NEW YORK – The smile on his face was evident. As was the fist pump as he approached second base. What, though, really was going through Carter Kieboom’s mind during a trip around the bases two years in the making Tuesday night?

“Baseball’s crazy,” the Nationals third baseman said. “We’ve all seen some crazy stuff. And after everything, being two years removed, to have that be my first hit back, first swing … it’s special. It meant a lot to me. You really can’t make this stuff up.”

No, you really can’t. Because who would believe it?

After three failed attempts to prove himself in the majors from 2019-21, then Tommy John surgery in 2022, then a shoulder impingement and an oblique strain as he tried to return this season, Kieboom finally was back in the Nats lineup Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. And then homered on his very first major league swing since the final day of the 2021 season.

It almost felt too contrived to be reality.

NEW YORK – The Nationals arrived at Yankee Stadium this afternoon with a newly re-signed manager, a bunch of emerging young stars and one of the best records in the majors over the last month and a half.

Then they showed a crowd of 38,105 why they don’t believe any of this is a fluke, riding the contributions of some of those emerging young stars (and one returning former top prospect) to a 2-1 victory that sent the reeling Yankees deeper into a hole they appear unlikely to emerge from.

Carter Kieboom homered on his first major league swing in nearly two years, Josiah Gray pitched around five walks to allow only one hit over six innings and CJ Abrams provided the winning blast with an eighth-inning homer off the right field foul pole.

And just like that, the Nationals kept flying high, unfazed by the supposed mystique and aura of The House That’s Supposed to Look like the House Ruth Built. They’ve won eight of their last 10, 24 of their last 38. And they’re doing it thanks in large part to key building blocks who are coming into their own at the same time.

"I think we can compete with anybody," Gray said. "We've shown that over the last month and a half, two months. ... We've been playing like a team since recent memory, and it's really fun to come to the ballpark every day knowing we have a chance to win, knowing we have a chance to upset the standings and kind of make a name for ourselves."

NEW YORK – After an exhausting, exhilarating Sunday in Williamsport, Davey Martinez was looking forward to a relaxing Monday off in Manhattan before his Nationals opened a three-game series against the Yankees. It wound up being an exhilarating day in its own right, complete with an evening celebration with family members after he signed a two-year contract extension to remain this club’s manager through at least the 2025 season, potentially more.

“It’s a blessing for me and my family to be able to do what I love,” Martinez said today after the signing was officially announced. “And actually to be doing a lot better with it right now, with the way the guys have been playing. I really believe the future is bright here for us. I’m excited about that.”

Martinez had been working on the final year of his current contract, unsure if he’d have to wait until September or even October to learn his fate. When he got the word from longtime agent Alan Nero on Monday, though, he was elated to know the question wouldn’t linger any longer.

Martinez’s deal includes two guaranteed years, plus a club option for 2026, according to a source familiar with the contract. Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but the 58-year-old is making $3.5 million this season, his sixth as Nationals manager.

Originally hired in November 2017 to take over a franchise that had won four recent division titles but had yet to win a postseason series, Martinez led the Nats through a frustrating 2018 season and then a 19-31 start to the 2019 season before guiding that star-laden roster to a World Series title. Two years later, that roster began to be dismantled, the organization embarking on a full-scale rebuild that bottomed out in 2022 with a club-record 107 losses.

NEW YORK – After an eventful day in Williamsport and then an eventful off-day in New York, the Nationals get back to work tonight with the opener of a three-city trip that will take them up and down the East Coast and even across international borders.

It begins tonight at Yankee Stadium, where the home team is in a freefall, having lost eight in a row, falling four games under .500 and 9 1/2 games out of the American League wild card race. Yes, the Nats are closer to a playoff berth (eight games) than the Yankees. Strange times, indeed.

Davey Martinez (whose new two-year contract was officially announced today) has a lineup loaded with eight right-handed bats, including Carter Kieboom, who makes his first appearance in a big league game since 2021. He’s also got both Keibert Ruiz and Riley Adams in the lineup together, something we’re seeing most of the time now when the Nats are facing a lefty like Carlos Rodón.

Josiah Gray, meanwhile, makes his first career start at Yankee Stadium, just a stone’s throw away from his childhood home in New Rochelle. The young right-hander has been teetering a bit in recent outings. He’ll surely be motivated tonight, but the Nationals need quality from him.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK YANKEES
Where: Yankee Stadium
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 77 degrees, wind 7 mph in from left field

The Washington Nationals have agreed to terms on a multi-year contract extension with Manager Dave Martinez, the club announced on Tuesday.

