NEW YORK – Greetings from the Big Apple! No, we are not in Queens, the Nationals’ usual stomping grounds when they visit New York. (Actually, thankful for that because of all of the U.S. Open tennis traffic that will be going to and from the area surrounding Citi Field). Instead, we are in The Bronx, where the Nats begin a three-game series against the Yankees. And the Nats have actually had success at Yankee Stadium, where they are 7-6 all-time, and against the Bombers, against whom they are 15-14 all-time.

The Yankees are in a tight battle for playoff position, currently sitting 5 ½ games behind the Blue Jays in the American League East. And after dropping three of four at home to the hated-rival Red Sox, they are a half-game behind Boston for the first AL Wild Card spot and half-game ahead of Seattle for the third one. But despite their weekend woes against the Red Sox, the Yankees are winners of eight of their last 12.

As for the Nationals, my colleague Mark Zuckerman pointed out after yesterday’s loss to the Phillies that they have gone 7-2 in games started by Brad Lord, MacKenzie Gore and Cade Cavalli while going 1-7 in games started by Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker over the last 2 ½ weeks. So luckily for them, those first three pitchers are the ones scheduled to start these three games.

Lord gets the ball tonight, bringing his 4-6 record and 3.46 ERA to the hill. The right-hander was charged with four runs in 5 ⅓ innings in his last start against the Mets, but three of the four runs came in the sixth inning. Since returning to the rotation, Lord is 2-1 with a 3.45 ERA and the Nats are 5-1 in his six starts.

In a battle of right-handed rookies, Cam Schlittler goes for the Yankees. He’s 1-2 with a 3.22 ERA in his seven starts and has not allowed more than three earned runs in an outing. In his last time out, he shut out the Rays over 6 ⅔ innings of one-hit ball with two walks and eight strikeouts.

When Eli Willits took the field last night at Virginia Credit Union Stadium for Single-A Fredericksburg, he became the youngest FredNats player ever. He also became just the sixth player in his age-17 season to get a Single-A plate appearance this season, joining Andrew Salas (Marlins), Juneiker Caceres (Guardians), Stiven Martinez (Orioles), Kevin Garcia (Brewers) and Brady Ebel (Milwaukee).

Special treatment for the No. 1 overall pick. But that, of course, comes with the territory.

It was also a special debut for Willits, who went 3-for-4 with a run scored, two RBIs, a walk and a stolen base in Fredericksburg’s 10-6 win over the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Astros). Impressive from easily the youngest kid out there, which is hopefully telling of a bright future.

But it was more telling that the Nationals believed the 17-year-old was ready for his professional debut after just a couple of weeks working out at the team’s spring training facility in West Palm Beach. The organization has typically been more patient with its draft picks out of high school.

Brady House, the No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Winder-Barrow High School in Georgia, spent the rest of that summer in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League. He didn’t make his Single-A debut until April 2022.

With a chance to win a series against a playoff team, the Nationals needed a strong offensive showing against an opposing left-handed starting pitcher.

Yes, the Nats roster right now is heavy with lefty bats. And the right-handed options haven’t consistently produced. But something needed to change after David Peterson came within one inning of tossing a complete game against the Nats for the second time this season.

“We've got to do something about it,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said after Tuesday’s 8-1 loss to Peterson.

Luckily, Peterson wasn’t on the mound this afternoon. Instead it was veteran Sean Manaea, who entered the game with a 7.98 ERA over his three August starts. And it was off this southpaw that the Nats were finally able to score some runs en route to a 9-3 victory in front of an announced crowd of 20,127 on a cloudy, misty and unusually chilly August day in D.C.

Facing a 3-0 deficit in the fourth, the Nats lineup, with only three left-handed hitters, started chipping away at Manaea. They loaded the bases and got on the board thanks to a Dylan Crews groundout, but stranded two runners in scoring position, leaving a golden opportunity on the field.

While the Nationals remain patient and cautious with Keibert Ruiz’s recovery from a concussion, they are starting to see better results from Riley Adams and Drew Millas as the backups get more consistent playing time.

Ruiz, who signed an eight-year, $50 million extension before the 2023 season, has been limited to 68 games this season while dealing with multiple concussions. The 27-year-old has been on the 7-day concussion injured list since July 8 and with 36 games remaining in the season, including today’s finale against the Mets, time is running out for him to return to the field.

Which means the Nats are getting an extensive look at Adams and Millas, albeit at the cost of the health of one of their teammates.

