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- Celebration of the past, pointing to the future.

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Saturday’s finish felt fitting: on the weekend where the Nationals celebrated the fifth anniversary of their World Series triumph (even handing out replica rings) they took two of three from Houston, jumpstarting their series win with a ninth-inning comeback and extra-inning victory Saturday. And Sunday the Nats wrapped up the weekend with a 6-0 win that involved a peek at the possibilities of the future: rookie Mitchell Parker struck out eight over seven scoreless innings to post his second win in seven days, a huge accomplishment for a guy making his first two big league starts.

Even though they’re still under .500, the Nats have won consecutive series for the first time all season. “I think there’s momentum anytime you win games, especially to take two out of three in LA (against the Dodgers) and then two out of three at home against the Astros,” Nick Senzel (fresh off hitting his first homer of the season) said. “Our expectation is to go out there and win every game and if not we’ve got to take the series, and we can roll over this and keep the momentum going.” But there’s little time to bask, as the Dodgers drop by the district Tuesday. “This game is hard and it’s a grind right, and all of a sudden everybody wants to be ‘that guy’,” Manager Davey Martinez said. “And I always tell them: ‘Hey don’t try to be “the guy”, just be “a guy”.’ And get on for one guy and the next one gets on. And good things will happen.”

Digesting the Division- Atlanta (14-5) has won seven in a row/six of seven) and a big reason has been the bat of Marcel Ozuna, whose 24 RBI lead all of Major League Baseball. Philadelphia (14-8) has won six straight (and 10 of 14 since losing their three game series to the Nats). But it’s the New York Mets (12-9) who have surprised lately, winning six of seven to move over .500 (they hadn’t been four games over .500 since April 27 of last year). Washington (10-11) finds itself with plenty of room to hold fourth place as Miami (6-17) split their series with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field over the weekend but remains 2-11 at home.

Break up the Birds- Baltimore (14-7) is one of five AL East teams with winning records after taking two of three from Kansas City. The O’s continue to get production from young players like Colton Cowser (.373 with five homers and 16 RBI) and Jordan Westburg (.333-5-18) in the bottom half of their order. They play their next two series against sub-.500 Oakland and the Los Angeles Angels before squaring off against the division-leading New York Yankees next Monday.

Diamonds Direct Diamond King of the Week- Mitchell Parker struck out 12 over 12 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits while posting two wins in his first two Major League starts.

Last Week’s Heroes– C.J. Abrams hit .320 with three homers while scoring eight runs and Jesse Winker drove in five while scoring six runs. Jake Irvin tossed six scoreless innings to post a victory in his lone start. Kyle Finnegan notched a win plus two saves.

Last Week’s Humbled- Patrick Corbin allowed five runs over 6.1 innings as his 2024 (0-3, 8.06 ERA) has yet to take off. Eddie Rosario batted .125 while Joey Gallo hit .154.

Game to Watch- Thursday the Nats wrap up their series with a matinee against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and MacKenzie Gore tries to bounce back from his shortest outing (four innings) of the season against a suddenly-slumping superteam (LA has dropped three straight series entering this week).

Game to Miss- Friday the Nationals are in Miami to face a bad team in a worse ballpark. Meanwhile the Capitals have their first home playoff game in almost two years. Rock the Red, indeed…

Sully From Southie Speaks- April is a fickle month as the small sample size can move teams from first place to .500 and back again. Last week Boston had a pair of division leaders (Cleveland and Pittsburgh) on tap, and lost three of four to the Guardians before a sweep of the Pirates returned them to third place in the AL East. Can the pitching staff keep up its incredible start (2.52 ERA is best in MLB)? And will someone in this lineup get on pace for more than 75 RBI in a season? This week they play at Cleveland before hosting the Chicago Cubs (the two teams are a combined 29-15 to start the season).

Nats Notebook- Wild ones out west.