"Dave Martinez represents the Washington Nationals organization with class on and off the field, and we are thrilled that he will continue to serve as manager,” said Nationals Managing Principal Owner Mark D. Lerner. “We are especially proud of the way the club has played since the end of June, and the team’s play is a direct reflection of Davey’s leadership. He is determined, passionate and the right person to lead our current group of players as well as the next wave of talent coming to Washington, D.C.”

Martinez, 58, is in his sixth season as the manager of the Nationals. He is the longest tenured manager and has the most managerial wins (378) in team history (2005-pres.).

The Nationals boast a 29-21 (.580) record since June 24, tied for the third-best record in the National League over this stretch. The Nationals enter play tonight having won seven of their last nine and 12 of their last 17 games since August 2.

Martinez was named the seventh field manager in team history on Oct. 30, 2017. In nearly six full seasons, Martinez has led the club through a steady, unwavering approach, consistent strategy and never-ending positivity and support for players. That includes an improbable run to the 2019 World Series championship.

The 2023 season marks Martinez’s 35th season in professional baseball, including 10 years (2008-17) as a Major League bench coach. From 2015-17, he served as the bench coach for the Chicago Cubs, where he played an integral role in three Postseason appearances, two National League Central Division titles and the Cubs’ 2016 World Series championship. Prior to joining the Cubs, Martinez spent seven seasons (2008-14) as the bench coach for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Even before the Nationals went on a 23-14 run that has reinvigorated the franchise and its fans after 3 1/2 years of losing, Davey Martinez and Mike Rizzo’s fates seemed secure.

Maybe the on-field results at the major league level weren’t exemplary but take a step back and consider the bigger picture. Was the Lerner family, still controlling the club for the foreseeable future, really going to make changes at the manager and general manager positions at this point?

You can certainly find faults with Martinez as a manager, though there are a number of reasons to praise the job he’s done as well. But considering the roster he was given since the rebuild began in July 2021, were you really going to blame him for the Nats’ won-loss record?

And you can certainly find faults with Rizzo as a GM, most notably his team’s inability to draft and develop players who have turned into quality big leaguers over a not-insignificant stretch. But likewise, there are plenty of reasons to applaud the job he’s done, especially when it came to acquiring both quantity and quality in the two biggest trades he’s made in his career.

Besides, once the Nationals were clearly embarking on a rebuild that figured to take several years to complete, how could you reasonably evaluate their GM before giving him a chance to see that process all the way through?

The Nationals’ recent turnaround on the field appears to have convinced ownership to address the biggest off-the-field issue that has been looming over the club all summer: Davey Martinez and Mike Rizzo are getting new contracts.

Martinez has already agreed to a two-year deal that includes a third-year option, and Rizzo is close to finalizing a deal of similar length, a source familiar with the terms confirmed. The Athletic was first to report the news.

Both Martinez and Rizzo were working under contracts set to expire at season’s end, the club having previously picked up their 2023 options last summer. The uncertain status of the Lerner family’s attempt to sell the franchise left the fates of its longtime manager and general manager in limbo, but with the clock ticking and no evidence a sale is imminent, it increasingly felt like a foregone conclusion both would be brought back.

The Nationals’ recent on-field performance, both at the big league and minor league levels, only bolstered the cases for both Martinez and Rizzo. The major league team has won seven of its last nine series, five of those against playoff contenders, and is 23-14 since July 8, the third-best record in the National League during that span.

A farm system that has been overhauled in the last 24 months both via major trades and the draft, meanwhile, now ranks as the sport’s eighth-best after consistently ranking near the bottom for several years. Recent first-round pick Dylan Crews was just promoted to Double-A Harrisburg after dominating in 14 games at Single-A Fredericksburg, and he’ll now join fellow top prospects James Wood, Brady House and Robert Hassell III in a potent Senators lineup, all four of them potentially ready to debut in Washington sometime next season.

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Every member of the Nationals’ traveling party arrived here Sunday morning with some personal expectation what the experience would be like. And every one of them left town at the end of the night with the same reaction: It was nothing like they expected it to be. It was so much more than that.

CJ Abrams: “Growing up and watching Little League, and actually getting to go to the field, it’s a lot more exciting than you think it is.”

Josiah Gray: “A lot bigger than I expected. Because on TV, you see just the field and some of the crowd. But to see the field itself and how big the stands were, along with how expansive the hill was, it was huge.”

Kyle Finnegan: “It was pretty crazy. A lot of kids, a lot of fans.”

