ATLANTA – Greetings from just outside downtown Atlanta, where the Nationals are making their second visit to Truist Park this year.

I can confirm the Nats won’t have to face Kyle Schwarber over this three-game series, but alas, another National League East opponent awaits in the Braves. The Nats are a woeful 7-30 on the season within the division and have won just two out of their last 21 games against their rivals. Although the Nats have played the Braves the least so far, they’ve had the most success against Atlanta, winning a three-game set here in early April despite getting swept at home over three games last month. 

Erick Fedde will look to continue a strong stretch in which he’s pitched to a 2.82 ERA over his last four starts. That stretch started when he allowed three runs in 5 ⅓ innings against these Braves on June 15. The key for Fedde will be to, once again, get quick outs and not get himself into deep counts so as to keep his pitch count down and get deeper in the game.

Charlie Morton will take the mound for the Braves in tonight’s opener. The veteran right-hander is 4-3 with a 4.34 ERA over his first 16 starts, but like Fedde, he’s been pitching really well as of late. Over his last four starts, Morton has a 1.35 ERA with 35 strikeouts to just four walks. This will be his first time facing the Nats this season after having gone 4-6 with a 5.23 ERA over 13 career starts against Washington. 

Luis García is in tonight’s lineup after leaving yesterday’s game in Philadelphia with a stomach illness.

The All-Star Game’s week-long festivities are not just to celebrate the best in today’s game. They are also to put the best of baseball’s future on the national stage. And we now know who will be representing the Nationals on that stage in just over a week.

Cade Cavalli and Darren Baker have been selected to represent the Nationals in the 2022 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, Major League Baseball announced today on MLB Network’s “MLB Central.” The 23rd All-Star Futures Game features the top prospects across the minor leagues as they’ll compete as part of the first-ever All-Star Saturday on July 16.

Cavalli, 23, will be appearing in his second straight All-Star Futures Game after representing the Nats in Colorado last year. The 2020 first-round pick pitched a scoreless fifth inning for the National League side while matching his two walks with two strikeouts and touching 100 mph with his fastball three times.

Currently the Nats’ top prospect, according to both MLBPipeline.com and Baseball America, Cavalli is tied for third in the system with 68 strikeouts after being one of the strikeout leaders in all the minor leagues in 2021. In 14 starts for Triple-A Rochester, he is 4-3 with a 4.54 ERA and 9.1 K/9. But Cavalli has upped his game recently, going 3-0 with a 2.31 ERA, 41 strikeouts and a .182 batting average against over his last seven starts. 

That includes last night, when the right-hander enjoyed one his most impressive outings to date, retiring the first 17 batters he faced en route to completing seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball at Lehigh Valley. He finished with seven strikeouts and no walks.

Washington Nationals infielder Darren Baker and right-handed pitcher Cade Cavalli have been selected to represent the organization in the 2022 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game. Major League Baseball made the announcement today on MLB Network’s “MLB Central.” The 23^rd SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game features the top Minor League prospects competing as part of the first-ever All-Star Saturday.

Baker, 23, a 10^th round pick by the Nationals in 2021 out of the University of California-Berkeley, is hitting .264 with 13 doubles, one triple, one home run, 20 RBI, 20 walks, 10 stolen bases and 36 runs scored in 55 games with High-A Wilmington. Baker hit safely in 33 of his first 39 games of the season, hitting .304 with a .351 on-base percentage and a .418 slugging percentage during this stretch.

In two Minor League seasons, Baker has hit .283 with 17 doubles, two triples, one homer, 26 RBI, 26 walks, 12 stolen bases and 41 runs scored in 77 professional games.