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Man. The Nats were so close to taking back to back series by the Bay. Washington led Oakland 6-1 in the sixth inning Sunday after allowing three runs the previous two days to the A’s. Unfortunately starter Trevor Williams hit the wall (a walk and a double in three batters faced) and Derek Law was unable to stop the trickle that became a gusher in a six-run inning for the suddenly-revived Athletics. And just like that the Nats’ bats went 1-for-9 with a walk over the final three innings in a 7-6 loss. Six steps forward, seven steps back. And a winning road trip is in serious jeopardy with the Los Angeles Dodgers on the horizon.

Digesting the Division- Atlanta (9-5) stubbed its toe against division foes the New York Mets and Miami, splitting its six games against the Mets and Marlins. Philadelphia (8-8) finds itself at .500 after splitting its weekend series against Pittsburgh. The New York Mets (7-8) have now won three straight series behind the hot bat of Brandon Nimmo who has 12 RBI on the early season. How long will his bat remain hot? The 31-year old has never driven in 70 during his career. Washington (6-9) slips into fourth place with two losses in three games at Oakland. Miami (3-13) may not have won a series this year but at least they can say they’ve not been swept since beginning the season 0-9.

Break up the Birds- Baltimore (9-6) after a sweep in Boston dropped two straight to Milwaukee at home-allowing 11 runs Friday and Saturday-before beating the Brewers Sunday afternoon to avert a sweep. Should one be concerned? Because they won’t face teams of the Red Sox’ caliber in October, but teams as good as Milwaukee in the playoffs. Prime prospect Jackson Holliday had an RBI in his MLB debut but took four games to notch his first big league hit. Thank goodness this team doesn’t need the former No. 1 draft pick to pay dividends immediately.

Diamonds Direct Diamond King of the Week- MacKenzie Gore struck out 11 while tossing five scoreless innings Saturday in San Francisco. In three starts this year the left-hander is 2-0 with an ERA OF 2.81 and 23 strikeouts and five walks.

Last Week’s Heroes- Kyle Finnegan posted two saves while Dylan Floro notched three scoreless innings. Riley Adams hit . 467 while Jesse Winker batted .409 while scoring six runs.

Last Week’s Humbled- Joey Meneses hit .133 while Eddie Rosario hit .091 (Manager Davey Martinez said he’s a notorious slow starter).  Patrick Corbin allowed seven runs over 5.2 innings, increasing his ERA for the season to 8.44, while Derek Law allowed four earned runs over 4.1 innings of relief (all four were coughed up Sunday, while he got just one out).

Game to Watch- Houston comes to DC as the Nationals celebrate the five-year anniversary of their World Series win over the Astros. Even with most of the 2019 nucleus retired or playing elsewhere, this series will still sizzle. Friday MacKenzie Gore pitches. I’m all eyes.

Game to Miss- Tuesday the Nats battle the Los Angeles Dodgers and their buzz-saw of a lineup that got better in the offseason with the addition of Shohei Ohtani (batting .343 with four homers and 10 RBI entering Sunday’s game with San Diego). Patrick Corbin and his 8+ ERA start for the Nats. The NHL season meanwhile wraps up with the Capitals facing Philadelphia in a game that could punch their playoff ticket. I’ll be rocking the red…

Sully From Southie Speaks- The Sox got swept in ridiculous fashion by the Orioles at Fenway Park before taking two of three from the Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim California). There is a definite fool’s gold feel to the 9-7 start as all nine of their wins have come against the Angels, Oakland, and Seattle (three sub-.500 teams). This week they face AL Central-leading Cleveland and NL Central-leading Pittsburgh. Brace yourselves…

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.

