ATLANTA – Sixty-two games down, 100 to go.

The Nationals will try to bounce back from last night’s tough loss and end a couple of streaks today: Their own five-game losing streak and the Braves’ six-game winning streak.

For the third time in his young career, MacKenzie Gore will face the Braves, the team he made both his major league and Nationals debuts against. He delivered the Nats their first win of the season back on April 2, striking out six over 5 ⅓ innings of one-run ball in a 4-1 victory.

Gore has done a good job of getting deep into games and limiting walks in his last two starts. Against the Royals and Phillies, the young lefty completed 13 innings with 17 strikeouts to just one walk. He’ll aim to continue that trend against a tough Braves lineup.

In a repeat of that April 2 pitching matchup, lefty Jared Shuster will make his seventh major league start for the Braves. The 24-year-old is 2-2 with a 4.99 ERA and 1.337 WHIP to start the season. He gave up four runs on six hits and five walks while taking the loss his first time against the Nats.

ATLANTA – The Nationals have worked diligently with Josiah Gray on his mechanics since the end of last year.

In 2022, the right-hander’s first full season in the bigs, he gave up a major league-worst 38 home runs and a National League-worst 66 walks en route to a 5.02 ERA and 1.359 WHIP.

The team wanted their young starter to finish his pitches straighter toward the plate instead of flying open toward the first base line. And for the most part this year, he’s much improved.

After his rough season debut against the Braves, in which he gave up five runs on three home runs, Gray went through an eight-start stretch of giving up just 11 earned runs and two homers over 47 ⅔ innings for a 2.08 ERA and struck out more than double the amount of batters he walked.

But over his last six starts, including the five innings he completed in last night’s 3-2 loss to the Braves, some old habits are starting to creep back. Gray walked four Friday night, the fifth time in his last six starts he’s surrendered three or more free passes. He now has a 1.470 WHIP over that stretch.

ATLANTA – The Nats are in the middle of a brutal stretch. Tonight began the fifth of six straight series in which they are facing division leaders, defending pennant winners and reigning world champions.

No one is going to feel sorry for them. But this 3-2 loss to the Braves in front of 40,297 at Truist Park felt pretty painful, with a one-run lead turning into a one-run deficit in the bottom of the eighth.

“Tough loss," manager Davey Martinez said after the game. "We played well 'til the bottom of the eighth. As I always say, when you give good teams extra outs, they're gonna get you. And that's what we did in the bottom of the eighth.”

With the Nationals six outs away from a series-opening victory, Kyle Finnegan ran into some tough luck in the bottom of the eighth as the Braves scored two runs (one earned) to take the lead and extend Atlanta’s streak of five straight come-from-behind victories and six straight wins overall.

Finnegan took a liner from Sean Murphy off the lower half of his body for a leadoff infield single. Then another single by Eddie Rosario just got past Luis García and the batter advanced to second on an error by Lane Thomas in right field to put two in scoring position.

ATLANTA – The Nationals have escaped the haze that engulfed the Washington, D.C. area and forced a postponement of yesterday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks. Now they find themselves outside downtown Atlanta to take on the Braves for three games, their first against the division leaders since the opening series of the season.

The Nationals enter this weekend having lost seven out of their last nine. For what it’s worth, the Braves also struggled to end May, going through a stretch of losing seven of 11, before turning it around to win six of their last seven, including a three-game sweep of the Mets here this week.

With yesterday’s postponement, Davey Martinez gave his starters an extra day of rest, with Josiah Gray now starting tonight’s opener. The right-hander’s 3.09 ERA is the lowest in the rotation, but he has struggled as of late. He did not complete six innings in any of his last three starts, giving up seven runs over 14 ⅓ innings (4.40 ERA) in the process.

Gray’s worst outing of the year came against these very Braves in his first start, in the Nats’ second game of the season. He gave up five runs and three home runs – including one each to the first two batters he faced – over seven innings while taking a 7-1 loss. In his career, he is 1-2 with a 3.33 ERA and 1.037 WHIP over five starts against Atlanta. He has, though, pitched well here at Truist Park, going 1-0 and allowing just one earned run in 10 innings over two starts.

The Braves are sending 20-year-old right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver to the mound for his first major league start. The Braves' No. 4 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, Smith-Shawver impressed in his big league debut, pitching 2 ⅓ scoreless innings with three strikeouts Sunday against the Diamondbacks. He had a 1.09 ERA, 0.939 WHIP, 12.3 strikeout-per-nine rate and 3.75 strikeout-per-walk rate over seven starts between High-A and Triple-A to begin this season on the Braves farm.

