Nats Notebook- Definitely Maybe…

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Baby steps are just that. Baby steps. Big in the moment that they happen, but nothing more than a signpost on the way to something far more important. Last Tuesday the Nationals moved over .500 for the first time since July of 2021 with a 3-0 shutout of the Orioles, an achievement not lost on Kyle Finnegan. “This one for whatever reason felt a little more meaningful,” closer Kyle Finnegan said. “It’s been a while since we’ve been over .500 and we’ve been putting in all of the work necessary behind the scenes and to see it start to come to fruition has been exciting.” But three losses in four games has the Nats right where they’ve been for most of the time since they won the World Series, and Manager Davey Martinez knows that this team is only a rough patch away from seeing the division cellar that has been their home since 2019. “I don’t look at the record, I’m just worried about going 1-0 (every day). It’s nice though,” Martinez said. “we’re playing well, but we have long way to go.”

Digesting the Division- Philadelphia (28-13) has opened up a two game lead as they’ve continued to win minus the injured Trea Turner (J.T. Realmuto is hitting .423 in Turner’s No. 2 spot of the lineup). Atlanta (24-13) has won consecutive series to remain tied in the loss column with the Phillies but a Braves’ big bat has been somewhat silent this year: Austin Riley after three consecutive seasons hitting 30+ homers is on pace for 13 at this time. The New York Mets (19-20) and Washington (19-20) are tied for third, with the Mets heading across the Atlantic for the London Series this weekend to face Philadelphia. Miami (11-31) used an extra-inning victory Sunday over Philadelphia to avoid getting swept while also snapping their losing streak at five. Previous losing streak this year have been seven and nine games, so I guess they’re trending in the right direction.

Break up the Birds- Baltimore (26-13) even with their split in DC is on pace to win 108 games this year. Only the 1969 AL champs (who lost to the Mets) have posted a better mark in team history. Next up: series with the 1977 expansion duo, last-place Toronto and AL West-leading Seattle.

Diamonds Direct Diamond King of the Week- Eddie Rosario might be “Mister May”. The outfielder is hitting .409 this month and batted .467 last week with three homers and five RBI.

Last Week’s Heroes- Joey Meneses may have batted .190, but he’s the only other National to homer. Trevor Williams tossed five scoreless innings for his fourth win of the season, dropping his ERA to 1.96. Patrick Corbin posted his first win of the season while allowing one run over five frames. And Kyle Finnegan secured his MLB-best 12th save in 13 chances this year.

Last Week’s Humbled- a rough week for the bats included Keibert Ruiz (.188) still trying to find his groove, while Jacob Young (.077) has become an anvil atop the batting order. But one gives a semi-pass to players at defensive positions, while designated hitter/third baseman Nick Senzel hit .100.

Game to Watch- Tuesday evening the Nats play the Chicago White Sox with rookie Mitchell Parker (2-1, 2.67 ERA) looking to stop a recent trend (five runs allowed in 11 innings over his last two starts) while the Pale Hose pitch a guy who knows what it’s like to swim against the current in DC: Erick Fedde was in the mix to be Washington’s fifth starter in 2020-22 but went 15-26 in that span with an ERA of 5.42 and spent last season in South Korea. Fedde is on fire this year, posting a 3-0 record with an ERA of 3.00. While it’s nice to see a former First Round pick for the Nats find himself, it’ll also be fun to see Parker adjust to lineups that have adjusted to him.

Game to Miss- the Nationals wrap up their road trip with three games at Philadelphia. Zack Wheeler starts Friday and Aaron Nola pitches Sunday, meaning Saturday’s game against Christopher Sanchez is the least compelling. Add into the mix that the Preakness has Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan competing, and the Black Eyed Susans sing the siren song.

Sully From Southie Speaks- or shrieks as the Bruins go down three games to one with a third straight loss after stealing home ice in Game One against the Panthers. But while one team takeths away, another gives and the Celtics bounced back nicely from their Game Two loss at home. And the Sox? Three games out of the Wildcard after taking their series against the Nats (they got swept in a two-step with Atlanta earlier in the week). They visit perennial overachiever Tampa Bay for four games before facing last place St. Louis this week.

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-Miami Nice!

