When Victor Robles came up to bat in the bottom of the third Saturday afternoon, moments after teammate Luis Garcia had led off the inning with a single, anyone inside Nationals Park who has been paying attention this season knew what was about to happen.

Sure enough, as Brewers left-hander Eric Lauer began his delivery toward the plate, Robles squared around to bunt. And when he proceeded to pop up that bunt attempt, right to first baseman Rowdy Tellez for an easy out, the crowd moaned, annoyed both with the result of the play but perhaps also the fact it happened in the first place.

That’s not necessarily how the Nationals dugout reacted to the botched bunt attempt.

“Look, it’s got to be part of his game, right? We want him to bunt in certain situations,” manager Davey Martinez said Sunday morning. “I thought yesterday he had the right idea, but he caught the ball back and had his hands up close to his body. So he couldn’t really see the ball hit the bat. He’s got to understand that when he does do that, he’s got to get to the ball out front.”

Officially, it went down as Robles’ 12th sacrifice bunt attempt this season, only six of which have been successful. Those 12 attempts lead the majors. And as a matter of fact, only five teams have attempted more sacrifice bunts this year than Robles has attempted on his own.

The Nationals entered today’s series finale against the Brewers with a suddenly resurgent lineup and a piecemeal pitching plan that needed to come together if they wanted to pull off their first three-game sweep of the season.

Who would’ve thought the pitching part of the equation would be the least of their concerns?

While Paolo Espino, Evan Lee and two relievers teamed up to hold Milwaukee in check, the Nats lineup went silent during a 4-1 loss to spoil any hopes of a weekend sweep on South Capitol Street.

Espino and Lee combined for the equivalent of a “quality start,” allowing three runs over six innings without issuing a walk. But their teammates couldn’t produce enough at the plate, despite several early opportunities with runners in scoring position, and thus couldn’t duplicate the power display they put on the previous two nights, when they launched seven total homers in back-to-back wins.

"Our pitching was good," manager Davey Martinez said. "We just didn't come up with that big hit. Twice had bases loaded, only scored one run. We just couldn't get that big hit today."

Everything has felt normal for Stephen Strasburg since his season debut Thursday night, so the right-hander is good to remain on a five-day schedule and start Tuesday against the Braves at Nationals Park.

Strasburg emerged from his 83-pitch start in Miami and his subsequent workouts with no issues, giving club officials more reason to be optimistic he can proceed as a healthy member of the rotation after returning at last from last summer’s thoracic outlet surgery.

“He’s got a good routine,” manager Davey Martinez said. “For him, it’s going to be every start, every five days in between, we just have to keep an eye on him and make sure nothing goes awry. So far, so good.”

The results from Strasburg’s start against the Marlins – seven runs allowed in 4 2/3 innings – weren’t encouraging, but both he and the team were highly encouraged by the way he felt physically throughout the game. Strasburg believed any struggles he had were a product of execution and/or pitch selection, not any residual effects of his injury.

There were signs the 33-year-old isn’t all the way back from the surgery, though. After retiring 10 of 12 batters during one stretch, he appeared tired in the bottom of the fifth, allowing five straight hits on loud contact. And his fastball velocity, which averaged 92-94 mph in his minor league rehab starts, was only 90-91 mph in his first big league game.

Paolo Espino has pitched in 20 games for the Nationals this season, totaling 26 2/3 innings. He’s produced a sparkling 2.03 ERA and 1.013 WHIP, striking out 20 while walking only four. He’s been one of the team’s most effective pitchers through 61 games. Except every one of his appearances has come either with the Nats leading or trailing by at least three runs. He hasn’t had a chance to pitch in a single close game yet.

That changes today, and it changes in a big way, because Espino will be starting the Nationals’ series finale against the Brewers, hoping to help lead his team to its first series sweep of the year. Davey Martinez chose the veteran right-hander over young lefty Evan Lee because he liked the matchup against Milwaukee, and because Espino has been so effective this season, even if it has come entirely in low-leverage situations.

We’ll see if Espino can translate those positive results into a much more prominent assignment, facing the team for which he made his major league debut in 2017. The Brewers have a potent lineup, and they’re desperate for success, having now lost eight in a row to fall out of first place in the National League Central.

The Nationals’ lineup has certainly been potent this weekend, blasting out 11 runs Friday and eight more Saturday, with the big three of Juan Soto, Nelson Cruz and Josh Bell playing a starring role. That group will try to keep it going to against Milwaukee starter Jason Alexander, who makes his third career start. (If this pitching thing doesn’t work out for Alexander, perhaps he can always go back to that career in architecture he always wanted to pretend to have.)

