PHILADELPHIA – They gave themselves another chance at another dramatic rally inside a sold-out Citizens Bank Park, in spite of the large hole Mitchell Parker dug for his teammates. The Nationals chipped away at the big deficit, got themselves to within two runs and had a chance to tie the game (or even take the lead) late against the Phillies' bullpen for the second straight night.

Perhaps it’s a good reminder just how special Friday night’s come-from-behind win was, though. These things generally don’t happen every night. And, in fact, it didn’t happen again tonight, the Phillies hanging on for a 6-4 victory to even the weekend series and set up a rubber match here Sunday afternoon.

The Nationals, who stormed back in the top of the ninth against Jhoan Duran in the opener, couldn’t make lightning strike twice, though they sure gave it a try. Brady House doubled and Robert Hassell III singled with one out off the All-Star closer, bringing the big boys to the plate representing the go-ahead run. But Duran managed to strike out James Wood and get CJ Abrams to line out to left to end the game and secure his seventh save in eight tries since his acquisition from the Phillies.

Few opponents have proven as tough on Duran as the Nats, though, who have now faced him six times in the last four weeks alone (the first two when he was still with the Twins). They've managed to bat .381 (8-for-21) against him, dramatically better than the .199 mark the rest of the sport has against him this year.

"I think we know we can beat this guy," Hassell said. "We know that anyway, but actually seeing it last night, coming into tonight, we were pretty confident."

PHILADELPHIA – Add another name to the list of Nationals position players getting a crash course at first base: Luis García Jr.

García has been taking grounders and scooping short-hop throws at first base in recent days, learning the nuances of the position from interim manager Miguel Cairo. He’s not ready to appear there in a game yet, but he’s admittedly handled his work there so far well.

“I feel comfortable,” García said, via interpreter Mauricio Ortiz. “Going into it, I think I feel more comfortable than what I expected.”

Originally a shortstop coming up through the minors – and briefly in the majors in 2022 – García made the full-time move to second base later that year and has remained there since. But while his offensive production ticked up, his defensive work diminished. After rating well with 5 Outs Above Average last season, he has plummeted to minus-7 OAA this season, ranking among the worst second basemen in the majors.

With the organization still searching for a long-term answer at first base, García has become the latest current major leaguer to get a look over there. Though Josh Bell has taken over the primary starting job since the Nats designated Nathaniel Lowe for assignment, Cairo has also used utility infielder Paul DeJong and recent Triple-A call-up Andres Chaparro at first base. Catcher Keibert Ruiz, on the 7-day concussion injured list nearly two months, has been getting some work there before games.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Hello from Kauffman Stadium, which still looks great 52 years after it first opened. The Nationals are here for the first time since 2023, looking to pick up where they left off Sunday in San Francisco, having won two in a row from the Giants.

First things first: Dylan Crews is not here. He has not been activated off the 60-day injured list yet, even though he played nine innings each of the last two days with Triple-A Rochester. It sure seems like the Nats will wait until they return home Thursday to bring him back, but hopefully we’ll get more information here shortly.

As for who is here tonight, Cade Cavalli is on the mound, making his second big league start of the season, the third of his career. Cavalli’s return last week could not have gone much better: 4 1/3 scoreless innings on 88 pitches. He’ll try to be a little more efficient tonight, but more important is the quality of his stuff and the health of his arm.

Luis García Jr. returns to the Nats lineup after missing the entire weekend series with tightness in his back. He’s batting all the way down in the No. 8 spot against Royals left-hander Bailey Falter, which means Paul DeJong is again batting third, this time playing third base in place of Brady House. DeJong has been hot. Miguel Cairo will try to keep getting him at-bats.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Where: Kauffman Stadium
Gametime: 7:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Thunderstorms, 77 degrees, wind 6 mph out to left field

SAN FRANCISCO – Luis García Jr. is out of the Nationals’ lineup for the second straight day, but the team appears to be confident his back injury won’t linger for long.