Both backup backstops have already or are on pace to play the most games in a single season in their short major league careers: Adams has already played 57 and Millas, although currently only at 16, is on track to surpass the 20 he played last year.

The overall numbers for Adams haven’t been strong. He’s slashing .198/.257/.356 with a .612 OPS, seven doubles, seven home runs, 17 RBIs, 13 walks and 74 strikeouts (5.7 K/BB rate). But as he’s played more consistently, he’s started to turn a corner and produce better results.

Despite a blowout loss on Tuesday, the Nationals are now in position to take this series from the Mets, thanks to last night’s 5-4 win. If they can pull it off, the Nats would find themselves as winners of five of their last eight and seven of their last 12 heading into their road trip to Philadelphia and New York.

To do so, they will definitely need better starting pitching. Over their last three games, Nationals starters have completed just 13 innings while giving up 16 runs (15 earned), 19 hits and eight walks. It’s probably not a coincidence the Nats went 1-2 in those games.

Luckily, they have their ace on the mound to try to provide them with some length. MacKenzie Gore is 5-12 with a 4.04 ERA on the season, but he’s completed six innings in each of his last two starts, allowing only a combined two runs and striking out 17. He took a hard-luck no-decision in his only start against the Mets this season back in June, when he tossed six innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts and departed the game with a 4-2 lead, only to see his team lose 5-4 in 10 innings.

Sean Manaea will make just his eighth appearance (seventh start) after his year was delayed by a right oblique strain. Overall, the veteran southpaw is 1-1 with a 4.78 ERA, but he’s posted a 7.98 ERA and the Mets are 0-3 in his three August starts.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 73 degrees, wind 12 mph in from center field

When Ethan Petry was selected as the Nationals’ second-round pick a month ago, he had no idea he would stick out like a sore thumb among the organization's first five picks. The University of South Carolina product was the only player of the Nats’ top-five selections to play in college.

The Nats’ first five picks all landed in both MLB Pipeline’s and Baseball America’s latest rankings of the organization's top 30 prospects. But the experienced Petry (No. 8 per Pipeline, No. 6 per Baseball America) has been the only one to get his professional career rolling, making his Single-A Fredericksburg debut on Tuesday with a hit, a run and a walk as the designated hitter.

“I'm really excited to start my career here with the Nationals,” Petry said Wednesday on the “District Chat” podcast. “Last night, got the win for Fredericksburg and just really excited to have the opportunity to play for the Nationals.”

Petry’s experience at South Carolina helped put him on a faster track to the pros than his high school draft classmates. The 21-year-old hit .321 with 10 doubles, one triple, 10 home runs, 34 RBIs, 26 walks and 30 runs scored in 44 games for the Gamecocks in 2025. He posted a .437 on-base percentage and a .590 slugging percentage while leading the team in home runs and ranking second in RBIs and walks.

Facing pitchers with similar or less experience in the Carolina League hasn’t been too hard.

The Nationals sent a message when they designated struggling first baseman Nathaniel Lowe for assignment this afternoon to make room for Dylan Crews’s return: "We want to see the young kids. ... We want to see what they can do,” said interim manager Miguel Cairo ahead of tonight’s four-game series opener against the Phillies.

Sure enough, Cairo started four of his five young outfielders, with James Wood serving as the designated hitter, Daylen Lile playing left field, Jacob Young in center and Crews back in right.

But it was another young player Cairo chose to start tonight that came up clutch for the Nats against this veteran Phillies squad in a 3-2 comeback victory in front of an announced crowd of 21,609 on South Capitol Street.

“I gotta tell you, that's a game that you look at it and it's like a playoff game," Cairo said after the win. "That's the way you play games like this. Good pitching, good defense, opportune hitting. It was nice to see our pitchers, our defense, our hitters really engage in the game and doing the little things. That's what we did today. They picked each other up.”

Of the five young outfielders, three of them are left-handed hitters, so one of them figured to sit to start this one. The odd-man out was Robert Hassell III. And Cairo also figured this was a good time to give shortstop CJ Abrams a breather after he played 24 straight games and with tough left-hander Jesús Luzardo starting for the visitors. So Paul DeJong started at shortstop and José Tena started at second base for just his fifth appearance since being recalled from Triple-A Rochester 2 ½ weeks ago.

The Nationals had a decision to make this afternoon as they prepared to reinstate Dylan Crews from the 60-day injured list. Do they send one of their four young outfielders – James Wood, Jacob Young, Robert Hassell III or Daylen Lile – down to Triple-A Rochester to get regular playing time? Or do they hold onto five outfielders and send down infielder José Tena, who has only played in four games since he was recalled 2 ½ weeks ago?

