From the moment last summer he learned he would need Tommy John surgery, Tanner Rainey established his goal for recovery: Return to the Nationals in one year.

The right-hander now finds himself one month away from that target date, and though he believes he could be pitching in a major league game come early August, he understands why the Nats are purposely slowing him down a bit.

“It’s still a goal,” Rainey said. “I would like to be ready to face hitters full-on around that one-year mark. It’s not something I want to get too tied up in. I’d rather be completely healthy and ready to go than just hit a goal. But obviously that one-year mark is still on my mind.”

After spending the majority of the season rehabbing in West Palm Beach, Fla., Rainey is in Washington this week, invited back by manager Davey Martinez to throw in front of the major league coaching and training staffs and spend some quality time with teammates as he enters the final phase of his recovery process.

Rainey had his elbow ligament replaced August 3. He’s had no setbacks since then and is currently throwing two 45-pitch bullpen sessions per week. He has not faced live hitters yet, but he’s likely to cross that important threshold next week.

It’s Independence Day in the nation’s capital, and that means morning baseball. It’s become a great tradition here, the 11:05 a.m. first pitch at Nationals Park. It can be a rush for everyone to get to the park and get prepared for the game, but once it starts it’s always a fun atmosphere. And everyone loves being able to head home early and enjoy the rest of the holiday.

The Nationals will be hoping for more fireworks at the plate than they produced during Monday night’s 3-2 loss. They’re going to have to be better with runners in scoring position (1-for-9). If not, they’re going to have to hit the ball out of the park with some runners on base for a change.

Patrick Corbin gets the start, and he’s coming off his best outing of the season, in which he shut out the Mariners over seven innings. The Reds have a potentially tough lineup, but we saw Jake Irvin and Co. hold them to three runs Monday night, so there is a path to success for Corbin.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. CINCINNATI REDS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 11:05 a.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv, MLB Network
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 83 degrees, wind 8 mph left field to right field

NATIONALS
RF Lane Thomas
2B Luis García
3B Jeimer Candelario
1B Dominic Smith
DH Joey Meneses
LF Corey Dickerson
C Riley Adams
SS CJ Abrams
CF Derek Hill

Facing baseball’s hottest team, the Nationals turned to four of their least-experienced pitchers tonight, then watched as Jake Irvin, Jordan Weems, Joe La Sorsa and Amos Willingham did everything in their power to minimize damage and give their teammates a chance to beat the Reds.

Presented with that opportunity, the Nats lineup faltered, leaving the biggest crowd of the season on South Capitol Street to watch a postgame fireworks show frustrated following a 3-2 loss.

The game was there for the taking all night long, if only somebody standing at the plate in a Nationals uniform was willing to take it. Alas, they managed only hit with a man in scoring position, misfiring just about every time they had a shot at tying the game or even taking the lead.

"We were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. That hurt us from the first inning on," manager Davey Martinez said. "I talk about it all the time: Drive in that runner from third with less than two outs. We've got to find a way to do that. It's a different ballgame if we do that."

Returning home from a highly successful, 6-3 trip to San Diego, Seattle and Philadelphia, the Nats reverted back to the form that has plagued them all year long in this ballpark. They are now an inexplicable 13-28 at home, worst in the National League despite a very respectable 21-22 record on the road.

After spending the majority of the season to date with zero left-handers in their bullpen, the Nationals are going to keep two for the time being after making another roster move today, but not the one that seemed the likeliest.

With Patrick Corbin returning from the bereavement list, the Nats placed Thaddeus Ward on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, keeping both Jose A. Ferrer and Joe La Sorsa in a bullpen that suddenly includes two lefties.

Ferrer just made his major league debut Saturday after his promotion from Triple-A Rochester. The 23-year-old pitched a scoreless inning against the Phillies, then did it again during Sunday’s 5-4 victory. He’ll now get a chance to stay and prove he can enjoy continued success at this level.

“He’s throwing the ball well,” manager Davey Martinez said. “The biggest thing I like is he’s throwing strikes. It’s something I talked to him about when he got here: ‘It doesn’t matter how hard you throw, or what you throw. It’s about throwing strike one.’ And so far, he’s done that.”

La Sorsa, who made two appearances for the Rays earlier this season before the Nationals claimed him off waivers and called him up late last month, impressed in his first two outings but allowed four runs while facing only five batters during Saturday’s 19-4 loss in Philadelphia.

When they left town a week and a half ago, the Nationals were reeling, having just gone 1-6 during one of the worst homestands in club history. They return tonight having completely reversed that trend, going 6-3 on a long trip that included stops in San Diego, Seattle and Philadelphia. What should we expect now as they open the final week of the first half with seven games in seven days against two of the majors’ most surprising teams?

