Nats' most intriguing series in second half (Part 2)

The All-Star break is now over and the Nationals will continue their season tonight. They start the second half with three games against the Cardinals in St. Louis before moving on to face the Cubs in Chicago.

Their 36-54 record puts them in last place in the National League East but on pace for a 10-win improvement from last year.

Not that the Nationals would ever do this, but the new rules are designed to prevent tanking and the Nats can’t pick higher than 10th overall in the first round of next year’s draft anyway. So they’ll be staying in the fight each game the rest of the way, as they did throughout the first half.

September baseball means expanded rosters and playoff chases. Will the Nats bring up any of their top prospects? Could they play spoiler to some of their October-hopeful rivals?

We now know the 2024 schedule. The first five most intriguing series of the 2023 second half are here. Here are five more of the most intriguing matchups as the Nats finish out the 2023 season:

* Aug. 28-30 at Blue Jays
This one is interesting because the Nats are traveling to a ballpark they don’t visit too often.

Although technically the Nats played the Blue Jays on the road in 2021, those games took place at Toronto’s spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla., due to travel restrictions in Canada stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The last time the Nationals were north of the border was 2018, when they were swept in a three-game series. The last time they won at Rogers Centre was in 2012, when they swept a three-game series.

* Sept. 1-6 vs. Marlins and Mets
Rosters expand to 28 players on Sept. 1. Which players will be called up to fill those spots?

Could we see the major league debut of James Wood or Jackson Rutledge, or both?

The other interesting part of these series is that the Nats play a two-game set against the Mets on a Tuesday and Wednesday in the middle of a homestand. And it’s weird they don’t play on Labor Day.

* Sept. 11-14 at Pirates
A battle of the teams with the top two picks in this year’s draft.

The Pirates snatched Paul Skenes with the top selection, so the Nats had to “settle” for Dylan Crews at No. 2.

Again, this series will have no effect on the Nats’ positioning in the 2024 draft (although it could for the Pirates), but it will still be interesting to see two teams seemingly on similar paths battle it out.

The Bucs won two of three in D.C. at the end of April.

* Sept. 21-24 vs. Braves
This series brings your last chance to see the Nats at Nationals Park in 2023.

Fans can come out to send the boys into the offseason on a high note and collect the last giveaways of the year, including a Keibert Ruiz bobblehead and Nationals pet calendar.

Unless something unforeseen happens, the Braves, who currently have an 8 ½-game lead in the National League East, are likely to walk to a division title. The only thing the Nats could spoil, probably, will be Atlanta's playoff seeding.

The Nats also finish the regular season with three games in Atlanta the following weekend, Sept. 29-Oct. 1.

* Sept. 26-27 at Orioles
The next installment of the Battle of the Beltways.

This rivalry has been bringing out the brooms recently. The Orioles swept a three-game series in Washington during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The Nats swept a three-game home series in 2021, only to see the Birds sweep three in Baltimore later in the year. They split a two-game set at Camden Yards last year, but the O’s went on to sweep two in D.C. three months later. And the Orioles won the two games at Nats Park in April, shutting out the Nationals in both.

With the Orioles likely battling for playoff positioning, could the Nats play spoiler?