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What a difference a year can make in Major League Baseball. In 2024 the Nationals were on their way to a fourth straight fifth place finish in the NL East while Miami was scraping its way to an improbable playoff berth, going a ridiculous 33-14 in one-run games to earn a Wildcard berth despite a -57 run differential (eight teams with better run differentials had worse records to finish out of contention). You might call this year one of market correction for the fish, who languish in last place of the division and are 1-4 in one-run affairs to begin 2024. And thus they have become chicken soup for the Nats, who got swept by the World Series preseason favorite Los Angeles Dodgers in DC despite two decent pitching performances (5.1 scoreless from Patrick Corbin!). But the offense that ran aground (four runs over three games against LA) got healthy in a hurry (26 runs in three games over the weekend) and saw a comeback for the ages (the rally from seven down Sunday was their biggest comeback since 2018) to secure a series win. Monday night they go for a sweep of the Marlins to reach .500 for the first time since they were 1-1.

Digesting the Division- Atlanta (19-7) keeps its cushion thanks to a lineup that leads the Majors in batting average and slugging percentage while ranking third in runs scored. Their late-game barrages is one reason why A.J. Minter leads the club with five wins out of the bullpen. Philadelphia (19-10) remains 1.5 games back thanks to their sweep in San Diego. The Phillies are dominating on the mound, leading MLB in quality starts and opponents’ batting average. The New York Mets (14-13) were this close to dropping into a tie for third with the Nats, but avoided a sweep against St. Louis by beating the Cardinals in extra innings Sunday. Washington (13-14) is closer to first place than last in the division, something they haven’t been able to say a lot over the last four years. But Miami (6-23) has found its level with losing streaks of nine and six games already.

Break up the Birds- Baltimore (17-10) was this close to sweeping Oakland, only to have Craig Kimbrel cough up a two-run homer in the ninth inning of a 7-6 loss to the A’s. The defeat drops the O’s one game behind the New York Yankees, who come to Camden Yards for their first meetings with the Orioles this year. If you’re going you might want to bring your glove as the two teams rank 1-2 in the majors in homers. And brace yourself for Juan Soto, who’s batting .318 with seven homers and 24 RBI.

Diamonds Direct Diamond King of the Week- Nick Senzel proved quality is better than quantity, because while he notched just four hits (in 17 at bats for a .235 average) they were all home runs. The third baseman drove in eight and on a team where runs have been more than tough to come by, the slugger is a welcome addition to the lineup.

Last Week’s Heroes- Trey Lipscomb batted .500 with six runs scored in his second go-around at the Major League level this year while Alex Call went 2-2 with two walks and three runs scored after being promoted from the Minors over the weekend. MacKenzie Gore allowed one run over six innings while Trevor Williams gave up one run over five frames. Kyle Finnegan posted a pair of saves while Jacob Barnes tossed 3.1 scoreless innings over three outings.

Last Week’s Humbled- Tanner Rainey coughed up five runs over three innings while Matt Barnes allowed four runs over three frames. Patrick Corbin delivered the best of times (5.1 scorele2-0 ss Tuesday against the Dodgers) and the worst of times (four earned runs allowed over frames against the Marlins Sunday) for the Nats. Eddie Rosario (0-15) went hitless while Joey Gallo (0-11) went on the Injured List.

Game to Watch- Thursday the Nats wrap up their road trip in Texas where it very might be 100 degrees when they face the Rangers at 1:35 p.m. local time. But they’ll be starting Mitchell Parker who has been quite a surprise through his first three starts (2-0 with a 1.69 ERA and 14 strikeouts over 16 innings pitched). Can he stay hot in the heat?

Game to Miss- Saturday they host Toronto at 4:05 p.m. in an interleague series we get a lot more of in the new scheduling era. And while I appreciate Dave Stieb as well as the 1992-93 champs as much as anyone, it’s tough to ignore the first leg of Horse Racing’s Triple Crown…as well as Virginia Gold Cup (my Bus Captain days are done though, having handed my madras jacket to Timothy Dalton). Break out the boater hat…

Sully From Southie Speaks- Somehow the Sox (16-13) will enter May with a winning record. The offense (10th in runs scored, 12th in batting average) is doing just enough to shine while the pitching staff continues to lead the majors in ERA while allowing the fourth fewest homers in the big leagues. This week they play fellow middling teams San Francisco and Minnesota, so there’s a chance they can build on what’s been a pleasantly surprising April. Meanwhile, the Celtics and Bruins have the hub’s hearts at this moment.

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…

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.

Nats Notebook-Unsafe at Home.

