Nats Notebook- Flirting with .500

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The Washington Nationals’ 11-8 win over Toronto Sunday puts them at .500 for the third time in the last week. Now while a 17-17 start is hardly one that parades are held for, it represents progress for a franchise that has posted four straight last place finishes since winning the World Series in 2019. Even more encouraging is the 23 runs scored over the weekend after they were held to just a pair of runs in three games at Texas. And Sunday’s victory was the team’s MLB-best 12th come from behind win this year. But while the club is making progress, they still have a way to go. The Nats also get a peek at where they want to be in a few years with the AL East-leading Orioles coming to Washington Tuesday and Wednesday. The Nats haven’t been over .500 since they were 40-39 in early July of 2021. Can they make that move this week?

Digesting the Division- Philadelphia (24-11) moves into first place but loses Trea Turner for six weeks with a hamstring injury. The shortstop was leading the team in runs scored and stolen bases while ranking second in batting average. Six weeks is a long time when Atlanta (20-12) is nipping on your heels, although the Braves were swept by the Dodgers after losing two of three in Seattle. Washington (17-17) moved ahead of the New York Mets (16-18) for third place while the Mets have dropped ten of 14. Could Miami (10-26) be catching fire with four wins in six games?

Break up the Birds- the Orioles (23-11) took three of four games from the New York Yankees at Camden Yards to move into first place of the AL East. The pitching staff followed up allowing just six runs over four games by holding Cincinnati to two runs over three games in a weekend sweep. Gunnar Henderson (10 homers with 24 RBI) was also named American League Player of the Month for April. And they drop by the District this week. Expecting plenty of O’s during the National Anthem.

Diamonds Direct Diamond King of the Week- Luis Garcia Jr. hit .563 while hitting two homers with nine RBI.

Last Week’s Heroes- C.J. Abrams scored five runs while driving in four and Jesse Winker drove in five runs while scoring four times. Trevor Williams tossed five scoreless innings in his lone start while Jake Irvin allowed a pair of runs over 11 frames. Kyle Finnegan threw two scoreless innings while tallying two saves.

Last Week’s Humbled- Tanner Rainey and Matt Barnes each allowed three runs over two innings of work. Keibert Ruiz hit .080 while Trey Lipscomb batted .056.

Game to Watch- Tuesday the Nats host AL East-leading Baltimore and they’ll be wearing their City Connect uniforms (hold your excitement). The mini-series opener pits Trevor Williams (3-0, 2.27 ERA) against Corbin Burnes (3-1, 2.61). It’s a chance to see how far the Nats have come…

Game to Miss- Friday the Nats visit Boston and Patrick Corbin (0-3, 6.45 ERA) tries to post his first win of the season. The Red Sox start Tanner Houck who might own a 1.99 ERA but also wears the number 89. What is this, Spring Training? We’ll be enjoying an evening at the Waterfront.

Sully From Southie Speaks- Still enjoying the ridiculous high of a Game Seven overtime win, even if it’s against a Toronto team that is usually golfing by this time of year. Somehow the Sox are still in contention and the team owns the best ERA in baseball. They snapped Minnesota’s 12-game winning streak Sunday to avoid getting swept by the Twins and the early-season magic has yet to fade. The road gets rough this week with a pair of games in Atlanta before they host the Nationals.

Nats Notebook- Springboard or Ceiling?

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Welcome back! Did everyone have a nice offseason? The Nationals are back in action after dropping two of three in Cincinnati (yet to enjoy the Skyline Chili, although Donato’s Pizza still delivers happy memories) and there’s at least a little more excitement surrounding the 2024 club as opposed to last year’s team. The 2023 team actually won 16 more games than its predecessor, and while I’m not saying this bunch will win 87 games one has the feel they’ll be more competitive and perhaps even pesky during the month of September as teams try to wrap up playoff berths. But there are questions regarding those who made an impact last year for the Nats: was 2023 a springboard (preview of possibilities) or a ceiling (a maxed out career year). Josiah Gray pitched in the All Star Game while Lane Thomas posted career highs in hits, runs, doubles, triples, homers, and RBI. Were those campaigns the start of something special or a career outlier? C.J. Abrams and Keibert Ruiz had solid seasons at the plate while playing defensive positions. Do both players continue to grow in the field and in the lineup this year? If you want the classic “ceiling vs. springboard” season, look no further than centerfielder Victor Robles who hit 17 homers in 2019 and has belted 11 HR over the last four seasons. We’ll be watching, while enjoying the possibilities each new season brings.

