Summer has arrived in the nation’s capital, a conclusion you probably already drew for yourself upon stepping outside at any point today. It’s hot, it’s muggy and that means the ball is probably going to start flying at Nationals Park for the next few months.

That’s not a bad thing for the Nationals, who wouldn’t mind hitting a few more homers. Provided they keep giving up as few as they have so far this season. They’ve hit only 58 through 71 games (third-fewest in the majors) but they’ve given up only 59 (second-fewest).

Jake Irvin has done a nice job keeping the ball in the yard, serving up 0.8 home runs per nine innings, a big improvement from last year’s 1.5 rate. He’s also been great at keeping the ball in the strike zone, reducing his walk rate from 4.0 to 1.7 per nine innings. The right-hander will look to keep that up tonight against the Diamondbacks, who may be the defending National League champs but enter this series a half-game behind the Nats in a wide-open wild card race full of teams hovering just below the .500 mark.

Arizona’s struggles so far this season have been on the pitching front, and that includes tonight’s starter: Slade Cecconi. The 24-year-old rookie, a first-round pick in 2020, is 1-5 with a 6.70 ERA. And notably, he’s served up 12 homers in only 44 1/3 innings. Perhaps the Nationals lineup can take advantage of that on a hot summer night in D.C.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 89 degrees, wind 11 mph out to left field

The streak began, interestingly enough, with Mitchell Parker on the mound. It was June 6, the opener of a four-game series against the Braves, the Nationals reeling from a three-game sweep at the hands of the Mets.

Each of those losses to New York included a ragged performance by the Nats’ starter. So it was up to Parker, a rookie making his 10th career big league start, to reverse that trend. And though his team wound up losing that night, it wasn’t Parker’s fault. He allowed only two runs over seven innings, only four Atlanta batters reaching base against him.

Fast-forward 10 days, and Parker was back on the mound facing the Marlins, this time seeking a three-game sweep for the Nationals. And with six innings of one-run ball, he led his team to victory and continued a remarkable stretch of pitching by the entire rotation.

Over those 10 games, Nats starters have given up a total of nine earned runs. Not once have they been charged with more than two in any individual game. They’ve struck out a combined 55 batters while walking only 13.

“Everyone’s throwing well,” Parker said after Sunday’s win, the team’s eighth in nine games. “It’s contagious.”

In this season of progress, the Nationals are beginning to establish which quality opponents they can hang with. They’re also establishing which opponent they can dominate: the Marlins.

There should be no question at this point how these two division rivals stack up in 2024. With a 3-1 Father’s Day victory on South Capitol Street, the Nats improved to 7-0 against Miami. They’ve already clinched the season series, with six games still to play in September.

The Nationals have outscored the Marlins 48-18 for the season. They outscored them 15-2 this weekend, and the only two runs they surrendered came on infield singles.

"You've got to beat teams in your division in order to know where you're at," said manager Davey Martinez, whose team was a miserable 6-26 vs. Miami the last two seasons. "We've done that with them. ... It's the only way you're going to win your division, right? You've got to beat the teams in your division."

Suffice it to say, the pitching was exquisite, and today was no exception, with Mitchell Parker once again delivering a winning performance before the bullpen took over late.

The MRI on Jesse Winker’s right knee showed no structural damage, and the Nationals left fielder believes he can rejoin the lineup within a few days.

“It’s definitely nothing major, nothing that’s going to prevent me from playing,” he said. “I think I just need a couple days of rest.”

Winker hurt himself in the bottom of the first Saturday afternoon when he took a big turn around second base on Ildemaro Vargas’ single to left-center, then had to slam on the brakes and dive back into the bag, getting tagged out in the process. He remained in the game for two more innings but felt knee pain while in the field in the top of the third and decided to depart at the end of the inning.

“I slammed on the brakes and dove back, and I kind of lost my footing,” he said. “So it happened somewhere in there. But there was no pop, or anything I could point to. I just had some pain walking out to the outfield, but then I really felt it the first fly ball.”

The Nationals had Winker get an MRI on Saturday, so they’d have results in time to know if they needed to make a roster move in time for Sunday’s game. When that test came back clean, they felt comfortable proceeding with Winker remaining on the active roster, even if he can’t play for another few days. (The team has Monday off, then returns Tuesday to open a three-game series against the Diamondbacks.)

The Nationals, in case you haven’t been paying attention, have dominated the Marlins this season. Like, completely dominated them. They’re 6-0 heading into today’s series finale on South Capitol Street, and the combined score of those six games is 45-17. It’s been even more pronounced this weekend, with a combined score of 12-1 thanks to brilliant pitching by MacKenzie Gore and DJ Herz and plenty of offense to boot.

