HOUSTON – The ninth inning of Wednesday night’s game at Minute Maid Park featured enough drama and twists and turns to capture every ounce of attention afforded the Astros’ 5-4 victory over the Nationals.

It also rendered everything that happened prior to the final inning moot, even though there were a few significant developments throughout the bulk of this game. Most notably, Josiah Gray’s seven-inning start and another new pitch he unveiled along the way.

Gray didn’t enjoy anything close to his best results of the season, charged with four earned runs thanks to a two-run double in the first and back-to-back homers surrendered in the fourth. But the right-hander did do a lot of things well, better than he had for much of the season to date.

He didn’t issue a walk for the first time since Aug. 10, 2022 against the Cubs. He threw 66 of his 95 pitches for strikes. He completed seven innings for only the third time this year.

For those reasons, Gray still viewed this as a positive outing, despite the fact he was due to take the loss until his teammates rallied in the top of the ninth.

HOUSTON – That tonight's game, with the Nationals back at Minute Maid Park for the first time since the 2019 World Series, would end the way it did defied all common sense and logic. How could the baseball gods concoct such a scenario – a potential obstruction call on a bang-bang play at first base – with a game between these two teams in this ballpark, and have that call yet again go against Davey Martinez's club? Was this some kind of cruel cosmic joke?

It was not. It was all too real, and it cost the Nats in a way none of the previous similar plays that have befallen them did. This one ended the game. This one gave the Astros a 5-4 walk-off victory moments after the visitors had staged a dramatic, three-run rally to tie the game in the top of the ninth.

And this one left Martinez as steamed as he's ever been at the end of a loss.

"I'm over this play!" the sixth-year manager bellowed as he held up a just-printed piece of paper showing a still frame of Houston's Jake Meyers clearly running in fair territory toward first base as catcher Keibert Ruiz prepared to make a throw from the plate that would hit Meyers' helmet and Michael Chavis' glove right as he arrived at the bag. "Seriously, they need to fix the rule. If this is what the umpires see, as he's running down the line? I'm tired of it. I'm tired of it. Fix it! We lost the game, and (plate umpire Jeremy Riggs) had nothing to say about it, because he can't make the right call. Brutal! Brutal!"

In the exact location where Trea Turner infamously was called for obstruction in Game 6 of the World Series, leading to Martinez's ejection, Meyers was not called for it tonight. As the ball squirted away from Chavis, José Abreu waltzed home with the winning run as the crowd of 39,796 rejoiced, fireworks exploded overhead and Martinez stormed out of the dugout to accost Riggs.

HOUSTON – Upon learning the Nationals were skipping his turn in the rotation so he could take a physical and mental break, Jake Irvin almost didn’t know what to do with himself. The rookie right-hander had grown so accustomed to the regimented, five-day schedule for starters since arriving in the big leagues last month, the idea of a layoff for non-injury reasons was quite foreign to him.

Now that he’s had more than a week of rest, though, Irvin has come to understand how valuable it was in the wake of everything that came before.

“Making your debut and going through the whirlwind of the first month in the big leagues is something you can’t really explain,” he said. “It’s something you go through once and hopefully get your feet wet. I’ve taken this time to kind of reflect on what’s happened so far, and how you can move forward as best as possible. Not only does it give the body a chance to reset, but it really gives your mind a chance to reset and move forward and grow.”

The Nationals took advantage of Monday’s scheduled off-day to skip over Irvin’s spot in the rotation. Patrick Corbin went ahead and started Tuesday’s series opener against the Astros on normal rest, and Josiah Gray and MacKenzie Gore will follow to round out this series.

Irvin, who last pitched June 6 against the Diamondbacks, is likely to return to the mound either Friday or Saturday against the Marlins. Manager Davey Martinez said he planned to meet with pitching coach Jim Hickey today to settle on a plan.

HOUSTON – Josiah Gray enters tonight’s start with a 3.00 ERA, which is quite good. Good enough to rank sixth in the National League, in fact. His 1.403 WHIP, however, is worse than it was in either of the last two seasons. So, how do we reconcile those two facts?

Gray’s peripheral numbers aren’t great because he’s walking a lot of batters (4.6 per nine innings). But he’s not giving up runs because he’s managing to get outs when he needs to (opponents are batting and slugging .145 against him with runners in scoring position) and he’s avoided the home run (1.0 per nine innings, down from 2.3 last season). Can he keep that up? We shall see, but the test tonight against the Astros is a good one for the young right-hander.

