CHICAGO – Though he had his moments in the first half of the season, CJ Abrams wasn’t fully satisfied with his performance at the plate or in the field. He knows what success feels like, and this wasn’t meeting that standard.

So, the Nationals’ young shortstop set about to make strides, especially in his approach at the plate. And slowly but surely, he began seeing positive results.

Those positive results weren’t lost on manager Davey Martinez, who had been waiting all year for the right moment to bump Abrams up to the leadoff spot in his lineup. Three days before the All-Star break, Martinez decided the time was right.

Abrams has since done his part to validate that decision. And on Monday, he received outside validation for his efforts, winning the first National League Player of the Week award of his young career.

“It feels good to be able to see what hard work can do,” Abrams said. “The last few weeks I’ve been putting a lot of work in with (hitting coach Darnell Coles). It just feels good to be able to go out there and do my thing.”

CHICAGO – Whether it was a concession to a depleted bullpen that is running out of experienced late-inning arms or a concerted attempt to push a young starting pitcher to a place he hasn’t been often but eventually will need to reach, MacKenzie Gore took the mound for the bottom of the seventh tonight at Wrigley Field.

This was only the third time in Gore’s young career he had seen the seventh, the second time this season. His pitch count stood at 93. He was working on 10 full days of rest, and his previous start only lasted 17 pitches because of a rain delay.

Davey Martinez watched from the dugout as the 24-year-old left-hander promptly served up a two-run homer to Patrick Wisdom on his 106th pitch of the night, forcing the Nationals manager to entrust the rest of the game to that depleted bullpen.

A depleted bullpen that still managed to get the final eight outs from Mason Thompson and Kyle Finnegan required to lock up a 7-5 victory over the Cubs that tested everyone’s nerves and hearts.

"You can't say enough good things about the bats today," Gore said. "And Finny and Mason going an inning-plus, they've been doing that all year. You can't say enough good things about them." 

CHICAGO – Hunter Harvey’s MRI revealed a mild right elbow strain, an injury that will sideline the Nationals reliever for a while but was still described as “good news” by manager Davey Martinez, who feared worse.

“Best-case scenario for us,” Martinez said. “We’re going to shut him down for 10 days, and he’ll resume his throwing. We’ll just let it calm down a little bit and build some strength up and get him back as soon as we possibly can.”

Harvey, who reported soreness in his arm after pitching a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th Saturday in St. Louis despite diminished fastball velocity, was officially placed on the 15-day injured list today. The Nationals were prepared to make that transaction no matter the severity of the injury, but club officials were relieved to learn the injury wasn’t more serious or would require surgery.

“Especially with his history, and the way he was feeling, I was very concerned,” Martinez said. “But this came out great. They said everything looks great. He just has a little mild strain in there, and he should be back.”

Harvey’s career has been littered with IL stints, the vast majority of those coming while he was a member of the Orioles organization from the day he was drafted in 2013 until he was placed on waivers after the 2021 season. He did miss 2 1/2 months with a forearm strain last summer after joining the Nats, but he had been a durable fixture in the bullpen since, making 73 big league appearances in the last calendar year with no health issues.

CHICAGO – The sky is blue, there’s a nice cool breeze blowing in off Lake Michigan and most importantly there’s no rain in the forecast. Ahhhhhhh, we earned this one after a brutal weather weekend in St. Louis.

The Nationals come to Wrigley Field for a three-game series with several changes to their roster. Hunter Harvey was officially placed on the 15-day injured list with what the team is now calling a right elbow strain. They also optioned Joan Adon to Triple-A Rochester and recalled Joe La Sorsa and activated Patrick Corbin off the paternity list. Corbin won’t pitch until Tuesday, but he was only allowed to spend three days on leave, so he’s back now.

After using up their bullpen all weekend, the Nats would really like some length tonight from MacKenzie Gore. The lefty is plenty rested after having his last start cut short by rain and then having an extra-long All-Star break as the team tries to limit his innings over the long haul. Gore needs to throw strikes and he needs to enjoy some quick innings.