Nationals Notebook-Milestones and millstones…

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Five games remain in the Washington Nationals’ 2023 season. And while there’s a decent chance they’d be locking up last place on the very night Baltimore celebrates clinching the AL East AT Camden Yards, there are still a few magic numbers within striking distance of a few players. Lane Thomas is two runs shy of 100 for the season while he and Joey Meneses are in a duel for the team lead in hits (Thomas has 163 while Meneses has 164). Meneses might not be in position to reach 100 RBI but the slugger is three shy of 90. C.J. Abrams is three doubles away from 30 and two home runs shy of 20 (he also has a 6-4 lead in the race for the team lead in triples with Luis Garcia). You might be surprised to learn that Alex Call has the team lead in walks (52). On the mound Patrick Corbin’s ten wins lead the staff as do his 31 starts and 175.1 innings. MacKenzie Gore paces the team with 151 strikeouts while Josiah Gray’s 4.00 ERA is the best of the starters. Kyle Finnegan’s three saves shy of 30 (he’s also three wins away from ten for the season). Make your notations accordingly…

Digesting the Division- Atlanta (100-56) has a magic number of three for home field advantage in the NL. The Braves battle the Chicago Cubs and the Nationals this week. Philadelphia (87-69) owns a magic number of one to capture the Wildcard, while Miami (81-75) remains one game out of the final playoff spot after taking two of three from Milwaukee. Both teams meet the New York Mets and Pittsburgh over the final week of the season. The New York Mets (71-85) own a two and a half game three game lead over Washington (69-88) and also hold the tiebreaker so the Nats’ cellar reservation number is three.

Break up the Birds- Baltimore (97-59) owns a magic number of three to capture the AL East. The Birds play two games against the Nats and four against Boston while second place Tampa Bay faces the Red Sox and Toronto this week. Winning the division means home field advantage through the ALCS, and right now the O’s are three games behind Atlanta for the best record in baseball.

Last Week’s Heroes- Luis Garcia hit .407 with a team-high nine runs scored while C.J. Abrams batted .333 with three runs scored and six driven in. Lane Thomas and Joey Meneses each recorded two homers with six RBI. Jackson Rutledge allowed three runs in 11.1 innings over two starts and posted his first Major League win Sunday. Josiah Gray allowed one run over five innings in his lone start while Robert Garcia tossed 3.2 scoreless innings over three outings.

Last Week’s Humbled- Keibert Ruiz batted .222 while Dominic Smith hit .154. Patrick Corbin allowed five runs over 4.1 innings while Jake Irvin coughed up five runs over 2.2 frames. Jose A. Ferrer also posted an ERA of 16.88 while Jordan Weems’ ERA was 13.50.

Game to Watch- Tuesday and Wednesday the team visits Baltimore, and if I had to choose I’d rather see Wednesday’s game with Josiah Gray making his final start of 2023. Will the All Star be able to return to form next year or was the first half of this year the outlier?

Game to Miss- Saturday they face Atlanta with Patrick Corbin on the mound. I’m going to take a pass here on a full day of college football that includes Navy-South Florida, Virginia-Boston College, Virginia Tech-Pitt, Maryland-Indiana, and James Madison-South Alabama. See ya next year!

Sully From Southie Speaks- only six more games to stomach what turned from an uninspiring season to a depressing one. That’s what happens when you lose 10 of 14 and don’t win a series after Labor Day. They haven’t wrapped up last place just yet, but with games against Tampa Bay and Baltimore the ship that’s taken water all season is more than up for the task. They’ll visit Camden yards this weekend to witness the Orioles set its rotation and lineup for the playoffs. It’ll be a fun four days as kind O’s fans will be sure to mention early and often how the Sox are in the cellar yet again. And the Boston brass deserves to stew in this one.

Nationals Notebook-Shutdown season.

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The final days of a lost season isn’t unlike the shuttering of a cottage at the end of the summer season, so it’s only appropriate that with Labor Day in the rearview mirror the Washington Nationals are packing things up in anticipation of better days in 2024. The team is currently 11 games out of the last playoff spot in the NL with nineteen games left in the season, meaning their “tragic number” is nine. So with a pitching staff that’s been fraying the last couple of weeks, caution is key. Pitcher MacKenzie Gore went on the 15-day Injured List over the weekend after blisters cut his start short. Even if the lefthander is good to go at the end of the 15 days, there’s almost no point in ramping him up again only to shut him down. Josiah Gray is also being stretched rest-wise, going over a week between his most recent and next start. Meanwhile, catcher Riley Adams went on the 10-day Injured List and shortstop C.J. Abrams is day-to-day with a knee injury. They key for the next three weeks is to keep most of the Nats’ important pieces in one piece for Spring Training.

