Saturday’s 4-2 loss was disappointing, sure, but it wasn’t embarrassing. The Nationals just didn’t hit as much as the Phillies did, so they lost the game. And they still have a chance to win the series and enter the week tied with the defending National League champs in the standings. Who wouldn’t have taken that scenario if presented with it from the outset?

The Nats will hope to get their bats back on track while facing Ranger Suárez, a potentially advantageous matchup. They’ve hit left-handers well all season and enter today’s game with an impressive .292/.358/.426 slash line, that .784 OPS good enough to rank eighth in the majors against southpaws. Suárez, who season debut was delayed by an elbow strain, enters with a 7.13 ERA and 1.642 WHIP in four starts, though his last one (two runs in 6 2/3 innings against the Mets) was good.

Trevor Williams gets the ball for the Nationals, looking to rebound from his weirdest start of the season, one in which he carried a shutout into the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium but then surrendered six runs, all of them unearned. He’ll have to keep Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos in the yard today, maybe helped out by an unusually cool, northerly breeze that will be blowing in from left field.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 71 degrees, wind 7 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
RF Lane Thomas
2B Luis García
DH Joey Meneses
3B Jeimer Candelario
LF Stone Garrett
1B Dominic Smith
SS Ildemaro Vargas
C Riley Adams
CF Alex Call

MacKenzie Gore is working on a lot of things in his first season with the Nationals. He’s only 24 years old and now only has 28 games of major league experience under his belt.

One thing the left-hander really wants to improve on is getting left-handed batters out.

“I should get left-handers out,” Gore said after yesterday’s 4-2 loss to the Phillies. “Left-handers don't like hitting left-handed pitching.”

So far in his young career, Gore is a reverse-splits pitcher. Coming into yesterday’s start, he had surrendered a .293/.429/.453 slash line with a .881 OPS and 1.23 strikeout-per-walk rate against left-handed batters. He had given up a slash line of .235/.312/.370 with a .683 OPS and 2.92 K/BB rate to righties.

Is he surprised that he had reverse splits?

The Nationals were in position today to be somewhere they haven’t been since April 3: Anywhere but last place in the National League East.

Last night’s dramatic 8-7 victory gave them the same record as the defending National League champion Phillies, who also happen to be in town this weekend. A win today would have put them ahead of them in the division standings.

With an electric young pitcher in MacKenzie Gore on the mound and a lineup that’s been heating up facing a group of relievers, the Nats had a good chance to vault out of the basement. But after scoring 18 runs over their last two games, the offense cooled down and wasn’t able to produce enough in a 4-2 loss in front of an announced crowd of 30,959.

“We just couldn't get the offense going today," manager Davey Martinez said after the game. "I thought MacKenzie threw the ball well. Made a couple of mistakes, but other than that he was around the zone all day and gave us a good six innings. Just the bats were stale today.”

After one of the best outings of his young career, Gore was able to turn in back-to-back quality starts for the first time since late April.

Last night’s wild 8-7 win was significant for the Nationals in that it brought them into a tie with the defending National League champion Phillies in the division standings.

Davey Martinez, always focused on going 1-0 every single day, managed in a way to give the Nats the best opportunity to come away with a series-opening victory. Put your best stuff out there today and worry about tomorrow later.

Well, tomorrow is today, and there are some possible ramifications from last night’s game.

Martinez deployed his “A” bullpen last night after starter Josiah Gray couldn’t get out of the sixth inning. Carl Edwards Jr. (20 pitches), Hunter Harvey (16), Mason Thompson (11) and Kyle Finnegan (34) all threw a decent amount and in high-leverage situations.

Finnegan, whose pitch count set a new career high, is probably unavailable today, as the Nats try to jump the Phillies in the National League East. But the rest of the bullpen may be available to pitch in some capacity if needed, assuming their pregame work goes well.

For the first time since mid-April, the Nationals will have a chance to stand alone outside the basement of the National League East. And for the second straight game, the Nationals’ future will be on display against its past.

MacKenzie Gore gets his first shot at former Nats Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber as a National. He did face each of them over his 16 appearances with the Padres last year: Harper went 0-for-3 with a strikeout; Turner went 2-for-2 with an RBI double and was hit by a pitch; and Schwarber went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk.

Gore is coming off a career-high 11 strikeouts in seven innings of one-run ball on Sunday against the Royals. On the year, the lefty is 3-3 with a 3.57 ERA, 1.414 WHIP and 11.5 strikeout-per-nine-innings rate.