A little run support wouldn’t hurt, either. After an uptick in production that included 5.4 runs per game from May 15-June 2, the Nationals are averaging only 3.1 over their last eight games. Is it any wonder they’ve lost seven of those games?

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at HOUSTON ASTROS
Where: Minute Maid Park
Gametime: 8:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

NATIONALS
RF Lane Thomas
3B Jeimer Candelario
DH Joey Meneses
LF Stone Garrett
C Keibert Ruiz
2B Ildemaro Vargas
1B Dominic Smith
CF Alex Call
SS CJ Abrams

HOUSTON – There was what appeared to be a bounceback performance 2 1/2 weeks ago in Kansas City, prompting the question: Was Mason Thompson back?

The answer, at that time: No, he wasn’t. The Nationals reliever followed up an encouraging, two-scoreless-inning appearance May 27 against the Royals with a three-run meltdown three days later at Dodger Stadium.

So take this with a grain of salt. But after another dominant performance Tuesday night during the Nats’ 6-1 loss to the Astros, Thompson continued a more recent trend that suggests he may actually be coming out of his long funk at last.

“Absolutely, he’s getting back,” manager Davey Martinez insisted.

What did Thompson do in this game to stand out? He faced three batters in the bottom of the sixth and proceeded to retire the side, inducing a grounder to short and then back-to-back strikeouts of Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers.

HOUSTON – Minute Maid Park has always been kind to Patrick Corbin, and we’re not just talking about Game 7 of the 2019 World Series here.

While that epic, three-inning relief appearance may have represented the pinnacle of the left-hander’s career and proved essential to the Nationals’ championship victory that night, Corbin has enjoyed pitching in this supposedly hitter-friendly park for years.

When he took the mound for the bottom of the fifth tonight, Corbin was the proud owner of a 16 2/3-inning scoreless streak at the home of the Astros. He hadn’t surrendered a run here since Aug. 18, 2012 as a rookie with the Diamondbacks.

This place, for whatever reason, just brings out the best in him.

Then Corbin began pitching the bottom of the fifth, at which point the streak ended, the Astros reminded him just how powerful they still are and the Nationals reminded everyone how much has changed since the night of Oct. 30, 2019.

HOUSTON – Davey Martinez walked into Minute Maid Park this afternoon and couldn’t help but think about the last time he was here.

“Pretty cool,” the Nationals manager said. “It was four years ago, but it brings out good memories. I was sitting around with some of the guys who were here in ’19. There’s not many of us left. But we were reminiscing a little bit. It was fun.”

Indeed, there aren’t too many members of the Nats’ current roster or staff that were part of the 2019 World Series. Martinez is one of the last remaining, uniformed links to the franchise’s lone World Series title, so he found himself today sharing stories of that glorious late October week with young players who weren’t even in the major leagues at that point, let alone a part of this organization.

The next three nights, with the Nationals facing the Astros here for the first time in four seasons, offer everyone a chance both to reminisce about better days and to think about what it will take for this franchise to return to that kind of prominence.

There’s only one player on the active, 26-man roster who appeared in the 2019 World Series. And by sheer coincidence he takes the mound for tonight’s series opener.

HOUSTON – Hello from Minute Maid Park, where tonight the Nationals will take the field for the first time since Oct. 30, 2019. You probably remember some details about that night.

The guy who won that game is the only player on the Nats’ current active roster, and would you believe he starts tonight’s series opener against the Astros? Patrick Corbin gets the nod on normal rest, with the team using Monday’s day off to skip over Jake Irvin’s turn in the rotation and give the rookie a chance to work on some things. Corbin won’t be pitching in relief tonight, of course. He’ll be trying to hold in check a tough Houston lineup, albeit one that doesn’t bear much resemblance to the one from 2019, either.

The Nationals lineup, which broke out for six runs Sunday in Atlanta, has a familiar look against Astros right-hander Hunter Brown. Davey Martinez can only hope Joey Meneses, Jeimer Candelario and Dominic Smith pick up where they left off at Truist Park.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at HOUSTON ASTROS
Where: Minute Maid Park
Gametime: 8:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

NATIONALS
RF Lane Thomas
2B Luis García
DH Joey Meneses
3B Jeimer Candelario
LF Corey Dickerson
C Keibert Ruiz
1B Dominic Smith
SS CJ Abrams
CF Alex Call

Victor Robles is ready to start playing in games again. Another week or so and he should be ready to play for the Nationals again.