Digesting the Division- Atlanta (93-49) has clinched a playoff berth and has a magic number of six to win the NL East. The Braves are also in the driver’s seat for home field in the playoffs, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers by six games in the National League while standing three ahead of Baltimore for the best record in the majors. Philadelphia (78-64) leads the Wild Card race while Kyle Schwarber has a date with history: the slugger has 94 RBI with 20 games left in the season and has a chance to become the first man to hit under .200 while driving in 100+ (he’s batting .198 now). Miami (74-69) is one half game out of the final playoff spot after winning series against the Dodgers and Phillies. The New York Mets (65-77) are eight and a half games behind the Marlins despite owning a better run differential (-37 to -46). Washington (64-79) isn’t officially eliminated yet but stands close to securing a fourth straight losing season.

Break up the Birds- the Orioles (90-52) took two of three from Boston while scoring 27 runs at Fenway Park. The magic number to make the playoffs is nine but more importantly they have their eyes on the AL East and a crucial four game series with second place Tampa Bay begins Thursday at Camden Yards. The O’s lead the season series 6-3 and the best bats against the Rays belong to Ryan O’Hearn (.318 with two homers and four RBI) and Gunnar Henderson (seven runs scored with three driven in).

Last Week’s Heroes- C.J. Abrams hit .500 with four runs scored and three RBI while Jacob Young batted .421. Keibert Ruiz drove in four. Jake Irvin had the strongest start of the week, allowing one run over six innings. Andres Machado shined out of the bullpen by allowing one run over 4.2 innings in three appearances while notching a win in relief.

Last Week’s Humbled- Patrick Corbin allowed eight runs over four innings, turning around what looked like a late-season surge into a September stumble. Trevor Williams allowed six runs over 4.1 frames while reliever Jordan Weems ERA for the week was 20.25. Carter Kieboom hit 1-15 with seven strikeouts while Jake Alu went 2-20 at the plate. Joey Meneses batted 3-16.

Game to Watch- Thursday Josiah Gray starts the series finale against Pittsburgh. Since making the All Star team two months ago the righthander is 1-5 with a 5.88 ERA. He only has a handful of opportunities to finish 2023 in a good place, and I’m thinking his best chance is going to be against a Pirates lineup that ranks 27th in the majors in hitting.

Game to Miss- Friday the Nats begin a series in Milwaukee and while Jake Irvin has the best ERA in the rotation since the All Star Break, my attention will be focused closer to home with Maryland meeting Virginia in a college football showdown that used to be a yearly affair from 1957-2013.

Sully From Southie Speaks- another wicked tough weekend to stomach as the Sox allowed 24 runs in their first two games with the Orioles. At 73-70 they’re currently closer to last place in the AL East than their are to the final Wild Card spot in the AL and face those cellar-dwelling New York Yankees this week before trying to tackle defending World Series champ Houston and the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. Have fun storming the castle…

Nationals Notebook- Requiem for a Right-hander.

PORTIONS PREVIOUSLY APPEARING ON WTOP.COM- Records and statistics are through Sunday night.

It wasn’t supposed to end this way. Stephen Strasburg after leading the Washington Nationals to the 2019 World Series and earning MVP honors deserved at least one season as a so-so rotation piece logging an ERA over four while making 20-25 starts. When he signed the seven year, 245 million dollar contract the conventional wisdom was he’d pitch two to three seasons at near-peak form, two to three more at the “has he lost it?” level before the last year or two of the deal where the Washington fan base was hoping to see glimpses of his former greatness while counting the days for when his contract would come off of the books. What happened was worse than the worst case scenario: 31.1 innings pitched over eight starts in a three-year span.