Left-hander Matt Strahm is starting a bullpen game for the Phillies this afternoon. He’s 4-3 with a 3.20 ERA and 1.042 WHIP in 15 appearances (seven starts) this season. Strahm is expected to go at least two innings for manager Rob Thomson, who had to use four relievers last night after Zack Wheeler couldn’t get out of the fourth.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy with chance of storms, 81 degrees, wind 11 mph in from right field

Kyle Finnegan returned to the dugout after getting out of the top of the eighth Friday night, having surrendered the tying run to the Phillies (albeit an unearned run due to CJ Abrams’ throwing error) and having thrown 13 pitches.

Davey Martinez tried to tell Finnegan his night was done. The right-hander insisted it was not.

“I just felt like I had some more in me, and I wanted to empty the tank,” Finnegan said. “It was a good, hard-fought game, and I felt like I could go out there and get some more outs for us.”

So Martinez let Finnegan go back to pitch the ninth, understanding he wouldn’t let him go beyond his pre-designated limit of 35 pitches for his late-inning relievers.

Finnegan wound up finishing the game, securing the Nationals’ 8-7 win over the Phillies, on 34 pitches.

The Nationals and Phillies took the field on a steamy, early June evening on South Capitol Street in a position neither likely expected to find itself at this stage of the season. An overachieving Nats club entered the night only one game behind the defending National League champions, who haven’t come close to living up to their lofty expectations two months into the 2023 campaign.

What took place over the ensuing three-plus hours suggested this head-to-head competition may not be nearly as lopsided as everyone assumed.

Despite blowing an early six-run lead, the Nationals rallied to re-take the lead in the bottom of the eighth thanks to a clutch, two-out stolen base by Alex Call and Lane Thomas’ subsequent RBI single. And Davey Martinez’s overworked, recently ineffective “A” bullpen somehow found a way to close out an 8-7 victory before a crowd of 29,827 to catch their division rivals in unlikely fashion.

Yes, the Nationals and Phillies are now tied in the NL East, one team the proud owner of a 25-32 record, the other a not-so-proud owner of the same record.

"It means a lot," Thomas said. "Nobody really expected us to be here. I think we take a few series like we have over the last month, and we could be sitting pretty good here in a few months."

Sean Doolittle’s rehab tour through the Nationals’ farm system continues tonight for Single-A Fredericksburg, where the veteran reliever will be returning to the mound only 24 hours after his last appearance.

Doolittle, in the final stages of recovery from last summer’s elbow surgery, just tossed a 1-2-3 inning of relief Thursday night. He struck out one batter, threw eight of his 13 pitches for strikes and reached 92 mph with his fastball, according to manager Davey Martinez.

That was Doolittle’s third rehab appearance overall, the first coming for Single-A Wilmington on Saturday before he moved to Fredericksburg on Tuesday. Each included a scoreless inning and at least one strikeout.

Tonight presents a new challenge as Doolittle pitches back-to-back days for the first time in competitive games since he had an internal brace procedure on his sprained elbow ligament nearly 11 months ago. The fact he’s ready for that kind of workload can only be considered a good sign about his health, though Martinez cautioned against speculating too much about what it means until the lefty actually pitches and reports no issues afterward.

“It’s a good thing, but we’ll see how he gets through it today,” Martinez said. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. It may be where he gets two days off after his back-to-back, and then we’ll go from there. Or maybe just one day, depending on how he feels.”

The Nationals are back home at last, following an eventful 3-3 trip to Kansas City and Los Angeles. And would you believe they have a chance to climb out of the National League East basement tonight?

Yes, that’s right. The Nats (24-32) trail the fourth-place Phillies (25-31) by only game. A win tonight would leave the two teams tied in the standings. Imagine what fans in both towns would’ve thought if presented with that possibility back on Opening Day.

This is going to be a nice test for Josiah Gray, who has kind of regressed a bit in recent outings. The right-hander still hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any start since his season debut, but he has walked nine batters over his last nine innings and needed a whopping 179 pitches to get there. Gray has got to show better command tonight, but he also has to keep the ball in the park on the first really warm day of the season, with an afternoon high of 92 degrees.

The Nationals, who mashed five homers during Wednesday’s wild win at Dodger Stadium, will try to keep that going against Zack Wheeler, who dominated the Braves in his last start to the tune of eight scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts.

Oh, and tonight also represents Trea Turner’s first of many upcoming appearances at Nationals Park as a member of the Phillies, who also have a couple games named Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber on their roster, in case you’ve forgotten.

