The Nationals are not in a good place right now, suffice it to say. They’ve lost seven in a row, including two straight to the Marlins. They’re a season-low 10 games under .500. And after Saturday’s game, manager Davey Martinez got testy when asked about his coaching staff, offering an impassioned defense of those guys that may or may not have gone over well within the clubhouse.

A win today wouldn’t solve everything, but it would sure help. The Nats have lost four of five to Miami this season, and the notion of getting swept in this series was almost unfathomable a couple days ago.

MacKenzie Gore will need to be on point, which he has been more often than not so far this year. Martinez will lean on his ace and let him go deep in this game before ideally handing it over to a couple of back-end relievers.

But really the story today is the Nationals lineup. Can it not only produce, but can it produce early and often and not leave itself scrambling to rally in the late innings? They’re facing a flamethrower in Eury Perez, who is making only his second start of the season, only his second big league start since 2023, having just recovered fully from his April 2024 Tommy John surgery. Who knows what exactly to expect against the right-hander, but the Nats had better hope they do some damage against him.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MIAMI MARLINS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain late, 69 degrees, wind 7 mph in from right field

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.

Friday night was about as miserable as it gets for the Nationals. They fell into a big hole early, then sat through a long rain delay, then tried to mount a furious late rally, only to come up short and suffer an 11-9 loss to the Marlins that ended around 12:30 a.m. And now, only 12 1/2 hours later, they’re right back out there for the second game of the series, with a rare 1:05 p.m. Saturday start (the result of the originally scheduled 4:05 p.m. game getting bumped up to account for all the traffic that will be pouring into the city later this evening for the military parade).

Suffice it to say, the Nats need today to go much better than Friday night did, in every possible way. They need a better pitching performance from Trevor Williams than they got from Mitchell Parker. They need early offense against Cade Gibson and the rest of the Marlins relievers who will be cobbling together a bullpen game today. They need more of a lockdown relief performance than they got Friday night, when Jackson Rutledge and Jose A. Ferrer combined to give up five runs. And they need the weather to cooperate, because there’s an increasing chance of more rain as the day and evening progress. Is it too much to ask for all of those things to come together in glorious harmony?

The Nationals made a roster move this morning involving their bullpen: Andrew Chafin has been placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to June 11) with a right hamstring strain and have recalled right-hander Ryan Loutos from Triple-A Rochester. Loutos, who was just claimed off waivers from the Dodgers, has five games of big league experience with Los Angeles and St. Louis. He made only one appearance for Rochester before his call-up, allowing a run on two hits in one inning of relief Thursday.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MIAMI MARLINS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain, 81 degrees, wind 4 mph in from left field

MARLINS
RF Jesús Sánchez
C Agustín Ramírez
DH Liam Hicks
SS Otto Lopez
LF Kyle Stowers
1B Eric Wagaman
CF Dane Myers
3B Connor Norby
2B Javier Sanoja

One of the best defensive plays Andrew Chafin has made in some time wound up sending the veteran reliever to the injured list.

The Nationals placed Chafin on the 15-day IL this morning with a right hamstring strain, an injury he sustained six days ago while doing the splits to make a play in the field. Ryan Loutos, a right-hander acquired only four days ago from the Dodgers, was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take Chafin’s place in the bullpen.

Chafin didn’t initially show any ill effects when he sprinted to cover first on Corey Seager’s grounder to the right side in the top of the ninth Sunday against the Rangers, then stretched to the point he was doing the splits to snag CJ Abrams’ return throw on the 3-6-1 double play. But the left-hander did not pitch in any of the Nats’ last four games and was unavailable during Friday night’s 11-9 loss to the Marlins.

Chafin was going through a jogging drill in the outfield prior to today’s game, so the injury is not severe enough to prevent him from moderate physical activity right now.

The Nationals summoned Loutos from Rochester late Friday afternoon, then placed Chafin on the IL this morning. They were allowed to backdate the transaction only three days, to June 11, which was still three days after he suffered the injury. The soonest he could return would be June 26, but the team will be cautious with his recovery, not wanting to risk rushing him back and potentially making it worse.

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."

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.

It was not a good trip to New York, to say the least, for the Nationals. They weren’t just swept by the Mets. They seemed to reach new lows in terms of their offensive slump, going 22 innings without scoring a run between the top of the fifth Tuesday and the top of the ninth Thursday. Not good.

The Mets, to their credit, are one of the best teams in baseball, with the best pitching staff in baseball. Now comes a seven-game homestand against two of the worst teams in baseball, each possessing one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball. If the Nats can’t win a bunch of games against the Marlins and Rockies … well, that’s not going to be a pleasant conversation one week from today.

