NEW YORK – The Nationals have owned the worst record in baseball throughout the vast majority of this season. And this evening, they officially ensured they will end the season with the worst record in baseball.

A 4-2 loss to the Mets in the opener of a scheduled doubleheader in the rain and wind at Citi Field was the Nationals’ 105th of the season. The Athletics cannot finish with more than 104 losses.

For decades, that indignity would’ve guaranteed the No. 1 pick in next summer’s draft. But in an attempt to discourage teams from openly tanking, Major League Baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement with the MLB Players Association instituted a draft lottery, giving every team that doesn’t make the playoffs an opportunity to pick first.

The Nationals will have a better chance than most: 16.5 percent, same as the teams that finish with the second- and third-worst records. They are guaranteed only of a top-seven pick.

Consider it one final downer to this season full of downers, which wraps up Wednesday against the playoff-bound Mets, still mathematically able to win the National League East until either they lose a game or the Braves win one.

NEW YORK – Davey Martinez reiterated today what he suggested this summer after his contract option was picked up: His entire coaching staff will return to the Nationals in 2023.

“Yes, they’ll all be back,” Martinez said prior to the Nats’ doubleheader against the Mets to commence their final series of the season.

When the Nationals exercised the manager’s 2023 option July 2, he revealed all of his coaches received two-year contracts when they were hired, suggesting all would be returning along with him. Today, in discussing how members of his staff will be working directly with players during the offseason, Martinez was asked directly if the full staff will be back and he provided a definitive answer.

“These guys have been awesome,” he said. “They’ve been an extension of my voice. They care. They care about each individual. And they’re putting the time in to get each of these guys better.”

The Nationals did make several coaching changes last winter, reassigning longtime staffers Randy Knorr and Bob Henley to player development roles and shifting bullpen coach Henry Blanco to a newly created in-dugout coaching role in which he could work directly with the team’s catchers. Gary DiSarcina, Eric Young Jr. and Ricky Bones were all hired from outside the organization to take over as third base coach, first base coach and bullpen coach, respectively. The team also hired Darnell Coles as hitting coach after Kevin Long left to take a multi-year offer from the Phillies for the same position.

NEW YORK – Well, guess we’re going to try to do this yet again. Even though the weather here continues to be miserable.

The Nationals and Mets couldn’t open their season-ending series as planned Monday night, so they’ll try to not only play that game today, but then another game as well. It’s a straight doubleheader, beginning at 4:10 p.m., with only 30 minutes between games. The problem, as it’s been for days, is that it continues to rain, the wind continues to howl and there’s no end in sight.

But press on they will, and if they can play it’ll be the same pitching matchup that was planned for Monday night: Cory Abbott for the Nats, Carlos Carrasco for the Mets. Keep in mind: The Mets still technically can win the NL East, but only if they win three games over the Nationals while the Braves (who lost Monday night) lose two more to the Marlins.

That’s why, for now, they have to proceed as if it’s necessary to play all three games of this series. If that changes, perhaps the urgency to get these games in will disappear.

One roster note: Reliever Reed Garrett, who joined the Nationals on this trip in case his services were needed, has been activated to serve as the 29th man for the doubleheader. He's available out of the bullpen for both games.

NEW YORK – If the Nationals are able to play both of today’s newly scheduled doubleheader games against the Mets – and based on the forecast, that’s a big if – they will be sending Cory Abbott to the mound to start Game 1 and Paolo Espino to start Game 2.

And if history repeats itself, Abbott and Espino are likely to pitch very well for two or three innings, then struggle mightily after that.

The right-handers have had no trouble retiring opposing hitters once per game this season. Abbott, when facing a hitter for the first time within a game (either as a starter or reliever) has held the opposition to a miniscule .165 batting average and .576 OPS. Espino’s numbers in the same situation: a .235 batting average and .645 OPS.

The problems arise when they have to face those same hitters a second or third time. In those situations, opponents are batting .324 with a 1.133 OPS against Abbott and .340 with a .958 OPS against Espino.

At the moment, there’s not much the Nationals can do about it. They’ve needed both Abbott and Espino to start down the stretch, and Davey Martinez has no choice but to try to get as many innings as he can out of each.

NEW YORK – The rain that made a mess of the Nationals’ entire final home series over the weekend is making a mess of their final road series of the season as well.

With what's left of Hurricane Ian slowly making its way up the East Coast, tonight's game against the Mets has been postponed. The two teams will attempt to play a straight doubleheader Tuesday at 4:10 p.m., with Cory Abbott starting the first game and Paolo Espino starting the nightcap.