It begins tonight with the first of four against the Reds, who only three weeks ago were 29-35 and in third place in the National League Central. Since then, with top prospect Elly De La Cruz leading the way, they’ve gone 16-4 and now are tied with the Brewers atop the division.

It’ll be up to Jake Irvin to try to hold that exciting Cincinnati lineup down. The rookie right-hander has looked quite impressive since returning from a brief hiatus to rest and work on his mechanics. He’s got a 2.70 ERA in those three starts, issuing only five walks while striking out 14. He’s still looking for his first win since May 8, though.

Veteran right-hander Luke Weaver starts for the Reds, and things have not gone well for him. Weaver enters tonight with a 6.96 ERA and 1.608 WHIP, though curiously he hasn’t received a decision either way in his last nine starts.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. CINCINNATI REDS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Thunderstorms, 84 degrees, wind 8 mph out to center field

We are now only nine days from the 2023 Draft, one that not only features some of the best top-tier talent the sport has seen in a long time, but one that also sees the Nationals with one of the top picks for the first time in a long time.

The Nats don’t own the No. 1 pick like they did in 2009 and 2010, but if there’s ever a year to be satisfied with not owning the No. 1 pick, this is it. As many as five players are viewed by experts as No. 1 talents: LSU outfielder Dylan Crews, LSU right-hander Paul Skenes, Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford and high school outfielders Walker Jenkins and Max Clark.

Because they pick second, the Nationals are at the mercy of the Pirates, who have their choice of the entire field. Most experts believe Pittsburgh will take one of the two LSU stars who just won the Men’s College World Series, but there remain valid rumblings they could prefer Langford or one of the high schoolers because of the money they’d save and be able to apply to later-round picks.

The Nats have been widely connected to both Skenes and Crews, with maybe an outside chance they take Langford instead. There’s little buzz about them drafting a high school player with this pick.

So in all likelihood, general manager Mike Rizzo, longtime vice president of scouting Kris Kline and their team of evaluators are going to be selecting someone who played in last weekend’s much ballyhooed national championship series in Omaha. All possess elite skills, all are experienced and all are expected to reach the major leagues in short order.

SEATTLE – Throughout an often frustrating season at the plate, Nationals coaches have needed to remind Keibert Ruiz that his process has been good, even if the results didn’t suggest it. He was hitting the ball well, just not getting hits.

At some point, though, talk is cheap. Doesn’t a hitter need to actually see positive results to justify the process?

“Yes,” Ruiz said with a wide smile when asked that question Wednesday afternoon. “I need to see a lot of results. Everybody wants to get results.”

Then the Nationals catcher got serious again and finished his answer with the standard company line.

“But I’ve got to control what I can control: Having good at-bats, and that’s it,” he said.

SEATTLE – On another day in which the Nationals were on the wrong end of a baserunning call by an umpire, another day in which Davey Martinez was ejected after arguing the aforementioned baserunning call, victory was still assured thanks to the dominant performance from a source that has been anything but dominant for the better part of 3 1/2 years now: Patrick Corbin.

As his manager and other teammates went ballistic over plate umpire Derek Thomas’ controversial sixth-inning call on Keibert Ruiz for running out of the baseline to avoid a tag at the plate, Corbin stayed above the fray and pitched his best game of the season, leading the Nats to a 4-1 win and a series victory over the Mariners.

"Look, you can say whatever you want about Patrick," Martinez said of his beleaguered veteran lefty. "What I know about Patrick is he's going to take the ball every five days. For me, that's awesome. And I love him for that."

Corbin tossed seven scoreless innings, scattering five singles without issuing a walk. He struck out nine, and needed only 102 pitches to complete those seven zero-filled frames to emerge with his fifth win of the year while lowering his ERA under 5.00 in the process.

"That's the end goal: Get as many wins as we can, and have everybody do their job," Corbin said. "Sometimes, it does get frustrating, but you've got to continue to grind and try to focus on the positives and learn from mistakes. I'm not going to get too high after this one, just look at some of the things I did well and try to improve and get ready for my next one."

SEATTLE – The Nationals wrap up the West Coast portion of their nine-game road trip this afternoon with a matinee against the Mariners. They’ll do so without two regular members of their lineup starting, each for different reasons.

CJ Abrams is sitting after getting hit by a pitch on his right elbow in the top of the seventh Tuesday night. It was actually the second time the young shortstop was hit in that location during this trip, and this time it swelled up enough to warrant departing the game.