Miami is up first, a team that has lost eight of its last 10 games, including a three-game sweep at the hands of (wait for it) the Rockies. Edward Cabrera has been OK (2-2, 3.99 ERA, 1.470 WHIP), and he already pitched well against the Nationals once this season (two runs over 5 2/3 innings). The lineup needs to try to jump on the right-hander early and create some positive momentum for a change.

Mitchell Parker opposed Cabrera on that April 11 game in Miami and likewise pitched OK (four runs, three earned in six innings). All four runs came in the bottom of the fifth, which is counter to Parker’s usual narrative of struggling in the first inning before settling down. We’ll see if he can get his evening off to a positive start as well and help put his team in position to win what feels like a must-win game.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MIAMI MARLINS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 80 degrees, wind 10 mph right field to left field

As the Nationals have promoted some of their top prospects to the major league level this season – with more on the way – they have also moved some newer players up the minor league ranks.

Seaver King, last year’s first-round pick (No. 10 overall) out of Wake Forest, was recently promoted from High-A Wilmington to Double-A Harrisburg, just 45 games into his first full professional season.

King, who is ranked as the Nats’ No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 8 by Baseball America, hadn’t really experienced a promotion in his short time with the Nationals. After he was drafted, he finished the 2024 season by playing 20 games with Single-A Fredericksburg. Then he started this year straight at High-A before moving up to Double-A.

“It's something I haven't experienced quite yet. But it was good,” King said last week on the “District Chat” podcast. “We were on the road, so I got to enjoy my last bus ride with the guys in Wilmington. I got to spend my off-day there as well. And then drive up here, get ready for the game, and then come here after the game, after a walk-off win feeling good, and now I gotta unpack. So it's kind of one day of just tough work, but after that it's really enjoyable.”

The 22-year-old’s numbers at Wilmington didn’t blow anyone away, especially after a slow start to the season. But a .263 average, .687 OPS, 12 extra-base hits, 17 RBIs and 12 stolen bases while playing half of your games at pitcher-friendly Frawley Stadium is impressive enough to earn a promotion.

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 – Two rehabbing Nationals took important steps in their respective recoveries yesterday at Citi Field.

Derek Law, recovering from right forearm inflammation, threw a 25-pitch simulated game, with Paul DeJong, recovering from a fractured nose after being hit in the face with a fastball, stepping into the batter’s box against him. Law’s fastball topped out at 93 mph, while he also mixed in his slider and changeup, per manager Davey Martinez.

It was the first time Law has thrown a simulated game against live hitters since spring training, when he was shut down near the end of camp when he felt that his body wasn’t recovering as it would normally. Speaking in front of his locker this morning, the right-handed reliever said he feels good the day after throwing off the mound.

“It was great. For me, the main thing was the recovery aspect,” he said before today’s finale against the Mets. “That was the issue in spring. It wasn't necessarily ramping up. I could always get there. But after those first couple of ones in spring, I needed every bit of, probably, three days to recover. And that was kind of the main issue. Moving forward today, I feel great. The bounceback was there, which, obviously, you need that as a reliever. So I was just really happy with that, mostly. The stuff was there. I need a little bit of fine tuning, probably. But I still have a couple of lives to go, and probably two, maybe three rehab games. I don't know, depending on how I feel. But yeah, everything is good. Recovery is good.”

This injury popped up in March after Law pitched to a 2.80 ERA and 1.178 WHIP in 90 innings over 75 appearances in 2024, by far the most he’s pitched in a single season in his eight-year career, in terms of both innings and games. That workload might have taken a toll on the 34-year-old, as his body failed to recover properly while he was getting ready for this season, a sensation that he finds difficult to put into words.

NEW YORK – For the fifth time this season, the Nationals enter the final game of a series needing a win to avoid a sweep. They’ve been swept twice: by the Blue Jays in the second series of the regular season and by the Cardinals last month. They’ll need to beat the Mets this afternoon to avoid a third sweep and a five-game losing streak.

Michael Soroka will take the mound for his eighth start with a 3-3 record, 4.86 ERA and 1.108 WHIP. The right-hander is coming off a dominant performance when he outdueled Patrick Corbin in his return to Nats Park with six shutout innings and seven strikeouts against the Rangers.

Soroka is 4-1 with a 3.08 ERA and 1.105 WHIP in seven career starts against the Mets. He’s been even better at Citi Field, where he’s 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA and 1.114 WHIP in four starts.