Tuesday's forecast, though, calls for rain all night and all day, and it perhaps could even extend into early Wednesday, when the regular season is supposed to come to an end with a 4:10 p.m. first pitch at Citi Field.

All the Nationals can do at this point is wait, and potentially play at some point in less-than-ideal conditions, just as they did all weekend against the Phillies in D.C.

“You can’t control Mother Nature,” manager Davey Martinez said earlier in the afternoon, prior to the postponement announcement. “We’ll see what happens. It’s looking pretty nasty right now. We’ll see if this thing goes away and lets us play a nice, cold day.”

NEW YORK – You’ll never guess what the weather’s going to be like the next three days here at Citi Field! It’s like somebody purposely decided to have a massive storm follow the Nationals up the East Coast, because just as soon as things cleared up in D.C., the remnants of Hurricane Ian have made their way to New York, where tonight the Nats and Mets are supposed to open the final series of the season.

For now, these games matter. But they may not matter nearly as much as we thought they would after the Braves swept the Mets in Atlanta over the weekend, reducing their magic number to clinch the National League East to one. In other words, all it will take is one Braves win over the Marlins or one Nationals win over the Mets to end the division race and leave New York as the top wild card participant instead.

New York used up its big three starters in Atlanta, so it’s Carlos Carrasco here tonight. The Nats hit him around pretty good last month, knocking him out in the third inning after scoring five runs (only one earned) on six hits. They had far less success in three previous games against Carrasco earlier in the season.

Cory Abbott is tonight’s starter for the Nationals, getting one last chance to leave a positive impression heading into the winter. It’s been a struggle for the right-hander, who has completed more than five innings only once in eight starts. The good news: He has yet to surrender a run to the Mets in seven total innings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 7:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Rain, 55 degrees, wind 17 mph in from center field

As they mapped out their pitching plan for the final week of the season, the Nationals knew they were going to need somebody who wasn’t already on the active big league roster to start the nightcap of today’s doubleheader against the Phillies.

They hoped all along they could give that start to MacKenzie Gore, the talented left-hander acquired from the Padres in the Juan Soto blockbuster trade who has spent the last 2 1/2 months rehabbing from inflammation in his elbow. But when Gore struggled to build up his stamina during a rehab stint at Triple-A Rochester to a point he would’ve been comfortable throwing more than three innings, the Nats decided not to activate him off the injured list.

That’s how Tommy Romero found himself taking the mound tonight at rainy Nationals Park, a 25-year-old right-hander claimed off waivers from the Rays in August who had pitched well enough at Triple-A to convince club officials they wanted to get a look at him.

By the time Romero handed the ball back to manager Davey Martinez after 3 2/3 disastrous innings, there was reason to wonder if club officials will want to see more of him.

The Phillies blasted Romero for eight runs on eight hits, five of those homers, and ran away with an 8-2 victory to regain a one-game lead over the Brewers for the National League’s final wild card berth with four games to play in the regular season.

The Nationals and Phillies have managed to complete the first two games of this weekend’s four-game series on schedule (that is, the original schedule). Now they’ll try to get Game 3 completed as planned tonight before another round of rain arrives in the region.

They’ve split these two games so far, each winning comfortably once, including the Nats’ 13-4 rout this afternoon. They’ll hope they can keep that kind of aggressive offensive attack going tonight against Noah Syndergaard, who they face for the third time this season. They’ve done OK against the former Mets right-hander, totaling seven runs and 19 hits in 11 innings. They’re also 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts against the notoriously slow worker, so look for them to run again.

We’ll be getting our first look at Tommy Romero, a 25-year-old right-hander who was claimed off waivers from the Rays last month and then pitched well in six games (two starts) at Triple-A Rochester, going 3-1 with a 2.33 ERA and 1.138 WHIP. Romero is not a power pitcher; he relies on weak contact. So infield defense will be key tonight as the Nationals try to emerge with another win and deal the Phillies’ playoff hopes another blow.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Rain, 62 degrees, wind 13 mph in from center field

NATIONALS
RF Lane Thomas
SS CJ Abrams
1B Joey Meneses
DH Luke Voit
2B Luis García
LF César Hernández
3B Ildemaro Vargas
CF Victor Robles
C Tres Barrera

As each day passes and Joey Meneses’ numbers keep climbing, the question keeps getting asked and the answer keeps sounding more plausible.

"I don't think the way he hit was a fluke," Davey Martinez said this morning of his 30-year-old rookie sensation. "I think the kid knows how to hit."