So it’s Mitchell Parker’s turn today to try to keep things rolling and move his team to within one game of the .500 mark. Parker held Miami to one run on April 27, but he did put eight runners on base in that one and was pulled after throwing 82 pitches in only four innings. He’s coming off a shaky outing in Detroit as well, so this would be a good time for the rookie to get back on track.

The Nationals have seen plenty of Jesus Luzardo, their former prospect, though it’s actually been a full year since they’ve seen the lefty: June 18, 2023. We’re still waiting word on Jesse Winker’s MRI to find out how his right knee is. His status could have some real ramifications in the short and long term.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs MIAMI MARLINS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 85 degrees, wind 7 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
1B Joey Meneses
DH Nick Senzel
LF Ildemaro Vargas
C Keibert Ruiz
2B Luis García Jr.
CF Jacob Young
3B Trey Lipscomb

The first time he struck out Tim Anderson, it was merely a nice way to start the afternoon. The second time he did it, it was the continuation of an already impressive outing. The third time he did it, DJ Herz hopped off the mound, slapped his hand to his glove and floated all the way back to the Nationals dugout, where teammates and coaches alike couldn’t wait to greet the rookie left-hander with high-fives and hugs.

The third start of Herz’s major league career had just come to an end, and it included a standing ovation from the crowd of 25,637 at Nationals Park who just watched this previously unknown 23-year-old put together one of the most dominant and most efficient starts in club history.

With six innings of one-hit, zero-walk, 13-strikeout ball on 84 pitches in a 4-0 victory over the Marlins, Herz etched his name alongside some of the best pitching performances the Nats have ever witnessed.

"I think this outing, I wanted to control my body language a little more, be a little better with that," Herz said. "And the first five innings, it was perfect. And then I got the last strikeout, and I kind of had a little feeling that I was done and just let my emotions fly a little bit. It was awesome."

He’s only the fourth person to wear the curly W cap and strikeout out 13 or more batters without issuing a walk. Max Scherzer did it four times during his Hall-of-Fame career. Stephen Strasburg did it twice, including in his historic major league debut. And John Patterson did it during the inaugural 2005 season at RFK Stadium.

Seeking another right-handed bat to a lineup that has lacked for consistent production, the Nationals signed Harold Ramírez to a minor league contract today, with the understanding the veteran outfielder/first baseman could be called up to the majors in short order.

Ramírez, 29, owns a career .287/.325/.408 slash line in parts of six seasons with the Marlins, Guardians and Rays and was a highly productive member of Tampa Bay’s lineup last year with a .313/.353/.460 slash line in 122 games. But after slumping this season to a .589 OPS, Ramírez was designated for assignment and then released Friday.

The Rays owe Ramírez the bulk of his $3.8 million salary, and the Nationals now only responsible for a prorated portion of the major league minimum ($740,000) if he reaches the big leagues with them. He’s due to report to Triple-A Rochester and play for the Red Wings tonight, and if things go well he could be promoted in a week or so.

“We signed him to help us here, not Triple-A,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We want him here. But we’ve got to get him going. He hasn’t played in about seven, eight, nine days. I want to give him some at-bats before he comes up.”

Ramírez has played the bulk of his career at the two corner outfield positions while also serving as a regular DH, but he does have 39 games of experience at first base. Martinez mentioned all of those positions in listing where Ramírez could help them, then specifically suggested he could be a right-handed option for them in left field, which has been manned by the left-handed Jesse Winker most of the season.

The Nationals and Marlins have played five times so far this season. The Nationals have won all five games. The combined score of those games: 41-17. It’s been a while since we’ve seen the Nats dominate an opponent to this extent. They’ll gladly take it.

The Nationals have pitched well against most clubs this year. They haven’t hit well against everyone, so that makes their offensive output against Miami particularly pleasing. And they’ll look to keep it going today against left-hander Trevor Rogers, who they beat in late April with three runs in five innings. Davey Martinez’s lineup looks a little different against the lefty. Ildemaro Vargas, Drew Millas and Trey Lipscomb are all in there, with Lipscomb starting at third base and Nick Senzel serving as DH for this one.

DJ Herz makes his third career start, his first against the Marlins, and the left-hander will be looking to complete five innings for the first time. With Josiah Gray (who tossed four strong innings in a rehab assignment at Double-A Harrisburg Friday night) inching closer to a return, each of Herz’s starts now become increasingly important as he tries to state his case to stay up here.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs MIAMI MARLINS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 84 degrees, wind 10 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
LF Jesse Winker
1B Joey Meneses
2B Ildemaro Vargas
DH Nick Senzel
C Drew Millas
3B Trey Lipscomb
CF Jacob Young

DETROIT – Lane Thomas did say something when Emil Jimenez called a borderline pitch strike three on him in the top of the sixth Thursday afternoon. He said two words, which when combined, can make for quite the insult.