The Washington Post reported last week that Strasburg was going to officially announce his retirement next month. Like the team and fan base that were robbed of a legitimate title defense in front of a full ballpark thanks to COVID-19, Strasburg’s career ends amid a series of injuries, rehabilitations, shut-downs and “I told you so” by doubters. But there’s no World Series title without the right-hander’s October: 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA over five starts and six appearances in the postseason. His three innings of relief in the winner-take-all Wild Card Game denied another early October exit for this team and without Strasburg’s regular season (NL-best 18 wins and 209 innings pitched with a career-high 251 strikeouts) they don’t make the comeback from 19-31.

And before the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, before the title run, before the playoff frustrations, before the 2012 shutdown and before the Tommy John Surgery, Strasburg ignited a fan base with his 14-strikeout debut in 2010. He wasn’t the first homegrown National star (Ryan Zimmerman takes that honor as “Employee No. 11”) but Strasburg arrived with the expectations of the first overall pick of the 2009 Draft. And on many levels he delivered, posting four 15-win seasons and making three All Star Teams. There are no guarantees: for every Gerrit Cole (141-75 with an ERA of 3.21) picked first overall there’s a Luke Hochevar (46-65 career mark with a 4.98 ERA) who makes the majors but misses expectations. Strasburg’s numbers (113-62, 3.24) and his incredible October of 2019 more than overcome the unfortunate ending. Looking forward to seeing his name on the Ring of Honor and his No. 37 being retired.

Digesting the Division- Atlanta (84-45) owns a magic number of 21 and boasts the best offense in the game, leading MLB in batting average, on base percentage, slugging, and most importantly runs scored. Philadelphia (72-58) enjoyed monster weeks from ex-Nats Bryce Harper (.522 with three homers and 10 RBI) and Kyle Schwarber (.333 with four home runs). Miami (66-65) may be finding its own water level as the Marlins (who have had a negative run differential all season) are 8-16 this month and 13-25 since the All Star Break. Washington (16-8) is out of last place for the first time since April (they were briefly tied for fourth in June) and has wrapped up its first winning month since June of 2021. The New York Mets (60-71) brace themselves for consecutive series against the top two teams in the AL West (Texas and Seattle).

Break up the Birds- Sunday’s loss to Colorado prevented a sweep but the O’s still win their third straight series and instead of wilting in the August heat captured six of eight series (blaming the two they dropped on Baseball Karma after benching Kevin Brown). They’re 24-12 in one-run games and have a young nucleus that spawns a generation of die-hard fans. Please ignore anything any Angelos happens to say this fall and enjoy the final pursuit of what could be your first AL East title since 2014 and second division crown this century.

Last Week’s Heroes- Alex Call hit .357 with a homer and three RBI while Carter Kieboom returned to the Majors for the first time since October 2021 and blasted a pair of home runs. What a return to the show after injuries threatened to derail the infielder’s career. Joan Adon tossed six scoreless innings while fellow starters Josiah Gray and Jake Irvin allowed one run over six frames in their outings. Kyle Finnegan tallied three saves while Hunter Harvey tossed three scoreless innings over three outings.

Last Week’s Humbled- Stone Garrett went on the 60-day Injured List with a fractured fibula after crashing into the Yankee Stadium wall. He was fun to watch in the lineup this year and one hopes we’ll get some more Stone in 2024. Riley Adams batted 1-for-19 (.053) while Dominic Smith hit .125. Mason Thompson allowed four runs in two innings over three appearances to post an ERA of 18.00 while Jordan Weems (11.57) and Jose A. Ferrer (13.50) also dealt with rough outings.

Game to Watch- Thursday teetering Miami drops by the district and the Nats pitch Joan Adon in the series opener. I’m curious to see how Adon pitches against the Marlins for the second straight start after tossing six shutout frames last Friday. Miami also pitches Braxton Garrett (7-5, 3.96) who’s the type of starter that Adon can aspire to someday become.