Davey Martinez: “It blew me away. TV doesn’t do it any justice of what it is. I was amazed.”

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – As he sat in the dugout at tiny, historic Bowman Field this afternoon, watching his team take the field for batting practice, Davey Martinez considered what participation in the MLB Little League Classic meant for the Nationals.

Most of these players had never been in a nationally televised game before. Certainly none of them had played in a game in a setting like this, with an invitation-only crowd of 2,473 made up of Little League World Series competitors, their families and other locals packing themselves into this rustic minor league ballpark.

This whole day, which began with a fun-filled tour of the nearby Little League World Series complex, was a big deal for the Nationals. But there was also an actual major league game to play, and in it a chance for this fast-growing team to show just how far it has come in a short amount of time.

That made the Nats’ 4-3 victory over the Phillies all the more special. Yeah, the specific details were important to the individuals who performed well, none more so than Trevor Williams, who tossed six scoreless innings of two-hit ball to save a weary bullpen. But this was important for the franchise as a whole, a chance to show a larger audience what fans back in D.C. have already picked up on: These guys are playing really good baseball right now.

"It's been really good," catcher Keibert Ruiz said. "We have a really good family in the clubhouse, and we believe we can play good against a really good team like the Philadelphia Phillies. All the teams."

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – As they showcase themselves before a national audience for the first time this season, the Nationals are moving their top picks from this summer’s draft a step closer to the big league stage, including a big jump for their No. 1 prospect.

The Nats are promoting outfielder Dylan Crews to Double-A Harrisburg, a source familiar with the decision confirmed, after the No. 2 overall pick dominated at Single-A Fredericksburg in his professional debut.

Crews hit a robust .351 with five homers, 24 RBIs and a 1.073 OPS in only 13 games with Fredericksburg, proving more than capable of competing at that level only months after he led LSU to the College World Series title.

The fact the Nationals are bumping Crews up to Double-A, skipping the High-A level altogether, underscores how advanced they believe he is, not to mention how soon they believe the 21-year-old could be big league ready.

Crews will join a Harrisburg lineup already loaded with top prospects, including outfielders James Wood and Robert Hassell III and third baseman Brady House.

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Tonight’s MLB Little League Classic offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Nationals to both experience the Little League World Series in person and then play in a nationally televised game in the most intimate setting they’ll ever have in the major leagues.

For two players, it also marks a welcome return to the big league roster.

Mason Thompson and Carter Kieboom were added to the Nats roster today, Thompson activated off the 15-day injured list to take the bullpen slot that opened up when Cory Abbott was optioned to Triple-A Rochester, Kieboom recalled from Rochester to serve as the designated 27th man for this special game.

Thompson returns after an IL stint of exactly 15 days due to a left knee contusion. The right-hander returns after making one rehab appearance for Double-A Harrisburg on Thursday, during which he tossed a scoreless inning on nine pitches.

Given the heavy usage of their bullpen this week, the Nationals couldn’t afford to activate Thompson before he was ready to be used in full capacity. He insisted to them he was ready for the workload.

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Hello from Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field, the longtime home of the minor league Williamsport Crosscutters and home tonight of the MLB Little League Classic between the Nationals and Phillies.

For the first time in club history, the Nats are playing in a neutral-site location, selected last year to participate in the sixth edition of the Little League Classic. They are still considered the home team, so they’ll bat last just like the game was being played back in D.C.

It’s already been a long and exciting day, with both teams arriving at the local airport to awaiting kids and media members, then spending a couple hours at the actual Little League World Series just a few miles away from here. Much of tonight’s very small crowd will be comprised of those Little Leaguers, so it should make for a very different environment than any of these big leaguers are used to.

As for the actual game, the Nationals are looking to bounce back from Saturday’s game, which they led 3-0 in the seventh and saw fall apart before their eyes as an overworked bullpen finally crumbled. The good news: All the top relievers should be available to pitch tonight if the situation calls for it.

To get there, they’ll first need a better start out of Trevor Williams, who has struggled big-time of late. The right-hander gave up five runs via three homers and threw 93 pitches in 4 1/3 innings against the Athletics his last time out. Prior to that, he gave up six runs via three homers and threw 103 pitches in 4 2/3 innings against the same Phillies lineup he’ll face tonight.

The Nationals will board a flight this morning and head to Williamsport, Pa., for a full day of festivities ahead of tonight’s Little League Classic against the Phillies.

The sixth edition of this special major league game will be the first time the Nationals will get to experience the pomp and circumstance surrounding the event. And the team is looking forward to the opportunity to spend the day with the young ballplayers competing for the Little League World Series.