All the evidence to date backs up that assertion, and Meneses only bolstered the case with another standout performance today during the Nationals’ 13-4 trouncing of the Phillies in the rain-delayed opener of a rescheduled day-night doubleheader.

With a single, a double, a homer, a walk and four RBIs, Meneses added to his growing resume. Throw in a 440-foot moonshot from Luke Voit, a three-run homer and two RBI singles from Luis García and another dominant bullpen performance, and the Nats cruised to victory over a Philadelphia club that fell back into a tie with the Brewers for the final wild card berth in the National League with five games to go.

Meneses, as he’s so often done since bursting onto the scene Aug. 2, led the way at the plate. His bases-loaded double past a lunging Alec Bohm at third base keyed a five-run bottom of the second. Then his leadoff homer to right-center in the fifth extended the Nationals’ lead after the Phillies tried to claw their way back into the game.

Nelson Cruz last appeared in a game for the Nationals in the third inning of their Sept. 13 game against the Orioles. The 42-year-old designated hitter reached on catcher’s interference, then two innings later was pulled in favor of pinch-hitter Josh Palacios due to an infection in his left eye that left his vision blurry.

That was 18 days ago, and not much has changed since then with regards to Cruz’s status. His vision has improved enough to take batting practice and even field some grounders at first base. But it has not improved enough to make the Nationals comfortable sending him to the plate to face a pitcher in an actual game.

And now that the season is winding down, with the team’s home finale scheduled Sunday, there’s legitimate concern Cruz may be running out of time to make it back before the 2022 campaign ends.

“Yeah, I am worried,” manager Davey Martinez said this morning. “Yesterday, he said he felt a lot better. And then throughout the day, it reverted back. But earlier on, he said he felt great. I hope that within the next day or so, maybe he can get out there. Even if he can pinch-hit one game for us or something like that, it would be great. But we’re still hoping he can get back out there and finish on the field.”

It had already been a difficult season for Cruz before the eye infection became an issue. Signed at the start of spring training for $15 million, the veteran slugger was supposed to provide lineup protection for Juan Soto and Josh Bell, mentor young teammates and potentially be flipped at the trade deadline for a prospect or two.

What do you say we try this again?

The first attempt to play a day-night doubleheader at Nationals Park this weekend didn’t work. Though the Phillies beat the Nats 5-1 on Friday afternoon, the nightcap was postponed about 30 minutes before scheduled first pitch. So now they’ll attempt to do it again today and tonight, despite the forecast still looking really bad.

The Nationals will go with Aníbal Sánchez in this afternoon’s opener, holding Tommy Romero for a potential nightcap. Sánchez has been on quite the roll over the last six weeks. Add up his last seven starts, and the 38-year-old is 3-1 with a 1.31 ERA and 0.932 WHIP. He hasn’t surrendered more than two runs or more than four hits in any of those seven starts, truly a run of dominance to wind down his season.

Kyle Gibson starts for the Phillies, with Noah Syndergaard held back for the nightcap. Gibson faced the Nationals back on Aug. 5 and dominated, allowing one run on two hits over eight sparkling innings, though he was roughed up by the Blue Jays and Braves his last two starts.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Rain, 60 degrees, wind 16 mph in from center field

If this is the way the Nationals are going to play all weekend, they’re probably going to help the Phillies clinch their first postseason berth in 11 years.

With a chance to deal their fading division rivals a serious blow in their attempt to hold off the Brewers for the final wild card berth in the National League, the Nats put forth a lackluster performance during today’s 5-1 loss in the opener of a day-night doubleheader as the first wave of rain from former Hurricane Ian began to reach the region.

The Nationals were shut out for six innings by Phillies starter Bailey Falter, then pushed across only one run against their bullpen, stranding the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. They got another laborious five innings out of Erick Fedde. They also ran themselves into multiple outs on the bases and committed an error in the field to round out a disappointing showing in the opener of a scheduled four-game weekend series.

"We keep battling; we had the tying run up at the plate, and it just didn't happen," manager Davey Martinez said. "But when you give teams extra outs, it's tough. It really is."

Having now lost 14 of 16 to the Phillies this season, the Nats will try to reverse that trend in the scheduled 7:05 p.m. nightcap, though the status of that game is very much in question due to the rain that is expected to wreak havoc through the remainder of the weekend and could potentially force both teams to return to town Thursday to make up any un-played games that could decide the playoff race.