BOWIE, Md. – One small step for a single prospect became a giant leap for the Nationals organization last weekend.

When James Wood was promoted from High-A Wilmington to Double-A Harrisburg on Sunday, on the surface level it could be seen as just a fast-rising prospect moving up another minor league level. But for the Nationals, it signified what the franchise is hoping to accomplish when it decided to undergo this rebuild in 2021 and fast track it by trading a major league superstar in Juan Soto last summer.

Wood was one of the five prospects the Nats received in the Soto trade with the Padres. Since joining the organization, he has risen as its top prospect and as one of the highest rated prospects in all of baseball.

Though he played well enough at the end of last season, Wood didn’t get a promotion to Wilmington, instead helping Single-A Fredericksburg on their postseason run. He started this season with the Blue Rocks, but only lasted 42 games, earning an early promotion on Memorial Day weekend.

The 20-year-old outfielder hit .293 with nine doubles, five triples, eight homers, 26 walks, 36 RBIs, eight stolen bases, a .392 on-base percentage and a .972 OPS with Wilmington.

LOS ANGELES – The Nationals won Wednesday’s series finale at Dodger Stadium thanks to far and away their biggest power display of the season. They blasted five home runs, including two from Keibert Ruiz, to emerge with a 10-6 victory and avoid a series sweep.

They headed home having finished 3-3 on a very eventful road trip through Kansas City and Los Angeles, one that started with a bang and ended with a bang, with some frustrating moments in between.

“We came in here, we had some young mistakes, but to come out of here after a long road trip and win the last game to go back home now, it feels pretty good,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We finished .500 on the road. To come out to the West Coast is never easy. So, I’m proud of the guys, after getting beat the first two games, to come back the way they did today and pull this one out.”

Wednesday’s game was a wild affair itself, the Nats digging themselves into a 3-0 hole in the first, clawing back to take a 5-4 lead in the fifth, giving it back in the seventh, then taking the lead for good in the eighth. Those five homers were the headline of the game, but there were several other developments that deserve further exploration on this day off …

* Luis Garcia bookends a strange trip in style
Garcia’s week got off to an historic start: He went 6-for-6 on Friday night against the Royals, joining Anthony Rendon as the only players in club history to pull off that feat. But then Garcia followed that up with a slump. He went 0 for his next 16 before finally delivering an RBI single in the seventh inning Tuesday night, but then went hitless in his next four at-bats as well, leaving him in a 1-for-21 funk.

LOS ANGELES – Luis García skipped out of the batter’s box, looked toward the Nationals dugout and yelled with delight. One inning later, Keibert Ruiz took his time leaving the box, making sure the ball really was going to leave the park, before turning toward his teammates, pounding his chest and letting out a primal scream of his own.

At the end of a long road trip that saw way more well-struck balls die at the warning track than clear the fence, two months into a season that has seen far too few blasts from one of the majors’ least-home-run-hitting lineups, the Nats finally won a game not on the strength of their pitching, their defense or their ability to string together a bunch of singles.

No, this 10-6 victory over the Dodgers was characterized above all else by power. Lots of it.

The Nationals launched five homers on a gray, 65-degree L.A. afternoon. Two of them were produced by Ruiz, who had already homered during Tuesday night’s loss against his former organization. The biggest, though, came off the bat of García, whose three-run shot down the right field line in the top of the eighth gave his team the lead for good and served as the emotional high point of a game that featured all manner of wild, back-and-forth moments.

"We came with a good atmosphere today," said third baseman Jeimer Candelario, who homered himself and reached base four times. "The guys wanted to have a happy fight. We're going to D.C. It's a long flight. You don't want to lose that game and then (take) that long flight."

LOS ANGELES – There will probably come a point later this summer when the Nationals have to find creative ways to reduce the workload of their young starting pitchers. That time, though, has not come yet.

MacKenzie Gore (ostensibly a rookie even though he no longer qualifies) and Jake Irvin (a true rookie) each have been taking every turn in the rotation and have shown no physical ill effects of it. But given their youth and inexperience, the Nats do plan to restrict their workload sometime later this year.

The club did that with Josiah Gray last season; the right-hander never went on the injured list, but he was limited to 28 starts and 148 2/3 innings. On a few occasions, he was skipped over one time through the rotation or given extra rest when the team had an off-day.

Manager Davey Martinez has suggested a similar tact with Gore, who has never thrown more than 101 innings in a professional season, and last year totaled 87 with the Padres and in four minor league rehab starts for the Nats.