MILWAUKEE BREWERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 77 degrees, wind 8 mph out to left field

This is what they envisioned all along: A well-balanced, sustained offensive attack, with power from Juan Soto, Nelson Cruz and Josh Bell.

In the dream scenario for the 2022 season they conjured up months ago, the Nationals believed that was possible. It probably wouldn’t have been enough to lift this team back into a pennant race, not with all its other flaws as it embarked on an organizational rebuild, but if nothing else this team would be competitive, especially from an offensive standpoint.

That hasn’t happened with any regularity through the season’s first 61 games, but on more than a few occasions it has managed to all come together at once. And in today’s 8-6 win over the Brewers, the Nats may have come as close to realizing that dream scenario as they have all year.

With another sustained power display against a pitching staff that shut them down only a few weeks ago in Milwaukee, the Nationals won behind back-to-back-to-back homers from the three biggest bats in the heart of their lineup.

All this on the heels of an 11-run, 19-hit onslaught Friday night, making it an ultra-rare example of back-to-back big offensive showings from this lineup. Though they’ve scored 10 or more runs eight times this season, second-most in the majors, this was only the second time they’ve followed up by scoring more than five runs in their next game.

The Nationals need someone to start Sunday’s series finale, but they aren’t going to make any final declarations about the identity of that starter until they first play today’s game against the Brewers, recognizing anything can (and often does) happen to spoil best-laid plans.

“Let’s get through today,” manager Davey Martinez said with a laugh, “and then we’ll know more.”

The Nats’ hope and plan seems fairly clear: If they can avoid using him in relief today, they would like to have Evan Lee make Sunday’s start, only his second in the big leagues. The rookie left-hander allowed two runs in 3 2/3 innings during his June 1 debut in New York, and though he’s spent his time since then in the bullpen (making one relief appearance) he’s been prepped in a manner that would allow him to start Sunday if needed.

Lee threw 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief Tuesday in Miami, on what would essentially have been his next turn through the rotation. He then was seen warming up in the bullpen during the final inning of Thursday’s game against the Marlins, not because he was preparing to enter that game but because that essentially served as his between-starts throwing session.

“We tell him all the time with everything going on right now, especially this next week, anything can happen,” Martinez said. “He’s well aware of that, and making sure he stays sharp.”

Good news: The Nationals scored 11 runs Friday night to cruise to victory. Bad news: The Nationals scored 11 runs Friday night to cruise to victory, because so far this season that has spelled doom for their offense the next day.

Seven times this year the Nats have scored 10 or more runs. And in five of those cases, they’ve gone on to lose their next game, scoring a total of 11 runs in those games. So they’ll be looking to buck that trend later this afternoon when they host the Brewers in the second game of this weekend series.

The lineup today is facing Eric Lauer, who carved them up last month in Milwaukee. The left-hander tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits while striking out five on May 20. (That was the game Lane Thomas tried for an inside-the-park homer but was thrown out at the plate.)

Patrick Corbin also started for the Nationals during that series, falling victim to a pair of homers. Andrew McCutchen got him on his very first pitch in the bottom of the first. Then Luis Urías jumped on the first pitch he saw in the fifth inning for a homer of his own. Both are in the Brewers lineup today.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 73 degrees, wind 4 mph in from center field

35,000 FEET ABOVE THE EAST COAST – Good morning from the friendly skies. Following a not-so-appreciated, getaway night game in Miami, your trusty reporter is currently flying home to Washington on less than full sleep. But don't worry, I won't be napping on this 2 1/2-hour flight north. I'll be working. Working for you, dear readers.

The Nationals' just-completed, 3-7 road trip to New York, Cincinnati and Miami was filled with all kinds of twists and turns, culminating in Stephen Strasburg's season debut Thursday night. The big guy didn't finish with a strong pitching line, allowing seven runs to the Marlins in only 4 2/3 innings, but there were encouraging signs sprinkled in there. And most importantly, he emerged from the start healthy and ready to pitch again in five days.

There's plenty more going on with this team beyond Strasburg, of course. Juan Soto, Keibert Ruiz and Luis García are all part of the daily lineup in the big leagues now. Lane Thomas has turned hot at the plate again. Josiah Gray has been pitching well. Cade Cavalli and Cole Henry are dominating at Triple-A Rochester.

If you've got questions about any of those players, or anything else for that matter, now's your chance. I'm stuck on a plane with nowhere to go for a couple of hours. So submit your questions in the comments section below, then check back throughout the morning for my responses (barring any airline WiFi issues, of course) ...

