As the ball went soaring over the right field wall and into the home bullpen at Nationals Park, it was impossible not to take stock of the situation and consider what it may have meant for the present and future of both franchises competing in tonight’s series opener.

The two-run homer was hit by Nolan Gorman, one of the Cardinals’ top young players and likely one of the key pieces the Nationals would be seeking should St. Louis attempt to trade for Juan Soto in the coming days.

Soto, of course, was in right field for the Nats tonight, racing back to the wall in vain hopes of catching an uncatchable ball. On the mound was Aníbal Sánchez, who had been one pitch away from authoring his first quality start in the majors in two years but instead wound up charged with six runs in what ultimately was a 6-2 loss.

"Tough one today," manager Davey Martinez said. "We could've made a couple plays defensively, didn't do it early. I thought Sánchez until that last inning kept us in the ballgame. And we had some opportunities to score some runs, we couldn't do it."

In the opener of a weeklong homestand that could include plenty of drama leading up to Tuesday’s trade deadline, the Nationals were again overmatched by a superior opponent. Their lineup was rendered helpless by Miles Mikolas who allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings. And their chances of keeping the game within striking distance were significantly diminished when Sánchez served up back-to-back homers with two outs in the sixth: the first to Gorman, then a follow-up blast to Lars Nootbaar.

For the fourth time in six games, Ehire Adrianza finds himself in the Nationals lineup tonight. And for the third time, he’s starting at third base in place of Maikel Franco.

If that development seems to have come out of nowhere, well, that’s true.

Adrianza started only 10 games at third base in his first six weeks since coming off the injured list, in addition to three games at second base, two in left field and one at shortstop. Now, though, he’s getting regular action, mostly at the hot corner.

What’s the impetus for that?

“I’ve just honestly been playing matchups with him,” manager Davey Martinez said before tonight’s series opener against the Cardinals. “He missed a lot (of time), as you know. I’m trying to keep him going. When you get hurt and miss that much time during the season, it takes you a little bit to get going. I think over the last few days, he’s been hitting the ball a lot better. So I didn’t want him to lose that by sitting him for a week or something. So I’ve been playing him quite a bit. Franco’s been playing quite a bit. They’ve just been sharing time.”

The Nationals are back in town at last for what could be an awfully eventful homestand. It begins tonight with the opener of a three-game series with the Cardinals, and a fun rematch of a famous game in franchise history. Remember the last time Aníbal Sánchez faced Miles Mikolas? That would be Game 1 of the 2019 NLCS. No word if Ryan Zimmerman plans to come out of retirement for one night so he can make a diving catch at first base and keep a no-hit bid alive.

Anyways, the Nats return from a successful series in Los Angeles, having won two of three. Now they face a good Cardinals club that in theory could leave town with a new right fielder. (Sorry, just telling you what’s within the realm of possibility at this point.)

Davey Martinez is sticking with Victor Robles in the leadoff spot, with the aforementioned Juan Soto batting third ahead of Josh Bell and Nelson Cruz. Ehire Adrianza gets another start at third base instead of Maikel Franco, the third time that’s the been the case in the last week.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 81 degrees, wind 7 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
CF Victor Robles
2B César Hernández
RF Juan Soto
1B Josh Bell
DH Nelson Cruz
LF Yadiel Hernandez
SS Luis García
C Keibert Ruiz
3B Ehire Adrianza

The Nationals are back home tonight for the first time in 12 days. A lot has happened since then, of course, though none of the really big things that could still happen within the next few days.

The roster remains intact. Juan Soto, Josh Bell, Nelson Cruz, Kyle Finnegan and everyone else are still Nationals. Will they all still be come 6 p.m. Tuesday? The time for some major, franchise-altering decisions by Mark Lerner and Mike Rizzo is nearly upon us.

In the meantime, we'll take some time this morning to address whatever questions you have about the situation. I can't promise I have all the answers you seek, but I hope I can add some perspective (and maybe a little dose of reality) to the chaos that now surrounds this team.

As always, submit your questions in the comments section below, then check back throughout the morning for answers ...