Digesting the Division- Atlanta (2-1) leads after one weekend (surprise, surprise). The Braves were out of first place for one whole day in 2023 (one half game back on April 2). Philadelphia (1-2) dropped two of three to Atlanta to begin the season and drop by the district for a series this upcoming weekend. Washington (1-2) was in last place for the bulk of the season last year, but this spring they find themselves ahead of the New York Mets (0-3) and Miami (0-4).

Break up the Birds- The Orioles (2-1) began the year by taking two of three from the Los Angeles Angels, posting 25 runs while allowing eight. Anthony Santander already has a pair of homers with seven RBI and offseason acquisition Corbin Burnes (1-0, 1.50 ERA, 11 strikeouts) looked great in his Baltimore debut.

Last Week’s Heroes- Jesse Winker hit 455 while C.J. Abrams from atop the order scored four runs while stealing three bases. Keibert Ruiz batted .333 with a homer and three RBI. Hunter Harvey recorded a win in relief while Kyle Finnegan saved that game. Jake Irvin posted the best start on the team (three runs allowed over five innings).

Last Week’s Humbled- Patrick Corbin (four runs allowed over 4.1 innings) and Josiah Gray (seven over four) had less than ideal 2024 debuts while Kyle Finnegan allowed consecutive homers in Sunday’s loss at Cincinnati. Luis Garcia hit .182 while Lane Thomas batted .083 and Joey Gallo went 0-12 at the plate.

Game to Watch- Philadelphia wraps up its weekend in Washington with a 1:35 p.m. Sunday matinee. It’s a matchup of lefties (MacKenzie Gore & Christopher Sanchez) who are slated to make their 2024 debuts Monday afternoon. It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame, with a nightcap of hockey (Caps host Ottawa) to boot.

Game to Miss- The Nats play Pittsburgh to start the week, and while I’ll be all-in at the ballpark for Monday’s opener I won’t be hurting to miss Wednesday’s game that pits Trevor Williams (5.55 ERA in 2023) against Mitch Keller (6.35 ERA last year).

Sully From Southie Speaks- It’s a good thing the Celtics are two wins away from locking up home court advantage in the playoffs and the Bruins own a two-point lead in the Atlantic Division, because the Red Sox are coming off of consecutive last place finishes and boast an unrecognizable cast of characters that include outfielder Tyler O’Neill (.429 with two homers and four runs scored) and pitcher Kutter Crawford (seven strikeouts over six scoreless innings in his 2024 debut). I’m waiting for Tanner Boyle or Pedro Cerrano to find their way into the box scores this summer. But they’re 2-2 to start the season.

Nats Notebook- Winning Weekend not in the Cards.

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The All Star break gave us a little of everything: a Home Run Derby (Vlad Guerrero Jr. hitting 72 round-trippers to join his dad Vlad Sr. as winners of the contest) with plenty of fireworks as well as a close game (unlike my childhood, this year saw the NL take the lead only to lose it in the late innings). The hiatus also gave us the announcement of the 2024 regular season schedules. Honestly. The current season is barely halfway complete and I can think of a half-dozen more important baseball topics to discuss rather than who the Nats will open up with (at Cincinnati March 28) or when they’ll face the Orioles (May 7-8 at Nationals Park, Aug. 13-14 at Camden Yards). This couldn’t wait until November 1? While we’re discussing schedules didn’t MLB do it right on two counts by giving us a battle of last place teams (Nationals-St. Louis) as well the Wild Card leaders (Orioles-Miami) facing off coming out of the break? Meanwhile the clock begins to tick in earnest as teams have to decide if they are buyers or sellers with the Trading Deadline a little over two weeks away.