Cavalli, 23, ranks tied for third in Washington’s Minor League system with 68 strikeouts. He is 3-0 with a 2.31 ERA (10 ER/39.0 IP), 41 strikeouts and a .182 opponents’ batting average in his last seven starts. Most recently, Cavalli retired the first 17 batters he faced en route to 7.0 innings of two-hit, shutout ball on July 6 at Lehigh Valley. In that start, he struck out seven batters without issuing a walk. In 14 starts for Triple-A Rochester, Cavalli is 4-3 with a 4.54 ERA and 9.1 strikeouts per 9.0 innings.

In his first full season at the Triple-A level, Cavalli is Washington’s top prospect according to Baseball America and MLBPipeline.com. He is rated by Baseball America as the No. 35 prospect and by MLBPipeline.com as the No. 48 prospect in all of baseball. He will be appearing in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game for the second time after representing the Nationals in Colorado in 2021.

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Joan Adon and placed right-handed pitcher Reed Garrett on the 15-day Injured List (retroactive to July 6) with right biceps inflammation on Thursday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Adon, 23, will start Thursday for the Nationals. He last started for Triple-A Rochester on June 22 vs. Syracuse, tossing 5.0 innings of four-hit ball. He allowed one unearned run with three strikeouts and zero walks in that start.

Garrett, 29, pitched to an 8.22 ERA in six games out of Washington’s bullpen.

PHILADELPHIA – The Nationals’ 3-2 win over the Phillies on Wednesday was made possible by Josiah Gray’s six dominant innings (which included a career-high 11 strikeouts). It was made possible by Luis García’s clutch two-run double in the top of the seventh. And it was made possible by the lockdown work of the back end of the bullpen, most notably Tanner Rainey in the bottom of the ninth.

The beleaguered closer entered this game having just suffered through back-to-back ragged outings in D.C., blowing a save by surrendering a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth against the Marlins on Sunday, then taking the loss the following afternoon after serving up a 10th-inning two-run homer.

So when Rainey took the mound Wednesday night, tasked with protecting a one-run lead against a fearsome Phillies lineup, forgive anyone watching for having worst-case-scenario visions creeping into the mind.

No worries, though, because Rainey turned in his best performance in weeks, retiring the side to earn the save.

Things did get off to a shaky start. Rainey issued three straight balls to Darick Hall to open the ninth, forcing both Steve Cishek and Andres Machado to start warming in the Nats bullpen in a hurry. But once he responded with three straight strikes to Hall, the last of which notched his first strikeout of the inning, the right-hander was back on track.

PHILADELPHIA – Will Harris last pitched for the Nationals on May 22, 2021, when he surrendered hits to all three Orioles batters he faced. He wound up on the injured list after that, undergoing thoracic outlet surgery about a week later.

Harris reported for spring training this year optimistic about making the opening day roster. He then was shut down after struggling in an exhibition game appearance, underwent surgery to repair his pectoral muscle at the end of March and began another long rehab program.

Now, here was Harris on Tuesday, pitching off the bullpen mound at Citizens Bank Park, believing he’s about ready to face live hitters at last, then ultimately join the Nats’ active roster more than a year after he was first shut down.

“It’s definitely been a way longer process than I think I ever imagined it would be,” he said. “I’m just anxious to get back and start pitching again.”

Harris has been anxious for a long time to finally live up to the three-year, $24 million contract the Nationals gave him after the 2019 season, one in which he dominated for the Astros before surrendering Howie Kendrick’s World Series-winning homer in Game 7. He made 20 erratic appearances during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, then only eight in 2021 before he realized the numbness and swelling he was experiencing in his pitching hand had to be addressed.

Good morning from Nationals Park, which is something we can’t often say. We can say it today, though, because it’s July 4th, and that means morning baseball on South Capitol Street. As has been the case every year since 2012 (except for 2020) the Nats are playing an 11:05 a.m. home game on Independence Day, an annual tradition that has become quite popular with fans (if not necessarily players who don’t love having to report to the ballpark so early in the morning for the first time since spring training).

The Nationals desperately need a win right now. They’ve been ransacked by the Marlins, losing 10 of 11 to them this season, including the first three games of this series. They were one strike away from winning Sunday. They still managed to lose in extra innings.