Meanwhile, the Nats offense will have to deal with Kodai Senga and his “ghost” forkball. The right-hander is 6-3 with a 1.59 ERA that ranks second in the major leagues. He has given up more than two runs in an outing only once this season. When he last faced the Nats on April 25 in D.C., he held them to two runs over six innings. However, the Nats did win that game.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 1:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (out-of-market only) MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 87 degrees, wind 12 mph from left to right

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.”

NEW YORK – Looking to add some “thump” against left-handed pitching, Nationals manager Davey Martinez is deploying his new-look, righty-heavy lineup against the only southpaw starter they are scheduled to face during this three-game series against the Mets.

The most notable addition is Andrés Chaparro serving as the designated hitter in place of Josh Bell and hitting cleanup. Chaparro, who was recalled from Triple-A Rochester yesterday in hopes of being an impact right-handed bat, had two at-bats in last night’s loss after pinch-hitting for Bell in the eighth inning. He knocked a double off left-hander José Castillo into the right-center field in his first major league at-bat since September.

Other notable changes for tonight’s lineup: Amed Rosario is playing third base in place of José Tena and batting second; Riley Adams is catching in place of Keibert Ruiz; and Jacob Young is in center field instead of Robert Hassell III.

So what is Martinez looking for in those right-handed at-bats against David Peterson, who is the owner of a 2.80 ERA and 1.259 WHIP?

“Just work good at-bats,” the skipper said. “Chaparro, as you saw yesterday, he faced a lefty yesterday, he stayed on the ball and hit the ball well to right-center field. So I'm expecting kind of the same thing today. Just kind of stay on the ball and get some good swings off.”

NEW YORK – The Nationals almost did everything they needed to in order to win Tuesday’s series opener against the Mets. They got a strong pitching performance from starter MacKenzie Gore. They got production from the top of the lineup, particularly CJ Abrams. But they didn’t get a shutdown performance from the bullpen nor added offense late in the game.

Jake Irvin will try to duplicate what Gore did against a tough New York lineup. The right-hander enters his 14th start with a 5-2 record, 4.02 ERA and 1.226 WHIP. And despite the challenges the Mets present, Irvin has had success against them in his career. He has a 2.51 ERA in his last four starts against the National League East rivals over the past two seasons, including 7 ⅓ innings of one-run ball back in D.C. on April 25.

At the plate, the Nats will trot out a right-handed-heavy lineup to face lefty David Peterson. The 29-year-old veteran is 4-2 with a 2.80 ERA and 1.259 WHIP in 12 starts. He did not face the Nats earlier this year, but he’s 5-1 with a 3.07 ERA and 1.240 WHIP in 12 career appearances (nine starts) against them.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 7:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 81 degrees, wind 11 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
3B Amed Rosario
LF James Wood
DH Andrés Chaparro
1B Nathaniel Lowe
RF Alex Call
C Riley Adams
2B Luis García Jr.
CF Jacob Young

NEW YORK – CJ Abrams is at a crossroads in his third full season with the Nationals. After playing like one of the top shortstops in the game over the season’s first two months, he entered Tuesday’s series opener against the Mets in a slump: Over his previous 17 games, he only hit .143 with a .430 OPS and three extra-base hits.

So the question is: Does he let the slump derail his campaign, or does he re-discover his earlier success to make a run at his second straight All-Star selection, this one in his hometown of Atlanta?

Hopefully, last night’s performance was an indication that he’ll trend toward the latter.

Abrams finished the night 3-for-4 after reaching base in each of his first four plate appearances via two doubles, his ninth home run of the season and a hit-by-pitch. It was the second game in his career he had produced three or more extra-base hits, with the other being when he went 3-for-5 with a double and two home runs in Baltimore on May 18.

That was also the last game he had homered in and the beginning of his tough 17-game stretch.

NEW YORK – For the first time since the 2022 Juan Soto blockbuster trade with the Padres, six players from that deal were on the field at the same time. Who would have thought back then it would be at Citi Field three years later?

With Soto now playing for the Mets, the former National could look across the field to see Josh Bell (who joined him in going to San Diego) back with the Nats and four of the five prospects they were traded for in MacKenize Gore, CJ Abrams, James Wood and Robert Hassell III.

And wouldn’t you know it, most of those pieces from one of the biggest trades in major league history played big roles in tonight’s game.

The outcome was not a welcomed sight for the Nats, who lost 5-4 in 10 innings to the National League-leading Mets in front of 38,472 fans in Queens.

And although it probably was a welcomed sight for the Nats to see Abrams and Gore as the catalysts early in the game, it was not so to see Jose A. Ferrer and Kyle Finnegan blow it late.