The Nationals have decided not to give MacKenzie Gore a start before season’s end, not wanting to push the left-hander to come off the injured list given the shaky weekend forecast and his stamina issues during a lengthy minor league rehab stint.

Gore, who was acquired from the Padres while on the 15-day IL with left elbow inflammation, had been building himself back up with the intention of making one or two big league starts before the season ends. And after throwing 72 pitches over 3 2/3 innings Monday in his fourth rehab outing for Triple-A Rochester, he expressed optimism he’d make a start against the Phillies this weekend, even if he was limited to three or four innings.

But after conversations with manager Davey Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo, Gore was told his season would end now, with an offseason plan implemented to help him build up more strength and stamina heading into spring training.

“For me, that’s good enough,” Martinez said. “When we started this and started your rehab stuff, that’s the point we wanted to get to. For me, if it was something different – if we didn’t have enough pitchers, or whatever, which we do – it would be a different conversation. But I don’t want to push it. I think we’re in a good spot right now.”

Gore had totaled 70 big league innings for the Padres before going on the IL in late July, going 4-4 with a 4.50 ERA, 1.472 WHIP and 72 strikeouts, those numbers turning worse as he was beginning to deal with his elbow issue. He was highly motivated to come back and pitch for the Nationals, but the organization doesn’t feel like he needs to prove anything to them.

And away we go …

It’s the final home series of the season, or at least it’s supposed to be the final home series of the season. Rain and the Phillies’ standing in the wild card race could force everyone to come back here Thursday to play however many games still need to be played to decide the race.

There’s plenty of time to worry about how the weekend is going to play out, but here’s the safest bet of all: Today’s first game should be completed with no issues. It’s Erick Fedde on the mound for what could be his final start of the season, facing a Phillies lineup that roughed him up for four runs on five hits in 3 2/3 innings earlier this month.

The Phillies, who have had all kinds of trouble scoring runs, desperately need a quality pitching performance from Bailey Falter, who makes his third start against the Nats this year. The lefty has allowed a total of five runs on 11 hits in nine innings, though he has struck out 10.

Both teams are allowed a 29th player for the doubleheader, and the Nationals are using theirs on right-hander Tommy Romero, who was called up from Triple-A Rochester. Claimed off waivers from the Rays last month, Romero had a 2.33 ERA in six games (two starts) for the Red Wings and has intrigued club officials. He's available to pitch either game today, if needed.

The final week of the season, with seven games against NL East contenders crammed into six days, always loomed as a tough closing stretch for the Nationals. But now that stretch looks even tougher. And it might have to be extended to a seventh day, depending on a variety of factors.

When Major League Baseball put outs its initial 2022 schedule, this was supposed to be the final weekend. The Nationals would host the Phillies for three games, wrapping everything up Sunday.

But then came the interminable offseason lockout that stretched into spring training and ultimately delayed Opening Day by a week. And rather than cancel that week’s worth of games lost, MLB chose to insert them into the original schedule.

The Nats, who were supposed to host the Phillies for a two-game series the first week of April, wound up having a pair of Saturday doubleheaders added (one in June, one this weekend) to make up those games. They also had their originally planned opening series at the Mets tacked on to the end of the schedule, so they’ll now play Monday-Wednesday at Citi Field.

Now throw the remnants of Hurricane Ian into the mix, and you get this current mess. Worried about the weekend forecast of rain, the Nationals took Saturday night’s game and bumped it up to this afternoon at 1:05 p.m., creating a day-night doubleheader. In theory, the Nats and Phillies will play three games in the span of 27 hours, then wait for the worst of the rain to clear out before finishing the series Sunday at 1:35 p.m.

The Nationals have altered this weekend’s schedule against the Phillies, moving Saturday’s doubleheader up to Friday in an attempt to avoid the worst of the rain that is expected from the remnants of Hurricane Ian.

Saturday’s originally scheduled 7:05 p.m. nightcap will now be played Friday at 1:05 p.m. as the opener of a newly created day-night doubleheader at Nationals Park. Fans who hold tickets to the Saturday night game may now use them for Friday’s 1:05 p.m. game.

The originally scheduled Friday 7:05 p.m. will proceed as planned, as will the originally scheduled Saturday 1:05 p.m. game and Sunday 1:35 p.m. game, though more changes are possible pending changes in the forecast.

The first round of rain is currently forecast to arrive sometime Friday evening, with on and off rain expected throughout the weekend.

