One day after surrendering a season-high 19 runs in Philadelphia, the Washington Nationals rallied Sunday to edge the Phillies by a 5-4 margin to claim the series victory — the team’s third in a row on the road.
The Nationals (34-49) went 6-3 on the recent road trip, taking two games in San Diego, Seattle and Philly to inch closer to the .500 mark. It was the first time in six years the Nats have won three-straight series on the road.
Washington returns home for seven games this week, beginning tonight with a four-game series against Cincinnati and a three-game weekend set against Texas going into the break. The Nats head into the week just 3.5 games behind the fourth-place Mets in the National League East standings.
Some exciting news followed Sunday’s big win, as right-handed pitcher Josiah Gray learned that he will be the lone Nats representative in the upcoming All-Star Game on July 11 in Seattle.
Gray (6-6, 3.30 ERA), who came over from the Dodgers in the Max Scherzer-Trea Turner trade in 2021, will be making his first All-Star Game appearance, and he was visibly emotional after receiving the news.
“[Manager Davey Martinez] just brought us all in for a team meeting and said he had a quick message for us,” Gray told reporters after Sunday’s win. “Told us we had one All-Star and it was me. So it was really cool to have that moment. I talked to the guys shortly, got to embrace it.”
After falling behind 3-0 in Sunday’s rubber match, Stone Garrett stepped into the batter’s box with two outs and the bases juiced. On the first delivery he saw from Phillies starter Ranger Suarez, Garrett put the Nats on top to stay with a 378-foot grand slam over the left-field wall. Jeimer Candelario offered a little insurance with a solo blast, his 11th on the year, in the fifth.
Some feel as though Candelario (.264 batting average, 11 HR, 39 RBI, .814 OPS) and Lane Thomas (.299 average, 14 HR, 44 RBI, .854 OPS) were both snubbed from joining Gray on the NL All-Star roster, both with comparable numbers to those who were selected as reserves on Sunday.
This Week’s Opponents
Cincinnati (45-39) is in the midst of a dramatic turnaround after sitting in last place in the NL Central not all that long ago. After reeling off 16 wins in their last 20 games — including a 12-game win streak — the Reds vaulted up the standings into a current tie with Milwaukee for first in the division.
Closer Alexis Díaz, who is 3-1 with a 2.19 ERA and 23 saves (second-best in the NL) will be the only Cincinnati player in the All-Star Game. Along with Díaz, rookie sensation Elly De La Cruz has been another big reason for the recent success, as has former UVA pitcher Andrew Abbott.
De La Cruz, a 6-foot-5, 21-year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic, made his MLB debut on June 6 and is hitting at a .281 clip with three home runs and 12 RBI in just 23 games.
Abbott is 4-0 in his rookie season with a 1.21 ERA, and enjoyed his best outing as a major-leaguer Sunday against San Diego. The former Wahoo went 7.2 innings, giving up a run on four hits while striking out a career-high 12 batters and walking just one. Unfortunately for fans who were hoping to see Abbott pitch in D.C., his next scheduled start won’t be until Friday at the Brewers.
Nats rookie hurler Jake Irvin (1-4, 4.72 ERA) will get the start in tonight’s opener against right-hander Luke Weaver (1-2, 6.96 ERA), while Patrick Corbin (5-9, 4.84 ERA) is expected to start tomorrow for Washington (the Reds have not yet revealed their probable starter for Tuesday).
Gray will take the hill Wednesday against Graham Ashcraft (3-6, 6.66 ERA), and MacKenzie Gore (4-7, 4.48 ERA) will pitch Thursday’s finale against Cinci lefty Brandon Williamson (1-2, 5.56 ERA).
Texas (50-34) recently placed four starters — catcher Jonah Heim, second baseman Marcus Semien, shortstop Corey Seager and rookie third baseman Josh Jung — on the American League All-Star roster, and enters the week as the highest-scoring team in the majors with 494 runs so far this season. Additionally, outfielder Adolis Garcia was named a reserve and Nathan Eovaldi was selected to the AL pitching staff on Sunday.
Trevor Williams (5-4, 4.34), who picked up the victory on Sunday in Philadelphia, will start Friday’s game against Texas veteran lefty Andrew Heaney (5-5, 4.12 ERA); Irvin squares off against Martin Perez (7-3, 4.28 ERA) on Saturday, and Corbin will oppose Dane Dunning (7-1, 2.69 ERA) on Sunday.
Additional Notes
- For fans thinking of driving to the game for July 4th celebrations, there will be fireworks after Monday night’s game at Nationals Park. For Tuesday’s Independence Day tilt, PenFed will present the first 10,000 fans with a pair of American flag sunglasses, and there will be a pregame flyover by a trio of U.S. Army “Huey” helicopters. Fans 21-and-up can get a free beer during the game using the mobile-ordering promo code CHEERS, and there will also be a 50-50 raffle for Bruce Springsteen concert tickets on Sept. 29. Parking for Tuesday’s game opens up at 8:30 a.m. and gates will open at 9:30.
- The MLB Draft is exactly one week away (July 9-11 in Seattle), and the experts are now predicting Pittsburgh to select pitcher Paul Skenes with the No. 1 pick, with the Nats selecting his LSU teammate, outfielder Dylan Crews, with the second pick. Earlier mock drafts had Crews going first and Skenes going second. Skenes has been referred to as the best college pitcher since a guy named Stephen Strasburg, while Crews was one of the best hitters in the country in 2023. Either way, Washington will soon be adding an incredibly talented player to its roster.
This Week’s Schedule
- Monday: vs. Cincinnati, 6:05 p.m. (MASN2, MLBN*)
- Tuesday: vs. Cincinnati, 11:05 a.m. (MASN2, MLBN*)
- Wednesday vs. Cincinnati, 7:05 p.m. (MASN2)
- Thursday vs. Cincinnati, 1:05 p.m. (MASN2, MLBN*)
- Friday vs. Texas, 7:05 p.m. (MASN)
- Saturday vs. Texas, 4:05 p.m. (MASN2)
- Sunday vs. Texas, 12:05 p.m. (Peacock)
*-Out of market only
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