Abrams did initially remain in Tuesday’s game and proceeded to steal second after reaching. On the slide, he appeared to get spiked on his right hand. When the inning ended, he remained in the dugout, with Ildemaro Vargas taking over at shortstop for the final five frames of an 11-inning victory.

Abrams was walking around the clubhouse this morning with his right arm in a sleeve after receiving treatment. He didn’t sound concerned about missing any length of time.

“He’s a little sore; he’s getting worked on this morning,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He should be available to pinch-hit, play some defense later on in the game. Just giving him a little breather. He’s a guy who got hit twice in the same spot in a week. He woke up today a little sore.”

SEATTLE – The Nationals have spent an inordinate amount of time on the West Coast this season. Today, they play their 25th road game against West division opponents. Compare that with only six road games against Central teams and only nine road games against East teams. They’ve made four separate trips to California in three months.

The good news: Today is the last time the Nats will play west of St. Louis this season. And they would love to head back east with another win, not to mention a 4-2 record in San Diego and Seattle before departing for Philadelphia.

Davey Martinez’s lineup for the finale against the Mariners does not include CJ Abrams, who was hit by a pitch on the right elbow Tuesday night and had to depart. It does not include Joey Meneses, who gets a rare day off. It does include both Keibert Ruiz (who is DHing) and Riley Adams (who is catching).

Patrick Corbin gets the start, hoping for better results than his blowup start in San Diego to begin this trip (seven runs in five innings). The Nats could certainly use some length from the left-hander today after playing 11 innings Tuesday night.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SEATTLE MARINERS
Where: T-Mobile Park
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 70 degrees, wind 6 mph out to center field

SEATTLE – Luis García’s RBI single in the top of the 11th was a key moment in the Nationals’ wild, 7-4 victory over the Mariners on Tuesday night. His play at second base throughout the game might have been just as significant, and certainly eye-opening to the team at large.

In what was arguably his best defensive game of the season, García turned two key late double plays. And he nearly turned a third one with an incredibly high degree of difficulty.

With runners on the corners and nobody out in the bottom of the seventh of what was a tie game at the time, Seattle’s Kolten Wong hit a chopper to short. Ildemaro Vargas fielded it and threw the ball to García at second base for the first half of what looked like a routine 6-4-3 double play that would concede the go-ahead run.

But instead of throwing to first, García turned against his body and fired to the plate, where Keibert Ruiz caught the throw and tagged a sliding Jarred Kelenic. Plate umpire Brennan Miller called Kelenic out, and the Nats thought they had just pulled off a rare 6-4-2 double play.

The Mariners, though, challenged the call. And upon replay review, it was determined Kelenic barely slid into the plate before Ruiz could apply the tag.

SEATTLE – The weirdest game of the Nationals’ 2023 season included four pitch clock violations, plus one that was overturned after the umpires huddled up. It included players and coaches from both benches coming onto the field to break up an argument over an accusation Jeimer Candelario was signaling pitch locations while leading off second base.

It included CJ Abrams departing with an injury after getting hit by a pitch on the right elbow. It included several jaw-dropping plays by Luis García, including one that nearly saved the day in the seventh … until umpires overturned their original call upon review and awarded the Mariners the go-ahead run.

It included Keibert Ruiz blasting a game-tying homer in the eighth, the young catcher finally rewarded for the loud contact he’s been making for several weeks. It included a no-doubles defense by the Nats that actually played a ball into a double.

And it ultimately included two desperately needed clutch hits from Lane Thomas and García to propel the Nationals to an exhausting 7-4 11-inning victory.

"They fought," manager Davey Martinez said. "This team is relentless. They don't give up. They stay focused. They stay in the game. And we come out victorious in the end, which was awesome."

SEATTLE – Davey Martinez’s tirade against Doug Eddings last week after the longtime umpire ejected the Nationals manager for arguing balls and strikes generated plenty of video clicks and chuckles from all who watched the replay. Martinez understood that would happen when he got down on his hands and feet and mockingly “caught” a pitch two inches off the ground to show Eddings just how low his strike zone was.

Martinez’s real concern in that moment, and in the days since, though, was how CJ Abrams would respond to it. It was a low strike three call to Abrams that initiated the firestorm in the first place, and Martinez worried his young shortstop would change his approach because of it.

After weeks of work to lay off pitches below his knees, Abrams was starting to show a better eye at the plate. Would that no longer be the case if he was taking those pitches and still striking out due to overeager umpires?