But Thomas insists he wasn’t directing those words at Jimenez and rather uttered them out of frustration at the strike three call. Which is why he couldn’t believe it when Jimenez immediately ejected him from the game.

“Looking back, what I said was nothing that I haven’t said in the past,” he said. “I just thought (the ejection) was a little quick. So I don’t know if he didn’t understand me, or what happened. But I definitely didn’t say anything towards him. That was the frustrating part for me, that it was that quick and not directed at him.”

The first ejection of Thomas’ career made for quite a scene, with Jesse Winker (who was on-deck) jumping in to defend his teammate, and then manager Davey Martinez pleading his case to Jimenez as bench coach Miguel Cairo and third base coach Ricky Gutierrez tried to make sure Thomas and Winker didn’t say or do anything else that could get them into even more trouble.

“I think it was a tough pitch, and I was just frustrated,” Thomas said. “I say stuff all the time, but it’s not directed at anyone. That’s what I told (crew chief Larry Vanover): ‘I don’t talk to you guys like that. I didn’t say anything out of my norm.’”

DETROIT – If they wanted to pull off their first six-game winning streak since the final week of the 2019 regular season, the Nationals were going to need not only quality work from Patrick Corbin in an unexpected start. They were going to need not only run production from their lineup. They were also going to need a set of relievers not accustomed to closing out close games to finish the job on a day when the usual suspects weren’t available.

So even though they got quality work for Corbin, and even though they got just enough offense to leave the game tied in the seventh inning, the Nationals did not get the critical last part of today’s required winning formula and emerged with a 7-2 loss to the Tigers.

Seeking a series sweep and the team’s first six-game winning streak in nearly five years, the Nats watched as relievers Derek Law and Robert Garcia combined to allow six runs in 1 1/3 innings, turning a tight game into a lopsided one.

In winning five straight games for the first time since June 2021, the Nationals leaned heavily on their top three late-inning relievers: Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey and Dylan Floro. The domino effect of all that: None figured to be available for today’s series finale, leaving the fate of the game in the hands of others.

"Look, we rely on these guys throughout the whole year, and they've done really well," manager Davey Martinez said. "It just didn't happen today. ... It's just one game. We won the series. We get to home now and start a fresh one."

DETROIT – Since the moment he burst onto the scene in August 2022, Joey Meneses has been a mainstay in the Nationals lineup. Whatever days off he had, they were scattered, even as his production at the plate dipped.

And then 2 1/2 weeks ago, with Lane Thomas off the injured list and the team now having a bit of a glut of outfielders and first basemen, Meneses suddenly became a part-time player for the first time. He started only seven of the Nats’ 15 games from May 27-June 11, relegated to the bench and a couple of pinch-hitting opportunities.

“Obviously I would like to be on the field more often, but my numbers are not where we expect them to be,” said Meneses, whose OPS was down to .581 at the time, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “I definitely respect the manager’s decision with that. I just have to be ready whenever he calls upon me to play, be ready to help the team out.”

All of a sudden, Davey Martinez is calling upon Meneses to play again. When Joey Gallo strained his left hamstring running out a ground ball Tuesday night, Meneses was thrust back into the daily lineup, back to playing first base regularly.

And in his first start since the Gallo injury, he delivered. Meneses went 2-for-4 with an RBI single and a key double that led to another run during the Nationals’ 7-5 victory over the Tigers.

DETROIT – The Nationals, as you know by now, have won five in a row for the first time since June 2021. They haven’t won six in a row since September 2019, when they closed out the final week of the regular season with eight straight wins, all of that a precursor to what happened in October. So that’s what's at stake this afternoon at Comerica Park.

Only two members of that 2019 team remain, and one of them starts today’s game. Patrick Corbin wasn’t supposed to pitch in this series, the Nats choosing to skip over the struggling left-hander’s turn in the rotation and bump him to Saturday against the Marlins. But with MacKenzie Gore dealing with a fingernail issue that will push him back to Friday night, the team decided to go ahead and have Corbin pitch today on seven days’ rest.

This is the only current major league park Corbin has never pitched in, so he’ll finally get to cross that off the list. More importantly, after using up his top relievers the last two nights to secure two wins, Davey Martinez is going to be working with a depleted bullpen this afternoon. In other words, this feels like a “give us six innings no matter what” kind of start for Corbin.