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RECORDS AND STATS (non-Sully department) ARE THROUGH MONDAY AT NOON-

Labor Day is the final marking post of the baseball season as teams prepare for the final kick to the postseason (or as we sometimes see, be kicked to the curb). And after posting their first winning month since June of 2021 it looked as though the Nationals had a chance to if not make the postseason at least continue to make noise: they got to face a struggling Miami that was teetering, going 13-25 since the All Star break. And they were home. Actually, upon further review getting swept by the Marlins in DC shouldn’t have come as a complete surprise. First, the Nats were 2-7 against Miami entering the four game series and second this is one of six MLB teams that has a worse record at home than on the road. The select club the Nationals are in is an intriguing bunch: two teams that led their divisions entering Sunday’s games (Houston and the Orioles), two that were scraping on the fringes of the Wild Card chase (Cincinnati and Toronto), and two sub-.500 squads (Nats and Detroit).

Of the team’s 24 remaining regular season games, 12 are at home and 12 are on the road. Can the “Home Nats” (29-40 this year) catch the “Road Nats” (33-36)? Three of Washington’s final four series are against winning/contending clubs (eight of 12 games) while they play seven of 12 remaining games in DC against winning teams. And instead of having you read between the lines, yes-prepare yourself for one unforgiving final month as the Nationals play 15 of their final 24 games against playoff teams.

Digesting the Division- Atlanta (90-46) owns a magic number of 12 after taking two of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a potential playoff preview. Philadelphia (75-61) is enjoying the hot bat of another former National as Trea Turner hit .391 with four homers and 11 RBI last week. Miami (70-67) is afloat thanks to their dominance of the Nats: since August 14 they’ve won five of seven against Washington while going 2-8 against everyone else. The New York Mets (63-74) have reclaimed fourth place as Pete Alonso’s monster season (41 homers with 100 RBI) won’t completely be in vain. Washington (62-76) after getting out of the cellar one week ago are back in their familiar surroundings.

Break up the Birds- if the Orioles (85-51) simply go .500 over the rest of the season, Toronto (the first team out in the Wild Card chase) would need to go 23-2 to catch them. Youth is being served: Gunnar Henderson in his rookie season has an outside chance at reaching 100 runs and he’s just one of eight starting position players in their 20’s. Four of five rotation pitchers are under thirty and the same case is true for four of the five most-used relievers. After taking two of three against NL Wild Card contending Arizona, they catch a break with the Los Angeles Angels (no Shohei Ohtani on the mound and no Mike Trout at the plate or in the field) before visiting Boston. And while they can’t technically eliminate the Red Sox, they can certainly kneecap their AL East competitor’s fading playoff hopes at their own ballpark.

Last Week’s Heroes- Lane Thomas belted three homers to give him a career-high 23 for the season while Jacob Young batted .300. The rookie centerfielder also had a huge throw to the plate to help preserve their only victory of the week. MacKenzie Gore allowed one run over five innings while Jose A. Ferrer and Jordan Weems each notched three scoreless innings over three outings.

Last Week’s Humbled- for starters, a rough week. Joan Adon allowed five runs over five innings while Patrick Corbin surrendered six over five frames. Trevor Williams coughed up eight earned runs over four innings. The bullpen is going to enjoy the day off. Cold bats include Keibert Ruiz (.158), Joey Meneses (.150) along with C.J. Abrams and Ildemaro Vargas (both batting .083 for the week).

Game to Watch- the Nats visit the New York Mets with a chance to get out of the basement. Tuesday they start Patrick Corbin (9-12, 4.90 ERA) as the lefthander tries to build off of his best month (4.13 ERA in August). He’s also 2-0 against the Mets this year.

Game to Miss- Sunday the Nats wrap up their series with the Los Angeles Dodgers at 1:35 p.m., and if memory serves it always seems to be the hottest weather of the year when LA comes to town (or perhaps it’s my irrational Dodgers fan friend). Meanwhile a new era kicks off in Landover as the Commanders host Arizona, and one can imagine there will be plenty of singing the “Comma Commanders” song. Lyric sheets have been tweeted at @davpresto. Comma, indeed.

Sully From Southie Speaks- with 24 games left the Sox are four and a half games out of the last playoff spot in the American League and they need to pass Toronto to catch Texas. The good news is they get to play the Rangers and Blue Jays over the next few weeks, while also having seven games against the Orioles plus four against Tampa Bay (for those adding at home that’s 17 of 24 games against winning clubs). It’s not impossible, but the way this club is built a September surge against these foes is highly unlikely.