Robles will join Triple-A Rochester on a rehab assignment Friday, the final step in the outfielder’s recovery from a back injury that has sidelined him more than a month.

“Hopefully everything goes well and we get him back here soon,” manager Davey Martinez said.

Robles departed Thursday and is expected to play four innings for Rochester, which is on the road at Worcester, on Friday. Given the amount of time he has missed, he will likely build up his workload over several days and could spend a full week on the rehab assignment before the Nats decide to activate him off the 10-day IL.

“He’s got to go out there and play, start getting some at-bats,” Martinez said. “I want to see him do everything that he normally does. If he gets an opportunity to steal some bases, take the extra bases, play good defense, all that stuff.”

With smoke from Canadian wild fires getting worse in the region, Major League Baseball postponed today’s scheduled series finale between the Nationals and Diamondbacks, citing the health risks current conditions pose for players, fans and stadium workers alike.

The teams were able to play Tuesday and Wednesday night as planned under a hazy sky that wasn’t nearly as bad as it was in Philadelphia and New York, where games were postponed Wednesday. They were supposed to finish the three-game series at 1:05 p.m., but the air quality is considerably worse today, with Washington officially categorized as “Code Purple.”

The decision whether to play or not was made by MLB, with consultation with both teams and the MLB Players Association, and was announced about 90 minutes before first pitch.

“This postponement was determined following conversations throughout the day with medical and weather experts and the two impacted clubs regarding clearly hazardous air quality conditions in Washington, D.C.,” the league said in a press release.

This was to be the last time the Nationals and Diamondbacks faced each other this season, but Arizona will now be forced to come back to Washington for a June 22 makeup game at 1:05 p.m., a common off-day for both teams. The Nats begin a West Coast trip to San Diego and Seattle the following day. The D-backs will make a side trip to D.C. in between series at Milwaukee and San Francisco.

Perhaps if other things had progressed in a different manner the rest of the night, Lane Thomas’ throw in the top of the fifth Wednesday would’ve carried more weight. In the end, the play had no bearing on the outcome of the Nationals’ game, a 6-2 loss to the Diamondbacks.

That doesn’t mean it didn’t feel significant in the moment, though. Or that it wasn’t noticed by everyone at Nationals Park.

When Corbin Carroll lined a hit to right to open the top of the fifth, Arizona looked like it was poised to start another rally against Patrick Corbin and perhaps cash in this time after being shut out since taking a quick 3-0 lead in the first. And when Thomas couldn’t cleanly field the ball on a hop, Carroll looked like he was destined for a leadoff double.

Until Thomas retrieved the ball and fired it toward second base, where CJ Abrams made a nice scoop and applied the tag to Carroll in time for the out.

It was a big play in what was a 3-2 game at that moment. And it was only the latest by Thomas, who has really come to his own in right field this season.

They got a quality start out of Patrick Corbin despite another roughshod first inning that set an ominous tone for the evening. They kept it close for most of the proceedings, remaining within one clutch hit of tying the game or taking the lead. Until the bullpen failed to keep it close late in its latest subpar showing.

And so the Nationals found themselves on the wrong end of a 6-2 loss to the Diamondbacks, done in by one of their weaker offensive performances in a while, the three-run hole Corbin dug them into from the outset and the three tack-on runs Carl Edwards Jr. and Jordan Weems surrendered late.

Make it seven losses in nine games for a Nats club that was feeling pretty good about its ability to compete and play .500 ball for more than a month not that long ago but has since regressed while facing stiffer competition.

They aren’t facing the Tigers and Royals anymore. The Nationals have now dropped three straight series to superior opponents, first the Dodgers, then the Phillies and now the Diamondbacks, who will be looking for a three-game sweep Thursday afternoon.

Then comes a road trip to Atlanta and Houston that could threaten to derail much of the forward momentum the Nats had built through most of May. They're a season-worst 11 games under .500, hoping not to keep plummeting. 

The Nationals, for the second straight day, designated a struggling reliever for assignment, with Erasmo Ramírez suffering that fate this afternoon in the wake of a particularly ragged appearance during Tuesday’s loss to the Diamondbacks, and Cory Abbott recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take his spot.