The Nationals lineup gets to face yet another left-hander in Drew Smyly. It feels like they’ve faced at least one, if not two, southpaws every series this season. Here’s another chance for Stone Garrett and the other righties in their lineup to take their hacks.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at CHICAGO CUBS
Where: Wrigley Field
Gametime: 8:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 73 degrees, wind 7 mph in from right field

ST. LOUIS – The Nationals made it through the first two months of the season with only two changes to their Opening Day bullpen. On April 30, they called up Andres Machado after designating Anthony Banda for assignment. On May 20, they activated Chad Kuhl off the injured list and moved him to the bullpen, optioning Hobie Harris to Triple-A Rochester.

That’s all Mike Rizzo had to do with his bullpen for two months, the kind of stability rarely seen in these parts.

Later today, the Nationals are expected to place Hunter Harvey on the IL with an arm injury the extent of which won’t be known until they get results of the MRI, he returned to Washington to have done. That will represent the ninth bullpen change they’ve made in the last six weeks, a dramatic number of moves that have been necessitated both by injuries and poor performances.

When it’s all said and done, only two members of the Opening Day relief corps will remain on the active roster: Kyle Finnegan and Mason Thompson. That’s not the kind of stability any organization aspires to maintain.

It remains to be seen how much time Harvey will miss, but there is legitimate concern among club officials about the 28-year-old right-hander, given his extensive injury history since the Orioles made him their first round pick in the 2013 draft. A 3-mph drop in fastball velocity Saturday afternoon, combined with Harvey’s admission of soreness near his right triceps, sounded alarm bells in Davey Martinez’s mind.

ST. LOUIS – At the end of a long weekend that included three rain delays, one suspended game, one extra-inning game and way too much time spent looking at red, yellow and green blobs on the Doppler radar, the Nationals experienced the rarest outcome of all: a road series loss.

With an 8-4 loss to the Cardinals today, the Nats dropped two of three on the road for the first time since June 13-15 in Houston.

They came into the day hoping to keep their winning ways away from D.C. alive, seeking their fourth straight road series win. But they couldn’t overcome a ragged and laborious start by Josiah Gray, nor a rough bottom of the sixth from the relievers who replaced him.

It appeared for a few moments the game might be called in the middle of the seventh, the Nats already trailing by five runs and an intense line of storms approaching from the west. Crew chief Bill Miller called for the Busch Stadium grounds crew to roll out the tarp for the third straight day this weekend and the game went into delay.

The storm indeed arrived about 10 minutes later and dumped heavy rain on the ballpark along with high winds. And given the disparity on the scoreboard, there was perhaps some consideration to calling the game right then. But the system cleared out quickly, and because the infield was pre-emptively covered, very little prep work was needed to restart the game after a mere 38-minute delay.

ST. LOUIS – Given his lengthy history of injuries, the mere fact Hunter Harvey made it through the first half of this season healthy was considered a win for the Nationals. The fact the 28-year-old right-hander also pitched well enough to assume the closer’s role and become one of Davey Martinez’s most trusted relievers was icing on the cake.

So when Harvey took the mound for the ninth inning Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium, saw the velocity on his fastball drop several miles per hour and later reported soreness in the back of his triceps, the Nats were understandably concerned.

“He’s one of our top-end guys in the back of our bullpen,” Martinez said. “So we want to make sure we keep an eye on him.”

It appears that plan ultimately will include a stint on the injured list.

The Nationals sent Harvey back to Washington today to get an MRI, playing a man down in their bullpen for their series finale against the Cardinals (an 8-4 loss). They'll have to wait for MRI results before deciding a course of action, but at minimum Harvey is likely to spend 15 days on the IL.

ST. LOUIS – It’s another hot, muggy day here, and there once again is a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon. We’ve already seen the first two games of the weekend get delayed. Why not another to complete the rain sweep?

The Nationals survived Saturday’s pseudo-doubleheader, winning the first game before losing the nightcap. That still puts them in a position to win the series, with All-Star Josiah Gray on the mound. It’s not the worst position to be in.