García was scratched from the lineup for Friday night’s series opener against the Giants when he experienced back tightness during batting practice. Interim manager Miguel Cairo said at the time he would also sit his starting second baseman for this afternoon’s game, given the quick turnaround to a 1:05 p.m. first pitch.

García has since undergone an MRI on his back, the results of which were encouraging.

“He went and did an MRI this morning, and everything is negative, so he’s fine,” Cairo said. “Maybe it just tightened up. We did the MRI just to make sure everything was fine, so that’s good news.”

Cairo had José Tena start in García’s place Friday night; the 24-year-old went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and grounded into a force out at the plate with the bases loaded. Veteran Paul DeJong gets the nod today and will bat third against San Francisco left-hander Carson Whisenhunt.

HOUSTON – Michael Soroka took the mound tonight knowing there was a good chance it would be his final start for the Nationals, knowing the better he pitched, the more attractive he might make himself to any interested contenders.

He then found out that’s easier said than done, especially when the opposing lineup makes you work as much as the Astros did.

Unable to complete four innings for the first time this season due to a high pitch count, Soroka didn’t figure in the decision in the Nats’ eventual 7-4 loss. The bullpen was charged with the final five runs, turning a once-tied game into a relatively comfortable victory for Houston.

But the spotlight tonight was squarely on Soroka, who took the mound less than 48 hours before the trade deadline and once again turned in a start that included a combination of positive and negative developments.

Houston’s hitters put up a massive fight from the get-go, battling tough pitches and prolonging at-bats. Their first four batters saw a combined 28 pitches, and a whopping 13 of those were fouled off. Cam Smith then got a pitch he could do something with and sent it down the right field line for an RBI double and a 1-0 lead.

MINNEAPOLIS – If the Nationals believed a day off in the Land of 10,000 Lakes would do them good and allow them to return to action tonight with no residual effects of their shutout loss Wednesday in D.C., they were greatly mistaken.

The Nats batters who dug in tonight against the Twins’ Zebby Matthews looked no better than the guys who dug in Wednesday afternoon against the Reds’ Nick Lodolo. They made quick outs. They drew zero walks. They scored zero runs.

And when it was all over, they had once again wasted MacKenzie Gore’s pitching efforts, trudging out of Target Field on the wrong end of a 1-0 ballgame, their second straight shutout loss.

The Nationals haven’t scored a run in 21 innings now, their last runners to cross the plate coming way back in the sixth inning Tuesday night via Riley Adams’ two-run single. They’ve barely even given themselves a chance to score again since.

"We didn't hit," interim manager Miguel Cairo said. "We got three hits, I think. Sometimes it goes like that. They got three hits, too. They just got one more run than us."

LOS ANGELES – The Nationals arrived here in good spirits late Thursday night, bolstered by a desperately needed, walk-off win to snap an 11-game losing streak. They didn’t know if that effort would carry over into the opener of a nine-game trip in which they’ll never leave Southern California, but if nothing else it did feel like a massive weight was lifted off their shoulders.

To beat the defending World Series champions, though, it requires more than positive vibes. It requires clean baseball, timely hitting and stars rising to the occasion. And during tonight’s 6-5 loss to the Dodgers, the Nats were lacking just a bit in all three aspects.

With a high-profile pitching matchup against Clayton Kershaw, MacKenzie Gore gave up a season-high six runs, all of them scoring with two outs. With multiple chances to deliver a damaging blow to Kershaw, the Nationals lineup went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. And when they needed a perfect turn of a potential inning-ending double play, they were just a split-second slow, ultimately opening the floodgates for a three-run Dodgers rally that might well have been the difference in the game.

There’s no shame in losing a close ballgame to one of the best teams in baseball. But the Nats weren’t about to rattle off silver linings after their 12th loss in 13 games, especially when this one was quite winnable.

"It's a game of inches," manager Davey Martinez sighed as he wrapped up his postgame press conference.