By this time next week, the Nationals’ farm system could have a brand-new infusion of talent, perhaps a host of well-regarded prospects acquired before Tuesday’s trade deadline, should the organization make the dramatic decision to deal Juan Soto (not to mention Josh Bell, Nelson Cruz, Kyle Finnegan, Carl Edwards Jr. and possibly others) in the final teardown of their once-competitive roster.

All the while, the guy who has been regarded their No. 1 prospect for some time now remains at Triple-A, seemingly knocking on the door for the final promotion that will lead to his major league debut.

Cade Cavalli made another case for that Wednesday night, tossing five scoreless innings on 75 pitches for Rochester against Scranton-Wilkes Barre. The young right-hander allowed three hits, walked three and struck out three to continue his recent surge, albeit in his first start in more than two weeks.

Cavalli hadn’t pitched since July 12, when he abruptly departed a game in the fourth inning with what proved to be a minor finger issue, akin to a blister. Minor as it was, that ailment did prompt the Nationals to hold him out of that weekend’s All-Star Futures Game at Dodger Stadium. They then waited until Wednesday to have him take the mound again, giving him a 15-day break that perhaps helped conserve some innings he’ll still need before season’s end.

Cavalli now sports a 4.03 ERA in 16 total Triple-A starts this season, but he has been trending in an upward direction for a while. Over his last nine starts, he owns a 1.89 ERA and 1.000 WHIP. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in any of his three starts this month.

LOS ANGELES – There is no greater indignity for a starting pitcher then to see his manager emerge from the dugout steps and make the long, slow walk toward him in the first inning. Unless said starter is injured or dealing with some other abnormal circumstances, the first-inning hook is as humiliating a fate as a big league pitcher will ever experience. Which is why it happens so infrequently.

It had never happened to Patrick Corbin in his career, not in his first start, not in his 100th start, not in his 200th start, not in any of countless other miserable starts during a miserable three-year stretch for the Nationals left-hander.

And then, in career start No. 250, there stood Corbin on the mound, the Dodgers having scored six runs in the bottom of the first, all of them scoring with two outs, his pitch count up to a whopping 45. And here came Davey Martinez to ask for the ball and leave his veteran starter taking the walk of shame back to the dugout as the Dodger Stadium crowd serenaded him.

"He faced 10 hitters. He was behind five of them," Martinez said. "And the guys he got ahead of, he just couldn't put them away. That was the big deal right there. And he had a lot of pitches, so we had to go get him."

Everything that transpired over the remaining eight-plus innings in the Nationals’ 7-1 loss to the Dodgers felt inconsequential. Only hours after pulling off their most dramatic win of the season, the Nats showed up for this early-afternoon matinee with a shot at their first series sweep of the season, their first-ever series sweep in this historic ballpark. Those dreams, for all intents and purposes, were dashed before the first inning even came to a close.

LOS ANGELES – As the eighth inning became the ninth inning Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, the Nationals suddenly holding a 4-3 lead following Luis García’s dramatic home run, Hunter Harvey looked around the bullpen and tried to figure out who was about to be told to start warming up.

With Kyle Finnegan and Carl Edwards Jr. both unavailable after pitching the previous two nights, Harvey’s attention immediately turned to Steve Cishek, the 36-year-old veteran with 133 saves on his big league resume.

“I was about 100 percent sure it was going to be Cishek,” Harvey said this morning. “That was my guess. He’s been around for 11 years. He’s got a bunch of saves. I was sure he was going to be the guy. So when they called down and said it was going to be me … it’s kind of crazy to even think I’m even getting this opportunity.”

Harvey indeed was manager Davey Martinez’s choice to close the game. The 27-year-old right-hander’s heart started racing at the thought of entering for his first major league save opportunity, before a sellout crowd at Dodger Stadium, of all places.

And though the Nationals lineup actually took the save opportunity away by tacking on four runs in the top of the ninth to extend the lead to 8-3, Harvey’s experience wasn’t diminished in the least. He retired the side, getting Mookie Betts to ground to third for the final out of one the team’s biggest wins of this otherwise dismal season.