“He’s young, and whenever he gets a call that’s controversial, you see that he tends to expand a little bit more,” Martinez said. “We have to always tell him: ‘Do not let the umpires dictate what you’re trying to do up there. Understand who you are, and understand the pitch you’re looking for. And stay in the zone.’”

The evidence since last week’s incident has actually been encouraging. Abrams has continued to produce good at-bats during this West Coast trip, and he enters tonight’s game against the Mariners batting .393 (11-for-28) with three doubles and a homer over his last eight games.

SEATTLE – Monday night’s series opener was a disappointing one for the Nationals, who squandered an early 3-1 lead against Mariners ace Luis Castillo and wound up losing 8-4, with Jeimer Candelario standing at the plate watching a pitch well out of the zone called strike three with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth. They can only hope for better results tonight.

The pitching staff should be in better shape tonight, with everyone outside of Cory Abbott available out of the bullpen. That could take some pressure off starter Jake Irvin, though the rookie right-hander will be motivated to follow up his back-to-back strong outings with another one. He allowed just one run a piece to the Marlins and Diamondbacks, completing six innings against Arizona.

Seattle has a rookie right-hander of its own on the mound tonight in Bryan Woo. The 23-year-old, a sixth-round pick in the 2021 Draft, makes his fifth career start. His debut was ragged (six runs in two innings against the Rangers) but he’s been good since (2.30 ERA, 21-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio against the Angels, White Sox and Yankees).

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SEATTLE MARINERS
Where: T-Mobile Park
Gametime: 9:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 73 degrees, wind 5 mph out to center field

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

SEATTLE – Lane Thomas made plans a while back to spend his All-Star break at the beach with his wife. He might need to find out if those reservations are refundable, because with each passing day it looks more and more like he’s going to be spending his All-Star break right here in Seattle with the rest of baseball’s best players.

Thomas continues to make a compelling case for himself to represent the Nationals in the All-Star Game, set to be played two weeks from today at T-Mobile Park. What initially looked like a red-hot month at the plate has since turned into a prolonged stretch of success as good as anyone in the sport has produced this season.

With another homer and another RBI double during Monday night’s 8-4 loss to the Mariners, Thomas raised the bar even further. He now has 14 home runs, all of them coming since May 1. He’s now batting .297 with an .860 OPS, and though those numbers may not rank among the league leaders, they’re depressed a bit only because of his slow start to the season.

When Thomas hit his first homer May 1 against the Cubs, he was batting .260 and slugging a paltry .302. He has been nothing short of MVP-like ever since.

In 51 games played since that notable date, Thomas is batting .314 and slugging .614. Extrapolate all of his stats during that stretch over a 162-game season, and his totals would be mind-blowing: 127 runs, 206 hits, 51 doubles, 44 homers, 98 RBIs, 16 steals and a .967 OPS.

SEATTLE – Had they played clean baseball tonight, the Nationals might still have lost to the Mariners. Their lineup might still have gone silent after scoring three early runs off Luis Castillo. Trevor Williams might still have been pulled after four labored innings. Cory Abbott might still have surrendered the go-ahead runs in relief. Jeimer Candelario might still have struck out looking – at a pitch well outside the strike zone, for what that's worth – with the bases loaded and a last-ditch chance to tie the game with one swing in the top of the ninth.

But they certainly weren’t going to win this game playing the unclean brand of baseball they put on display in the opener of a three-game series at T-Mobile Park.

There was a comical error by Dominic Smith, who flipped the ball to first base without realizing nobody was there to catch it. There was a perfect throw by Keibert Ruiz to nab Jarred Kelenic trying to steal second, if not for CJ Abrams not holding the tag long enough. There was an automatic balk called on Williams for disengaging from the pitching rubber three times during the same at-bat.

All of that, along with some ineffective pitching and a lack of offense once the third inning ended, conspired to deal the Nationals an 8-4 loss to Seattle and halt whatever positive momentum they generated during back-to-back wins in San Diego over the weekend.

"Those little things become big things, as we saw," manager Davey Martinez said. "We'll talk about these things again tomorrow. Hopefully, tomorrow we play a cleaner game. Because this game was close for a while there. It was a good game. The boys battled back, but I'd like to see us get through that one inning that kind of beat us."

SEATTLE – A Nationals bullpen that has gone through a number of changes in the last week experienced another one today when the club promoted right-hander Amos Willingham from Triple-A and optioned Paolo Espino back to Rochester.

This move comes only two days after the Nats called Espino up to replace Chad Kuhl, who was designated for assignment. (The club officially requested unconditional release waivers on Kuhl today, making him a free agent.)