Gray, who looked really good during his 1-2-3 inning of relief Tuesday night in Seattle, should be plenty motivated to get his second half off to a strong start. He’d also love some redemption for his previous start against the Cardinals (June 19 in D.C.) when his teammates handed him an early 5-0 lead and he proceeded to give all of them back, plus one. That frustrating start including back-to-back homers by Brendan Donovan and Paul Goldschmidt in the top of the fifth.

Gray’s opponent that night was Jack Flaherty, and wouldn’t you know the two right-handers meet again today. The Nats jumped all over Flaherty to take that aforementioned 5-0 lead, all five runs scoring in the first two innings. The problem: They shut down offensively after that, allowing the opposing starter they had on the ropes early to make it all the way to the seventh inning.

UPDATE: Jeimer Candelario was initially in today's lineup, but he has now been scratched. The plan was to test his bruised right thumb in the batting cage and fielding grounders, and apparently it didn't go well. So Ildemaro Vargas once again will start at third base in his place.

ST. LOUIS – Under the circumstances, Davey Martinez had to do what he had to do earlier in the day. His Nationals had a chance to win the completion of Friday night’s suspended game, so he used all of his top relievers to make sure his team did ultimately prevail in extra innings over the Cardinals.

The danger in going for it this afternoon, of course, was leaving the bullpen without those top arms tonight. And the Nats paid the price for it.

A trio of secondary relievers gave up four runs in the span of two innings, turning a tie game into a 9-6 loss to cap a long day of baseball in downtown St. Louis that featured yet another rain delay.

After Jake Irvin lasted only three innings in a laborious start, Martinez turned to rookies Amos Willingham and Jose A. Ferrer, then veteran Paolo Espino to keep the game within reach. They couldn’t do it, with Willingham and Ferrer combining to allow three runs in the fifth and then Espino allowing one in the sixth and then another tack-on run in the eighth.

The Nationals wound up splitting the doubleheader and will need to win Sunday’s finale to emerge with their fifth series win in their last six tries. Tonight’s loss prevented them from pulling off their first four-game winning streak since June 27-30, 2021.

ST. LOUIS – Don’t look now, but the Nationals are playing winning baseball. No, really. They’ve won three in a row, and if they can pull off another one tonight, they’ll have their first four-game winning streak since June 27-30, 2021, back when Kyle Schwarber was homering every night and Trea Turner was hitting for the cycle. One more win over St. Louis tonight or Sunday would lock up their fifth series victory in their last six tries. Also, a win tonight would give the Nats a winning record on the road this season. (They’re currently 22-22.)

So how do they get there? It begins with Jake Irvin, who looks to continue his positive trend from before the All-Star break and provide some quality innings after the bullpen was needed for 7 1/3 total innings in this afternoon’s 10-inning win. Irvin has a 3.25 ERA over his last five starts, never allowing more than three runs in any outing.

The Nationals would love to get some more production from a lineup that already scored seven runs in seven innings today. That group will hope to keep the pressure going with CJ Abrams leading off (he’s got seven stolen bases in his last five games) in front of Lane Thomas and Joey Meneses. Jeimer Candelario is again out of the lineup with a bruised right thumb, but he told Davey Martinez he thinks he could pinch-hit if needed. We’ll see.

To compensate for Candelario’s lack of availability, the Nats used the 27th man they’re allotted for tonight’s game not on a pitcher but on Jake Alu. The utilityman flew in from Rochester and is here on site, available off the bench if needed with both Ildemaro Vargas and Michael Chavis in the lineup against Cardinals lefty Steven Matz.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Busch Stadium
Gametime: 7:15 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 88 degrees, wind 8 mph left field to right field

ST. LOUIS – Not that he wanted to be in this position, restarting a game in the bottom of the third that began the previous night. But if ever there was a time for the Nationals to be in this position, this was it.

Davey Martinez had an exceedingly rested bullpen coming out of the All-Star break, an extra long reliever taking the spot of Patrick Corbin while he’s on paternity leave and the ability to use anyone he wanted at any point in an attempt to win this afternoon’s completion of Friday night’s suspended game against the Cardinals.