LOS ANGELES – The Nationals have not had a four-game winning streak this season. They have not swept a series against any opponent since June 2020, when they took three straight from the Pirates and then later won a two-game mini-series over the Rays. They haven’t swept a road series over anybody since August 2019, when they marched into Wrigley Field and won three straight against the Cubs.

So, naturally, all of those droughts could end this afternoon at none other than Dodger Stadium. Hey, at this point, why not?

If they are going to pull off the unthinkable, the Nationals will need to continue to hit the way they did Tuesday night (though preferably without waiting until the eighth inning to get going). Davey Martinez is sticking with Victor Robles in the leadoff spot, a look that has certainly worked the last two nights. Nelson Cruz returns to the lineup after pinch-hitting Tuesday and finally snapping an 0-for-15 slump with a two-run double. Tres Barrera gets the start behind the plate against Dodgers lefty Andrew Heaney, giving Keibert Ruiz a well-deserved day off.

Patrick Corbin will start for the Nats, and on paper that doesn’t look like a great matchup against a Los Angeles lineup that again opens with Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman. But Corbin does have a few memorable moments in this ballpark in his career. Maybe he can channel some of that old magic and at least give his team a chance today before handing it over to a bullpen that hasn’t allowed a run in its last 15 1/3 innings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 3:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 78 degrees, wind 4 mph out to center field

LOS ANGELES – Luis García stepped into Dodger Stadium for the first time Monday night, and like many of his young teammates, was struck more than anything by the bass-thumping sound system at this venerable ballpark.

By the time he found himself rounding the bases in the top of the eighth tonight, the primary sound the Nationals shortstop heard was the chorus of boos from a sellout throng of 53,302, the largest crowd to watch a major league game this season.

García’s two-run homer, a no-doubt blast to right off left-hander Garrett Cleavinger, lifted the Nats to another improbable victory over the Dodgers, this one by the eventual count of 8-3 thanks to four tack-on runs in the ninth. Winners of three in a row, a team that had just lost 17 of 19 will return here Wednesday afternoon with a chance to sweep their first series of the year, no matter the opponent.

"You know what? I've always said this: If our starting pitchers can keep us in the game, we'll score some runs, and our bullpen's been pretty good," said manager Davey Martinez, who earned his 300th career win. "They're playing well right now, and I'm proud of the guys. Because all year long we've fallen short, but they don't quit. And I love that about them." 

It’s been impossible to watch these games the last two nights, complete with lockdown relief pitching and score-flipping homers, and not hearken back to games played between these same franchises in this same ballpark two Octobers ago. García’s homer tonight (one of the 22-year-old’s three hits in the game) certainly resembled the one Juan Soto mashed off Clayton Kershaw in Game 5 of the 2019 NLDS.

LOS ANGELES – It wasn’t that long ago that Nelson Cruz seemed to have found his swing and was on a sustained productive stretch at the plate.

After homering at Texas on June 26, Cruz was on a 44-game run that included a .315 batting average, .395 on-base percentage and .503 slugging percentage, raising his season slash line to .252/.334/.394.

And then the bottom fell out. Over his last 19 games, Cruz has hit a paltry .157 with a .253 on-base percentage, .171 slugging percentage and one extra-base hit (a double). That has left his season numbers back at .231/.317/.346.

“His timing is a little off,” manager Davey Martinez said before tonight’s game against the Dodgers. “He’s a little late getting his foot down. I know he came out early today to hit, so it’s something he wanted to work on. But he’s been doing this for so many years, he knows himself really well. He knows his swing really well.”

Cruz may know his swing well, but the 42-year-old may be running out of time to fix it and ensure he maintains some trade value heading into next week’s league-wide deadline.

LOS ANGELES – What’s that you say? The Nationals have a chance tonight at a three-game winning streak? Why yes, that’s exactly what’s at stake this evening when they face the Dodgers in the second game of this series.