Nats Notebook- Big Win on the Little League Stage.

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It’s always nice to return to one’s roots.  The Nationals and Philadelphia wrapped up their series with a Sunday night showdown in Williamsport, PA, the site of Little League World Series.  Even better was the 4-3 win that delivers a sixth straight home series victory.  Playing the spoiler (the Phillies are in the thick of the Wild Card race) is nice but it’s also encouraging when those wins mean something to you.  The Nats are now 12-6 in August and are within position of their first winning month since June 2021.  They’re also within striking distance (just one game) of fourth place in the NL East, and although that doesn’t merit banners or parades getting out of the basement this late in the season for the first time since 2019 means something.

Digesting the Division- Atlanta (80-43) has won four straight series to maintain its double-digit lead and they’re magic number to win the NL East is now 26. They’re atop the East thanks in part to a 25-7 record against division foes, and one of the reasons why Philadelphia (67-57) remains on the second tier of clubs is that the Phillies are 16-18 against the NL East. Miami (64-61) hasn’t cratered yet, but they’re tied with Arizona and Cincinnati one game behind the final playoff spot in the National League. The New York Mets (58-67) have won four of five to avoid the basement for the time being, but there will be questions regarding the short and long term future of the club. Does Manager Buck Showalter come back for 2024 after this year’s disaster? Washington (57-68) is one game behind the preseason favorites with Manager Davey Martinez on surer footing.

Break up the Birds! The Birds are 30 games over .500 for the first time since 2014 and they’re also 7-5 since it was revealed that announcer Kevin Brown was benched because of telling the truth during a broadcast…so much for Bad Baseball Karma. They play their next nine games at home and even with two of the three series coming against sub-.500 teams one hopes they’ll draw more than the 29,032 they averaged during their previous homestand. Toronto comes to Camden Yards Tuesday.

Last Week’s Heroes- Stone Garrett hit .391 with two homers and seven RBI while Joey Meneses drove in six. The catching combination of Keibert Ruiz & Riley Adams batted .357 with 11 RBI. MacKenzie Gore tossed 6.1 scoreless innings before a blister and broken fingernail ended his start while Patrick Corbin allowed one run in six frames. Kyle Finnegan tallied three saves while Hunter Harvey tossed four scoreless innings over four outings.

Last Week’s Humbled- Ildemaro Vargas hit 2-21 (.095) while Alex Call (.111) and Jake Alu (.154) also had issues at the plate. Starter Josiah Gray allowed five runs over three innings (15.00 ERA) while reliever Cory Abbott coughed up eight runs while getting just three outs for an ERA of 72.00.

Game to Watch- Wednesday the Nats wrap up their two-game miniseries with the New York Yankees and are slated to send MacKenzie Gore to the mound one start removed from his blister/broken fingernail. While one hopes he’s healthy and returns to form, the slumping Yankees hope their starter Luis Severino (2-8, 7.98 ERA) finds a different form than the one he’s shown in 2023.

Game to Miss- Saturday they’re in Miami for a 4:10 start. And while it might be fun to watch the surging Nats face the slumping (6-11 to start August) Marlins, Navy kicks off a new football season in Head Coach Brian Newberry’s first game at the helm. They’re facing No. 13 Notre Dame in Dublin (I know, facing the Fighting Irish in Ireland…) and I’ll have my eyes on the Midshipmen as a new era begins.

Sully From Southie Speaks- Does the joy of beating the New York Yankees lose a little when the Pinstripes are in last place? The Sox remain in fourth place and with 38 games left in the regular season are one of four teams separated by three and a half games for two playoff spots. And that’s before playing their final ten games of the month against playoff contenders Houston and the Los Angeles Dodgers. We’ve just seen the Yanks drop eight straight to slip under the .500 mark, and a similar Sox slide is not out of the realm of possibility.

Nationals Notebook- Ripping the Rangers before Drafting Dylan.

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Sunday afternoon the Washington Nationals wrapped up its first home series victory since May 19-21 (Detroit). After struggling at home for much of the season (their 15-32 mark in DC is better than only Kansas City and Oakland) the Nats enter the All Star break with some welcome success on the field.