Patrick Corbin gets the ball for his first July 4 assignment as a National. He’s coming off his best start of the season, probably his best start in three years, having notched 12 strikeouts over eight innings against the Pirates. The lefty has felt much better about the quality of his stuff in recent outings. Now he needs to prove he can be effective on a consistent basis again.

The Nats will be facing a lefty starter for the third time in four days, in this case Braxton Garrett. The 24-year-old has spent parts of the last three seasons in the big leagues. He’s made only one career appearance against the Nationals, getting roughed up for five runs in 2 2/3 innings in September 2020. He also has surrendered 16 hits over his last 9 1/3 innings, though he has struck out 12 during that same time.

MIAMI MARLINS vs. WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 11:05 a.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (outside D.C. market), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 81 degrees, wind 4 mph in from center field

That the Nationals have been bulldozed by the Mets, Braves and Phillies this season doesn’t come as a huge surprise. Those three division rivals all entered the season with high hopes and currently find themselves in a pennant race.

That the Nats have also been ransacked by the Marlins, who don’t find themselves anywhere near contention, is both surprising and incredibly aggravating to a ballclub that isn’t used to suffering this kind of domination from a traditional division doormat.

Today’s 5-3 loss at steamy Nationals Park was only the latest in a half-season’s worth of losses to this team. The Nats are now a ghastly 1-10 against Miami this year, having been outscored 59-26.

And it’s not like the Marlins are doing this to anybody else. They’re 26-39 against the rest of the league, turning the Nationals into their personal punching bag.

"Today's a different day," manager Davey Martinez said, prior to today's game, which still produced the same result. "We've got to do the the things that we need to do to win, and control some of the things they're doing. And if we do that, any given day we'll win. I worry about the way we play, not what other teams are doing."

The Nationals formally picked up the 2023 contract options on general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez today, ensuring both men will remain in their current positions for another season as the franchise potentially navigates its way through an ownership change.

Both Rizzo and Martinez signed extensions at the end of the 2020 season that included two guaranteed years and then club options for the third year. Those options were required to be picked up by July 15, so that meant resolutions in each case were forthcoming.

The timing also perhaps helped make the decisions to retain both men more logical. With the Lerner family exploring a sale of the franchise in what figures to be a lengthy process, the notion of making a GM and/or managerial change midseason would’ve complicated matters even more. As things now stand, there’s a chance a new owner would have ample opportunity to evaluate the state of the organization before making long-term decisions on Rizzo and Martinez at the end of the 2023 season.

Not that either of them is looking to leave anytime soon.

“For me, this my home,” Martinez said. “I love it here. I love the people I work with here, from up to down.”

It’s a hot, muggy, potentially stormy Saturday in the nation’s capital. In other words, classic July 4th weekend weather. Hopefully the storms hold off and allow the Nationals and Marlins to play as scheduled at 4:05 p.m. Stay tuned.

It’ll be Jackson Tetreault on the mound, making his fourth career start. The rookie right-hander was excellent in his last two outings against the Phillies and Rangers. We’ll see if he can keep that up against a Marlins club that has ransacked the Nats all season, having now won nine of their 10 head-to-head matchups.

The Nationals will be facing another young left-hander in Daniel Castano, who makes his 14th career start. They saw him in relief in May, with Castano pitching the ninth and 10th innings of that crazy game that included an appeal play at third after Jesus Sanchez potentially tagged up too soon.

I wanted to take an opportunity to thank everyone for your kind words (and even the criticism, too!) about my pinch-hitting appearance on the MASN broadcast Friday night. Kevin Frandsen was great doing emergency play-by-play and setting me up to analyze. Director Chip Winfield and producer Joe Matusek helped guide me through everything. And not that it needed to be said, but for the record: Bob Carpenter and Dan Kolko are true pros, and make a very difficult job look and sound easy. They’re both doing well and will be back soon. And finally, thanks to Tim Leonard for stepping in and writing a game story for the site while I was busy.