It’s going to take another stellar effort to beat L.A., of course, and that starts with the pitching staff, most notably starter Josiah Gray. After using up five relievers to pull off Monday night’s 4-1 victory – and having now used both Carl Edwards Jr. and Kyle Finnegan on back-to-back days – the Nats need quality and length tonight from Gray, who makes his return to Chavez Ravine.

The former Dodgers prospect made his first two career big league appearances here last summer (prior to the trade) and didn’t fare so well. He also didn’t fare so well when he faced the Dodgers in D.C. earlier this season, giving up seven runs in three innings, with three homers hit off him. Gray feels like he’s been able to shake off those jitters since, and heads into tonight’s start feeling better about the state of things, though he has struggled in two of his last three outings after a fantastic June.

The lineup looks similar to Monday’s arrangement, with Victor Robles batting leadoff again (as Davey Martinez promised). The most notable change, though, is the absence of Nelson Cruz. It’s been a miserable open to the second half for the 42-year-old, who is 0-for-14 with two walks and five strikeouts since the All-Star break. Obviously, he’s a name who has been on the trading block all year, though the way he’s been performing makes you wonder just how much interest there’s going to be in him now.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 10:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB Network (outside D.C. and L.A. markets), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 71 degrees, wind 7 mph out to center field

LOS ANGELES – It was a pretty sizeable mismatch on paper. On one side, Tony Gonsolin, owner of an 11-0 record and 2.02 ERA in 18 starts. On the other side, Paolo Espino, owner of an 0-3 record and 3.57 ERA in 27 games (only seven of them starts).

What transpired Monday at Dodger Stadium, though, was a friendly reminder that anything can happen on any given night in baseball. And though it hasn’t happened all that often to the Nationals this season, it’s still possible to happen at any given moment.

On this night, Espino was the better pitcher. The 35-year-old journeyman allowed just one run over his four-plus innings, scattering four hits while striking out two and recording quick outs. Gonsolin, meanwhile, carried a no-hitter into the fourth but quickly unraveled, surrendering a leadoff homer to Yadiel Hernandez, then four straight two-out hits that allowed the Nats to open up a 4-1 lead they would hold all night en route to victory.

Thus did the Nationals become the first team this season to defeat Gonsolin. Yes, the same Nationals team that entered with a major-league-worst 32-65 record.

“You know what, he still is terrific,” manager Davey Martinez said of Gonsolin, now 11-1 with a 2.26 ERA. “He’s got good stuff. He mixes all his pitches in, he works quick. Today, we got an opportunity to score some runs off him, and we came through.”

LOS ANGELES – Juan Soto, to no one’s surprise, found himself the center of attention again today at Dodger Stadium. One week ago, the Nationals star was celebrating victory in the Home Run Derby on this very field before an appreciative crowd. Tonight, he was left to try to ignore the awkward pleas of some among the gathering of 48,647 for him to trade in his curly W for Dodger blue.

By night’s end, though, that large gathering could only trudge out of this old ballyard muttering to themselves about how Soto and his Nationals teammates had just dismantled their boys to the tune of a 4-1 victory that included clutch hits and a whole lot of dominant relief pitching by a visiting team that entered with half as many wins as their star-laden opponents.

"It gets the team a lot more excited, especially after we did what we did against the pitcher of his caliber, with those great numbers," left fielder Yadiel Hernandez said of his team's ability to hand Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin his first loss of the season in his 18th start. "We were able to score those runs, and it creates more excitement for us to keep going and hopefully have more games like this."

Soto played his role in the Nats’ fifth-inning rally, chopping a two-run triple over first baseman Freddie Freeman’s head, but there were countless other contributors on this night, most notably the five relievers who each tossed a scoreless inning to make the win possible.

Turning to his bullpen in the fifth despite starter Paolo Espino’s success (and low pitch count), Davey Martinez asked the quintet of Andres Machado, Victor Arano, Hunter Harvey, Carl Edwards Jr. and Kyle Finnegan to close it out. And then watched as they did just that.