They also begin the hiatus knowing how their future will be shaped. And with the second overall selection in the 2023 MLB Draft the Nationals pick LSU centerfielder Dylan Crews. He’s the third Golden Spikes winner (joining Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper) to be taken in the First Round by Washington. Other recent winners of the award have contributed to championship teams, from Kris Bryant with the Chicago Cubs to Andrew Benintendi with Boston. Crews hit .426 with 70 RBI while helping the Tigers win the College World Series. He can’t get to Nationals Park soon enough.

Digesting the Division- Atlanta (60-29) has won 30 games on the road and at home and reaches the break with eight wins in ten games. That will yield an 8.5 game lead over overachieving Miami (53-39 despite a minus-5 run differential) while Philadelphia (48-41) despite its issues has just one fewer win than they did at last year’s All Star break. The New York Mets (42-48) are ahead of schedule in a different way: they didn’t have 48 losses last season until August 30. Washington (36-54) is back on pace to lose 67 games (which isn’t awesome but is under 100).

Break up the Birds- after dropping two straight to being their series at the New York Yankees, the O’s (54-35) put together five W’s to enter the break with a bang. One weekend after dropping two of three to Minnesota, Baltimore outscored the Twins 24-5 to post a sweep on the road (their 28 road wins is the most in the American League). Camden Yards is the place to be this summer as the Orioles are closer to AL East-leading Tampa Bay (two games) than they are to the rest of the Wild Card contenders (a five game cushion). Let’s hope the Home Run Derby doesn’t mess up Adley Rutschman’s swing.

Last Week’s Heroes- Alex Call made the most of his return to the majors by batting .385 with two homers, three RBI and four runs scored. Joey Meneses hit three homers while CJ Abrams scored four runs and drove in three. Amos Willingham posted three scoreless innings over three appearances while Jake Irvin pitched through Saturday’s rain delay to help end the team’s five game slide. Patrick Corbin followed up Irvin’s outing by scattering five hits over seven innings of one-run ball to secure his sixth win of the season.

Last Week’s Humbled- Corbin allowed six runs over five innings on July 4 as fireworks and sparklers weren’t the only ones getting lit up on the holiday while Joe La Sorsa surrendered four runs over 2.2 frames. Stone Garrett hit .133 while Luis Garcia batted .158 and Dominic Smith posted a .190 average.

Game to Watch- Friday the regular season resumes in St. Louis with the Nats facing another last place team that enters the break with two straight wins. The Cardinals are the classic good-hit (ranking eighth in on base and slugging percentage), bad-pitch (25th in team ERA and 29th in opponent’s batting average). With Josiah Gray participating in the All Star festivities, do the Nats pitch MacKenzie Gore (1.1 innings tossed last week due to the rainout against the Reds) or Patrick Corbin on what would be his normal rest?

Game to Miss- Sunday they wrap up their series in St. Louis while many eyes (myself included) will be all-in on the All-England Club for Wimbledon’s Gentlemen’s Singles Championships. Will Novak Djokovic make it a fifth straight win in that tournament and move within one title of a calendar slam? Break out the strawberries and cream for the morning start. I’ll take my nap in the afternoon.

Sully From Southie Speaks- five straight wins gives the Sox a 48-43 mark entering the hiatus (yes they once again played tag with .500 last week). Unfortunately a .527 winning percentage in the AL East delivers you last place instead of a set of steak knives. Before one cries “toughest divsion” about how the AL Central leader is 45-45, .527 gets you third place in the AL West & NL Central as well as fourth place in the NL East & West. Here’s the good news: their first nine games after the break are against clubs with losing records. So there’s a chance to crack the playoff pack (right now the Sox are two games out of the Wild Card).

Nationals Notebook- MLB’s moving month could help the club for years.

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July is baseball’s fulcrum month. There may be as many days as May and August and just one more than April, June, and September but the stretch before the trading deadline can be the most franchise-altering month of the regular season. A bad July can end eras (witness the Nationals’ 8-18 slide before the selloff in 2021) while a dynamic one can usher new ones (look at the Orioles 16-9 roll that turned them from pretenders to contenders last year). It’s a moving month in more than just the standings, as rosters are often remade in July with the trading deadline looming. And the question facing a non-contending team like the Nationals (sorry to break it to you, but this is not going to be their year) is what sort of payout can they get for expendable pieces? And which players might be heading elsewhere? A player such as Jeimer Candelario can fetch more than a few prospects while relievers like Hunter Harvey and Carl Edwards Jr. can be helpful to contenders trying to patch up leaky bullpens (see the Nationals in 2015-17 and 2019). But how about a player like Lane Thomas, who’s having a career-best season (he currently leads the team by hitting .299 with 14 homers and 44 RBI)? Is this his peak season like Victor Robles‘ 2019? And will he be this good when the team is a contender 2-3 years from now? And could there be a pitching-poor contender who wants a Patrick Corbin who’s coming off of his best start since June 28 of 2022 and whose contract expires next year? We’ll see which teams play their way into contention and which players find themselves in different uniforms next month.