Turns out the Nationals won this game not because of their well-rested bullpen, but because of a productive lineup that kept making up for the bullpen's mistakes.

Ultimately, it was back-to-back singles by CJ Abrams and Lane Thomas in the top of the 10th that allowed the Nats to plate a pair of runs off Cardinals closer Jordan Hicks and emerge with a hard-earned 7-5 victory to get this long day and night of baseball off to an uplifting start.

"It was a good day for our hitters," said Martinez, whose team has won three in a row sandwiched around the All-Star break and is now 22-22 on the road this season. "I wish we would've won a little bit earlier, but the bullpen came in and held it down. We played well."

ST. LOUIS – Jeimer Candelario can’t return to play in this afternoon’s resumption of Friday night’s suspended game. The Nationals can only hope their starting third baseman’s right thumb heals enough to allow him to play this evening’s nightcap.

Candelario, who had to depart Friday’s game after one at-bat in the top of the first, was still dealing with swelling in his thumb this morning. Manager Davey Martinez described the injury as a bone bruise.

“I just talked to him; he’s pretty sore still,” Martinez said this morning. “We’ll get him treatment today, see how he feels the rest of the day, see what happens the second game.”

Candelario hurt himself during a defensive drill Friday afternoon but felt like he could play the second-half opener. He wound up fouling off three straight pitches during his first-inning at-bat against Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas, shaking his right hand in discomfort each time. When he finally struck out with an awkward swing on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, he jogged back to the dugout and was replaced in the field by Ildemaro Vargas when the bottom of the first began.

Vargas will be at third base when the game resumes this afternoon and could start the nightcap if Candelario isn’t available. The Nationals also could use utilityman Michael Chavis if needed. They’re allowed to call up a 27th player for the game; that move won’t be announced until later this afternoon, but Triple-A infielder Jake Alu is a possibility.

ST. LOUIS – The last thing any team wants is to face a doubleheader on the second day coming out of the All-Star break. But if ever there was a time to do that, and a pitching staff unintentionally designed to handle it, this is it.

After Friday night’s second-half opener against the Cardinals was suspended with two outs in the bottom of the third, St. Louis leading 1-0, the Nationals will be forced to play 15-plus innings today at Busch Stadium. They’ll pick up Friday night’s game from the point it was suspended – runner on first, 3-2 count on Paul Goldschmidt – at 2:15 p.m. Eastern, then play the originally scheduled game at 7:15 p.m.

Trevor Williams, who recorded the first eight outs for the Nats, will have to be replaced on the mound. Davey Martinez, though, has a good number of viable options. Everybody in the bullpen is fresh coming out of the All-Star break, and that unit already has an extra pitcher on staff in Paolo Espino, who is replacing starter Patrick Corbin this weekend while the latter is on paternity leave.

Espino is one of three long relievers available to Martinez if needed, along with Cory Abbott and Joan Adon. Those three are supplemented by six other healthy, fresh relievers in Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey, Mason Thompson, Jordan Weems, Jose A. Ferrer and Amos Willingham.

Jake Irvin will start the nightcap as originally planned. Even if the rookie only goes five innings, the Nationals still should be in decent shape to cover the rest of the game.

ST. LOUIS – The skies above Busch Stadium opened up in the bottom of the third inning tonight and did not let up enough at any point to allow the Nationals and Cardinals to resume the opener of their weekend series.

They’ll have to pick things up from this point, with a 3-2 count on Paul Goldschmidt, two outs and a runner on first with St. Louis leading 1-0, at 2:15 p.m. Eastern Saturday before playing the originally scheduled 7:15 p.m. game.

The Nationals can only hope Jeimer Candelario feels well enough to play by then, even though he won’t be eligible to finish the suspended game after he departed with a right thumb injury following his first at-bat.

Candelario saw nine pitches from Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas in the top of the first, battling through the first eight before taking an awkward swing at a slow curveball on the final pitch. He then looked uncomfortable as he jogged back to the dugout with the third out of the inning.