LOS ANGELES – Davey Martinez has tried all manner of lineup combinations this season, trying to find some arrangement that produces runs in bunches while keeping Juan Soto and Josh Bell in a position to drive in as many runs as possible. Tonight, the Nationals manager decided to go back to an idea he last toyed with in 2021: Victor Robles leading off.

Yes, for the first time this season Robles is the Nats’ No. 1 hitter for tonight’s series opener against the Dodgers. It’s a role the organization has always hoped he would seize, but to date he hasn’t.

Now, on the heels of a solid weekend in Arizona, Robles is getting another shot atop the order.

“I’ve been thinking about it,” Martinez said. “He’s swinging the bat well. You think about what he does when he gets on base. He causes a bunch of havoc. So I talked to him today, and I told him I want you to lead off.”

This isn’t expected to be a one-and-done opportunity for Robles, either. Martinez said he intends to stick with this look for the foreseeable future, hoping the 25-year-old center fielder makes the most of it.

LOS ANGELES – Dodger Stadium has been the site of more than a few memorable moments in Nationals history, both good ones and bad ones. What do the next three days have in store? Probably nothing as meaningful as the night of Oct. 9, 2019, when the Nats got over the hump and won their first playoff series. But hopefully nothing too devastating, either. We shall see.

Juan Soto, of course, will be the center of attention here, just as he was one week ago when he won the Home Run Derby in this very ballpark. It’ll be interesting to see what the crowd reaction is to the young star. Perhaps some Dodger faithful will be cheering him on, hoping to make a good impression on him?

Soto will be batting third tonight, after batting second Sunday in a 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks. Victor Robles has been bumped up to the leadoff spot for the first time this season, with everyone else getting bumped down a spot from where they were Sunday, including Ehire Adrianza at third base instead of Maikel Franco. Will have to ask if anything unusual is going on there.

Paolo Espino gets the ball for his first start of the second half. It’s an awfully tough challenge, facing a Dodgers lineup that opens up with Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman. Espino’s best hope for success: Keep the walks to a minimum, and keep the ball in the yard.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 10:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB Network (outside D.C. and L.A. markets), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 72 degrees, wind 7 mph out to center field

PHOENIX – As he arrived at the mound at Chase Field late Sunday afternoon, Kyle Finnegan understood the magnitude of the moment, and the challenge he now faced. The Nationals held a 4-3 lead over the Diamondbacks, who had just loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth off Steve Cishek, who after recording the first out of the inning now handed the ball to his bullpen mate, hoping he could somehow escape the ultimate jam without allowing the tying run to score.

Nervewracking? Sure. But also thrilling for Finnegan, who indeed escaped the jam, doing it in the most efficient way possible when he got Arizona cleanup hitter Christian Walker to ground into a 6-4-3 double play on his very first pitch.

“That’s why you play the game, to make a pitch like that and to turn around and see us make a great play like that,” Finnegan said. “You come into the dugout, and it’s exciting. It hasn’t been going our way lately, and to get a win like that where we fight to the last out and it was a great game by both sides, that’s what it’s all about.”

These indeed are the moments high-leverage relievers live for. And Finnegan has been involved in plenty of them this season, though few of them recently. Despite taking over as Nats closer nearly two weeks ago after Tanner Rainey went down with a potentially major elbow injury, Finnegan had yet to find himself in a save situation until Sunday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks.

And this was no ordinary save situation. Summoned by manager Davey Martinez in the bottom of the eighth, Finnegan not only needed to get out of the bases-loaded jam, he then needed to return to record the final three outs in the bottom of the ninth.

PHOENIX – So little about the Nationals’ performance this afternoon at Chase Field was inspired. There were egregious outs run into on the bases, errors committed in the field, long innings defined by deep counts and walks issued.

And yet when it really mattered in the end, the Nats found a way to do just enough to put themselves in position to win. They got a clutch double from Josh Bell in the seventh (and an overturned call on a quirky play that went their way for once). They got a clutch hit by Keibert Ruiz in the eighth to give themselves a rare lead. And then they rode their new closer for five outs to emerge with a 4-3 victory that felt oh so good, no matter how bad this game actually looked at times.