MIAMI – This was never going to be Strasmas II, and anyone who went into tonight’s game believing it might hasn’t been paying close enough attention. He wasn’t going to strike out 14. He wasn’t going to approach anything close to triple digits on the radar gun. He wasn’t going to wow the baseball world with pitching dominance.

No, when Stephen Strasburg took the mound tonight for the 247th time in a career that began with such a flourish 12 years and 1 day earlier, there was only one goal in everyone’s mind: Come out of this one healthy.

In that regard, the initial read of the right-hander’s first start of 2022 was a positive one for the Nationals, even if the final outcome was a 7-4 loss to complete a three-game sweep at the hands of the Marlins.

"It felt good, and I'm excited to learn from it and get back out there for my next one," he said, adding: "All in all, it's a place to start and try to build off it."

Sure, a better result would’ve been nice. Nobody wanted to see Strasburg give up seven runs in 4 2/3 innings or hand the ball over to Davey Martinez after serving up a towering homer instead of after recording a big out. But the 33-year-old’s final line in his long-awaited return from thoracic outlet surgery was never going to be the defining point of his start.

MIAMI – Needing to clear a spot on the active roster for Stephen Strasburg in advance of his return to the mound tonight, the Nationals optioned Sam Clay to Triple-A, sending the reliever back to Rochester only one day after he was called up.

Clay wound up not appearing in a game during this brief stint after pitching in five games in April during his previous time with the major league club.

The move leaves the Nationals without a left-hander in their bullpen, unless they intend to use Evan Lee in that role again. The rookie, who made his big league debut last week in New York with a 3 2/3-inning start, tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief during Tuesday night’s loss to the Marlins.

With Joan Adon demoted to Triple-A following a ragged outing Tuesday, the Nats will need a fifth starter Sunday against the Brewers. Lee appears to be the most likely candidate for that assignment, unless he’s needed in relief before then.

“We’ll see how the game goes,” manager Davey Martinez said. “If we need him today, he’s readily available. If we don’t and we can stay away from him, then we can do something else come that day we need a starter. But he’s here, we ask him every day how he’s doing, he says he feels great. … Today he’s going to go throw, we’ll see how he feels. If he’s available and we need him, he’ll pitch today. If we can stay away from him, then he’ll possibly start in the next few days.”

MIAMI – There’s going to be a right-hander wearing No. 37 on the mound for the Nationals tonight, as you may have heard. It’s the first time Stephen Strasburg will be pitching in that uniform since June 1, 2021, when he departed a start in Atlanta in the second inning with neck and shoulder discomfort, eventually to learn he needed thoracic outlet surgery.

All this time later, Strasburg is back. He has made it through the long rehab process, tossing six scoreless innings on 83 pitches last week in Rochester. Now we find out how he fares against a major league lineup.

Davey Martinez insists there are no restrictions on Strasburg tonight, but let’s be honest: The Nationals are going to be careful. They’ll monitor him inning-by-inning, but you’d think they’ll hold him to 90 pitches at most, maybe less, depending on how he looks and feels.

Strasburg will have very few familiar faces around him on the field, the Nats roster having been completely overhauled since the last time he pitched. That group of newcomers will be hoping to do everything they can to help him get through this start with minimal damage.

To make room for Strasburg on the active roster, the Nationals optioned Sam Clay to Triple-A Rochester.

MIAMI – Of all the factors that contributed to last summer’s trade deadline sell-off by the Nationals and initiation of an organizational rebuild, it’s not unfair to suggest that Stephen Strasburg’s latest injury ranked at the top of the list.

By the time the final week of July came around, the Nats knew they weren’t going to win anything in 2021. Once they learned Strasburg needed thoracic outlet surgery, they knew they probably weren’t going to win anything in 2022, either.

So when Strasburg makes his return to the mound tonight here in Miami, he’ll return to a situation that bears almost no resemblance to the one he found himself in the last time he pitched in a major league game.

The Nationals lineup June 1, 2021 in Atlanta included Trea Turner, Ryan Zimmerman, Kyle Schwarber, Yan Gomes, Josh Harrison and Starlin Castro. Daniel Hudson and Brad Hand pitched in relief. None will be here tonight when Strasburg faces the Marlins.

Nobody arguably has had more direct impact on the Nats’ fortunes over the last dozen years than Strasburg, whose availability to pitch has almost always been the difference between winning and losing. In five of the six seasons he made 24 or more starts, the team reached the postseason (all but 2013). In each of the six seasons he made fewer than 24 starts, the team failed to make it to October. And that number will grow to seven this year.