NEW YORK – Before starting a three-game series against the Mets tonight, the Nationals answered a question that had been lingering since Sunday night: Who would fill the open roster spot?

After Sunday’s loss to the Rangers, the Nats optioned Nasim Nuñez to Triple-A Rochester, requiring a corresponding move when they arrived at Citi Field. The answer: Andrés Chaparro was officially recalled from Rochester in hopes he'll provide the Nats a much-needed right-handed boost.

“Very happy to be back in a major league clubhouse,” Chaparro said, via interpreter Mauricio Ortiz. “And it's also a lot of emotions because of what I went through last year with my baby. But again, happy to be back.”

What the 26-year-old and his family went through last year with his baby was an unbelievable tragedy. After his daughter, Gio Andrea, was born prematurely at the end of the season, she sadly passed away in late October.

That surely put his baseball life in the back seat. But Chaparro entered spring training with a good chance to make his first Opening Day roster, only to have that chance ripped away from him after a good camp when he injured an oblique muscle.

NEW YORK – After a 2-4 homestand, the Nationals are back on the road for a quick trip to Citi Field to play three games against the Mets. The Nats are actually a respectable 15-17 on the road this season. But they’re only 3-7 in away games against their National League East rivals.

The Nats have the right man on the mound for tonight’s opener as they try to get back to their winning ways. MacKenzie Gore has been nothing short of excellent to start this season, with a 2.87 ERA, 1.142 WHIP and major league-best 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings. The lefty has only been charged with a total of three runs over his last four starts, including back-to-back shutout performances over 13 innings against the Mariners and Cubs.

But perhaps more important for the Nationals is what they do against the guy who takes the mound for the other team. Griffin Canning has been impressive to start his first year in New York. The veteran right-hander is 6-2 with a 2.90 ERA and 1.322 WHIP over his 12 starts. And he’s coming off an impressive six shutout innings with seven strikeouts against the Dodgers his last time out.

The Nats did make a roster move this morning to help the offense: They officially recalled Andrés Chaparro from Triple-A to take the roster spot of Nasim Nuñez, who was optioned to Rochester after Sunday’s game.

But wait, the Nationals weren’t done. They also claimed right-hander Ryan Loutos off waivers from the Dodgers this afternoon and optioned him to Rochester, filling the 40-man roster.

For the first time in 35 years, the Fredericksburg Nationals will have new ownership.

Art Silber, who purchased the franchise in 1990 when it was still known as the Prince William Cannons and played in Woodbridge, announced Monday a deal to sell the team to Diamond Baseball Holdings, a company that owns more than 40 of Minor League Baseball’s 120 affiliated clubs.

“We made a decision to sell the team in order to ensure its growth and continued vitality in our community,” the Silber family wrote in a letter directed to FredNats fans. “Due to a combination of family considerations, evolution of the industry and growth of the team, we made the determination that it was time to turn over the ownership to an entity that could ensure the great promise of this franchise for decades to come.”

The sale of the club does not impact the team’s name, location or affiliation with the Washington Nationals, who have sustained a relationship with it since 2005. Fredericksburg will continue to serve as the Nats’ low Single-A affiliate, per the terms of a 10-year agreement all minor league clubs signed with their major league counterparts in 2021 when the sport reorganized under Major League Baseball’s umbrella.

When Silber bought the franchise, it was an affiliate of the Yankees, playing at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge. It would undergo several name and affiliate changes over the years, becoming the Potomac Cannons in 1999 while affiliating with the Cardinals and later Reds. When the Montreal Expos moved to D.C. in 2005, the Cannons were renamed the Potomac Nationals and began a long affiliation with the big league club that now played only 30 miles to the northeast.

Let's see, it appears the last time we did a Q&A here was May 8. The Nationals were 17-21 at the time. Neither Robert Hassell III nor Daylen Lile had made his major league debut yet. The bullpen, which still featured Lucas Sims, had an ERA over 7.00. So, a few things have changed in the last month.

A few things, that is, besides the record. The Nats right now are 30-35. So they've played one game under .500 ball since the last Q&A. That's not terrible, but it's not exactly good, either. This team keeps taking some big steps forward, only to take another step back just when you think it might finally be ready to win more than it loses.

That certainly was the case this past week. On the heels of a great West Coast trip that capped off a stretch in which they won 10 of 13 games, the Nationals have now lost five of their last seven. And they've scored a grand total of 11 runs in those seven games.

Offensive woes are the No. 1 story at the moment, but there are plenty of other topics worth discussing as well on this off day for the team. So, if you've got something you'd like to ask, please submit it in the comments section below. Then check back throughout the morning for my responses ...