“It's gonna be a lot of fun,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We still got to go out there and compete. But the fun part of it is going to hang out with the kids. I want to go try to watch a couple of games, some international games. Who knows, I might get on cardboard and slide down the hill. That looks fun to me every time I see it. I'd rather do it than players do it. It's gonna be a lot of fun. And for me, it's about the kids. It's about where our roots came from, why we're here. We all started in Little League, right? So it's gonna be a lot of fun.”

“The dream always starts somewhere,” said CJ Abrams. “To be able to go out there and have fun with the kids, it's gonna be a lot of fun.”

The Nats got a jumpstart of the weekend’s festivities by hosting the Little League team from Northwest D.C., on Friday. The team representing the District was so close to earning a trip to Williamsport, but fell to a Pennsylvania team in extra innings in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Final.

The Nationals’ bullpen usage was going to catch up to them eventually. After using six relievers to secure last night’s win over the Phillies, manager Davey Martinez needed either an extended outing from his starter or a big lead in the late innings.

He got one of those two in the form of Jake Irvin’s impressive six shutout innings. But with only a three-run lead going into the seventh, Martinez had to use either relievers running on fumes or arms he wouldn’t normally call upon late in close games. In this instance, it was Cory Abbott.

“We used every pitcher we had," Martinez said of the state of his bullpen after the game. "Cory was gonna pitch. It just didn't work out for him today.”

Although the day started out well for the Nats, the end result was a tough 12-3 loss in front of a sellout crowd of 38,853 who soaked in today’s beautiful weather in the District.

Handed a 3-0 lead after Irvin’s strong performance and RBIs from Joey Meneses and Riley Adams off lefty Cristopher Sánchez, the Nats bullpen faltered against this tough Phillies lineup. Jose A. Ferrer, pitching for the fourth time in five days, gave up a walk and single with one out in the seventh. After a forceout at second put runners on the corners, Andrés Machado, pitching for the third straight day, served up a three-run home run to Nick Castellanos, leaving this game suddenly tied.

Davey Martinez always lives in the present. He has the mantras to prove it.

Go 1-0 today. Be where your feet are. One pitch, one at-bat, one inning, one game at a time.

And even as the Nationals organization builds toward a bigger picture of success in the future, that’s how the skipper has managed his team to an already higher win total than last year.

That’s how he used his strong, yet exhausted bullpen in last night’s 8-7 win over the Phillies. After the Nats rallied to take a 7-6 lead in the fourth, Martinez used six relievers to close out the last five innings en route to victory. That included his top bullpen guys Jordan Weems, Andrés Machado, Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan, who was pitching for the third straight day.

“Losing's not fun. I don't like losing,” Martinez said during his pregame media session. “So when you feel like you have an opportunity to really win a game, then you take that opportunity. Yesterday was one of those games where we knocked the starter out and we got into the bullpen. I felt like some of our guys were still fresh enough to be able to pitch yesterday. So we went for it and it worked out well. Today might be a different story, but we'll see. We'll play today, Jake Irvin's gonna start for us. I hope he gives us what he's been giving us. And if he does that, then we have another opportunity to go 1-0 today.”

As he sauntered off the mound, having just struck out a $300 million hitter to strand the bases loaded and preserve a two-run lead for his team, Andrés Machado looked every bit the part of an established, high leverage, big league reliever. He did not look anything like a guy who had been designated for assignment by the Nationals twice in the last year.

How far Machado has come in a short amount of time, having survived a roller coaster of a season to emerge now as one of the Nats’ most trusted arms to get big outs late in games. And none was as big as the one he got Friday night during an 8-7 victory over the Phillies.

Summoned out of the bullpen with two on, one out and the middle of the order coming up in the top of the seventh, Machado proceeded to strike out Nick Castellanos before walking Bryson Stott to load the bases and bring Trea Turner to the plate.

Turner may be having a hugely disappointing debut season in Philadelphia after signing a monster contract, but the former Nationals star is still capable of changing a game with one swing. So when Machado got ahead in the count 1-2 and then got Turner to whiff at a slider, he reacted the only way he knew how: Walking off the mound like a guy who believes he’s the best.

“I was getting ready for the moment,” he said. “I’ve been pitching in that kind of situation, and I just prepared myself for that situation. I tried to do my best, and I saved that run.”

Good afternoon from a beautiful day on South Capitol Street, where the Nationals and Phillies will play their final game of this three-game series before heading to Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the Little League Classic.

