, wind 5 mph in from right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
1B Nathaniel Lowe
C Keibert Ruiz
2B Luis García Jr.
DH Josh Bell
RF Alex Call
3B José Tena
CF Dylan Crews

BALTIMORE – A ballgame that had already defied conventional wisdom in countless ways for eight innings of course came down to a most unconventional conclusion in the ninth.

On a night in which MacKenzie Gore was simultaneously hittable and unhittable, on a night in which neither team could score many runs despite one team more than tripling the other team’s hit total, on a night in which the Nationals found themselves forced to play Nasim Nuñez in center field, it was Nuñez who found a way to produce the decisive run in a 4-3 win over the Orioles with his legs.

With two outs in the ninth, Nuñez hustled down the line to beat out a chopper to first, and José Tena astutely raced around to score from second base while a bewildered Félix Bautista scrambled unsuccessfully to try to throw him out at the plate.

"It's about the hunger. It's about the passion," Nuñez said. "We're fighting every single pitch, every single inning. No matter who's on the mound, we're going to get him."

Nuñez, the 26th man on the roster who got the start at second base with Luis García Jr. just returning from paternity leave, somehow found himself playing the outfield for the first time as a professional when Davey Martinez had García pinch-hit for Jacob Young in the top of the seventh, leaving the Nats without any more natural outfielders.

ATLANTA – When things don’t go your way, they really don’t go your way. And things had not gone the Nationals’ way for the better part of the last eight days.

In order to break an extended losing streak, the Nationals had to do almost everything right. And even though they made more mistakes than positive plays in the early parts of this game, the fact that they put together a late rally showed a lot about what this team has: Fight.

This 5-4 comeback victory may look like any ordinary win over the Braves, but it in fact snapped a seven-game losing streak and may have been the first sign that the Nats can finally turn this thing around.

“That win was great," manager Davey Martinez said after the first victory in over a week. "Put one on the board for the good guys, how's that? The boys played well. We're playing baseball. It's fun to watch these guys come out and compete. … It was a good team effort today.”

Down 4-3 in the eighth, the Nats finally put together the clutch at-bats they’ve been searching for over the past week.

ATLANTA – The most recent homestand wasn’t kind to the Nationals. A rainout on Monday forced a doubleheader Tuesday, and with a noon game already scheduled for Wednesday, they had to play all three games against the Guardians in under 24 hours.

The Nats won the first game of that twinbill. And that still stands as the last time they found themselves in the win column.

With tonight’s 4-3 loss in the opener of a four-game series against the Braves, the Nationals have now lost six in a row, their longest losing streak since also dropping six straight Aug. 30-Sept. 5, 2023.

After a ninth-inning rally tied the game at 3-3, Jackson Rutledge and Andrew Chafin combined to give up the winning run in walk-off fashion in the bottom frame.

While closer Kyle Finnegan, who hasn’t pitched since the Nats’ last victory Tuesday, sat in the bullpen, Rutledge gave up a leadoff single, with the runner advancing to scoring position on a sacrifice bunt.

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.

CINCINNATI – Amed Rosario had already hit the ball hard three times tonight, with only minimal production to show for it. By the time he stepped up to the plate a fourth time to face Nick Lodolo, the veteran Nationals infielder had to like his chances of doing it again. And perhaps finally having something real to show for it.

Sure enough, Rosario delivered. His three-run homer to center in the top of the sixth gave the Nats a lead they would not relinquish during what wound up a satisfying, 11-6 victory over the Reds.

That big blast capped a four-RBI night for Rosario, who got the nod at third base against Cincinnati’s left-handed starter and got four chances to face him. His first two at-bats produced loud outs, both in the air to center field. His third found the gap in left-center for an RBI double. But it was his fourth that made the most impact, literally and figuratively.

Stepping to the plate with two on and one out in a tie game, with Lodolo still on the mound for the Reds, Rosario saw a belt-high changeup over the plate and belted it 408 feet to center field. He cruised around the bases to cheers from the visitors’ dugout.

“I was prepared since my first at-bat,” Rosario said, via interpreter Mauricio Ortiz. “But of course towards the second and third, I kind of knew what he was going to throw.”

Already possessing an impressive 9-6 record at home against high-quality opponents, the Nationals entered today’s finale against the Mets looking to put the cherry on top of an encouraging homestand.

With two dramatic, come-from-behind wins over the weekend, they had already secured at least a split of this four-game, wraparound series. But one more win, ideally without needing late-inning rallies, would give them three victories in four games against the team with the best record in baseball.

Unfortunately, the Nats fell behind again. And unlike Friday and Sunday, there were no theatrics in this 19-5 blowout loss to the Mets in front of an announced crowd of 14,011 on a sunny afternoon in the District.

“It was a good game til it wasn't,” manager Davey Martinez said after the loss. “The bullpen came in and had a rough day today. But we had our chances early offensively. Just once again, as I always say, when we chase, nothing good comes out of it. So we got to stop chasing, especially with guys on base. We gotta get good pitches to hit. When we do that, we're pretty good.”

The Nationals' offense, which combined to score 13 runs and collect 29 hits over the first three games, once again had no issues creating scoring chances. But the bats looked more like the ones that were shut out 2-0 on Saturday instead of the ones that put up hard-fought rallies Friday and Sunday.

The Nationals are looking to win three of four games against the Mets, the hottest team in baseball. To do so in Monday’s late afternoon finale of this four-game wraparound series, manager Davey Martinez is trotting all four of his outfielders into the starting lineup.

James Wood will serve as the designated hitter against Mets starter Griffin Canning. Alex Call takes over left field while Jacob Young and Dylan Crews remain in center and right, respectively.

Wood has now been in the Nats’ starting lineup for all 29 games to start the season. But this will only be the fourth time he’ll serve as the DH, which has been a part of the team’s plans to keep the big outfielder fresh and healthy after he dealt with left quad tendinitis during spring training.

“As we know in spring training, he had a little (quad) issue. So every now and then, I want to try to get him a DH day,” Martinez said of Wood during his pregame media session. “I think he's played in every game this year. But I talked to him, and he loves to play. But I think in order to keep him healthy and keep him going, DHing him one day and keeping him off his feet is good.”

Wood has slashed .257/.361/.543 with a .904 OPS, a team-leading eight home runs and 10 RBIs. And while he has -1 Defensive Runs Saved, per FanGraphs, in left field, that is already a major improvement from the -7 he posted last year.