Digesting the Division- the NL East went 6-10 over the weekend with four of the five clubs dropping their respective series. Atlanta (61-31) beat the Chicago White Sox 9-0 Friday before getting outscored 14-6 in their next two games by the Pale Hose. Miami (53-42) was swept by AL Wild Card leader Baltimore to see their lead for second place over Philadelphia (51-42) fall to just one game (and zero in the loss column). The Phillies took three of four in their series against San Diego (the SD on their hats stand not for the city but “Severely Disappointed”). The New York Mets (43-50) scored just three runs while dropping two of three to the Los Angeles Dodgers (the NY on their caps no doubts standing for “Negligible Yield”). The Nationals (37-56) remain six games out of fourth place with a little over 40% of the season remaining.

Break up the Birds- the Orioles (57-35) not only swept NL Wild Card leader Miami but they took two one-run games against a Marlins team that was 21-6 in those games entering the weekend. The O’s (16-9 in one-run games) begin the week one game behind a Tampa Bay (14-16 those games) team that’s dropped seven of ten. They’ll get four shots at the Rays this week but after the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers come to Camden Yards. Both teams could be weary for the series opener Thursday as Tampa Bay faces AL West-leading Texas to begin the week.

Last Week’s Heroes- even with the “small sample size” (three games) caveat C.J. Abrams is hitting .462 with seven runs scored (41% of the team’s runs) since the break while the catching combo of Keibert Ruiz & Riley Adams batted .364 with three RBI. Trevor Williams tossed 2.2 scoreless innings Friday before rain ended his start while Kyle Finnegan posted two scoreless frames of relief to earn the win over the Cardinals. Josiah Gray threw one scoreless inning in the All Star Game.

Last Weeks’ Humbled- Gray allowed four runs on ten hits over five innings in Sunday’s start at St. Louis. Jose Ferrer and Jordan Weems each posted ERA’s of 18.00 while Jake Irvin allowed four runs over three innings in his start Saturday. Ildemaro Vargas hit 2-12 while Stone Garrett batted 1-8 and Luis Garcia went 0-7 against the Cardinals.

Game to Watch- the team begins a series with the Chicago Cubs Monday night and Mackenzie Gore (4-7, 4.42 ERA) starts. Since the beginning of July he’s tossed just four innings: 2.2 in a blowout loss at Philadelphia and 1.1 in a rain-delayed game with Cincinnati. The 24-year old made just 13 starts last year for San Diego and this will be his 19th outing of 2023. So I’m concerned where he is coming out of the break.

Game to Miss- Wednesday night they wrap up their series at Wrigley Field. That’s right, they won’t play a day game at the very ballpark that is the poster child for afternoon baseball. Not even on the getaway day. As of Sunday night the Nats didn’t have a starter listed, which makes this game a non-starter for me.

Sully from Southie Speaks- one would have preferred a sweep but a series win at the Chicago Cubs means the Sox are no longer in fifth place. Okay, so they’re tied for fourth. But they also play their next six against sub-.500 teams. The team’s buyer/seller status will hinge on the next four series.

Nats Notebook- Padres being paid like princes to play like paupers.

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The Nationals began their three-team, eight game road trip by taking two of three in San Diego. The 37-41 Padres are under .500 despite owning the third-highest payroll in the Majors (the 35-42 Mets have the highest payroll). Combining the bats of Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Xander Bogaerts (13 combined All Star appearances) has only produced an offense that ranks 21st in scoring. The pitching staff that includes one-time all stars Blake Snell, Michael Wacha and Josh Hader might own the fifth best ERA in the bigs, but thirteen blown saves stands out like a sore thumb on the stat sheet. And undercutting the Padres’ +31 run differential is a 5-13 record in one-run games and 0-6 mark in extra-inning affairs. Sometimes just getting the right ingredients isn’t enough when building playoff contender. Where’s the oregano when you need it?