Willingham, 24, made a name for himself in the organization early this season, stringing together 10 consecutive scoreless appearances with 14 strikeouts and only one walk for Double-A Harrisburg. That earned him a promotion last month to Triple-A, where he wasn’t as dominant (3.46 ERA, 11 strikeouts, eight walks over 13 innings), but still pitched well enough to earn consideration for another promotion.

“I knew this could be a big year for me,” he said. “I needed to go in and take care of everything I needed to do, and I knew there would be opportunities to move up. I had no idea it would happen this fast. I was thinking at this point in the year maybe get to Triple-A, and then maybe be in Triple-A until September and maybe get a look up here. But it’s all happened so fast, it’s hard to really fathom the entire process.”

The Nationals might have called Willingham up Saturday to take Kuhl’s spot, but he had just thrown 30 pitches over two innings and likely wouldn’t have been available for another couple days. So they instead recalled Espino, who wound up pitching the ninth inning of Sunday’s 8-3 win in San Diego but retired only two of the five batters he faced, prompting manager Davey Martinez to summon closer Hunter Harvey for the final out.

SEATTLE – Hello from the great Pacific Northwest, where the Nationals make only the fourth visit in club history but their second in as many years. They’ve had very good results here, no matter the era, sweeping a three-game set in 2008, taking two of three in 2014 and then splitting a quick two-game series last August. Now they’re back for three with the Mariners, who, like the Padres, had high expectations entering the season but are currently under .500.

Seattle does have a legit ace on the mound tonight in Luis Castillo, who currently ranks sixth in the American League in ERA (2.89), 10th in WHIP (1.053) and seventh in strikeouts (101). The electric right-hander will pose a real test for a Nationals lineup that bust out for nine runs during Sunday’s win in San Diego but as you already know has been in a real rut for quite a while.

Trevor Williams gets the start, looking to build off possibly his best outing of the season, in which he shut out the Cardinals for six innings and earned his fourth win in the process. Davey Martinez let Williams pitch into the seventh in that game, and he may be tempted to push him again tonight because multiple relievers (most notably Hunter Harvey and Mason Thompson) figure to be unavailable tonight after pitching each of the last two days.

The Nats bullpen will have another new face tonight, though: The club called up Amos Willingham from Triple-A Rochester. The 24-year-old right-hander, a 17th round pick in the 2019 draft out of Georgia Tech, has worked his way up the organizational ladder since, and now gets his first promotion to the big leagues. To clear a roster spot for Willingham, the Nationals optioned Paolo Espino back to Triple-A after only one appearance.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SEATTLE MARINERS
Where: T-Mobile Park
Gametime: 9:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 72 degrees, wind 5 mph out to right field

SAN DIEGO – Jeimer Candelario ranks among the league leaders in doubles, on pace now for 50 of them by season’s end. Ask the Nationals’ No. 3 hitter about his offensive approach, though, and his answer has less to do with how he gets to second base and more to do with what happens once he’s there.

“Getting in scoring position, for me, is really, really important,” he said. “Because I’ve got a chance to score. That’s how you win ballgames. We’ve got Meneses hitting fourth, and he’s a guy that can put the barrel on the ball. I want to be able to score for him and for the team.”

Candelario knows of what he speaks. Everybody loves to see him hit doubles, but nobody loves it more than the guy who bats behind him and has gone above and beyond to drive him in as well as anyone in the majors.

Joey Meneses’ season totals may not turn heads. He’s batting a healthy .293, but slugging a mere .381. One of baseball’s best (and most surprising) power hitters after he debuted at age 30 last August, he has managed only two home runs through the Nats’ first 77 games this season.

Meneses, though, is doing one thing exceptionally well this year: He’s driving in runs at a remarkable rate when given the opportunity.

SAN DIEGO – As he stalked off the mound, MacKenzie Gore looked directly at Juan Soto, who was looking directly back at the Nationals left-hander. Words were spoken. Heads were nodded. Competitive juices flowed.

There was no disrespect from either party, just an acknowledgment that one had bested the other on this afternoon and that there surely will be future meetings between these two ballplayers forever connected via trade.

"I like him," Gore insisted. "He talks some junk, and he's competitive. I've never played against him much, but I like him."

If future encounters between the two produce the same results as today, the Nats will happily take it.

Gore’s high-energy strikeout of Soto – his third of the afternoon against the former D.C. star – may have come in the fifth inning of what wound up an 8-3 Nationals victory thanks to a parade of late-game hits by the visitors. But it was still the signature moment of a day that included a number of exciting moments but none as important in the long-term picture for this franchise.