With all that said, I’m happy to be back in my usual seat in the writer’s press box today, covering the game the way I’m used to covering a game!

Some teams just have your number. The Marlins seem to be one of those teams for the Nationals this year. 

For the first time since May 24, Josiah Gray allowed more than two runs in an outing on Friday night and the Nats fell to 1-9 on the season against the Marlins with a 6-3 loss at Nationals Park. 

The outing started out strong, just like the last five for Gray. He retired the first six batters in order and even struck out the side in the second inning. 

The Marlins were able to get to the young right-hander in the third inning, though, plating three runs. Brian Anderson kicked off the frame with a solo homer over the left field wall. Two outs later, Jon Berti walked and swiped his league-leading 23rd bag of the season before scoring on Joey Wendle’s single to left field. The two-out rally continued after Garrett Cooper ripped a line-drive double, allowing Wendle to score from first and make it 3-0 Marlins. 

Washington scratched across a run in the fourth inning. Juan Soto got into an 0-2 hole before working a walk to lead off the inning. Josh Bell moved Soto over to third on a single to right field before Soto scored when Nelson Cruz grounded into a double-play, cutting the deficit to 3-1. 

The archaic manner in which the top of the fifth ended dominated the discussion of Wednesday’s 8-7 loss to the Pirates, but at least everyone now knows Rule 5.09c and the so-called “fourth out” clause.

There were a lot of other things going on in this game, though, things worth revisiting as the Nationals sleep in and enjoy a day off before opening a four-game, holiday weekend series with the Marlins on Friday. …

* Josh Bell is red hot again
After a consistently productive opening two months to the season, Bell had finally begun to cool off a bit in mid-June. He endured an 0-for-11 mini-slump from June 12-15, one that lowered his batting average 15 points (from .305 to .290) and his OPS 30 points (from .831 to .801).

And then, just like that, Bell turned it back on again and has been as good as ever at the plate. With a 3-for-3, two-double, two-walk showing Wednesday afternoon, he is now batting .467 (21-for-45) over his last 13 games, with 10 extra-base hits, a .564 on-base percentage, .889 slugging percentage and 1.453 OPS. This was only the second time he’s reached base five times in a game in his career, first with the Nationals.

All of that has lifted Bell’s season batting average to .319 and his OPS to .909.

A lot of attention on the Nationals’ farm system is rightfully given to Brady House, Cade Cavalli and Cole Henry. They are the organization’s top three prospects, per MLBPipeline.com.

Unfortunately, House (No. 1) is on the seven-day injured list at low Single-A Fredericksburg with back soreness. The 19-year-old shortstop hasn’t played in a game since June 11. Henry (No. 3) is also on the minor league injured list with shoulder soreness. Since his promotion from Double-A Harrisburg, the 22-year-old right-hander has allowed four runs with six strikeouts in four innings over his first two starts with Triple-A Rochester.

Meanwhile, Cavalli (No. 2) will make his first start at Rochester tonight after a scheduled midseason break. The 23-year-old right-hander has pitched really well as of late, posting a 2.17 ERA with 29 strikeouts and just 11 walks over his last five starts.

But some may have forgotten about Jackson Rutledge, a 2019 first-round pick out of San Jacinto Junior College and former No. 1 prospect in the Nats system.

Rutledge’s young career has been marred by injuries, limiting him to just 10 starts in his first professional season in 2019 and then only 13 in 2021. (He spent the 2020 season at the Nats’ alternate training site in Fredericksburg.)

Davey Martinez has always liked the idea of a deep and talented bench, offering him opportunities to play matchups late in games. And the Nationals manager did it often en route to a World Series title in 2019, summoning a pinch-hitter off his bench 252 times, then even more last season, when pinch-hitters received 282 plate appearances.