Game to Miss- Saturday the Nats face the Marlins at 4:05, or roughly late in the first quarter of the Maryland football season opener. The Terps have high hopes this year with returning senior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa and while we likely won’t learn if this team has the stuff of Big Ten East contenders when they take on Towson, the best regular season in sports deserves one’s full attention on its opening weekend (and yes, I’m ignoring the lame “Week Zero”). See you at the 50…

Sully From Southie Speaks- the struggling Sox dropped two of three to the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend and lost their series opener to Houston Monday. At 69-63 they’re 22-20 since the All Star Break and 13-13 this month. On pace to plod along to 85 wins…if they’re lucky. But at least they aren’t in last place. Bring on the Patriots!

Nats Notebook- Red Letter Weekend in Cincinnati.

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This wasn’t supposed to happen. The Washington Nationals after trading Jeimer Candelario before the August 1 deadline were supposed to crumble after losing arguably their best glove and bat of 2023, especially in the face of NL Central contenders Milwaukee and Cincinnati. But instead of wilting as they have in previous Augusts (9-18 last year, 7-20 in 2021) the Nats took five of six and finished the weekend with a sweep in Cincinnati. They enter this week with a season-high four game winning streak (hey, after last year this is progress) while getting solid play from players who are a part of the eventual solution. Twelve of the Nats’ final 16 series are against playoff contenders: let the spoiling season begin.

RECORDS AND STATISTICS ARE THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING-

Digesting the Division- Atlanta (70-39) still owns the best record in the National League, but the NL East leaders after dropping consecutive games to the red-hot Chicago Cubs (six straight series wins) are now 10-10 since the All Star Break. Philadelphia (61-51) won consecutive series to pull into a tie with San Francisco for the Wild Card lead. But over the weekend the Phillies lost Brandon Marsh to a knee injury that landed the centerfielder on the 10-day Injured List. Miami (58-55) is losing altitude by the day as the Marlins are 1-5 in August and 5-16 since the midsummer hiatus. The New York Mets (50-61) completed their fold of a hand with aces by trading Justin Verlander to Houston. They also equaled last year’s loss total with almost two months remaining in the season. That gives the Nationals (49-63) some hope to find their way out of the cellar for the first time this late in the season since their World Series season.

Break up the Birds! On the weekend where the Camden Yards faithful honored the 1983 World Series winners, a sweep of the New York Mets puts the Orioles (70-42) three games ahead of Tampa Bay in the AL East and on pace to post 101 victories. This week instead of nostalgia on the menu, Baltimore will be serving up possibilities with defending World Series champ Houston in town.

Last Week’s Heroes- Lane Thomas hit .360 with three home runs and 10 RBI while Joey Meneses homered twice and drove in five. Midweek call-up Jake Alu hit .357 with five RBI. The bullpen brought it big-time, with Kyle Finnegan tossing five scoreless innings over five games while notching one win and three saves. Jordan Weems (4.2 scoreless innings over five outings) posted a win in relief while Andres Machado (3.2 scoreless over four) tallied two victories. Mackenzie Gore (two runs allowed over six innings) recorded the best start of the week while Joan Adon (three runs over six frames) shined in a spot-start Saturday.

Last Week’s Humbled- Josiah Gray struggled in his shortest start of the season, allowing five runs over 3.2 innings. Luis Garcia went 0-9 at the plate before being sent down to AAA Rochester while Ildemaro Vargas hit .118 and Alex Call batted .125.

Game to Watch- out of the four games this week that the Nationals will play in Philadelphia it’s Tuesday’s tilt that catches my eye. Josiah Gray tries to bounce back from his worst outing of the year while the Phillies counter with Zack Wheeler (8-5, 3.71 ERA).

Game to Miss- Oakland comes to Washington for the second straight August as we’re treated to the last place A’s before they make their rather unclean getaway to Las Vegas (as with all construction projects, I’m taking the “over” as to when their new stadium will be ready). The A’s own the worst record in the majors and will likely have clinched a losing record by the time they get to DC. Saturday they’ll start rookie Luis Medina (3-8, 5.47 ERA) against Trevor Williams. Enjoy the pool.

Sully From Southie Speaks- thank goodness Patriots Training Camp is in full swing. The Sox suffered one wicked woeful weekend, getting swept by Toronto while getting outscored 25-8 at Fenway Park. Instead of waking up Monday morning in third place, it’s back to fifth place in an AL East that isn’t getting any easier. Go Pats!