Thus did the Nationals avoid a weekend sweep in Arizona and win for only the third time in their last 20 games. The outcome changes nothing about the broader picture for this floundering franchise, but for one afternoon it was OK to smile.

"We haven't had a lot of comeback wins this year," starter Erick Fedde said. "So those are the ones that are big confidence boosters. And I think the more you do it, the easier it is to have a recurrence. It's good for us. I hope to see more wins like that for us."

The go-ahead rally was ignited by Lane Thomas, pinch-hitting for Yadiel Hernandez to open the eighth. Facing All-Star left-hander Joe Mantiply, Thomas lined a hit to left-center, then hustled his way into second for a double to set the stage. Luis García put down a well placed sacrifice bunt to advance him to third, then Ruiz laced an RBI single to right for his third hit of a game that also included a walk drawn.

PHOENIX – It seemed innocent enough, a solo homer by Victor Robles off Madison Bumgarner in the eighth inning for what proved to be the final run in the Nationals’ 7-2 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Bumgarner, though, is ever mindful of what’s going on around him, especially when it involves someone from the opposing team hitting a home run off him. The 32-year-old left-hander has a storied legacy that may land him in Cooperstown some day because of his workhorse approach to pitching and dominant performances in multiple October runs with the Giants.

His legacy, though, also includes a significant history of tiffs with opponents he believes didn’t celebrate home runs off him in an appropriate manner, most notably the Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig and Max Muncy.

And late Saturday night, Victor Robles joined that list.

“He’s a clown,” Bumgarner told reporters in the Diamondbacks clubhouse after the game. “Golly. No shame. No shame. Like, it’s 7-1, you hit your third homer of the year and you act like Barry Bonds breaking the record. Clean it up. I don’t care about giving up the run. Hell, we won 7-2, 8-2, whatever it was. It’s frustrating. I’m the old grumpy guy, I know, but that type of stuff, it didn’t use to happen. That’s ridiculous.”

PHOENIX – The Nationals’ schedule this month has been unrelenting, and it will continue to be that way in the coming days, with series against the Dodgers, Cardinals and Mets next up. That made this weekend’s series with the Diamondbacks a potential ease-in for the Nats. Of course, that’s not how things have worked out so far.

The Nationals have lost the first two games this weekend by a combined 14 runs. Neither has been a particularly competitive or entertaining game. They can only hope today’s finale has a better outcome.

Davey Martinez, ever searching for some lineup that can produce runs in bunches, especially early in games, has moved Juan Soto back up to the No. 2 spot, with Josh Bell and Nelson Cruz behind him. We’ll see if it makes any difference, but it would sure help if César Hernández got on base a couple times to give Soto an opportunity to do some damage against Arizona right-hander Corbin Martin, just recalled from Triple-A Reno.

Erick Fedde gets the ball for the Nats, facing a Diamondbacks lineup that roughed him up back in April to the tune of seven runs (six earned) in only 3 1/3 innings. Fedde did dominate at Chase Field last season, though, tossing seven scoreless innings in one of the best starts of his career.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Where: Chase Field
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

PHOENIX – What does it take for the Nationals to win a baseball game right now? It takes everything going right.

It takes a quality performance from the starting pitcher. It takes a sustained offensive attack from the early innings through the late ones. And it takes shutdown work from the bullpen.

Remove any one part of that formula, and victory becomes awfully difficult. Remove two, and it is almost impossible. Remove all three, and … well, you get the Nationals on most nights in July 2022.

The Nats did none of those things well tonight in a 7-2 loss to the Diamondbacks. But in fairness, they haven’t done most of those things well at any point this month. They’ve now lost 17 of their last 19 games to fall to an abysmal 31-65 on the season.

Now consider this: The worst month in club history was July 2008, when the Nationals went 5-19 (a .208 winning percentage) during what wound up a 102-loss season. This team needs to win four of its next seven games (against the D-backs, Dodgers and Cardinals, mind you) to avoid establishing a new low point.