After the surprising brilliance of Andrew Alvarez and the clutch performances of Dylan Crews and Robert Hassell III, the Nationals found themselves in position this evening to win a game in which they didn’t put a single man on base until the sixth inning.

It would’ve made for quite the uplifting outcome at the end of what was shaping up to be a disastrous day at the plate against Pirates rookie flamethrower Bubba Chandler.

Instead, the disaster came not at the plate but on the mound in the top of the eighth when three Nats relievers combined to allow four decisive runs via a flurry of walks and well-placed singles, the difference in a 5-1 loss on South Capitol Street.

What began as a scoreless pitchers’ duel between rookie starters Alvarez and Chandler, the latter of which was perfect through five innings, turned into a late bullpen meltdown, something the Nationals’ relief corps hadn’t experienced in a while.

"You're not going to be perfect all the time," interim manager Miguel Cairo said of a bullpen that has been among the majors' best units over an extended stretch. "The bullpen has been outstanding the last 3-4 weeks. Sometimes, you're just not going to have it. And you've got to move on, come back tomorrow and be good."

CHICAGO – At some point last month, Cole Henry said, the members of baseball’s worst bullpen came to an important realization.

Nobody outside the Nationals believed that group was capable of being good. Perhaps that might even have been true for some people within the organization. And given the unit’s lack of experience – 25-year-old Jose A. Ferrer was the only reliever on the staff with more than a year of big league service time – there was nothing for anybody to lose at that point.

“Just looking around, we’re kind of all in the same situation,” Henry said. “Ferrer has the most time out of all of us. It’s kind of like, we’re all in this together. Let’s make something out of it and see if we can finish the year strong.”

You won’t believe what’s happened since. Over the last three weeks, the best bullpen in the major leagues has belonged to the Washington Nationals. Yes, the Nationals.

The pertinent starting point is Aug. 20, when four relievers combined to toss 3 2/3 scoreless innings and preserve a 5-4 win over the Mets. Prior to that game, the Nationals bullpen ranked dead-last in the majors in ERA (5.82) and WHIP (1.549). In 17 games since, that group ranks first in the majors in both categories, delivering a sparkling 1.97 ERA and 1.005 WHIP.

PHILADELPHIA – PJ Poulin wasn’t part of the Tigers’ trade package for Kyle Finnegan, but he might as well have been.

When Detroit acquired Finnegan from the Nationals at the trade deadline for minor leaguers Josh Randall and R.J. Sales, another transaction was necessary to clear a 40-man spot for the veteran reliever. The odd man out wound up being Poulin, who was pitching well at Triple-A Toledo but was deemed expendable and thus was designated for assignment.

The Nats, of course, swooped in and claimed the 29-year-old left-hander off waivers, then surprised him by sending him not to Triple-A Rochester but straight to Washington to join a big league roster for the first time in his career.

Poulin, an 11th-round pick of the Rockies in 2018 out of the University of Connecticut, was stunned just to be in the majors. Three weeks later, could he have believed he would find himself on the mound in the bottom of the ninth at Citizens Bank Park, trying to close out a one-run win in front of a sellout crowd of Phillies fans?

“Uh, I mean … no,” he said with a laugh after contemplating how ludicrous that notion would have sounded at the time. “This has been like the best three weeks of my life.”

PHILADELPHIA – The lights went down at Citizens Bank Park, the cell phones turned on and a sellout crowd of 44,757 roared as Jhoan Duran entered from the bullpen for the top of the ninth. There may be no more imposing scene in baseball right now, and here were the young Nationals forced to confront it head-on.

And confront it they did, with their most impressive rally of the season and arguably their best win in a very long time.

Behind clutch hits and aggressive baserunning from rookies Dylan Crews and Daylen Lile, the Nationals took down Duran, scoring the tying and winning runs en route to a 5-4 victory that left this ballpark stunned and left the visitors’ dugout in jubilation.

"This is what playoff baseball is all about," said Crews, who has seen the Nats go 27-26 in the games he's played this season, compared to 26-49 when he sat or was on the 60-day injured list. "If we want to get to where we want to get to, we have to play in environments like this. ... This is playoff baseball."

Trailing by a run when they came up to bat in the ninth, having already squandered opportunities with runners in scoring position each of the previous three innings, the Nats finally converted against one of the best closers in the sport. And they did it behind the efforts of two rookie outfielders.

PHILADELPHIA – As Bob Carpenter enters the home stretch of his final season behind the microphone, plans are coming together to honor the retiring broadcaster at Nationals Park.

The Nationals announced today they will honor Carpenter prior to their Sept. 27 game against the White Sox, the penultimate game of the season.

The club will hold a retirement ceremony on the field beginning at 3 p.m. (first pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.), with a video tribute, messages from former players and colleagues and a special gift presentation. Carpenter’s name will be unveiled on the façade underneath the broadcast booth, where it will become a permanent fixture.