In the end, the Nats surprisingly went an entirely different route by designating struggling first baseman Nathaniel Lowe for assignment to make room for Crews, who returns after almost three months while dealing with a left oblique strain.

“We feel like we want to see the young kids,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said of the decision before tonight’s series opener against the Phillies. “We want to keep Hassell in the outfield, Lile, we have Wood. We have young players and I think we want to see them play. We want to see what they can do in the last month, month and a half.”

Lowe was acquired by former general manager Mike Rizzo in a December trade with the Rangers in exchange for left-handed reliever Robert Garcia. With two more years of arbitration eligibility, Lowe lost his salary arbitration case against the team and received a $10.3 million salary (the Nats’ highest-paid player this season) rather than the $11.1 million he requested.

The 30-year-old’s first half of the season was somewhat of a mixed bag. While he was on pace to be one of the team leaders in home runs and RBIs, his batting average, OPS and defensive metrics were well below his career averages.

The Nationals have returned from a 3-3 road trip for a tough homestand. In fact, they have a tough stretch to finish August, with each of their next 13 games coming against a team currently in a playoff position.

This homestand against two divisional rivals starts with a four-game set against the Phillies, who own a five-game lead over the Mets in the National League East. Luckily, the Nats will be getting some reinforcements by activating Dylan Crews off the 60-day injured list as he returns from his oblique injury. In a corresponding move, the Nats surprisingly designated first baseman Nathaniel Lowe for assignment. So we’ll have to wait and see how interim manager Miguel Cairo constructs his lineups with five young outfielders moving forward.

Brad Lord certainly has been one of the bright spots for this team in the second half. Since rejoining the rotation full-time, the right-hander is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA over four starts, with the Nats winning three of those games. He did make a start against the Phillies when he was briefly a part of the rotation back in May, tossing five innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts and one walk. He earned the win in that game, too.

Former Nats draft pick Jesús Luzardo starts for the Phils. The lefty is 11-5 with a 4.20 ERA and 1.346 WHIP in 24 starts. He started the second game of the season here at Nats Park and struck out 11 over five frames of two-run ball in a Philly rout.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of scattered thunderstorms, 80 degrees, wind 5 mph from right to left field

The last couple of weeks have not been kind to the Nationals. But the last month has been great for the organization’s farm system.

A lot was asked of Mike DeBartolo when he was given the interim general manager tag on July 6, exactly one week away from making the No. 1 overall selection in the MLB Draft. Two and half weeks later, he had to navigate a hectic trade deadline.

By all accounts, DeBartolo did a really good job for the Nationals’ future.

With No. 1 pick Eli Willits signing under slot value at $8.2 million, the Nats saved almost $3 million toward their bonus pool to draft and sign other high-potential players with their top five picks. Outfielder Ethan Petry (University of South Carolina), prep right-handers Landon Harmon and Miguel Sime Jr., and high school shortstop Coy James all signed well above their respective designated slot values.

And then just last week, DeBartolo was able to trade six major league players (five on expiring contracts and one that was not going to be a part of the young outfield's future) for 10 new prospects.

This homestand has not been kind to the Nationals' offense. Over the first five games, they only scored 23 runs, 11 of which came in the ninth inning.

One of those ninth-inning runs, however, was last night’s walk-off winner to snap a six-game losing streak. The Nats were hopeful those good vibes would carry over into Thursday’s matinee finale as they went for a much-needed series win over the Athletics.

But the early hole the Nats found themselves in this afternoon was too much for this lifeless lineup to overcome in a 6-0 loss in front of an announced crowd of 14,519 on South Capitol Street.

Interim manager Miguel Cairo tried to go against conventional wisdom against A’s left-hander Jacob Lopez. Instead of stacking his order with right-handed hitters, like most teams have against Lopez this year (only 52 plate appearances by left-handed hitters against him entering today), Cairo put six lefties in his starting lineup, leaving two switch-hitters (Josh Bell and Drew Millas) and one right-hander (Brady House) on the bench.

“House has not been hitting good against lefties," Cairo said to explain his lineup after the game. "I wanted (Paul) DeJong, he's been swinging the bat good. JB right-handed, he's not swinging the back good either. He's a better left-handed hitter. So I was just trying to go with giving a chance to (Luis García Jr.) to play second base to see if he can do a better job. But I guess I gotta do a better job doing the lineup against lefties.”