When the bottom of the first arrived, it was Ildemaro Vargas at third base, not Candelario.

ST. LOUIS – The Nationals will open the second half of the season with a change to their pitching staff, but only a temporary one.

Patrick Corbin was placed on the paternity list prior to tonight’s series opener against the Cardinals, with Paolo Espino recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take his roster spot for the weekend.

Corbin’s wife, Jen, gave birth to the couple’s second son, Miles, during the All-Star break. Because the Nats had the luxury of rearranging their rotation coming out of the break, they decided to let the veteran left-hander skip this entire weekend in St. Louis. Corbin is slated to rejoin the team in Chicago and start Tuesday’s game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

It’s the second time Corbin has gone on leave in recent weeks. He went on the bereavement list on June 30 following his grandmother’s death, but he didn’t miss a start because that time off came between a pair of outings.

Espino won’t be starting in Corbin’s place. The 36-year-old right-hander will be available out of the bullpen as a long man, the same role he held when he was briefly called up from Rochester at the end of June.

ST. LOUIS – And away we go with the second half of the season. The Nationals come out of the All-Star break at 36-54, a 65-win pace. And believe it or not, they’re only two games behind the Cardinals, one of baseball’s biggest underachievers to date this year.

We know the Nats have been a much better road team in 2023, so let’s see if they can get the second half off to a positive start tonight. They’ll have Trevor Williams on the mound for the series opener, with Jake Irvin on Saturday and Josiah Gray on Sunday. Why not Patrick Corbin? He was placed on the paternity list today, so we won’t see him until next week in Chicago. Paolo Espino was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take his place and provide some length out of the bullpen.

Davey Martinez is going with what now represents his regular lineup against a right-hander (in this case, the Cardinals’ Miles Mikolas). CJ Abrams has taken over leadoff duties until further notice, with Lane Thomas batting second ahead of Jeimer Candelario and the suddenly red-hot Joey Meneses, who hit four homers in his final three games before the break.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Busch Stadium
Gametime: 8:15 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 86 degrees, wind 6 mph right field to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
3B Jeimer Candelario
DH Joey Meneses
C Keibert Ruiz
1B Dominic Smith
LF Corey Dickerson
2B Luis García
CF Alex Call

As they prepare to open the second half of the 2023 season, the Nationals already know who they’re going to play and when in 2024.

Major League Baseball unveiled next year’s schedule this afternoon, an earlier-than-usual announcement that coincides with the final day of the All-Star break.

The Nats are scheduled to begin next season on the road March 28 against the Reds. It’s only the third time they’re ever opened on the road against a non-division foe, but the second time they’ve done so in Cincinnati, having also been there on Opening Day 2018 in Davey Martinez’s managerial debut.

Following that three-game road series, the Nationals will come right back to D.C. for an April 1 home opener against the Pirates. It’s the first time they’ve faced Pittsburgh in an opener and will be a welcome break from the usual tradition of opening against a fellow National League East opponent like the Mets or Braves.

Click here for the 2024 schedule.

There was no baseball Wednesday. It’s the first time that was the case since mid-February, before pitchers and catchers reported to Florida and Arizona. It’s nice to have a little break from the action, I suppose, but it’s not something you want to experience for too long.

Fortunately, the season starts up again Friday. The Nationals will open the second half in St. Louis, then head to Chicago after that before returning home. They’ve already played 90 games, more than 55 percent of the season. But there is still much to come before everyone packs up for good after the Oct. 1 finale in Atlanta.