Nats Notebook-Mets Move Max…

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The Washington Nationals may have lost three of four to the New York Mets over the weekend and their hopes of climbing out of the cellar shrink with every day (they’re five and a half back with 54 games left in the regular season), but they’re in a better mindset than those Mets. Because as the Trading Deadline looms the team that was picked by many not just to repeat as NL East champs but also advance to the World Series finds itself under .500 entering the dog days of the season. Saturday the Mets made the first move in their “restructuring” by dealing Max Scherzer to Texas. The 40+ million dollar man went 20-9 while posting a 3.02 over 42 starts in his time with the Mets and even gave the club a parting gift Friday night by striking out seven Nats over seven innings in his final start for the Mets. The trade lessens the sting for those who find it tough to stomach watching players from the 2019 World Series champs on other NL East teams (we’re looking at you, Trea Turner). It also means Max’s chances at another October showcase increase in a big way (the Rangers currently lead the AL West). The question now is what other moves might the Mets make? Meanwhile the Nationals deal Jeimber Candelario to the Chicago Cubs to commence their roster reshuffle.

Records and stats are through Sunday night:

Digesting the Division- Atlanta (67-36) will enter August with a double digit lead thanks to their second series win in as many weekends over Milwaukee in what could be an October showdown. Miami (57-49) moves back into second after taking two of three from Detroit (Marlins have won five of seven). Philadelphia (56-49) dropped two of three to Pittsburgh, with fans wondering if Aaron Nola’s implosion Saturday was worse than the fielding errors and baserunning blunders in Sunday’s extra inning defeat. The New York Mets (50-55) as you know are the biggest disappointment this side of San Diego and are already entering a “modified sell” of their assets. Washington (44-62) remains in last place but take heart: they didn’t win their 44th game last year until August 31. So there’s that.

Break up the Birds- Baltimore (64-41) took two of three from the last-place New York Yankees over the weekend, winning in both thrilling (Anthony Santander’s walk-off HR after the rain delay Friday) and impressive (scoring seven first inning runs in a 9-3 rout Sunday) fashion. Things don’t lighten up a bit with four games against third place Toronto who has Home Run Derby champ Vlad Guerrero Jr. (17 homers with 66 RBI). Enjoy the summer at Camden Yards before it slips away.

Last Week’s Heroes- Riley Adams it .444 with four RBI while Jeimer Candelario hit .318 with a homer and six RBI. Stone Garrett notched five runs scored and five RBI while C.J. Abrams stole five bases and scored six runs. Josiah Gray didn’t get the win Thursday but tossed six scoreless innings against the Mets while Kyle Finnegan (2.1 scoreless innings and a save over three outings), Joe La Sorsa (2.2 scoreless over two games), and Jordan Weems (3.1 scoreless over three) shined out of the bullpen.

Last Week’s Humbled- Reliever Rico Garcia allowed four runs over two innings of work to post an ERA of 18.00. Mason Thompson topped that with an ERA of 27.00 (two runs over 0.2 frames). Patrick Corbin (nine earned runs over 12 innings pitched) and Trevor Williams (nine runs allowed over ten innings) struggled in their starts. Lane Thomas hit .125 with seven strikeouts while Dominic Smith batted .150.

Game to Watch- Monday Milwaukee drops by the district with Corbin Burnes (not Bernsen from “Major League” but a righthander who’s 9-6 with a 3.46 ERA) on the hill. Sadly the Nats didn’t adjust their rotation to have Patrick Corbin starting, but Jake Irvin has won his last two decisions.

Game to Miss- Friday Corbin is starting, only in Cincinnati against the Reds who counter with Graham Ashcraft (5.64 ERA). Skip the game and enjoy a night by the Ohio River with some Skyline Chili if you’re in the Queen City, or if you’re in the DMV enjoy a night by the Potomac at Tony & Joe’s.