ATLANTA – Before their finale against the Diamondbacks was postponed due to poor air quality yesterday, the Nationals announced they were sending Victor Robles to Triple-A Rochester on a rehab assignment.

Robles has been sidelined since he hurt his back by sliding into second base in Arizona on May 6. Up until recently, he had been very limited in what rehab work he could actually do. But has he started to improve, he was able to do more and more physical activity and is now ready to play in games.

“Victor will play tonight in Rochester and we'll see how he gets through it,” manager Davey Martinez said during his media session before tonight’s series opener against the Braves. “He'll probably get maybe four, maybe five innings. So we'll see how he gets through it.”

Robles is hitting third and playing center field for the Red Wings tonight in Worcester.

Needing a bounceback season, the 26-year-old was off to a solid start to the season before his injury. In 31 games, he was hitting .292 with a .388 on-base percentage and .748 OPS. He scored 13 runs, hit four doubles, one triple and eight RBIs and stole a team-high eight bases while walking at the highest rate of his career (9.4 percent).

Victor Robles is ready to start playing in games again. Another week or so and he should be ready to play for the Nationals again.

Robles will join Triple-A Rochester on a rehab assignment Friday, the final step in the outfielder’s recovery from a back injury that has sidelined him more than a month.

“Hopefully everything goes well and we get him back here soon,” manager Davey Martinez said.

Robles departed Thursday and is expected to play four innings for Rochester, which is on the road at Worcester, on Friday. Given the amount of time he has missed, he will likely build up his workload over several days and could spend a full week on the rehab assignment before the Nats decide to activate him off the 10-day IL.

“He’s got to go out there and play, start getting some at-bats,” Martinez said. “I want to see him do everything that he normally does. If he gets an opportunity to steal some bases, take the extra bases, play good defense, all that stuff.”

The Washington Nationals welcomed 2022 Heisman Trophy winner, USC quarterback and graduate of D.C.’s Gonzaga College High School Caleb Williams to Nationals Park for today’s game vs. the Detroit Tigers. Williams threw out the ceremonial first pitch, which was caught by Nationals pitcher Mason Thompson.

You can watch Williams' first pitch here.

The Washington Nationals claimed left-handed pitcher Joe La Sorsa off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays and optioned him to Triple-A Rochester on Thursday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

La Sorsa, 25, posted a 2.08 ERA (1 ER/4.1 IP) with three strikeouts and three walks in two relief appearances with the Rays this season. He had his contract selected on May 28 and made his Major League debut the next day vs. Chicago (NL), tossing 2.0 scoreless innings of relief.

La Sorsa went 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 11 games (three starts) between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham before joining the Major League club. Opposing left-handed batters went 7-for-32 (.219) with one double, two walks and eight strikeouts against him prior to his contract having been selected.

A native of Jamaica, New York, La Sorsa was selected in the 18^th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of St. John’s University. He is 16-10 with 13 saves, a 2.87 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP and a .216 opponents’ batting average in 99 games (10 starts) across four Minor League seasons (2019-23).

With smoke from Canadian wild fires getting worse in the region, Major League Baseball postponed today’s scheduled series finale between the Nationals and Diamondbacks, citing the health risks current conditions pose for players, fans and stadium workers alike.

The teams were able to play Tuesday and Wednesday night as planned under a hazy sky that wasn’t nearly as bad as it was in Philadelphia and New York, where games were postponed Wednesday. They were supposed to finish the three-game series at 1:05 p.m., but the air quality is considerably worse today, with Washington officially categorized as “Code Purple.”

The decision whether to play or not was made by MLB, with consultation with both teams and the MLB Players Association, and was announced about 90 minutes before first pitch.

“This postponement was determined following conversations throughout the day with medical and weather experts and the two impacted clubs regarding clearly hazardous air quality conditions in Washington, D.C.,” the league said in a press release.

This was to be the last time the Nationals and Diamondbacks faced each other this season, but Arizona will now be forced to come back to Washington for a June 22 makeup game at 1:05 p.m., a common off-day for both teams. The Nats begin a West Coast trip to San Diego and Seattle the following day. The D-backs will make a side trip to D.C. in between series at Milwaukee and San Francisco.

Today's 1:05 p.m. game vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks has been rescheduled due to the poor air quality in the Washington, D.C. area.

The game will be made up on Thursday, June 22 at 1:05 p.m. All tickets and parking passes for today's game will be honored for the rescheduled game.

Perhaps if other things had progressed in a different manner the rest of the night, Lane Thomas’ throw in the top of the fifth Wednesday would’ve carried more weight. In the end, the play had no bearing on the outcome of the Nationals’ game, a 6-2 loss to the Diamondbacks.