When Shinnosuke Ogasawara signed a two-year, $3.5 million contract with the Nationals in January, not only did he become the first player the organization signed directly from Asia, but he also became an instant contender for a starting rotation spot.

But that didn’t come to fruition in spring training, as he was optioned to start the season at Triple-A Rochester.

The 27-year-old left-hander was called up to make his major league debut on July 6, completing only 2 ⅔ innings and giving up four runs and seven hits in a loss to the Red Sox. His second start was better, but he still gave up three runs and four hits in just four innings against the Brewers.

The Nats optioned Ogasawara back to Rochester following that start, deciding to instead fill his rotation spot with Brad Lord after the All-Star break. But with holes left on the roster following the trade deadline, the club brought him back to the major leagues to take on a role in the bullpen.

Since then, Ogasawara has found the results he and the team had hoped for back in camp.

What a wild win the Nationals got themselves last night in walk-off fashion to snap a six-game losing streak. You could tell during the on-field celebration the boys needed that one.

And now they have a chance to win a series here this afternoon against the Athletics, which would be another feel-good moment that is desperately needed around these parts.

The Nats turn to Mitchell Parker for this matinee series finale. The left-hander is 7-11 with a 5.35 ERA and 1.470 WHIP over his 22 starts. He really needs a strong bounceback performance after giving up eight runs on 12 hits over four innings in a loss to the Brewers his last time out.

The offense will have to deal with Jacob Lopez to start. The left-hander is 4-6 with a 3.99 ERA and 1.343 WHIP over his 17 games (13 starts) this season. But that ERA is inflated with four tough relief appearances. Over his 13 starts, Lopez is 4-5 with a 3.82 ERA and 1.304 WHIP. And he’s pitched a combined 9 ⅓ shutout innings over his last two starts.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ATHLETICS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 12:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (out-of-market only), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 9 mph in from right field

No matter if and when the Nationals' offense showed up today against the Brewers, the pitching simply needed to be better.

After allowing 16 runs and giving up a club-record 25 hits in Friday’s series-opening loss, the collective effort on the mound had to drastically improve for the home team or else they again would have no shot to beat the team with the best record in baseball.

Leading that charge on the hill was Jake Irvin, who was looking to follow up his strong outing his last time out in his home state of Minnesota. But the right-hander surrendered an early lead en route to another short outing in the Nats’ 8-2 loss in front of 28,869 fans on South Capitol Street.

Before he tossed seven strong innings of two-run ball against the Twins, Irvin turned in his shortest start of the season against the Reds, giving up five runs in just 3 ⅔ innings on 72 pitches. He just barely eclipsed that Saturday afternoon.

The Brewers were all over Irvin from the jump, their lineup filled with lefties and switch-hitters who were easily pulling his pitches into right field. They ended up scoring in each of the first three frames to put the Nats in an early hole.

Keibert Ruiz walked around the Nationals' clubhouse with his usual big smile. He then had a playful interaction with CJ Abrams walking from his locker to the kitchen. All seemed normal.

Except life is still not normal for the 27-year-old catcher, who continues to experience symptoms from a concussion that has placed him on the injured list twice since June 24 and most recently since July 8.

“I feel much better than a couple weeks ago,” Ruiz said at his locker before today’s game against the Brewers. “And I'm just following the protocol. I gotta get used to noises and I'm sensitive. ... I'm doing a little bit more every day, like working out and all that stuff.”

Ruiz missed 10 days during his first IL stint after he was hit in the head by a ricocheting foul ball in the visitors’ dugout in San Diego. In just his second game back, he was struck in the facemask by two foul balls, which brought back the concussion symptoms.

The Nats chose to place him back on the IL the following day with the same concussion that had been reaggravated. Since then, Ruiz has barely been around the team, not traveling with them on road trips and not coming around the home clubhouse while trying to get his sensitivity to light and noises down.

The Nationals offense waited too long to get going last night against the Brewers, scoring seven of their eight runs over the last four innings. But it doesn’t matter when the offense produces if the Nats don’t get better pitching.

Mitchell Parker gave up eight runs on 12 hits in four-plus innings Friday night, as four relievers joined him in combining to surrender 16 runs and a club-record 25 hits. They really only can improve from there.