Sully From Southie Speaks- the Sox swept Atlanta last week and then dropped a pair of one-run games over the weekend to San Francisco. Boston is now 14-18 in one-run games and stands two games out of the third Wild Card in the American League. Next up: fellow contenders Seattle and Toronto.

Nats Notebook-How Sweep it is!

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One Major League Baseball game within the regular season is but a drop in the ocean. The longest professional season allows for plenty of ebbs and flows and with the exception of Opening Day and the final weeks of the season, most of the games blend together. Sunday’s 6-1 win over San Francisco for the Washington Nationals was just another of those games. But for a club coming back from a 100-loss season, their first sweep since 2021 (two games against Toronto in August and three games against Pittsburgh in June) represents a benchmark. They might not be in contention like the AL East-leading Orioles but the team is now 8-10 in July with a chance at their first winning month since June of 2021. While the present looks a little better the future begins to look even brighter with the signing of First Round pick Dylan Crews. The road to respectability is not easy but for the Nationals they can see more signposts to the land of contention.

Digesting the Division- Atlanta (64-34) took two of three from Milwaukee in a potential playoff preview. Philadelphia (53-46) has moved into second place (by percentage points) despite losing four of five. That’s because Miami (54-47) had an eight game slide that ended with Sunday’s win against Colorado. And the slumping Marlins visit Tampa Bay this week. The New York Mets (46-53) dropped two of three to Boston over the weekend and are likely going to be in the selling mode over the next week before the Trading Deadline. Washington (41-58) will also be a seller and the question is will they get rid of too many parts to have a chance to catch the Mets for fourth place?

O’s Piling Up the W’s-  As previously mentioned the Orioles (61-38) are in first place of the AL East. One of the reasons is they’ve not been swept all season-in fact Baltimore hasn’t been broomed since May of 2022. That’s 71 series and counting. Last week the Birds took three of four in Tampa Bay after entering the series percentage points ahead of the Rays. And while you can call them Rays you can also call them slumping: Tampa Bay has lost 14 of 18 games in July and they’re now 3-6 against the O’s. After being the hunter all season, how will Manager Brandon Hyde’s team respond to being the hunted?

Last Week’s Heroes- Keibert Ruiz hit .529 with a homer and four RBI while backup Riley Adams batted 2-4 with a home run. C.J. Abrams remains a demon on the basepaths with three steals and five runs scored. Enjoy Jeimer Candelario while you can as the third baseman drove in four while playing a solid third base.  Josiah Gray tossed seven innings of one run ball to post his seventh win of the season while Kyle Finnegan (2.1 scoreless innings over two games), Jordan Weems (three scoreless over three games), and Joe La Sorsa (three scoreless over four games) shined out of the bullpen.

Last Week’s Humbled- Paolo Espino’s on the Injured List after coughing up eight runs while getting one out at Wrigley Field Tuesday.  Amos Willingham showed growing pains as the rookie allowed five runs over 1.2 innings while Cory Abbott and Mason Thompson also posted double digit ERA’s.  Joey Meneses hit .208 while Alex Call batted .150.

Game to Watch- the Nats can’t eliminate the New York Mets this weekend, but they can certainly persuade them to move all of their chips into selling off part of the table.  Friday MacKenzie Gore pitches against Max Scherzer.  Max might not be the Cy Young winner he was in DC, but he’s still must-watch.

Game to Miss- Saturday at Citi Field it’s a showdown of teams on the verge of selling off with veteran pitchers who have seen better days. Patrick Corbin (6-10, 4.89 ERA) might be auditioning for a trip to a contender while Hector Carrasco (3-4, 5.82) has allowed nine runs over seven innings in his last two outings.

Sully From Southie Speaks- one wicked underwhelming week after losing two of three to Oakland but winning two of three from the New York Mets. So much for gaining ground on the playoff pack after going 5-4 against three sub-.500 clubs. Now the Sox have back to back to back to back series against contenders. And being tied for fourth in the AL East 100 games into the season makes one think it’s another wait until next year summer for the Fenway Faithful. When does Pats Training Camp start?