Irvin did get up to 128 1/3 innings in Single-A in 2019 but then had Tommy John surgery and didn’t return healthy until 2022, when he pitched 103 1/3 innings at Single-A and Double-A.

LOS ANGELES – A road trip that began with so much promise is now in danger of concluding in the complete opposite direction. Since winning the first two games of their weekend series in Kansas City (and carrying a lead into the seventh on Sunday), the Nationals have lost three straight, and today are in danger of getting swept by the mighty Dodgers.

If they want to avoid that ignominy and at least head home with a 3-3 record on the trip, they’re going to need to score some runs today against Noah Syndergaard. The veteran right-hander has not been good in his first season here in L.A. Through his first 10 starts, he’s 1-4 with a 6.27 ERA. Folks around here believe he should’ve been dropped from the rotation after his last outing, but the Dodgers don’t appear to have any better alternatives at the moment, so he’s back on the mound. Suffice it to say, this is an opportunity for the Nats to do some damage.

It’s also an opportunity for Patrick Corbin to continue to show his performance so far this season has been legitimate. His streak of starts allowing three or fewer earned runs came to end at seven Friday night, when he was charged with six runs in 6 1/3 innings against the Royals. The lefty was lit up here at Dodger Stadium last season, failing to make it out of the bottom of the first. He can’t afford to let anything like that happen again today.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 66 degrees, wind 6 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
RF Lane Thomas
2B Luis García
DH Joey Meneses
LF Corey Dickerson
3B Jeimer Candelario 
1B Dominic Smith 
C Keibert Ruiz
SS CJ Abrams
CF Alex Call 

LOS ANGELES – If you woke up this morning without having watched Tuesday night’s game and looked at Jake Irvin’s pitching line, you probably weren’t impressed. The Nationals rookie gave up four runs on eight hits in five innings, taking the loss as his team fell to the Dodgers, 9-3.

Irvin’s outing, to be sure, was not a particularly good start. But it might not have been as bad as the final line indicated. And if nothing else, the process that got him to that final line was exactly what he and the team wanted.

“I thought Irvin did a much better job today,” manager Davey Martinez said. “Only one walk. That was very encouraging.”

Irvin had been plagued by the free passes in more recent starts. He issued four walks in four innings against the Padres last week. Prior to that, he issued four walks in 2 2/3 innings against the Tigers.

That wasn’t the case this time, even against a potent Dodgers lineup. Irvin’s one and only walk came with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, to the second-to-last batter he faced in the game. He wound up throwing 61 of his 94 pitches for strikes, by far his best strike rate in his six big league starts.

LOS ANGELES – There was a moment in the top of the seventh tonight that left a crowd of 46,571 at Dodger Stadium booing the home club for letting the Nationals claw their way back into a game that felt like it had already been decided for the boys in white uniforms and royal blue caps.

The names in the visiting dugout have long since changed from those who occupied that same space 3 1/2 years ago, when the stakes were far greater but the sentiment from the L.A. crowd was the same. How could Dave Roberts’ star-studded team let Davey Martinez’s brand of upstarts spoil their predestined celebration?

Alas, it wasn’t to be on this night. Despite rallying in the top of the seventh to get back within a run, the Nationals gave it right back to the Dodgers in the bottom of the inning and then a bunch more in the eighth, and were ultimately left to accept a 9-3 loss, their third straight.

"A team like that, I feel like you tack on a few and you give them a little glimpse of a chance to get back in the game, and they take advantage of it," outfielder Lane Thomas said. "That's the difference between the really good teams in the league and the teams that are not at that level yet."

The boys could take some comfort in the way they battled back from an early 4-1 deficit. When Roberts pulled a dominant Tony Gonsolin after six innings and only 70 pitches, the Nats took full advantage. They got a leadoff homer from Keibert Ruiz off Alex Vesia to open the seventh, then a two-out double from Thomas and an RBI single from Luis García to make it 4-3 and make the natives more than a little restless.

LOS ANGELES – Joey Meneses has played plenty of games in the outfield in his career, just not yet this season. Lane Thomas has played plenty of games in center field in his career, just not yet this season.

Davey Martinez decided it was time to put an end to both of those streaks tonight when he filled out his lineup card for the Nationals’ game against the Dodgers. Meneses, whose four appearances in the field this year have all come at first base, is starting in right field. Thomas, who has only played right field since Opening Day, is making his 2023 debut in center field.