Jake Irvin will be tasked with leading the charge. The right-hander is 8-5 with a 4.69 ERA and 1.295 WHIP in 22 starts. And he’s coming off an impressive outing in his hometown against the Twins, in which he tossed seven strong innings of two-run ball. Irvin faced the Brew Crew in Milwaukee in the last game before the All-Star break, giving up three unearned runs with five strikeouts in five frames.

Opposing him is Brandon Woodruff, the veteran right-hander who also faced the Nats right before the break. The 32-year-old is 2-0 with a 2.01 ERA and 0.716 WHIP in his four starts since returning from injury. When he faced Washington three weeks ago, he gave up two solo home runs to rookies Daylen Lile and Brady House but struck out 10 in 4 ⅓ innings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 8 mph in from right field

The Nationals continued their sell-off this evening by sending right-hander Michael Soroka to the Cubs, a source confirmed to MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman.

In return, the Nats are getting 18-year-old infielder Ronny Cruz and 25-year-old outfielder Christian Franklin.

Soroka, signed to a one-year, $9 million contract in December, finishes his time with the Nats with a 3-8 record, 4.87 ERA, 1.131 WHIP and 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings over 16 starts.

Though his last start was his shortest with Washington both in terms of innings (3 ⅓) and pitches (74), he only surrendered two runs on four hits and no walks with four strikeouts. That helped make Soroka’s underlying numbers – 3.32 xERA and 4.12 FIP – more desirable than his traditional stats.

Soroka is also good in short spurts. Going back to his success as a reliever last year with the White Sox, he posted a 2.75 ERA and 1.222 WHIP in 16 appearances out of the bullpen. Through the first three innings this year, Soroka had a 3.00 ERA. The deeper in the game he got, the worse he got: In innings four through six, he had a 7.66 ERA.

Interim general manager Mike DeBartolo has already conceded the Nationals will be sellers at next week’s trade deadline. And he also mentioned he’s not looking to trade the team’s top young players, such as MacKenzie Gore, though he said he would answer the phone if another team called to ask.

That likely just leaves veterans on expiring contracts to be traded as two-month rentals. The price tags for such players are usually low, but teams may become desperate as they look to reload their rosters ahead of playoff runs.

Luckily, the Nats have a handful of such players. And even more fortunately, those players are trending in the right direction at the right time.

Perhaps the most positive development has been Josh Bell’s recent surge.

After slashing just .151/.254/.289 through his first 45 games this season, the switch-hitter is now slashing .298/.374/.497 with an .871 OPS, nine doubles, seven home runs, 23 RBIs and 17 walks to 19 strikeouts over his last 43 games. Even better, he’s slashing .309/.389/.491 with an .880 OPS over his last 32 and has homered in back-to-back games.

Jacob Young is no stranger to making incredible defensive plays in center field. Since becoming a full-time major leaguer last year, the 25-year-old has been one of the most electric outfielders in the sport.

So while it wasn’t a surprise Young made a miraculous catch to rob Will Benson of a home run yesterday, it was still a play that should draw plenty of praise. And a highlight that should be remembered from an otherwise forgettable 5-0 loss to the Reds.

With Cincinnati having already extended its lead to 3-0 in the eighth inning, it looked like Benson was going to add more with a two-run homer off Jackson Rutledge. He hit the right-hander's elevated first-pitch fastball 103.1 mph off the bat and it traveled 400 feet to straightaway center.

But he needed 401 feet to beat Young.

The 5-foot-11 center fielder ran back and climbed the wall with two literal steps to reach over and bring the ball back for the final out of the inning, sending a loud roar of approval from the crowd ringing across Nationals Park and putting a lot of astounded looks on players’ faces.

In order for the Nationals to accomplish something they hadn’t in two months, they would need to build on the offensive outputs they posted in each of the first two games against the Reds.

They claimed victories in those outings in very different ways, setting up an opportunity for their first three-game sweep since mid-May against the Orioles in Baltimore. On Monday, they jumped out to a big early lead and held on late. On Tuesday, they stayed patient against a tough starter, who they eventually got to the second time through the order, and relied on the bullpen.

Unfortunately, the Nats were victims of another feat, something that has happened to them more recently than their own sweep.

Neither version of the offense showed up this afternoon, as the Nats were shut out by Nick Lodolo in a 5-0 loss in front of 21,567 fans on camp day at Nationals Park.

Lodolo became the third pitcher to toss a complete-game shutout against the Nationals this season, joining Erick Fedde (who was coincidentally designated for assignment by the Cardinals today after going 3-10 with a 5.22 ERA) on May 9 and David Peterson with the Mets on June 11.