The times, though, they are a changing. With the designated hitter now in the National League on a full-time basis, there simply hasn’t been much reason to turn to the bench late in games this season. To wit: The Nats have taken only 22 plate appearances as a pinch-hitter so far, third-fewest in the majors.

So consider what happened Tuesday night to be well outside the norm this season. Martinez didn’t just use one pinch-hitter in the bottom of the eighth of a 3-1 victory over the Pirates. He used two.

First it was Luis García, out of the lineup for the first time in 26 games since his promotion from Triple-A Rochester, batting for Maikel Franco. Then it was Yadiel Hernandez batting for Alcides Escobar and coming through with the two-run double that broke a tie game. And then to set up his best defensive alignment for the ninth, Martinez brought in Ehire Adrianza to play third instead of Franco, with García playing shortstop. 

Was that how Martinez planned for it to all work out?

Baseball is full of unique traditions from its storied past. It’s not so much the “unwritten rules” between the lines. A lot of it has to deal with off-the-field traditions.

One of the more well-known and beloved traditions is having the managers from the previous year’s World Series manage the All-Star teams in July. That has been the case dating all the way back to 1934.

Unfortunately, Davey Martinez wasn’t able to have that honor during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season after the Nationals won the 2019 World Series. There was no All-Star Game that year, so therefore, there was no National League team to manage.

But this year will be a small consolation for Martinez, who on Monday was named to Braves manager Brian Snitker’s coaching staff for this year’s edition of the Midsummer Classic at Dodger Stadium (the rescheduled location after the cancellation of 2020’s game).

“I talked to Brian Snitker. We go way back. He's a good man,” Martinez said of being named to the NL coaching staff. “I'm honored to be a part of the staff. It seems like I've known a lot of those guys for many, many years. I played with some of them. I played with (first base coach Eric Young Jr.'s) dad in Chicago. So I'm excited about it. It'd be a lot of fun, get to see some familiar faces and hang out with some coaches that I know.”

Entering the eighth inning of tonight’s game, the Nationals offense had yet to take advantage of the opportunity provided by starter Erick Fedde and the bullpen. In a low-scoring game, the only offense to that point had come in the sixth inning when Luis García came around to score after a leadoff double to the right-center gap. Back-to-back groundouts to the right side of the infield allowed García to advance and eventually cross home plate with Yadiel Hernandez getting credit for the RBI.

But García delivered another leadoff double in the eighth, setting up Maikel Franco’s late-inning heroics in the Nationals’ 3-2 win over the Pirates in front of 18,213 fans at Nationals Park.

With García standing on second base, two outs and the Nats down 2-1 to the Bucs, Franco sent a first-pitch slider from right-hander Chris Stratton 105.5 mph off his bat and 418 feet to left-center field. The Nats third baseman gave an emphatic high-five to first base coach Eric Young Jr. as he rounded the bases as what would prove to be the game-winning run.

“I know we were just down for one run," Franco said after the game. "Obviously, I just think about see the ball and drive the ball, just get a hit to try to tie the ballgame. And I got better results. He threw me a slider first pitch and I was able to put good contact on it. And I got the success.”

That success sent Nats Park into a frenzy as the home team celebrated energetically in front of the dugout.

The Nationals returned from a five-game road trip and made a quick roster move before beginning a seven-game homestand tonight against the Pirates.

They recalled left-hander Sam Clay from Triple-A Rochester and optioned fellow southpaw Francisco Perez to Rochester, bringing in a fresh lefty arm for the bullpen. Perez’s demotion comes after he allowed three runs without recording an out in the ninth inning of yesterday’s finale against the Rangers, forcing manager Davey Martinez to call upon Tanner Rainey to close out the 6-4 win.

“Look, this game, as you know, we have to make tough decisions,” Martinez said of the move during his pregame session with the media. “But (Perez) had an outing yesterday, faced a couple of batters and got hit hard. So we just want him to go down and continue to get some work in. We brought Sam up, give him an opportunity. As you know, we're short on lefties in the bullpen. And we're always searching, we're always looking. So Sam has been pitching well down there. So we're gonna give him an opportunity to pitch up here. But that's not to say that we won't see Francisco again. He's gonna go down there and just continue to work.”