That doesn’t mean it didn’t feel significant in the moment, though. Or that it wasn’t noticed by everyone at Nationals Park.

When Corbin Carroll lined a hit to right to open the top of the fifth, Arizona looked like it was poised to start another rally against Patrick Corbin and perhaps cash in this time after being shut out since taking a quick 3-0 lead in the first. And when Thomas couldn’t cleanly field the ball on a hop, Carroll looked like he was destined for a leadoff double.

Until Thomas retrieved the ball and fired it toward second base, where CJ Abrams made a nice scoop and applied the tag to Carroll in time for the out.

It was a big play in what was a 3-2 game at that moment. And it was only the latest by Thomas, who has really come to his own in right field this season.

Tomorrow night’s game (Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. vs. Tampa Bay Rays) is Military Appreciation Day presented by PenFed at Nationals Park.

To thank our service members, the Nationals are providing two free tickets to active duty, dependents, veterans, retirees, reservists, National Guard and Department of Defense civilians with military ID or proof of service. Tickets can be claimed at the Home Plate Box Office beginning when gates open at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday (two free tickets per ID, while supplies last).

Highlights of tomorrow’s pregame ceremonies include:

· Simultaneous Ceremonial First Pitches thrown by:

    Major General Joel Jackson, Commander, Air Force District Washington

The Washington Nationals proudly welcomed representatives from the National Cherry Blossom Festival and the Embassy of Japan for today’s annual Blossoms & Baseball game.

Prior to today’s event, the NCBF, in partnership with the Embassy, donated a National Cherry Blossom Festival giant cherry blossom sculpture to the Nationals for display at Nationals Park. The sculpture, titled Refresh, Renew, Rebloom, was designed and painted by Prism Specialties Art Restoration. It was temporarily on display in the Navy Yard neighborhood in 2022 and will now be displayed on ballpark’s main concourse near the Washington Suites.

Today’s ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Ambassador of Japan to the United States Koji Tomita.

Last month, the Embassy hosted a World Baseball Classic celebration, including strong cherry blossoms representation, welcoming representatives from the tournament’s participating teams as well as the Washington Nationals and NCBF.

The Washington Nationals celebrated the club’s 18^th annual Night OUT on Tuesday, the longest-running Pride event in Major League Baseball. The first 20,000 fans received a Screech Night OUT bobblehead, and fans who purchased the special ticket package also received an exclusive t-shirt with $5 from every special ticket benefitting Team DC. With more than 7,100 special tickets sold, tonight’s event was the largest Night OUT in the organization’s history.

As special guests of the game’s presenting partner, Team DC, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi threw out the game’s ceremonial first pitch; and Rex Wheeler, also known as Lady Camden, runner-up on Season 14 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, held the President’s Race finish line.

You can watch video of the Night OUT festivities here.

Wednesday night, the Washington Nationals held the club’s second annual UK-US Friendship Day at Nationals Park, celebrating the recent coronation of King Charles III and the enduring partnership between the two nations.

As the night’s guest of honor, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak personally requested that the ceremonial first pitch be given to Stuart Taylor, CEO of the Allied Forces Foundation, in recognition of Taylor’s many years of public service in support of military veterans, active-duty personnel and the trans-Atlantic relationship.

Sunak was joined on the field by Taylor and Nationals manager Davey Martinez for the UK and US national anthems, which were punctuated by a flyover performed by F/A 18s piloted by United States Navy Lt. Josh Chester and British Royal Navy Lt. Cmdr Thomas Sharp. The UK anthem was performed by the Royal Marines Band, and the US anthem by “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band.

You can watch video of the UK-US Friendship Day festivities here.

In case you missed it, Washington Nationals were honored by MLB as the 2022 Green Glove Award finalist for the National League East. The team led the division in waste diversion, which is done through practices such as recycling, composting, food donations and energy recovery. This is the third year in a row that the Nationals have received this honor. 

The Nationals remain committed to bringing baseball to the region sustainably. Recent efforts have included: installing the first two Reverse Vending Machines in MLB, with the machines having recycled thousands of items since August and encouraging the practice among fans with the chance to win fun prizes; teaming up with WGL Energy and Chesapeake Bay Foundation to plant trees for every Nationals run scored at home; recycling last season’s playing field, creating 680 tons of topsoil to be used in other community projects; and continuing to harvest hundreds of pounds of food from the ballpark’s rooftop garden, which is distributed to local communities.

You can learn more about the the Nationals' sustainability efforts here.

They got a quality start out of Patrick Corbin despite another roughshod first inning that set an ominous tone for the evening. They kept it close for most of the proceedings, remaining within one clutch hit of tying the game or taking the lead. Until the bullpen failed to keep it close late in its latest subpar showing.