Let’s run through the biggest storylines of the second half for the Nats. Some of these take place on the field. Some of them take place off the field. All of them are significant in one way or another …

PROGRESS FROM THE YOUNG GUYS?
From the outset, this season always was about the development and progression of any young core players who figure into the team’s long-term plan. That means MacKenzie Gore, Josiah Gray, CJ Abrams, Keibert Ruiz and Luis García, among others. What can we expect to see from those guys the rest of the way? Can Gore get more consistent and get to, say, 26-28 starts and 130-140 innings before the Nats decide he’s had enough? Can Gray continue what he did in the first half and finish with 32-34 starts and 170-plus innings for the first time? Can Abrams stick in the leadoff position (he looked good in his first three games there)? Can Ruiz start getting some of those hard-hit balls to fall, and show real progress behind the plate? Can García get more selective at the plate and more consistent at second base? There’s very little else that can happen on the field the rest of the season that matters more than all that.

WHO GETS TRADED AT THE DEADLINE?
We are less than three weeks away from the Aug. 1 trade deadline, and though the Nationals aren’t going to be headliners like they were the last two years, they could still be quite active. Jeimer Candelario seems the likeliest candidate to be dealt, but can Corey Dickerson do enough to make himself worthwhile to a contender as well? Is Mike Rizzo willing to part with any or all of his controllable, late-inning relievers (Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey, Carl Edwards Jr.)? Is Lane Thomas part of the plan moving forward or a prime “sell high” candidate? And would there actually be a taker out there for Patrick Corbin? Rizzo may not be able to reshape his entire farm system like he did last summer, but he can make moves that will benefit the club in the long run if he plays his cards right.

The Nationals entered the 2022 season with modest expectations. Such is life when you lost 107 games the previous year and spent a grand total of $17 million on free agents over the winter.

When they reached the All-Star break this week, the Nats found themselves with a 36-54 record, which equates to a 65-97 record over a full season. So while that doesn’t seem like anything to get excited about, it would still represent a 10-game improvement from 2022, and that’s not nothing.

Which isn’t to say a whole lot of things went well in the first half. There were a few positive developments, including some very significant ones. But there were some legitimate negatives as well, some which could threaten the viability of this franchise returning to contention within the next two years.

Let’s take stock of both the good and the bad to date. Here’s what went right for the Nationals in the first half, and what went wrong …

RIGHT: YOUNG STARTING PITCHERS
If you could’ve picked only one positive development for this team back on Opening Day, wouldn’t you have picked MacKenzie Gore and Josiah Gray? So much of this season was about their progression (plus Cade Cavalli, who unfortunately won’t be able to progress until 2024 due to Tommy John surgery in March). And while it hasn’t been a straight, upward line for both young starters, the arrow has ultimately pointed up more than down. Gray has been one of the most improved pitchers in the league, lowering his ERA from 5.02 to 3.41 even though his WHIP has gone up and his strikeout rate has gone down a bit. He’s been successful because he’s kept the ball in the park and because he’s been able to pitch out of jams. An All-Star berth (and a 1-2-3 inning of relief in Tuesday night’s game) is merely the cherry on top. Gore, meanwhile, is still a work-in-progress with a 4.42 ERA and 1.461 WHIP. But when he’s good, he’s as good as anybody, with four starts so far that featured one or two runs allowed and at least nine strikeouts recorded. And don’t overlook Jake Irvin, a pleasant surprise who wasn’t on anybody’s radar but now looks like a potential back-of-the-rotation starter for the future.

There was a natural reaction for some to Sunday’s news the Nationals drafted Dylan Crews of disappointment. Not because the Nats made a mistake taking the LSU center fielder with the No. 2 overall pick, but because the Pirates prevented them from taking Paul Skenes by making the LSU ace the No. 1 pick in the country.

For months, we kept hearing about the perfect couple the Nationals and Skenes would make. Fans and club officials alike were formulating 2024 rotations in their minds. Players openly talked about welcoming him into their clubhouse next spring and then showing the 21-year-old he wasn’t quite ready for the big leagues yet.

Of course Skenes was going to wind up a National. How could he not?

So when the announcement came shortly after 7 p.m. Sunday that the Pirates had selected him, the subsequent selection of Crews felt like some kind of letdown.

News flash: It shouldn’t feel that way. The Nationals just got themselves a bona fide No. 1 pick with the No. 2 pick, one of the most accomplished college players ever, as much of a slam-dunk prospect as you’re ever going to find.