MIAMI – Back and forth they went all night, the Nationals and Marlins, each team stepping to the plate for its respective offensive half-inning, each team returning to the dugout having failed to score.

The Nats couldn’t touch Sandy Alcantara, who quietly might be the best pitcher in baseball in 2022. The Marlins couldn’t convert against Josiah Gray, then Steve Cishek, then Carl Edwards Jr., then Kyle Finnegan.

And so the two teams proceeded to take this scoreless game into extra innings, just waiting for someone to finally break through and emerge victorious.

That someone was the Nationals, who broke through with a run in the top of the 10th, thanks to Keibert Ruiz's RBI single, to take the lead. Only to give it - and the game - right back to the Marlins in the bottom of the inning.

Willians Astudillo's bloop single down the right field line scored automatic runner Jazz Chisholm Jr. from second, though only after a controversial replay review determined Ruiz blocked his path to the plate. Jesús Aguilar's ground ball up the middle then deflected off second base and into center field, allowing Astudillo to scamper home with the run that dealt the Nats an agonizing 2-1 loss.

MIAMI – The Nationals gave Joan Adon two months to experience life pitching every fifth day in the big leagues, letting the rookie right-hander take his lumps while trying to emphasize the positives despite his unsightly overall numbers. By the time he was roughed up by the Marlins on Tuesday night, they decided a move was needed.

Adon was optioned to Triple-A Rochester today, a transaction that felt increasingly likely in recent weeks and came to a head during Tuesday’s 12-2 blowout loss. The Nats for now used the roster opening that demotion created to recall reliever Sam Clay from Rochester, though they already know they’ll need to make another move before Thursday’s series finale, in which Stephen Strasburg will come off the 60-day injured list to make his long-awaited season debut.

Adon heads back to the minors after going 1-10 with a major-league-worst 6.95 ERA in 12 starts, capped off by Tuesday’s outing, in which he allowed eight runs before recording an out in the fourth inning.

“At this point, we want him to understand and work on some things without the pressure of going out there every five days and competing up here,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We want him to go down and work on some things. We had a great conversation yesterday, all positive. This kid’s going to come back here. He’s going to help us win games. His stuff is electric. He’s just got to learn how to use it effectively.”

The Nationals knew the risk they were taking putting Adon in their opening day rotation. The 23-year-old made only three starts at Double-A and one at Triple-A before getting the call to make his major league debut in the final game of the 2021 season.

MIAMI – The Nationals need to do a lot of things better tonight than they did Tuesday during a 12-2 shellacking at the hands of the Marlins, lest they once again leave themselves in position to be swept the following night.

It begins, of course, with pitching. After Joan Adon was roughed up for eight runs in three-plus innings, forcing Davey Martinez to turn to his bullpen early, the spotlight is on Josiah Gray to turn in a quality start. Fortunately for the Nats, Gray did just that his last time out, holding the Reds to one earned run while striking out nine over six innings. And he did just that the last time he faced the Marlins, as well, allowing three runs while striking out seven over six innings May 18 in this very park.

The Nationals also need to hit, which they barely did during the series opener. And they’re going to have to find a way to do that against Miami’s ace, Sandy Alcantara, who enters with a 1.81 ERA, second-best in the National League behind San Diego’s Joe Musgrove. This is the third time Alcantara has faced the Nats this season, and he was dynamite in each of his previous two starts, allowing a total of two runs in 14 innings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MIAMI MARLINS
Where: loanDepot Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

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

MIAMI – As he walked through the Nationals’ clubhouse Tuesday afternoon, Ehire Adrianza found faces both familiar and unfamiliar. Many of those who came over to say hello were with the veteran utilityman all spring in West Palm Beach, expecting to open the season with him on the roster. Some barely registered during big league camp, only joining the major league club once the regular season began.

It’s been more than two months since Adrianza suffered a left quadriceps strain during the final week of spring training, forcing him first to the 10-day injured list and eventually to the 60-day IL. Now, at last, he’s healthy and on the active roster, finally making his Nats debut during Tuesday night’s loss to the Marlins.

“For me, it’s like opening day right now,” he said. “I’m getting to know the guys a little bit more, and get used to the team. I’m ready to go.”

When he pulled up lame running out a groundball March 31 in Port St. Lucie, Adrianza knew his chances of making the Nationals’ opening day roster had just taken a severe blow. He did not, however, know he wouldn’t be making his season debut until the team’s 57th game.

Turns out the injury required a lengthy period of inactivity, then a slow process of building himself back up, jogging on a gravity-reducing treadmill, then on the field, then finally performing baseball activities before he was ready to play in games. The entire process took more than two months.