Perhaps the most telling aspect of today’s ballgame at Nationals Park was that, for most of the afternoon, the home team had far more success at the plate when it chose not to swing the bat than when it did.

Yes, there was a last-ditch attempt to rally in the bottom of the ninth, when they finally started making some real contact and nearly pulled off a stunning comeback. And yet at the end of the day, despite scoring two runs and loading the bases with one out against Anthony Bender, the fifth and only ineffective Marlins reliever of the days, the Nationals could not push across the tying run and wound up falling 4-3 to extend their losing streak to seven games.

"Once again, we made a rally there late," manager Davey Martinez said with a sigh. "But we've got to start rallying from the first inning on. I sound like a broken record, but we've got to remember we play nine innings. The first inning means a lot, too, not just the last two. We've got to come out and work good at-bats the first few innings, try to score first."

Unable to do anything offensively all afternoon against Miami’s pitching staff – aside from a second-inning run scored via bases-loaded walk – the Nats at long last strung together a few quality at-bats against Bender in the bottom of the ninth.

Alex Call jumpstarted things with a blooper down the right field line for a leadoff double, then stole third base when the Marlins didn’t bother to hold him on or cover the bag. Josh Bell walked, then both runners advanced on a wild pitch, Call scoring to cut the deficit to 4-2. Luis García Jr. ripped a double to deep right field, putting two in scoring position, still with nobody out. And when Eric Wagaman couldn’t handle Robert Hassell III’s grounder to first for an error, Bell scampered home and García advanced to third, keeping the rally alive.

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.

The Nationals approached the precipice of a .500 record thanks to a suddenly resurgent offensive attack that put up historic numbers over a stretch of four late-night games on the West Coast last week.

If they’re ever going to get themselves over that elusive threshold, they’re going to have to come up with examples of some more consistent offensive production, even if it doesn’t qualify as historic.

A lineup that already was struggling during this weekend’s homestand ran today into the brick wall known as Jacob deGrom, who looked like his old vintage self in leading the Rangers to a 5-0 victory on South Capitol Street.

And though Mitchell Parker bounced back from another shaky first inning to otherwise cruise until he was pulled following the sixth, the two early runs he allowed (plus three more surrendered late by reliever Eduardo Salazar) were more than enough for Texas to win and set up a rubber match in Sunday’s series finale.

Will the Nationals (30-34) get going again at the plate by then? They haven’t shown any ability to do so to this point in the homestand. After establishing a club record by scoring at least nine runs in four consecutive games last week in Seattle and Phoenix, they’ve now scored nine total runs in their last six games.

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.

Luis García Jr. has not had the start to the season he hoped for. Entering last night’s series opener against the Cubs, he was hitting only .247 with a .691 OPS. At the same time last year, those numbers were .264 and .729, respectively. And he finished his breakout 2024 campaign with a .282 average and .762 OPS.

Yes, the 25-year-old has been the victim of some bad luck. His expected batting average is now up to .299 and his “squared up” percentage is 34.4, with both good enough to be in the 91st percentile in the major leagues.

As he tries to get back to the level of production he put up last year, García is focusing on getting back to hitting the ball the opposite way and up the middle of the field.

Last year during his career-best season, García hit the ball the opposite way 27.5 percent of the time and straight up the middle 46.3 percent. Those percentages are down to 18.3 and 42.7, respectively, so far this season.

But last night’s showing was a good step in the (opposite) direction.

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.

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."

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.

BALTIMORE – Rarely have the Nationals had the opportunity to beat a team when it’s down. And given his close friendship with now former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, Davey Martinez probably took little pleasure in rubbing salt in Baltimore’s wounds this afternoon.

But there was a game to play regardless, and the Nats made the most of the opportunity presented to them, bursting out of the gates to score six quick runs in the top of the first, take a big lead early and cruise to a 10-6 victory at Camden Yards that only looked moderately close because of a four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth against Zach Brzykcy.