The first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive a commemorative “See! You! Later!” T-shirt honoring Carpenter’s signature home run call, and a limited number of special game scorecards will be available as well, reflecting the scorebook he has self-published for decades that has become the industry standard for baseball broadcasters at every level of the sport.

The weekend series also will feature the return of the “See You Tater” concessions concept at the “Change-Up” Food Hall in the center field plaza.

The revolving door that has been the 2025 Nationals bullpen picked up two new passengers today when the club added Clayton Beeter and PJ Poulin to the major league roster, two recent acquisitions who are going to get a chance to contribute to a relief corps that needs all the help it can get.

After trading veterans Kyle Finnegan, Andrew Chafin and Luis Garcia prior to last week’s deadline, the Nats were left with a highly inexperienced bullpen with only one member who had pitched in more than 45 big league games in his career (Jose A. Ferrer). That group was promptly battered around by the Brewers, surrendering 22 runs (19 earned) on 30 hits and nine walks across 14 1/3 innings during their weekend sweep, leading to the demotions of Ryan Loutos and Zach Brzykcy to Triple-A Rochester.

Enter Beeter (one of two prospects acquired from the Yankees for Amed Rosario) and Poulin (claimed off waivers from the Tigers on Sunday).

“I believe we need a lefty, and we just claimed (Poulin) off waivers,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “Beeter, he throws hard, good slider. And I’m looking forward to seeing how he matches up with big league hitters.”

Beeter, 26, has a little bit of major league experience, appearing in five games for the Yankees across the last two seasons. A second-round pick in 2020 from Texas Tech, he spent most of his minor league career as a starter before moving to the bullpen this season. In 18 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after time on the injured list with a shoulder impingement, he produced a 3.10 ERA, striking out 33 batters in only 20 1/3 innings (albeit with 16 walks issued in that same time frame).

The Nationals’ weekend series against the Brewers could not have gone any worse. Perhaps the arrival of the homeless Athletics this week will help turn things around. The A’s – who are playing in Sacramento for three seasons but are officially not allowed to be called by any city name for reasons unclear – come to town playing decent baseball, having gone 14-13 since July 1. And they’ve got one of the hottest hitters in baseball in rookie Nick Kurtz (1.420 OPS over his last 25 games).

So this is no cakewalk for MacKenzie Gore, who needs a bounceback performance after three straight shaky starts that included either six runs allowed or six batters walked. The left-hander has seen his ERA jump to 3.80, and his strikeout rate is down as well. Now that the tension of the trade deadline is behind him, the lefty needs to get himself locked in and finish out the season strong before it falls apart on him.

The Nationals have a couple of new arms in the bullpen tonight: They officially called up right-hander Clayton Beeter and left-hander PJ Poulin, optioning both Ryan Loutos and Zach Brzykcy to Triple-A Rochester. Don’t be surprised if one or both of the new guys is used in a high-leverage spot tonight if the situation arises.

ATHLETICS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 7 mph out to left field

ATHLETICS
C Shea Langeliers
1B Nick Kurtz
DH Brent Rooker
CF JJ Bleday
RF Colby Thomas
SS Darell Hernaiz
LF Tyler Soderstrom
3B Gio Urshela
2B Max Schuemann

It’s been a constant source of frustration throughout the season. No matter how poorly they’ve pitched, the Nationals have often had little choice but to stick with the staff they’ve got because of a lack of viable alternatives knocking on the door in the minors.

There have been a few moments along the way when the organization has made roster changes, from the early-season cutting of ties with struggling veterans Jorge López, Lucas Sims and Colin Poche, to the in-season additions of Andrew Chafin, Luis Garcia and Konnor Pilkington. But transactions have mostly been limited, because there simply haven’t been enough minor league pitchers worthy of promotion.

That’s what made this weekend’s lopsided sweep at the hands of the Brewers feel all the more hopeless. After interim general manager Mike DeBartolo traded Chafin, Luis Garcia and Kyle Finnegan prior to Thursday’s deadline, the bullpen that remained was beaten to a pulp by Milwaukee, combining to surrender 22 runs in only 14 1/3 innings over the last three days.

What recourse does DeBartolo even have at this point?

The Nationals did make one move following Sunday’s 14-3 loss, optioning right-hander Ryan Loutos (owner of a 12.00 ERA in 10 big league games with the club) to Triple-A Rochester. That still leaves six relievers on the active staff with an ERA over 5.00: Jose A. Ferrer, Orlando Ribalta, Andry Lara, Jackson Rutledge, Shinnosuke Ogasawara and Zach Brzykcy. The only two exceptions: Pilkington (1.42 ERA in seven games) and Cole Henry (3.86 ERA in 42 games).