Major League Baseball’s original 2022 schedule had this as a three-game series to end the regular season. But when the league’s lockout of players forced the postponement of the season’s first week, it added another game to the Nationals-Phillies series to make up for one of two lost April games. The original opening series between the Nats and Mets in New York was then added to the end of the season, and those teams will now play Monday through Wednesday at Citi Field.

It was a routine chopper back to the pitcher, the kind of play that’s made 99.5 percent of the time. Knowing that, CJ Abrams slowed down as he approached first base, assuming he would easily be thrown out.

Except when A.J. Minter’s throw sailed high, and Braves first baseman Matt Olson had to dive back to tag the base with his glove, Abrams lack of hustle cost him and the Nationals. Had he run hard all the way through the bag, he would’ve been safe at a critical moment in the eighth inning of what was a tie game. Instead, he had to make the walk of shame back to the dugout, where a perturbed Davey Martinez was waiting.

“That can’t happen,” Abrams said afterward. “I talked to Davey about it. Won’t happen again, for sure.”

It was a potentially low moment for the rookie shortstop, but two innings later he made sure it wouldn’t be his most memorable play from Wednesday night’s game. With a two-out RBI single to right in the bottom of the 10th, Abrams delivered the first walk-off hit of his career, sending the Nationals to a 3-2 victory and leaving the 21-year-old to be mobbed by teammates.

“It was good for him, especially after the baserunning thing,” Martinez said. “He comes back, he puts it aside and he gets after that at-bat and gets a big base hit for us. It’s good to see that. He stayed in the game, stayed poised.”

The Nationals have any number of reasons to want to finish this 100-plus-loss season on positive notes, both on a team level and an individual level.

On a team level, the 3-2 10-inning win they pulled off tonight over the Braves thanks to CJ Abrams’ walk-off single most definitely qualifies as a positive note.

On an individual level, the six standout innings Josiah Gray pitched tonight most definitely does as well.

With his best start in more than a month, Gray nearly shut down the Braves’ potent lineup altogether, allowing Matt Olson’s solo homer in the second but hardly anything else during an 85-pitch gem during what might wind up being his final start of an up-and-down year.

That decision is still to come from Davey Martinez, who has repeatedly mentioned a desire to limit the 24-year-old’s innings and potentially shut him down early, but to date has continued to let him take the mound up to the season’s final week.

The Nationals have their final scheduled off-day of the season Thursday. After which they’re hoping to play their final seven games in six days as planned.

The problem: Nobody knows at this point if it will possible to play all seven of those games in time due to a dismal weather forecast.

As Hurricane Ian made landfall today on Florida’s Gulf Coast, attention understandably has been on those communities now dealing with dangerous wind and flooding. But the remnants of the Category 4 storm could wreak havoc with the entire East Coast in the coming days, and that would have a direct impact on multiple series that need to be played to determine the National League pennant race.

The Nationals are scheduled to host the Phillies for four games in three days, with a Saturday doubleheader in the middle, while the Mets face the Braves in Atlanta for three games. Then the Nats head to New York to finish the season with three games at Citi Field, where weather still could be an issue Monday.

For now, Friday looks like the best day of the weekend here in Washington, with Saturday the worst and Sunday potentially somewhat better. Given that, the Nationals and Phillies are waiting to hear from Major League Baseball about the possibility of the Saturday doubleheader being moved to Friday, in the hopes they could at least get two games played before the worst of the storm arrives.

It hasn’t been a pleasant experience for the Nationals to face the Braves this season. (Not that it’s been much more pleasant to face anybody else in the NL East this season.) Tonight, they get one final shot at beating the defending World Series champions and perhaps dealing them a blow in their attempt to surpass the Mets to win the division this year.

It’s Josiah Gray back on the mound for what again could be his final start of 2022, though there still remains a need for somebody to pitch next week’s final series in New York, so don’t just assume this is the end of the road. Regardless, the 24-year-old right-hander would love to wrap things up on a positive note, because it’s been a difficult September for him (18 earned runs, 25 hits, 11 walks, five homers in 19 1/3 innings).

Gray has actually faced the Braves only once this season, way back on April 13 at Truist Park. He tossed five scoreless innings, allowing only one hit. A lot, of course, has changed since then.

Jake Odorizzi starts for Atlanta. The Nats saw him this spring when he was with the Astros, but this is the first time they’ve faced him since he was acquired by the Braves. Davey Martinez goes with a lineup that again includes CJ Abrams as No. 2 hitter, with Luis García returning to play second base after sitting out Tuesday’s game and Riley Adams back behind the plate.

ATLANTA BRAVES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 66 degrees, wins 9 mph left field to right field