Ramírez joined fellow right-hander Andrés Machado, who was designated for assignment Tuesday, in getting dropped from the active roster. Machado officially cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Rochester today. Because he had already been through that process over the winter, he had the option to declare himself a free agent but instead chose to remain in the organization.

Ramírez will face a similar decision in the next few days. The 33-year-old got the news after retiring only two of the six batters he faced in the top of the sixth Tuesday night, having hit the first batter he faced on the first pitch he threw, nearly hitting the next batter on his next pitch and then committing a balk when he turned to make a pickoff attempt to first base but never threw the ball because nobody was covering.

That outing left Ramírez with an unsightly 6.33 ERA and 1.556 WHIP in 23 games this season, a dramatic drop in effectiveness from the previous year. In 60 games in 2022, Ramírez produced a 2.92 ERA and 1.077 WHIP, earning the team’s Pitcher of the Year Award for his performance.

“It’s tough. Erasmo meant a lot to this team, and to me,” manager Davey Martinez said. “This guy worked really hard to get back to the big leagues and had an unbelievable year last year. This year, he just couldn’t find himself.”

It’s another hazy afternoon in the nation’s capital, with smoke from wildfires in Quebec hovering over the region again. It’s not as bad here as it is in New York, and for now tonight’s game is on as planned. But stay tuned in case things take a turn for the worse.

It’s “UK-US Friendship Day” at Nationals Park, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak scheduled to attend what I can only assume will be the first Major League Baseball game he’s ever seen in person.

The Nationals are trying to snap a three-game losing streak, and to do that they’ll need a better all-around pitching performance, beginning with starter Patrick Corbin, who faces his former team. Corbin’s last outing came one week ago at Dodger Stadium, where he trailed 3-0 after three batters, but ultimately made it through five innings allowing only one more (unearned) run. The Nats would really like a more effective, and longer, start from the lefty tonight.

The bullpen has another new face. For the second straight day, the Nationals designated a struggling reliever for assignment, with Erasmo Ramírez the victim this time following a ragged appearance Tuesday night. Cory Abbott was recalled from Triple-A Rochester, where he was originally scheduled to start tonight. If Corbin doesn’t go deep and Davey Martinez needs multiple innings from a reliever, Abbott is probably the guy.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Hazy, 77 degrees, wind 7 mph left field to right field

The sting of the Nationals’ 10-5 loss to the Diamondbacks still loomed over the entire home clubhouse Tuesday night, but Stone Garrett couldn’t help but light up when asked about the grand slam he clubbed way back in the first inning off a team and a pitcher he knew all too well.

“It felt freaking good,” the 27-year-old said, his smile growing wide. “That’s my best friend pitching. And your old team. Keibert (Ruiz) just hit two home runs off his old team (last week at Dodger Stadium), so it feels good. Revenge game.”

Designated for assignment by Arizona last November, then signed by the Nats two weeks later, Garrett already faced his former team last month at Chase Field. And he already faced Tommy Henry, the 25-year-old left-hander who became one of his closest friends and a regular roommate through their respective treks up the organizational ladder.

This, though, meant far more. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the first, Garrett launched a changeup from his good buddy deep to left, the ball clearing the fence for the first grand slam of his career and the first grand slam by any Nationals player at home since Yan Gomes on June 15, 2021.

“It felt like a good pitch,” Henry told reporters in the visitors’ clubhouse. “Yeah, it’s unfortunate it was him. It’s unfortunate in any circumstance, but unfortunate it was him because I probably won’t hear the end of it now.”

For the second straight game, Davey Martinez pulled a struggling starter in the middle innings and entrusted a struggling reliever to keep a close game against a quality opponent close.

And for the second straight game, that struggling reliever not only couldn’t keep the game close, he couldn’t even keep it close enough for his Nationals teammates to have a realistic shot at coming back by night’s end.

Jake Irvin was tonight’s fading starter, and Erasmo Ramirez was tonight’s struggling reliever. They bore a striking resemblance to Trevor Williams and Andrés Machado from two days prior in a loss to the Phillies. In this case, the opponent was the Diamondbacks, who took full advantage of the Nats’ pitching woes during a 10-5 victory that further underscored some major problems for the home club.