Digesting the Division- Atlanta (50-27) has won nine of ten to become the first team in the NL to reach the half-century mark. The Braves’ six game lead is the largest in MLB (for contrast NL Central teams are within six games of division-leading Cincinnati). Miami (45-34) is getting prime production from rookie pitcher Eury Perez: the six-foot-eight starter is 5-1 with a 1.34 ERA after tossing six scoreless innings in Sunday’s shutout of Pittsburgh. Philadelphia (40-37) took two of three from the New York Mets (35-42) over the weekend with the series finale being decided by an eighth inning bullpen implosion. While the Mets’ relievers (4.22 ERA) rank 22nd in the majors, their starters (4.95 ERA) are 26th in the bigs. The Nationals (30-47) begin the final week of June 20 games out of first place.

Break up the Birds- the Orioles (47-29) went toe to toe with Tampa Bay and split their two-game miniseries. The O’s then took two of three to pull within four and a half games of the Rays (who may own the best record in baseball but have lost eight of fifteen to appear semi-mortal). How will they handle surprising NL Central-leading Cincinnati this week?

Last Week’s Heroes- CJ Abrams hit .417 at the bottom of the lineup and his solo homer put the Nats on the board in their sweep-averting win over St. Louis. Lane Thomas batted .385 with two homers and four RBI while Jeimer Candelario went .308 with six RBI. Trevor Williams tossed six scoreless innings in his lone start while Jake Irvin allowed one earned run over six frames in his outing. Kyle Finnegan threw 3.1 scoreless innings over three outings.

Last Week’s Humbled- Chad Kuhl is the latest reliever to be designated for assignment after allowing four runs over two innings (his ERA for the year is 8.45). Carl Edwards Jr. (18.00), Paolo Espino (13.50), and Thaddeus Ward (10.80) also posted double digit ERA’s while Patrick Corbin allowed seven runs over five innings in his one start. Keibert Ruiz hit .120, and while his production isn’t paramount at catcher it is for designated hitter Joey Meneses (.208) and first baseman Dominic Smith (.136).

Game to Watch- Saturday the Nats are in Philadelphia and Mackenzie Gore (4-6, 3.89 ERA) is coming off of his first win since April 26. Can he begin July with another solid outing? The Phillies counter with Zack Wheeler (6-4, 3.76) who has made 29 starts in his career against the Nats (more than any other team).

Game to Miss- Monday and Tuesday the late-night start-times are back! The Nats are in Seattle and Tuesday rookie Jake Irvin (1-4, 4.71 ERA) pitches against the Mariners Bryan Woo (1-1, 5.09). Even with the game-pace quickened up this year, this matchup has late-night written all over it.

Sully From Southie Speaks- one wicked bummah of a weekend where the Sox lost two of three to the Pale Hose. Rubbing an extra helping of salt and pepper into the wounds was former Boston outfielder Andrew Benintendi who hit 7-of-12 in the series. Remember 2018? Feels like forever ago. Despite four losses in five games Boston remains over .500 despite being in last place of the AL East. They get overachieving Miami this week.

Nats Notebook- Weathering Criticism.

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Perception is often reality-even in the world of sports where “you are what your record says”. And the Washington Nationals have gained a reputation over the years as a club that doesn’t handle rain delays efficiently. So when Saturday’s game with the New York Mets was delayed four hours before getting called many were not happy, including the Mets broadcasters. And having covered the Nats over the years I’ve witnessed more than a few curious delays and postponements (including one where the game was banged only to have the clouds vanish and lead to a beautiful evening). The cynic will say that some delays are extended because the home team wants to maximize concessions before postponing. And visiting teams will be impatient because the game isn’t being called on their timetable (every organization handles things a little bit differently). But Saturday the Nats were thrown a curveball by the weather. “The reports were it was not supposed to rain, (then) it started raining. It was supposed to rain light, and it got to the point where it was heavy. As we all saw the field, it was getting really bad,” Manager Davey Martinez said after the game was called. “Umpires made the right call by pulling everybody off of the field. But we wanted to make sure we got it right, we gave them a chance to try to get it ready. We just didn’t feel like it was safe for the players. We were all in agreement at that point. Sometimes Mother Nature gets the best of you.”