After last night’s fireworks, the Nationals will send Jake Irvin to the mound for his 19th start of his rookie season. The right-hander is 3-5 with a 4.76 ERA and 1.412 WHIP so far this year. He was really strong in his last start, completing 6 ⅔ innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts. He has a tough task this afternoon facing a dangerous Phillies lineup for the first time.

Left-hander Cristopher Sánchez makes his 12th start for the Phillies. He’s 1-3 with a 3.39 ERA and 1.011 WHIP this year. He took a tough 2-1 loss here on June 30 when he gave up two runs (one earned) over six innings in his only start against the Nats in 2023.

Davey Martinez has been getting both of his catchers in the lineup against southpaws recently, but he decided to give Keibert Ruiz the day off today. 

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 82 degrees, wind 7 mph in from left field

There was juice at Nationals Park tonight, the kind of energy that comes not merely from a large crowd but from a highly competitive game between an opponent trying to reach the World Series for the second straight year and a home team trying to prove to everyone they’re not as far away from reaching that goal as most would’ve believed not long ago.

A crowd of 26,747 that included a healthy amount of Phillies fans roared when the Nationals took an early lead off Michael Lorenzen, foiling his unlikely bid for a second straight no-hitter. It roared when the Phillies put up a six-spot in the top of the fourth to take what looked like a commanding lead. It roared when the Nats fought right back to score six runs of their own in the bottom of the inning and re-take the lead. And it roared as a parade of Nationals relievers held on to finish off a thoroughly enjoyable 8-7 victory and continue a thoroughly convincing turnaround over the last month.

Thanks to CJ Abrams’ three-run homer and lights-out work from a bullpen that looks better each passing day, the Nats won for the 15th time in their last 18 home games. They’re 18-9 since July 21. And they continue to beat good teams, often through a surge of power and late-inning heroics.

"We always tell each other we're going to surprise some people," Abrams said. "I think we've done that. And we're going to keep going and see what happens."

Why wouldn’t the assembled crowd on South Capitol Street tonight feel the energy and embrace a rebuilding home ballclub that is trying to expedite the timeline for a return to the kind of success that used to be the norm around here?

It’s purely a coincidence of timing that so many injured Nationals relievers were ready to begin rehab assignments within days of each other. Intentional or not, the team is more than happy to monitor a bunch of these assignments, knowing each pitcher is getting close to returning to the active roster.

Mason Thompson and Carl Edwards Jr. got the process started, each tossing a scoreless inning of relief Thursday. Tanner Rainey will make his rehab debut tonight, hours after Thaddeus Ward pitched in West Palm Beach.

Thompson tossed a 1-2-3 inning for Double-A Harrisburg, striking out one and throwing seven of his nine pitches for strikes. The right-hander, out since Aug. 2 with a left knee contusion, is scheduled to return to make another appearance Sunday, ideally building up to 20-to-25 pitches.

Edwards also threw a perfect inning of relief, with six of his 12 pitches for strikes with Single-A Wilmington. The right-hander, out since June 20 with shoulder inflammation, is going to need more time on his assignment considering how long he’s been out. He’s next scheduled to pitch Saturday.

“He’s been out a little longer,” manager Davey Martinez said. “For me, it’s like spring training all over with him. I want to get him this outing tomorrow, see how that goes, and then possibly two or three more after. … But he said he felt way better yesterday.”

The Nationals faced Michael Lorenzen nine days ago, and it didn’t exactly go so well for them. Like, they didn’t even record a hit off the Phillies right-hander, who became the first pitcher to ever throw a no-hitter against the Nats since they arrived in D.C.

So wouldn’t you know Lorenzen’s next start would just so happen to come tonight against the same team he no-hit in Philly? Yes, after getting some extra rest, Lorenzen returns tonight and will attempt to do what only Johnny Vander Meer has ever done in major league history. The chances of him doing it again are awfully slim. Still, it would be nice if the Nationals could just get one early hit and not even let the thought of it creep into anyone’s head.

Joan Adon takes the mound for the Nats, and it will be interesting to see how the right-hander handles the situation. He departed his last start with leg cramps, something he also experienced at the end of his dominant start in Cincinnati, and Davey Martinez said they might try an old-school remedy in advance of this outing to combat the issue: pickle juice. We’ll see if it works.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 88 degrees, wind 10 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
CF Lane Thomas
DH Joey Meneses
C Keibert Ruiz
1B Dominic Smith
RF Stone Garrett
2B Jake Alu
3B Ildemaro Vargas
LF Blake Rutherford