Clay went 1-2 with a 3.10 ERA, 20 strikeouts and seven walks in 21 relief appearances for Rochester. He tossed scoreless outings of relief in 17 of the 21 appearances with the Red Wings. The 29-year-old has given up five runs in four innings over five appearances with the Nats this season.

Perez, 24, posted a 7.27 ERA across 10 relief appearances for the Nats.

The Nationals have returned home from a rare five-game American League road trip. They went 3-2 this week, splitting the two-game Battle of the Beltways series in Baltimore and winning a three-game set against the Rangers. After a brutal 3-8 homestand a week ago, the Nats have now won four of their last six games as they welcome the Pirates for three games in D.C. 

Erick Fedde looks to build off one of his best starts of the season after shutting out the Orioles over six innings on Tuesday night. He is 5-5 with a 4.46 ERA over his 14 starts this season (with the Nats going 8-6 in those games) and 2-1 with a 4.15 ERA over his last four starts (with the Nats going 3-1 in those games).

Fedde earned the win in Pittsburgh on April 15 by allowing four hits, two runs and two walks while striking out six over five innings. 

Miguel Yajure is lined up to start tonight for the Pirates. The right-handed rookie is 1-0 with an 11.32 ERA over his six appearances this season, all coming out of the bullpen. Yajure gave up three runs in three innings of relief against the Nats on the same day Fedde started in Pittsburgh.

The Pirates are coming off their own interleague series, in which they were swept by the Rays in three games in St. Petersburg, Fla. 

The Washington Nationals recalled left-handed pitcher Sam Clay from Triple-A Rochester and optioned left-handed pitcher Francisco Perez to Triple-A Rochester on Monday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Clay, 29, joins the Nationals for his fourth Major League stint this season. He went 1-2 with a 3.10 ERA (7 ER/20.1 IP) with 20 strikeouts and seven walks in 21 relief appearances for Rochester. He tossed scoreless relief in 17 of the 21 outings. Clay has appeared in five games out of the Nationals’ bullpen this season.

Perez, 24, recorded a 7.27 ERA across 10 relief appearances for the Nationals in 2022.

The Washington Nationals today announced the return of Kids Eat Free, the popular first-of-its-kind program that debuted to rave reviews in 2019. Kids ages 12 and under can receive a free meal including a hot dog, choice of chips or applesauce, and bottled water or apple juice at all Nationals home games beginning Monday, June 27 (7:05 PM vs. PIT) through Wednesday, Aug. 3 (4:05 PM vs. NYM).

“When we became the first MLB team to launch a free meal program for young fans in 2019, we aimed to provide our fans with the best game day experience possible,” said Alan Gottlieb, Chief Operating Officer, Lerner Sports. “This season, we’re excited to bring Kids Eat Free back with some additional enhancements that make the process easier and more convenient, helping families spend more time together watching baseball at Nationals Park.”

Kids meals will be available via mobile ordering on the MLB Ballpark app at five concessions locations throughout the ballpark (Sections 110, 129, 141, 229 and 301). The offer is redeemable once per game per child by using the code KIDSEATFREE in the app. Children must be present to pick up their meals. For more information, visit nationals.com/KidsEatFree.

The return of Kids Eat Free is the latest way the Washington Nationals, recently named among Sports Innovation Lab’s most innovative teams in the world, are making the game day experience more affordable and more convenient for fans. The ball club also offers monthly Value Days, with discounts on tickets, concessions, merchandise and parking, as well as Harris Teeter Family Fun Packs for every regular-season home game. Mobile ordering minimizes time spent waiting in lines so fans can enjoy more of the game from their seats. Click HERE to download Kids Eat Free photos and video. 

Additional family-friendly amenities and activities include: