The Nationals couldn’t have asked for a better start to their second half, sweeping the Reds over the weekend in impressive fashion. Now they’ll have to try to keep it going against a team that recently swept them.

The Padres are in town, and it was only four weeks ago when they won three straight against the Nationals during a wild series in San Diego that ruined a lot of positive momentum they had built up earlier in June.

One of those games at Petco Park was started by DJ Herz, who makes his return to the big leagues tonight after officially getting recalled from Triple-A. (Reliever Eduardo Salazar was optioned to Rochester to clear up that roster spot.) Herz essentially got a 16-day break since he last pitched up here, making only one abbreviated start for Rochester to keep his arm fresh. It will be fascinating to see how the rookie left-hander returns, and whether he can find some level of more consistency than he showed in his first stint.

Right-hander Randy Vasquez is tonight’s opponent, and he will be a new face from the Nationals’ perspective, nobody on the current roster having faced him before. There will be a few ex-Padres in the lineup, though, with some extra motivation against the franchise that traded them. How will James Wood and CJ Abrams handle this assignment?

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. SAN DIEGO PADRES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain late, 88 degrees, wind 7 mph out to left field

The formula that won Saturday night’s game wasn’t going to be plausible today. The Nationals simply couldn’t afford another ultra-abbreviated outing from their starter, putting even more strain on an already strained bullpen.

So Jake Irvin did his part, rediscovering the form that made him one of the league’s breakout pitchers in the first half of the season. And then James Wood made sure that pitching performance would count with one huge late swing.

Wood’s three-run homer off reliever Justin Wilson turned a tie game in the bottom of the eighth into a 5-2 Nats victory and a three-game sweep of the Reds to kick off the season’s second half in decidedly upbeat fashion.

"We're right there with them," Wood said of a Nationals team that has won five of six and currently sits four games out of a wide-open Wild Card race. "We're trying to make a push, too."

Wood stepped to the plate with two out and two on in the eighth, Cincinnati manager David Bell summoning Wilson specifically to face him. The rookie had batted against the veteran left-hander Saturday night, grounding out on the fifth pitch of that at-bat. He wasted no time today, aggressively going after Wilson’s first-pitch fastball and driving it 404 feet to left for his second career homer.

The Nationals seemed refreshed coming back from the All-Star break. Although they had just received the news that Josiah Gray will need elbow surgery to end his season, the team was in high spirits in the clubhouse before the second-half opener against the Reds, especially with first-round pick Seaver King and third-rounder Kevin Bazzell officially signing their contracts and spending time with the team.

After ending the first half by losing six of their last eight games, the Nats were looking to start the second half on the right foot. They were able to do so by putting their offensive struggles behind them and exploding for an 8-5 win over the Reds in front of a sellout crowd of 38,402, most of whom were sticking around for the Carly Rae Jepsen postgame concert.

The first challenge for the bats out of the break was Frankie Montas, who spun six shutout innings against them for a win on Opening Day. But this was a very different Nats lineup than the one the veteran right-hander faced in Cincinnati back in March.

Joey Meneses, Joey Gallo and Eddie Rosario were not on the lineup card. James Wood, Juan Yepez and Trey Lipscomb were. And the new faces certainly made a difference.

Wood got things going after Jesse Winker walked and Yepez singled ahead of him in the fourth. The rookie pulled an inside cutter from Montas to drive in two runs with a single to right and give the Nats a 2-1 lead. The second run scored without a play at the plate because Rece Hinds' throw home hit the 6-foot-7 outfielder in the back at first base, bringing some laughs from Wood and the Nats dugout.

The All-Star Game has come and gone, but we’ve still got one more day left in the All-Star break. No baseball will be played today. Come back Friday evening for that, when the Nationals open of a six-game homestand against the Reds and Padres.

The halfway point of the season has already long since come and gone. The Nats have played 97 games, so remarkably there are only 65 left. But this will be the start of the ceremonial second half of the season, and there is plenty to still take place before the 2024 campaign is over.

Here’s a look at the top storylines the Nationals figure to face over the next 2 1/2 months …

HOW GOOD IS WOOD?
James Wood has now spent two weeks in the big leagues, and there was a big difference between those two weeks. Week 1 saw the top prospect take the world by storm, crushing balls well over 100 mph, drawing six walks with only seven strikeouts and producing a .320/.452/.480 slash line. Week 2 saw the league start to figure him out and saw Wood start to get out of his comfort zone, striking out 13 times without drawing a walk and slashing .179/.207/.179. It’s far too soon to draw any real conclusions, but 2 1/2 months from now, we should have a really good idea just how good Wood is. Can he make the necessary adjustments at the plate and start consistently squaring up the ball again? Can he start to look more comfortable in left field? Is he ready to be the face of this franchise, or is that process going to take a bit more time?

CAN THE YOUNG PITCHING HOLD UP?
There was so much to like about the Nationals’ young starting pitchers from April through June, but we started to see some cracks in the foundation the last two weeks. The question: Are these guys starting to wear down, and is that going to continue in the second half? It would not be surprising if that happens to the least experienced of the group, Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz. But MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin have been through this before, and both should know how to right their ships and stay strong through September. It’s going to be a real test for these guys, but it’s going to inform us a lot about their long-term viability.

NEW YORK – James Wood and Trey Lipscomb each took long roads to only end up in their own backyards. The two Nationals prospects both grew up within an hour of D.C. and now they’re teammates for the first time at the major league level.

“This is kinda how it felt all throughout the minors,” Wood said. “We just are doing the same stuff that we do normally, but it's just up here, which is always fun. It's cool.”

Wood and Lipscomb both entered the Nats farm system in 2022, but by different means. Lipscomb, a Frederick, Md., native, was drafted by the Nats in the third round out of the University of Tennessee. Two weeks later, Wood, an Olney, Md., native, was included in the biggest trade in baseball history when he and four other top prospects were shipped to the Nats in exchange for Juan Soto.

The two quickly became teammates at Single-A Fredericksburg and have risen through the system together ever since, making stops at High-Wilmington, Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester before finally making the major leagues together this past week.

“I don't think really much of it has changed to be honest,” Lipscomb said. “I feel like we came up (together). When I first got drafted and he got traded over by the Padres, we were in Low-A Fredericksburg together. We've been working our way all the way up since then. Obviously, last year started at High-A together. And then Double-A. Then obviously, spring training and Triple-A. But it's kind of just been the same. I feel like we've just been the same and just continuing to grow, us being teammates. Not only that, but our friendship together.”

NEW YORK – The Nationals entered Thursday’s matinee finale in Queens needing a win against the Mets to avoid the three-game sweep. More importantly, they needed a win to slow down their two-week slide before the finale series of the first half.

It’s been a mostly positive first half of the season for the Nationals, who have surpassed some preseason expectations, thanks in large part to some impressive performances by their young players.

They reached .500 in late April for the first time since July 2021. And they hovered around that mark for the next couple of months, sometimes even slipping into a wild card spot. But starting with a three-game sweep in San Diego in late June, the Nats have started going in the opposite direction, losing 12 of their last 16 entering today’s game.

Make that now losers of 13 of their last 17 games and five straight to fall 10 games under .500 after a 7-0 shutout loss to the Mets in front of an announced crowd of 25,710 at Citi Field.

The Nationals offense continues to slog through these weeks leading up to the All-Star break. They scored too late in Tuesday’s loss. They scored two early Wednesday, but none after that. And they didn’t score at all today.

NEW YORK – James Wood’s movement up the Nationals lineup continues today as he gets bumped up to the No. 2 spot against Mets right-handed starter Luis Severino. In fact, all of the Nats’ left-handed hitters moved up the order for tonight’s second game of this three-game set in Queens.

To face Severino, who held the Nats to one run on seven hits, no walks and four strikeouts over eight innings a month ago, manager Davey Martinez is putting lefties CJ Abrams, Wood, Jesse Winker, Keibert Ruiz (switch-hitter) and Luis García Jr. in the first five spots in the order. That does mean some guys have to move down.

Lane Thomas, who has hit second in 48 of his 63 games, moves down to sixth in the lineup for the first time this season.

“I just wanted to get our lefties up there against Severino, all of them up there, and see if we can score early,” Martinez said during his pregame media session. “I bumped Lane down a little bit just to take his mind off some stuff. Gotta get him ready to hit the fastball again. He's a little late, so I just wanted to get some other guys up there.”

The Nats struggled against left-hander Jose Quintana last night and have struggled to score early lately. They haven’t scored first in any of their last three games.

A stretch of 17 games in 17 days in blistering early July heat has long loomed on the Nationals’ schedule. This was going to be a test not only of this growing team’s ability to compete with opponents in the pennant race, but also of this team’s physical and mental fortitude.

All of that is being put to the test right now, and though the Nats have managed to pull off some inspired wins along the way, the grind clearly is getting to them. Especially their pitching staff.

Today’s 8-3 loss to the Cardinals saw DJ Herz labor for 4 1/3 innings, putting added strain on a bullpen that already was running on fumes. What had been a decided strength through most of the season’s first half has devolved into a liability this week, with five top relievers pressed into overtime duties and the other three forced to pitch out of necessity.

Among the biggest takeaways from the last two days, in particular: The Nationals sorely lack a long man in the pen. And they may not be able to proceed much longer without one unless their starters can consistently churn out six innings a piece.

"Most of our bullpen has been going one-plus innings right now," manager Davey Martinez said. "We're trying to get to that All-Star break, to give them a break. We need some length tomorrow from our starter, that's what we need."

Saturday was a good day for the Nationals, who fielded their youngest lineup in years and scored 14 runs thanks to homers by James Wood, CJ Abrams and Keibert Ruiz. Now, can they keep something like that up? Too often this season we’ve seen an offensive explosion followed up by a lifeless showing at the plate. The challenge today: Don’t let up.

As has been the case in each of the first two games of this series, the Nats will face a veteran right-hander. They did well against Sonny Gray. They did great against Lance Lynn. Today, it’s Kyle Gibson, who enters with a 3.88 ERA but has allowed four runs in five or fewer innings in each of his last two starts.

DJ Herz starts for the Nationals, and if you think you know what you’re going to get from the left-hander, you’re fooling yourself. He’s been impossible to predict so far, with two absolutely dominant starts (including his last one against the Mets) and four shaky starts in which he didn’t complete five innings. It would be great to get back-to-back solid outings from the rookie, but the Nats have to be realistic about the situation.

It's a big day here for other reasons: The All-Star rosters will be announced later this evening, so it could wind up being a really memorable day for Abrams, Kyle Finnegan or Jake Irvin. Or perhaps even more than one of them …

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 93 degrees, wind 6 mph in from left field

Hope for the Nationals came on a 97-degree late Saturday afternoon, the kind of afternoon in which the shaded side of the ballpark is packed while the sunny side is vacated. And the kind of afternoon in which the youngest players on the field delivered the promise of what’s to come during what this organization hopes is a rousing second half to this season of transition.

One of the majors’ least-powerful lineups over the last three months torched Lance Lynn and the Cardinals for a season-high 14 runs, thanks in large part to three home runs hit by players ages 25, 23 and 21. And even though their own young starter failed to seize a huge early lead and made things far more interesting than they needed to be, the Nats still had all kinds of reason to celebrate a 14-6 victory on South Capitol Street.

"It's cool, just seeing what we're capable of," rookie James Wood said. "And also just knowing how much more we can grow."

Wood led the way with his first career homer in his sixth career major league game, also adding a two-run double to give him five RBIs in the first three innings alone. He was joined by CJ Abrams and Keibert Ruiz, who also homered during their 11-run barrage against Lynn.

Wood came up one RBI shy of the single-game club rookie record set by Danny Espinosa in 2010. He’s still got 73 games remaining on the schedule to try to top today’s performance.

Boy, did the Nationals need that win Wednesday night. After dropping five straight to the Mets to begin the season, then falling behind 5-0, they stormed back to win 7-5 thanks to the offensive heroics of Luis García Jr. and James Wood and a really impressive job by an overworked bullpen.

The domino effect of that, though: You have to assume Robert Garcia, Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan are all going to be unavailable for this morning’s series finale, none of them able to pitch for the fourth straight day. If this game is close late, Davey Martinez is going to have to rely on some different relievers for a change.

A long start out of Jake Irvin would help the cause tremendously, and Irvin has shown an ability to do that this year. He has completed at least six innings 12 times in 17 starts, and he has reached the seventh twice. If he can keep his pitch count manageable, you wonder if Martinez will push the right-hander a bit more than usual today.

After finally facing a right-hander Wednesday, the Nats will be going up against a lefty again today in veteran Jose Quintana. Given how well Wood has handled southpaws so far, you have to think he’ll remain in a prominent spot in the lineup.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 11:05 a.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv, MLB Network (outside D.C. market)
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 88 degrees, wind 5 mph out to center field

While James Wood’s first two major league games came with all of the deserved hype, the Nationals’ top prospect had yet to really deliver a signature moment.

Sure, he reached base in high-leverage moments in both games, but he hadn't yet scored his first major league run nor recorded his first major league RBI.

So maybe the third time would be the charm for Wood, who was promoted to the No. 1 prospect in baseball by Baseball America earlier today. And sure enough, his first big league moment came tonight in leading the Nationals to victory.

Wood drove in the game-winning run with an RBI single in the seventh inning of the Nats’ 7-5 win over the Mets, their first against their division rival this season.

After rallying from a 5-0 deficit to make it a one-run game entering the sixth inning, the Nationals offense put Wood in position to be the hero.

Will tonight be the night? Can the Nationals finally beat the Mets after starting the year 0-5 against their division rival? Better yet, can they do it in the standard nine innings after losing each of the first two games of this series in the 10th?

Starting pitching hasn’t been a problem for the Nats this week. On the contrary, they have remained in these games thanks to some dominant performances from their starters over the last two days. Mitchell Parker will look to continue that trend in his 15th start. The left-hander is 5-4 with a 3.32 ERA and 1.119 WHIP to begin his rookie season.

The Mets called up rookie right-hander Christian Scott to make his sixth major league start tonight. The 25-year-old is 0-2 with a 3.90 ERA and 1.084 WHIP to begin his big league career. After holding his own against two southpaws in his first two games, this will be James Wood’s first time facing a right-handed starter in the majors.

If you’re coming to the game tonight, you’ll be treated to the traditional postgame fireworks ahead of tomorrow’s July 4 celebrations.

Note: The Nationals requested unconditional release waivers on Eddie Rosario, who was designated for assignment on Monday to make room for Wood.

James Wood has spent all of two nights in the big leagues. Each time, the Nationals’ top prospect has found himself stepping to the plate to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning in a tie game. Each time, he hasn’t been able to score the winning run.

And each time, the Nats went on to lose to the Mets after a disastrous top of the 10th.

The script was basically the same tonight, New York scoring five 10th-inning runs after exploding for six in Monday’s series opener. The Nationals didn’t have a last-ditch rally in them and thus lost their fifth straight to their division rivals, this time by a more lopsided score of 7-2.

"I think I've kind of been learning quick that how close these games really are," Wood said, "and one play can really make a difference."

Kept off the bases his first three times up tonight, even though he scorched the ball each time, Wood finally got a chance to face a right-hander in his fourth plate appearance of the game, his ninth overall in the big leagues. He saw six pitches from the Mets’ Jose Butto, didn’t swing at any of them, and wound up drawing the walk.

Monday wasn’t a typical day at the ballpark. Today should be, as the hullaballoo of James Wood’s debut dies down and the rookie outfielder just gets to work on being a big leaguer for a team trying to start winning games again.

The Nationals had themselves within a game of .500 just over a week ago, but they’ve lost six of their last seven and now suddenly sit at 39-45, three games behind a Mets team they led for most of the season’s first half. They need to get this thing back in gear before it spirals too far out of control.

Wood and his teammates will be facing another left-hander tonight in Sean Manaea. The 32-year-old has solid numbers (3.89 ERA, 1.297 WHIP, 76 strikeouts in 76 1/3 innings) but he’s also walking four batters per nine innings. A Nats lineup that frequently hasn’t shown enough patience needs to show it tonight.

DJ Herz, meanwhile, starts for the Nationals, and the rookie left-hander needs a bounceback performance after back-to-back shaky outings on the road that have made his 13-strikeout gem against the Marlins feel like a distant memory. We still don’t know what exactly is going on with Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli, so Herz’s job may not be on the line tonight. But a strong outing would certainly help his cause to stick around and avoid a trip back to Triple-A Rochester.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly clear, 84 degrees, wind 10 mph out to left field

This was always going to be James Wood Night at Nationals Park, no matter how the 21-year-old performed in his major league debut, no matter the outcome of the Nats’ series opener against the Mets.

But as early evening turned to dusk turned to night on South Capitol Street, it became clear this game was going to come down to Wood at the plate – or the bases – with a chance to be the hero.

The only problem: Wood needed at least some help from his teammates, and alas they provided none at the critical moment of the game. Which then set the stage for the proceedings to flip entirely in the other direction.

A six-run top of the 10th by the Mets, five of those runs scoring off Hunter Harvey, ultimately was the difference in what devolved into a bizarre, 9-7 Mets victory, spoiling Wood’s highly anticipated debut before a crowd of 26,719 that desperately wanted to go home happy but instead left disappointed.

"Obviously, that's the end goal," the sport's No. 3-ranked prospect said at the end of a long, emotional day. "I wish we'd come out with a win. But we've got another one tomorrow, and that's all I'm focused on."

James Wood’s arrival date had been known since Friday. What wasn’t known was the identity of the player whose roster spot the Nationals’ top prospect would take.

That question finally was answered this morning when the Nats designated Eddie Rosario for assignment, bringing an end to the veteran outfielder’s frustrating three months with the organization. The 32-year-old hit just .183 with seven homers, 26 RBIs and a .555 OPS in 67 games.

The Nationals had high hopes for Rosario when they signed him to a minor league deal in spring training, assuming all along he would make the Opening Day roster. He did make the club and earned a guaranteed $2 million in the process, with the potential to earn up to $2 million more via performance incentives.

Rosario actually started Opening Day in center field, ahead of Victor Robles, though he eventually settled into the two corner outfield positions, playing in right field while Lane Thomas was on the injured list and then shifting to left field once Thomas returned.

Rosario labored through a miserable April, finishing that month with only six hits in 68 at-bats, one homer and three RBIs. A notorious slow starter, he and club officials insisted things would turn around as the season progressed.

A day Nationals fans (and players, for that matter) have long awaited has arrived at last. Nearly two years after the deal went down, the top prospect acquired in the Juan Soto trade makes his major league debut. And he’ll be joined on the field by two other top young building blocks who arrived in the same trade with the Padres.

It’s James Wood Day on South Capitol Street, and this promises to be the organization’s most significant debut since Soto himself arrived in May 2018. Don’t be surprised, though, when the lineup is unveiled and you have to scroll down a bit to find Wood. Soto batted sixth in his first career start (after one game coming off the bench). Same for Ryan Zimmerman (after four games off the bench) and Anthony Rendon. Bryce Harper batted seventh in his debut. Trea Turner batted eighth (after four games off the bench).

Abrams, who also had to earn his way up the lineup, will be leading off as usual against Mets starter David Peterson. Despite the lefty-lefty matchup, here’s some good news: Abrams has an .889 OPS vs. left-handers this season, and Wood had a 1.089 OPS against lefties at Triple-A. Not bad.

MacKenzie Gore is on the mound, and he is especially excited to have this assignment tonight, knowing the significance of this game. The young lefty knows he needs to control his emotions and perform a lot better than he did last week in San Diego, when he allowed five runs in five innings during a highly charged game with the Padres. The Mets also got to Gore for six runs in 4 1/3 innings last month, so he should have plenty of motivation to be good tonight.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv, MLB Network (outside D.C. market)
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 79 degrees, wind 11 mph in from left field

There has been no darker day in recent Nationals history – maybe in all of Nationals history – than Aug. 2, 2022, when general manager Mike Rizzo made the decision to trade Juan Soto to the Padres.

The only saving grace that day was the glimmer of hope that the blockbuster move to deal a 23-year-old superstar (plus Josh Bell) in exchange for six players (five of them highly regarded prospects) would someday pay off for the Nats.

That day hasn’t fully arrived in D.C. yet, but consider today the franchise’s most consequential day since that dreadful summer of 2022. James Wood, the consensus best prospect acquired in the Soto trade, is set to make his major league debut, most likely starting in left field for the opener of a four-game series against the Mets.

(That move became official this morning, by the way, with the Nationals announcing they have purchased Wood’s contract from Triple-A Rochester. Needing to clear a spot on their 40-man roster, they designated Eddie Rosario for assignment. The veteran outfielder never did fully turn his season around despite a brief hot streak in early May, finishing his time here with a .183 batting average, .226 on-base percentage, seven homers, 26 RBIs and .555 OPS in 67 games.)

When he takes the field at Nationals Park for the first time, Wood will look toward the infield and see good friend and fellow former Padres prospect CJ Abrams, now one of the most exciting young shortstops in baseball. And when he looks beyond Abrams to the mound he’ll see MacKenzie Gore, another one acquired in that trade and now one of the most promising young left-handers in the sport.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Help is on the way for the Nationals’ power-starved lineup. But it’s not scheduled to arrive until Monday, leaving the current group to have to try to get the job done this weekend against the Rays.

And if tonight’s series opener was any indication, it’s going to continue to be tough sledding until James Wood joins the bunch. Especially if Jesse Winker has now been lost to injury.

Hours after news broke they intend to promote one of baseball’s top prospects Monday for the start of an eight-game homestand, the Nats slogged their way through a 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay that was made worse by Winker’s right knee injury in the bottom of the first.

Already reeling from a three-game sweep in San Diego, the Nationals were held to one run on five hits by the Rays’ pitching staff, leaving them with a 38-43 record at the official halfway point of the season.

"We were one game under .500 before we got to San Diego," center fielder Jacob Young said. "So I think we're right there. We've played a lot of teams tough. We've had a pretty tough schedule. I think we've played well. We just need to keep going one game at a time and try to get some victories and get off this little four-game slide we're on."