And so the Nationals found themselves on the wrong end of a 6-2 loss to the Diamondbacks, done in by one of their weaker offensive performances in a while, the three-run hole Corbin dug them into from the outset and the three tack-on runs Carl Edwards Jr. and Jordan Weems surrendered late.

Make it seven losses in nine games for a Nats club that was feeling pretty good about its ability to compete and play .500 ball for more than a month not that long ago but has since regressed while facing stiffer competition.

They aren’t facing the Tigers and Royals anymore. The Nationals have now dropped three straight series to superior opponents, first the Dodgers, then the Phillies and now the Diamondbacks, who will be looking for a three-game sweep Thursday afternoon.

Then comes a road trip to Atlanta and Houston that could threaten to derail much of the forward momentum the Nats had built through most of May. They're a season-worst 11 games under .500, hoping not to keep plummeting. 

The Nationals, for the second straight day, designated a struggling reliever for assignment, with Erasmo Ramírez suffering that fate this afternoon in the wake of a particularly ragged appearance during Tuesday’s loss to the Diamondbacks, and Cory Abbott recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take his spot.

Ramírez joined fellow right-hander Andrés Machado, who was designated for assignment Tuesday, in getting dropped from the active roster. Machado officially cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Rochester today. Because he had already been through that process over the winter, he had the option to declare himself a free agent but instead chose to remain in the organization.

Ramírez will face a similar decision in the next few days. The 33-year-old got the news after retiring only two of the six batters he faced in the top of the sixth Tuesday night, having hit the first batter he faced on the first pitch he threw, nearly hitting the next batter on his next pitch and then committing a balk when he turned to make a pickoff attempt to first base but never threw the ball because nobody was covering.

That outing left Ramírez with an unsightly 6.33 ERA and 1.556 WHIP in 23 games this season, a dramatic drop in effectiveness from the previous year. In 60 games in 2022, Ramírez produced a 2.92 ERA and 1.077 WHIP, earning the team’s Pitcher of the Year Award for his performance.

“It’s tough. Erasmo meant a lot to this team, and to me,” manager Davey Martinez said. “This guy worked really hard to get back to the big leagues and had an unbelievable year last year. This year, he just couldn’t find himself.”

It’s another hazy afternoon in the nation’s capital, with smoke from wildfires in Quebec hovering over the region again. It’s not as bad here as it is in New York, and for now tonight’s game is on as planned. But stay tuned in case things take a turn for the worse.

It’s “UK-US Friendship Day” at Nationals Park, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak scheduled to attend what I can only assume will be the first Major League Baseball game he’s ever seen in person.

The Nationals are trying to snap a three-game losing streak, and to do that they’ll need a better all-around pitching performance, beginning with starter Patrick Corbin, who faces his former team. Corbin’s last outing came one week ago at Dodger Stadium, where he trailed 3-0 after three batters, but ultimately made it through five innings allowing only one more (unearned) run. The Nats would really like a more effective, and longer, start from the lefty tonight.

The bullpen has another new face. For the second straight day, the Nationals designated a struggling reliever for assignment, with Erasmo Ramírez the victim this time following a ragged appearance Tuesday night. Cory Abbott was recalled from Triple-A Rochester, where he was originally scheduled to start tonight. If Corbin doesn’t go deep and Davey Martinez needs multiple innings from a reliever, Abbott is probably the guy.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Hazy, 77 degrees, wind 7 mph left field to right field

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Cory Abbott from Triple-A Rochester and designated Erasmo Ramírez for assignment on Wednesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

In his last two starts for Triple-A Rochester, Abbott allowed just two hits and one run in 10.0 total innings (0.90 ERA), with 12 strikeouts. Since April 28, Abbott has allowed more than one run in a game just once, working at least 5.0 innings in four of his five starts. Over that span, he has struck out 33 in 23.0 innings. In total, Abbott’s 51 strikeouts this season ranks third in Washington’s Minor League system.

Abbott, 27, joins the Nationals for the third time this season after two previous stints in May. He has allowed three hits and one run in 4.0 total innings in two appearances for Washington so far in 2023. Abbott was selected off waivers from the San Francisco Giants on May 4, 2022, and went on to enjoy five stints with Washington last season. He made nine starts (0-5, 6.00 ERA, 36 SO) and seven relief appearances (2.00 ERA, 9 SO), held opponents to a .186 average at home. In his last two starts of 2022, Abbott struck out a total of 13 (seven in 5.0 IP vs. Atlanta, Sept. 26 and six in 4.0 IP at New York (NL), Oct. 4).

Ramírez, 33, was 2-3 with a 6.33 ERA in 23 games this season.