"Walks," an unusually and visibly aggravated Martinez lamented. "We're walking too many guys. Hitting batters. Falling behind. Pitching 2-0, 1-0, 3-1. You're not going to win very many games like that. We've got to clean that up."

The Nationals have now lost six of their last eight, and a recurring theme throughout this stretch has been ragged relief pitching, whether in the middle or late innings. The situation already was dire entering the day, with the Nats owning the National League’s worst bullpen ERA (4.73) and WHIP (1.433), and things only got worse.

The Nationals made the first of what could be several moves in coming days to address a bullpen that has become the roster’s weakest link, designating Andrés Machado for assignment and recalling Jordan Weems from Triple-A Rochester.

Machado, who was tagged for four runs and gave up a pair of killer homers during Sunday’s loss to the Phillies, was out of options and couldn’t be demoted to the minor leagues without first clearing waivers. The Nationals will wait to see if the 30-year-old clears, but because he already went through this process last winter he’ll have the right to refuse an outright assignment to Triple-A and could elect to become a free agent instead.

A somewhat consistently effective bullpen arm for the Nationals in 2021-22, Machado had a 3.41 ERA and 1.326 WHIP across 91 appearances. But after opening this season in Rochester and making his return to the majors in late April, he struggled. In 14 games, he finished with an 8.47 ERA and 1.765 WHIP.

“It’s a tough move,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I really like Machado, and he’s got good stuff. It’s just his location was not good, and he was getting hit really hard.”

A Nats bullpen that performed well in 2022 and entered this season as a perceived strength has instead turned into a major cause for concern. The group enters tonight’s game against the Diamondbacks with a National League-worst 4.73 ERA and 1.433 WHIP.

The Nationals and Diamondbacks engaged in a highly entertaining series one month ago in Phoenix, the D-backs ultimately winning two of the three games (though one only after storming back to win in the bottom of the ninth). Now the surprise National League West leaders come to D.C. for a three-game series against a Nats club that continues to compete but would like to emerge victorious a few more times against quality opponents.

Jake Irvin gets the start, the seventh of his young career. The rookie right-hander showed some glimpses of improvement last time out against the Dodgers but still wound up allowing four runs in five innings to that potent lineup. The Nationals could sure use a solid start out of Irvin, whose spot in the rotation isn’t necessarily on thin ice, but it isn’t exactly solid either.

The Nats face yet another left-hander in Tommy Henry, who held them to two runs in six innings last month at Chase Field, both runs scoring on a Keibert Ruiz double. As noted here before, these guys have fared much better against lefties this season than righties, so here’s a chance to keep that trend going and provide Irvin with some run support.

As expected, there’s a bullpen roster move today: Andrés Machado was indeed designated for assignment following Sunday’s rough outing. Right-hander Jordan Weems was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take his spot. So the Nats remain without any left-handed relievers for now.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Hazy, 80 degrees, wind 13 mph out to right field

The notion that Stephen Strasburg might still come back to pitch for the Nationals again, sadly, seemed to pass months ago.

When manager Davey Martinez revealed on the first day of spring training Strasburg was unable to complete an offseason bullpen session without a recurrence of the nerve pain that has plagued him for several years, the writing was on the wall.

And when general manager Mike Rizzo said on Opening Day the 34-year-old needed to rehab his injury “if nothing more, just to play with his children, get back to regular life,” it underscored the severity of the situation, far beyond anything that takes place on a baseball field.

Strasburg has not appeared at Nationals Park this season during the hours leading up to, during or after a home game. His locker remains where it has always been, his jersey and belongings neatly arranged, essentially untouched. Teammates he barely knows walk past it every day, with little reason to think about the pitcher whose name hangs above it.

Strasburg isn’t currently participating in any rehabilitation activities, as The Washington Post reported over the weekend. He resides on the 60-day injured list, technically still a part of the team but not on anybody’s immediate radar.

It was an eventful week for the Nationals. It started in Los Angeles with three competitive games at Dodger Stadium, capped by an impressive, five-homer performance in a series-closing victory. It ended in D.C. with three competitive games at Nationals Park, capped by an unfortunate, five-homer performance by the Phillies in a series-closing victory.

Now, with an off-day heading into another home series against the Diamondbacks, let's take a moment to discuss everything that has happened, on and off the field of late. (And, yes, that includes the Stephen Strasburg situation, if you're interested.)

Submit your questions in the comments section below, then check back throughout the morning for my responses ...