The impetus for tonight’s alignment: An opportunity to give Alex Call his first day off since May 6, when Victor Robles injured his back. Call had started 21 consecutive games in center field in Robles’ absence, and though he initially got off to a strong start at the plate, he is batting just .125 with three doubles, seven walks and 16 strikeouts over his last 16 games.

“For me, it’s about giving Alex Call a day, let him recoup a little bit,” Martinez said. “Get him out, get him some extra hitting. And then I told him, 'make sure you’re ready to come in and play defense, or whatever we need you for.'”

Thomas had been a semi-regular in center field since joining the Nationals in August 2021, but he has settled in full-time in right field this season, and has looked more comfortable in that corner position. When needing someone to step in to play center field whenever Robles was out of the lineup, Martinez went with Call, preferring to leave Thomas in one position.

LOS ANGELES – It’s been a whirlwind first month in the big leagues for Jake Irvin, who probably wasn’t even supposed to be here so soon. The rookie right-hander was promoted from Triple-A Rochester at the start of the month and legitimately impressed in his first two starts, especially when he held the Giants scoreless for 6 1/3 innings May 8. Things have turned south since then for Irvin, who hasn’t been able to complete five innings in any of his last three starts and has issued four walks in each of his last two.

Tonight, Irvin faces perhaps his toughest challenge to date in a Dodgers lineup loaded with big names and firepower, in the hostile environment that is Chavez Ravine. He’ll need to keep his emotions in check, but more importantly, he’ll need to keep the ball in the vicinity of the plate while simultaneously not letting that lineup do too much damage.

The Nationals would love to provide Irvin with more run support than they gave Trevor Williams on Monday night. That challenge won’t be easy, either, with Tony Gonsolin and his 1.82 ERA on the mound for L.A. Davey Martinez has a new wrinkle tonight, though: Joey Meneses is playing the outfield for the first time this season, with Lane Thomas shifting to center field for the first time this season. The slumping Alex Call is on the bench, with Ildemaro Vargas playing left field and Corey Dickerson serving as DH.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 10:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 62 degrees, wind 7 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
CF Lane Thomas
2B Luis García
3B Jeimer Candelario
RF Joey Meneses
1B Dominic Smith
DH Corey Dickerson
C Keibert Ruiz
SS CJ Abrams
LF Ildemaro Vargas

LOS ANGELES – Monday was Memorial Day, the traditional day on the baseball calendar when it becomes acceptable to start drawing broad conclusions about a team or a player’s performance for the season. It also happened to coincide with the Nationals’ 54th game of the year, making this juncture all the more significant.

Yes, the Nats have now completed one-third of their season. Time flies when you’re having fun, right?

The Nationals have had more fun to date than in prior seasons. That’s what happens when you win more games, play in competitive games on a more regular basis and get major contributions from several young players who could be a part of the long-term plan around here if they keep this up.

To be sure, this is not a good team. Not yet. Following Monday’s 6-1 loss to the Dodgers, the Nats find themselves with a 23-31 record. That’s worst in the National League, fourth-worst in the majors. Nobody should be celebrating that.

Still, for a franchise that went 55-107 games one year ago and entered this year with exceptionally low expectations, a 69-win pace can only be viewed as encouraging. The fact the Nationals have played .500 ball since April 20 also helps frame things in a more positive light.

LOS ANGELES – The ball came off Miguel Vargas’ bat at 92.8 mph, a sharp grounder to the left side of second base. CJ Abrams shuffled several steps to his left and put his glove down for what he hoped would be the start of a 6-4-3 double play that would help Trevor Williams get through a fifth scoreless inning at Dodger Stadium.

Abrams did not make the play. The ball squirted away from the Nationals shortstop, who awkwardly stumbled as he tried to corral it in time to save the play. By the time teammate Luis García finally tracked it down, Vargas was safe at first and Jason Heyward was safe at third, having aggressively advanced 180 feet on the error.

What transpired after that illustrated one of baseball’s great “What if?” scenarios. Williams proceeded to give up six runs before the inning ended, all of them unearned, the decisive sequence in the Nationals’ 6-1 loss to the Dodgers.

If Abrams makes the play and the inning ends a few batters later with no damage, would Williams have continued to dominate? Or would he still have had a nightmare of a time trying to hold down a potent Los Angeles lineup for the third time in the game, no matter what transpired before?

We’ll never know, of course. All we do know is how the bottom of the fifth did play out tonight, and it was especially ugly from the Nats’ perspective.