The Nationals lineup has done a very nice job supplying their pitching staff with run support so far in this season, so they’ll try to keep that up today against Casey Mize. The No. 1 pick in the 2018 Draft, Mize just hasn’t realized his potential yet, in large part because he missed nearly two years following both Tommy John and back surgery. He’s made 12 starts this year, and the results have been middling (1-4, 4.73 ERA, 11 hits per nine innings, only 5.9 strikeouts per nine innings).

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at DETROIT TIGERS
Where: Comerica Park
Gametime: 1:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 88 degrees, wind 16 mph in from right field

DETROIT – There are many ways to measure progress in a franchise’s efforts to rebuild itself back into the kind of consistent contender it was years ago. But ultimately, it does come down to wins and losses, right? And, ideally, the ability to string together a bunch of wins over a sustained period of time.

The Nationals haven’t done much of that in the last three years. They’ve had their moments, sure, but rarely have those moments come in succession.

So consider the events of the last week, capped off by tonight’s 7-5 victory over the Tigers, significant in both the little picture and the big picture. In the little picture, the Nats have won five in a row, inching themselves ever closer to the .500 mark. In the big picture, they’ve won five in a row for the first time since June 19-24, 2021, the last time they were truly competitive and prioritizing short-term success over long-term plans.

"Good things will happen when you keep good vibes and play together and have fun," said shortstop CJ Abrams, who arrived in August 2022. "It's starting to show."

Win No. 5 should have come easier than it did. The Nationals put 15 runners on base through their first eight offensive innings, yet only five of them crossed the plate. There were countless opportunities to add more, but they were done in by poor situational hitting (2-for-11 with runners in scoring position) and poor baserunning (three outs made).

DETROIT – Trey Lipscomb knows the deal at this point. This isn’t the first time the Nationals have called him up to replace an injured player. It’s not the second time they’ve called him up to replace an injured player.

When Nick Senzel fractured his finger on Opening Day, Lipscomb was brought up from Triple-A Rochester. When Lane Thomas sprained his knee in late April, Lipscomb was brought up. And now with Joey Gallo landing on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, Lipscomb was recalled and is back in a Nationals uniform tonight.

The versatile rookie isn’t in tonight’s lineup, but he’s prepared to play at any of a number of positions if called upon.

“Wherever you’re in the lineup, just go out and play,” he said. “That’s kind of what I’ve been doing my whole career.”

For now, it appears Lipscomb will be used everywhere in the field. He can start games at third base, giving Senzel a chance to serve as the designated hitter. He can start games at second base when Luis García Jr. needs a day off. He can start games at first base along with Joey Meneses, who suddenly finds himself back in the field regularly with Gallo injured. He can even play left field if needed, something he did once during his most recent stint in Rochester.

DETROIT – The Nationals have a chance tonight to do something they haven’t done in three years, something they haven’t done at any point since embarking on their rebuild: Win five games in a row.

Not since June 2021 has this team enjoyed a five-game winning streak. That month, of course, marked the beginning of the end for the previous iteration of the franchise. A terrible July convinced the front office to tear down the roster and start over, and only now are they starting to see the hard work come to fruition on the field. A five-game winning streak would sure go a long way toward making it feel like they’re making real progress, even if the outcome of one game in June doesn’t really make that much difference.

It'll be Jake Irvin on the mound for the Nats, and he’s been on quite a roll. Over his last four starts, the right-hander sports a 1.48 ERA. 0.863 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings. He’s also completed at least six innings in each outing, which might come in handy tonight given how much was asked of the bullpen during Tuesday’s 10-inning win.

Right-hander Reese Olson starts for the Tigers. He’s been hit hard his last two outing, allowing 13 runs in 9 1/3 innings against the Red Sox and Brewers. He’ll be facing a Nationals lineup that is now without Joey Gallo, who was officially placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. Infielder Trey Lipscomb was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take Gallo’s spot, but he’ll be coming off the bench tonight.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at DETROIT TIGERS
Where: Comerica Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 84 degrees, wind 11 mph in from center field

DETROIT – The Nationals won’t know for sure until later today when they get test results on Joey Gallo’s left hamstring, but the image from the top of the seventh Tuesday night kind of said it all.

Running down the line on a grounder to second, Gallo grabbed his upper left leg as he approached first base. He walked gingerly back to the dugout afterward. And he was subsequently replaced in the field by Joey Meneses for the bottom of the inning.

Barring an unexpected quick healing process, Gallo probably isn’t going to be able to play tonight. And unless they can be sure he’ll be ready to return within the next 24-48 hours, the Nats probably are going to have to place him on the 10-day injured list.