Digesting the Division- Atlanta (56-27) increased its NL East lead by sweeping second place Miami (48-37) over the weekend, outscoring the Marlins 28-7 in the three games. Philadelphia (44-39) posted an 18-8 June but just dropped two of three at home to the Nats. They visit AL East-leading Tampa Bay and Miami before the All Star break. The New York Mets (38-46) suffered through a 7-19 month and even though they took two of three from San Francisco one feels that an expensive underachiever is a prime candidate for late-June payroll purging. Rounding out the quintet, Washington (34-49) may be in last place but they’re coming off a road trip where they won back to back to back series.

Break up the Birds- Baltimore (49-33) ended a four-game losing streak with Sunday’s 2-1 win over Minnesota. They also learned that four of their players are heading to the All Star Game: catcher Adley Rutschman and outfielder Austin Hays plus relievers Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista. Each will be making their first appearance in the mid-summer classic. But before they get to enjoy their trip to Seattle and the rest of the team gets a few days off, the O’s play road series at the New York Yankees (they’ve split their six games in 2022) and Minnesota (witness this past weekend).

No Gray Area for Washington’s All Star- you could have made the case for Lane Thomas or Jeimer Candelario, but it’s Josiah Gray who is the Nationals’ All Star representative. The righthander is pacing the rotation in wins (six) and ERA (3.30) while ranking second in strikeouts (86 to Mackenzie Gore’s 107) and innings pitched (95.1 to Patrick Corbin’s 96.2). Here’s to seeing his growth over the next 16 or 17 starts in 2023.

Last Week’s Heroes- Stone Garrett hit .500 with two homers and six RBI (including Sunday’s go-ahead grand slam at Philadelphia). Dominic Smith batted .375 with a pair of home runs. Lane Thomas hit .346 with five runs and five RBI. Patrick Corbin tossed seven scoreless innings in his lone start while Josiah Gray allowed one run over six frames. Hunter Harvey threw four scoreless innings over four outings while Kyle Finnegan posted five scoreless frames over two appearances.

Last Week’s Humbled- Mackenzie Gore allowed six runs over 2.2 innings to record an ERA of 23.63. Multiple relievers posted double digit ERA’s, from Cory Abbott (10.38) to Mason Thompson (13.50) to Thaddeus Ward (27.00). Joe La Sorsa was the high man after coughing up four runs in 0.1 inning for an ERA of 108.00. Corey Dickerson hit 0-12 while Derek Hall batted .091 and Joey Meneses posted a .125 average with ten strikeouts.

Game to Watch- Tuesday the club plays its traditional Independence Day game. Rocking America-Fifty States! The NL Central-leading Cincinnati Reds are in town. Rocking America-Five Great Lakes! Patrick Corbin is making his first start after his best outing of the season. Rocking America-Red White Blue! It’s an 11:05 a.m. start, giving you enough time to enjoy the rest of the holiday. Rocking America-how about you!

Game to Miss- normally I’d be concerned about Thursday’s game with Mackenzie Gore pitching (one win since the end of April and a 5.13 ERA in 12 starts since the start of May) but the Nats are 15-12 in series finales this year. I’m going to skip Saturday’s game with rookie Jake Irvin on the mound against AL West-leading Texas. Did you know the Rangers lead the majors in batting average and runs scored? With a 4:05 p.m. start, Irvin could melt in more ways than one.

Sully From Southie Speaks- the proverbial yo-yo continues for the Sox who got swept by Miami before sweeping Toronto. In doing so they dipped under .500 before crossing the break-even line again: they’ve been .500 a total of 18 times this year. The pendulum could very well swing back this week with a series against the best of the AL West (Texas) before they host the West’s worst (Oakland). And while the pendulum may get wicked tiring, it’s much better than the pit.