MIAMI – Thursday’s return of Stephen Strasburg to the Nationals’ active roster, and the expected debut of top prospects Cade Cavalli (and perhaps Cole Henry) later this summer, serve as legitimately encouraging developments during an otherwise miserable season to date. Those pitchers’ arrivals will be celebrated by the organization and fans alike who desperately want reason to be hopeful about the future.

There is a flip side to the story, though. For every player added to the roster, somebody must be dropped. A group of starters has been given the opportunity to pitch every fifth day through the season’s first two months and make the case to remain here on a permanent basis.

Now those starters can’t help but look over their shoulders and wonder if their time is about to be up.

“I don’t want them to put that kind of pressure on themselves,” manager Davey Martinez said prior to tonight’s series opener against the Marlins. “I just want them to go out there and compete. They’re here for a reason. We felt like they could help us win games. I want them to continue to do that.”

Whether Joan Adon had any of this on his mind, either when he took the mound tonight or when he departed it after surrendering eight runs during what wound up a 12-2 debacle of a loss, is known only by him. The 23-year-old rookie, though, is smart enough to know what’s going on around him. And if he doesn’t, he might just find out the hard way soon.

MIAMI – For the first time in more than a year, Stephen Strasburg is going to pitch for the Nationals.

The veteran right-hander and 2019 World Series MVP will make his long-awaited 2022 debut Thursday night against the Marlins, having finally completed his recovery and rehab from last summer’s thoracic outlet surgery, manager Davey Martinez announced prior to tonight’s series opener.

“He’s excited. I know we’re excited to have him back,” Martinez said. “So he’ll be on the mound Thursday.”

Strasburg’s return had come into clearer focus over the last two weeks as he successfully completed three minor league rehab starts. When he tossed six scoreless innings for Triple-A Rochester on Friday, it seemed like a final step for the 33-year-old.

The only remaining hurdle was a bullpen session Monday here in Miami. Once he made it through that standard, between-starts throwing exercise with no issues, he was declared good to go.

MIAMI – Hello from what used to be called Marlins Park and what used to house the Home Run Thingamabob. Neither is true anymore, which is quite a pity. The Nationals make their second trip here to South Florida in three weeks, hoping for a series win this time after dropping two of three to the Marlins last month.

The Nats enter this series with some positive momentum after taking three straight from the Reds over the weekend. A victory tonight would give them their first four-game winning streak of the season, which would certainly be a welcome development.

It’s Joan Adon on the mound for the opener. The rookie faced the Marlins here last month and had success, allowing only one run over 4 2/3 innings, albeit with a hefty pitch count of 84 in what wound up a 5-1 loss. The kid has been better, allowing three or fewer runs in five of his last six starts and reaching the sixth inning in each of his last two outings. He’s still seeking his first win since April 19, though. It’s been a while.

Rookie Edward Cabrera starts for Miami, having tossed six innings of one-hit ball against the Rockies in his season debut last week. The right-hander made his major league debut against the Nats last season, allowing three runs over 6 1/3 innings.

Some transactions to share: Utility man Ehire Adrianza, finally eligible to come off the 60-day injured list after straining his quadriceps in late March, has been activated. Fellow utility man Dee Strange-Gordon has returned from paternity leave. They’ll take the roster spots of reliever Victor Arano, who has been placed on the 15-day IL with left knee inflammation, and infielder Lucius Fox, who was optioned back to Triple-A Rochester after spending a couple days on the roster in Cincinnati without appearing in a game.

Stephen Strasburg Gray Jersey

The Nationals’ 2022 season began exactly two months ago, and it began with an uninspired loss to a Mets club that has proceeded to win eight of the 10 head-to-head matchups between the two division foes so far.

Along the way, there hasn’t been much reason to get excited about these Nationals. Even after winning three of four over the weekend against an equally struggling Reds team, they own a 21-35 record. At this pace, they would finish 61-101.

But for many, the losses haven’t even been the most frustrating part of the season to date. Many could stomach the losses if they were the product of a young roster learning and growing on the job together. But that’s not what this roster has looked like the last two months.

Though there are a handful of young players who could and should be part of the organization’s long-term plan, most of the guys in uniform have been veteran placeholders. Guys who are only going to be here until the real future of the franchise arrives, whether internally from the minor leagues or externally from other organizations or upcoming drafts and international signing periods.

Slowly but surely, though, that’s going to change. For the first time this season, we are beginning to see potential long-term pieces to the puzzle supplant short-term fillers. With the promise of more to come this summer.