On the bright side, the Mets wraparound series (meaning they play one more time Monday) allowed a little flexibility and they were able to finish the first while playing a second game Sunday. On the dark side, those with Mother’s Day reservations AND tickets to Saturday’s game had to make a difficult decision while those with later reservations and an early Sunday afternoon ticket had to do the same. What’s the extended forecast looking like for this upcoming weekend?

Digesting the Division- Atlanta (25-15) leads at the quarter turn thanks in part to a rotation that ranks third in the big leagues with a 3.27 ERA as second-year starter Bryce Elder (3-0, 1.94) is turning into the Braves’ newest phenom. Philadelphia (20-20) lost Sunday after Bryce Harper got tossed for charging the Rockies’ dugout (I don’t believe Jonathan Papelbon was lurking there) but it’s another ex-Nat who’s their biggest bat: Kyle Schwarber has a team-high nine home runs. Alas, Kyle begins with K and he’s hitting just .194. The New York Mets (20-21) are in the mix despite ranking 21st in team ERA and tying for 22nd in runs scored. Miami (20-21) is out of last place because the Marlins are 12-1 in one-run games. The Nationals (17-23) aren’t on pace to lose 100 games. And that’s a victory after 2022.

Break up the Birds- even with their 4-0 loss to Pittsburgh Sunday the O’s have taken consecutive series against division leaders. And even though they’re currently behind Tampa Bay (you can call them Rays) in the AL East the Orioles have won 10 of 13 series played this year. That’s not an isolated incident. These O’s are for real. Enjoy the summer in Baltimore at one of the best ballparks and surrounding areas for pre and postgame fun. The beer will be rather cold…

Last Week’s Heroes- Alex Call hit .333 while providing solid defense in centerfield with Victor Robles on the Injured List. Dominic Smith batted .350 while scoring four runs and driving in five. C.J. Abrams drove in a team-high six and leads the Nats with 21 RBI for the season. Josiah Gray tossed seven strong innings in the team’s getaway game win over San Francisco while Jake Irvin tossed 6.1 scoreless innings against the Giants for his first Major League win.

Last Week’s Humbled- Irvin came back to earth Sunday, allowing six runs over 4.2 innings for his first Major League loss. Mason Thompson posted an ERA of 20.25 while Thaddeus Ward allowed two runs in two innings over two appearances. Jeimer Candelario hit .100 while Stone Garrett batted .154. Garrett’s numbers are sinking like a stone as the outfielder is hitting .200 in May after starting the season .308.

Game to Watch- Tuesday the Nats begin a series with Miami, a team ripe for the passing (their -56 run differential is 29 runs worse than the Nats’). Starter Josiah Gray has a 2.17 ERA over his last five starts while the Marlins counter with Jesus Luzardo (3-2, 3.38 ERA) in an intriguing matchup of 25-year olds.

Game to Miss- Saturday Patrick Corbin gets the start in DC against Detroit at 4:05. The 35 % chance of rain has me concerned after last Saturday’s marathon, while Mage makes its start Saturday at Pimlico in the Preakness Stakes. The Black Eyed Susans, breathable fedora and madras jacket call…

Sully From Southie Speaks- WHAT Sox losing streak? The Celtics are back in the Eastern Conference Finals after one wicked awesome Game Seven win over Philadelphia (I know many are still miffed at the 1982 Game Seven loss on the Garden floor, but one has to move on sometime). Thank goodness the Green Team can take one’s focus off of a pitching staff that ranks 27th in team ERA. After getting swept by sub-.500 St. Louis the Sox host .500 Seattle. It’s tough to say “we just play in a wicked tough division” when the Sox are losing games to second tier teams from the NL Central and AL West. When is Game One against Miami?