Behind their first big offensive showing against an opposing starter in more than a week, and behind a no-nonsense start from Jake Irvin, the Nationals enjoyed a rare lopsided win and put themselves in position to try to sweep the struggling Orioles in Sunday’s series finale.

"Obviously, we're taking one win at a time, but the vibes are good right now," designated hitter Josh Bell said. "We have to attack starters. We have to get into their bullpen early. When we do that, good things happen. Hopefully, this is a turn in the right direction."

The lone negative development on this 84-degree late afternoon? Jacob Young injured his left shoulder slamming into the center field wall trying to make a difficult catch in the bottom of the seventh and had to depart the game.

BALTIMORE – Luis García Jr. is back on the Nationals’ active roster, but not back in the lineup quite yet.

García was activated off the paternity list this afternoon, having spent the last three days away for the birth of his first child. Under the circumstances – and with left-hander Cade Povich starting for the Orioles – Davey Martinez wanted to give his starting second baseman a day to simply work out before returning to action.

“He’ll hit in the cage. He’ll be available to (pinch) hit if we need him,” the manager said. “But I want to him to go out and catch ground balls, get back in the swing of things.”

It’s been a disappointing season to date for García, particularly on the heels of his breakthrough 2024 campaign. He enters tonight batting .226 with a .618 OPS, down from .282 and .762 a year ago. García has also taken a step back in the field, his minus-8 Defensive Runs Saved ranking last among all major league second basemen.

“It’s just the inconsistency of his hitting,” Martinez said. “And to his defense, he’s hit the ball hard, just had nothing to show for it. … We’ve got to get him going, he’s a big part of our lineup. When he’s going well, he can do some damage with the bat.”

BALTIMORE – Hello from Camden Yards, where a couple of teams desperate to start winning more face off this weekend. The Nationals have lost eight of nine, falling to nine games under .500 in the process. The Orioles have lost nine of 11, falling to 12 games under .500 in the process. Something’s got to give.

You already know this by now, but the Nats need to hit. They’re averaging only 2.4 runs on 7.2 hits and 2.7 walks over this nine-game slide, and most of the offense they’ve produced has come late in games, when they’re scrambling to try to catch up. They’ve struggled against opposing starters, especially some less-accomplished starters who have outpitched their overall numbers. That includes Cade Povich, the Baltimore left-hander who sports a 5.55 ERA in seven starts but held the Nationals to one run over 6 1/3 innings last month in D.C.

Povich’s opponent that night was MacKenzie Gore, who faces him tonight in the rematch. Gore was really good in that previous matchup, allowing two runs over six innings while striking out eight, but was the hard-luck loser because of the lack of run support. Despite a 3.57 ERA and league-leading 75 strikeouts, Gore remains 2-4 and still seeking his first win since April 19 in Colorado.

The Nationals made a roster move this afternoon: Luis García Jr. is back from paternity leave, so Trey Lipscomb heads back to Triple-A Rochester after a brief stint up here.

Update: Tyler O'Neill has been scratched from the Orioles lineup, with Ryan O'Hearn now playing right field and batting fifth.

ATLANTA – The Nationals made a small roster move ahead of their second game against the Braves. Luis García Jr. was placed on the paternity list and Trey Lipscomb was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to fill the open spot on the roster.

“Feels great. Every time you get to come back up here is another opportunity,” Lipscomb said in front of his locker before today’s game. “You enjoy it and you want to cherish it.”

Lipscomb has found some sustained success in Rochester, hitting .283 with three doubles, two home runs, 14 RBIs, 12 walks, six stolen bases and 14 runs scored in 26 games.

“Just kind of being myself,” he said. “Day by day, just doing things like having a better routine, going up there and just letting the game happen.”

While it will likely be a short one (players are only allowed to be on the paternity list for a maximum of three days), this will be Lipscomb’s second major league stint this year. He went 2-for-4 with a run scored across three games in late April when Paul DeJong was placed on the injured list.