Which is why they were already contemplating late Tuesday night their options for calling a player up from Triple-A Rochester to take his spot on the roster.

“We’re probably going to get somebody on the move,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I don’t know yet. We’ll just see what happens. But we’ll definitely have someone on the move.”

DETROIT – The Nationals and Tigers swapped errors tonight, each team helping the other with two rapid-fire misplays in the field, all of them helping the other score key runs. Which ultimately left this game knotted up after nine innings and headed to extras, just waiting for someone to deliver – or fail – in the clutch.

In the end, the Nats did just enough to take advantage of Detroit’s miscues and walk away with a 5-4, 10-inning victory at Comerica Park, extending their winning streak to four games.

Thanks to a wild pitch on strike three, CJ Abrams managed to reach first and advance Jacob Young to third in the top of the 10th. And thanks to Lane Thomas’ sacrifice fly to right, Young was able to scamper home with the go-ahead run that made the victory possible.

"You've got to capitalize on everything," Abrams said.

The Nationals have now won four straight, improving to 31-35 on the season. They haven't enjoyed a five-game winning streak since June 2021.

DETROIT – Josiah Gray will make his next rehab start Friday, but Cade Cavalli is taking a break in his rehab assignment to work in the bullpen with the Nationals coaching staff.

Gray, who threw 43 pitches over three innings Sunday for Single-A Fredericksburg in his rehab debut, is scheduled to take the mound again Friday, moving up to Double-A Harrisburg and increasing his workload. The right-hander, who went on the 15-day injured list after two rough starts to his season with a flexor strain in his elbow, said he was pleased with the physical state of his arm after his first competitive game in nearly two months.

“It was good,” he said. “Definitely a little rusty, working out the kinks. But I felt prepared. I felt good for each inning that I threw and worked on some things. Looking forward to the next one.”

Gray allowed three runs on three hits (all for extra bases), with one walk, two strikeouts and a hit-by-pitch in Sunday’s outing. He said he focused mostly on his fastball and cutter and will look to incorporate his full arsenal as he proceeds.

Manager Davey Martinez suggested Gray could make as many as five rehab starts in total before coming off the IL. That timeline wouldn’t have him rejoining the Nationals until the end of the month or perhaps even early July.

DETROIT – Hello from Comerica Park, a place the Nationals have not visited often in their history. This is only their fourth trip to Detroit, the previous ones coming in 2010, 2013 and 2019. They’ve gone 2-6 in the previous series here, so it’s not exactly a history of success.

The Nats, though, are feeling good about themselves again after winning three of four from the Braves over the weekend, then finally getting to enjoy their first day off in 2 1/2 weeks. So they’ll be refreshed and ready to go tonight when they open this three-game series.

This would’ve been Patrick Corbin’s turn in the rotation, but the Nationals decided to skip over the struggling left-hander and put him on the mound Saturday against the Marlins instead. So it’s Mitchell Parker, pitching on full rest anyway, taking the ball for the opener. It’s another opportunity for the rookie to show what he can do against a lineup that’s never seen him before.

The Nats lineup will try to keep hitting the way it did over the weekend against Atlanta, this time against veteran right-hander Kenta Maeda. The 36-year-old is struggling himself in his first season in Detroit, entering tonight’s game with a 6.25 ERA in 10 starts.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at DETROIT TIGERS
Where: Comerica Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 71 degrees, wind 8 mph in from center field

Davey Martinez found himself in a most unusual, and most comforting, scenario Sunday afternoon. His Nationals entered the ninth inning leading the Braves by six runs, one day after they had beaten the Braves by four runs.

Here was a second straight opportunity to win a ballgame without needing to summon either of the team’s top two relievers: Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan. That hasn’t happened much this season for a team that typically plays low-scoring, tight contests.

“I really wanted to give (Finnegan) and Harvey another day,” Martinez said, realizing with an off-day prior to the Nats’ series opener in Detroit tonight, this was a chance to let those two right-handers enjoy some real rest for a change.

So with his team leading 8-2, Martinez sent Jordan Weems to the mound for the top of the ninth. He sent word to let Finnegan know to be ready to spring into action if need be, but the hope was that it would never come to that.

Two batters later, the bullpen phone was ringing after Weems allowed a leadoff single to Michael Harris II followed by a walk of Orlando Arcia. And before Finnegan could even throw his first warmup toss, Weems had allowed a three-run homer to Jarred Kelenic. Suddenly, this was an 8-5 game with nobody out, the top of the Atlanta lineup coming up and an emergency brewing.