The ball went soaring off James Wood’s bat and made a beeline for left-center field at Nationals Park, clearing the wall and clearing the red seats that reside in that one area of the stadium, finally coming back to earth at the picnic tables stationed behind the seats.

It’s the kind of territory only a handful of players have ever reached in an actual game since the park opened in 2008. And here was Wood, a 21-year-old rookie, a left-handed hitter, doing it.

“I definitely got it on the barrel,” he said.

Uh, yeah, he most definitely did. Wood’s eighth-inning homer during the Nationals’ 11-5 thumping of the Giants on Tuesday night was his most impressive to date in the big leagues, a 423-foot shot to the opposite field to cap a big-time offensive performance.

Wood had already tripled off the left field wall in his first at-bat, then drawn two walks and stolen two bases before stepping to the plate in the bottom of the eighth. Facing San Francisco right-hander Sean Hjelle, who at 6-foot-11 is one of the only players in the majors who actually dwarfs him, the 6-foot-7 Wood got a 94-mph sinker on the inner-third of the plate, belt-high and absolutely crushed it.

It’s not exactly the way anyone wants this to go, but the Nationals are developing a penchant for surviving disastrous first innings from their starters and finding ways to come back and win at the end of the night.

A sustainable formula for long-term success? No. But they’ll take what they can get right now, and they’ll gladly take tonight’s 11-5 victory over the Giants, in which MacKenzie Gore once again dug his teammates into a hole and those teammates proceeded to dig their way out.

A four-run top of the first against Gore seemed to spell doom for the slumping left-hander and created a big uphill climb for the rest of the Nationals. But they immediately stormed back to take the lead one inning later, then kept hitting against San Francisco’s pitching staff and actually gave their bullpen some cushion for the later innings.

"We went from real gloomy," manager Davey Martinez said, "to boom."

The first big swing came from shortstop CJ Abrams, who led the way with a much-needed, three-run homer during a five-run bottom of the second. Keibert Ruiz also homered, as did James Wood, who reached the picnic tables in left-center in the bottom of the eighth after already tripling, drawing two walks and stealing two bases to complement a well balanced offensive attack from the same lineup that scored only one run Monday night against Logan Webb and the Giants bullpen.

Plenty of hitters have enjoyed long, successful careers despite developing a reputation for being streaky. CJ Abrams may be trying to take that idea to a new extreme.

The Nationals’ All-Star shortstop has been through a roller coaster of a season to date, performing at both ends of the offensive spectrum.

Abrams posted an excellent .295/.373/.619 slash line in April, getting off to a fantastic start. Then he slumped in May, producing a slash line of .205/.216/.304. Once the calendar flipped to June, he turned red-hot again, finishing with a stellar .374/.464/.663 slash line that earned him his first career All-Star selection. But through July and the first five days of August, he’s plummeted back to earth, with a .167/.265/.283 slash line that has threatened to undo some of the good work he did in the season’s first half.

Nobody stays hot all season long at the plate. It’s inherently a streaky pursuit. But how can Abrams, in particular, turn those down periods a bit more respectable while waiting for another hot streak to kick in?

“Accept his walks,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He’s got to learn how to accept his walks. He’s seeing a lot more breaking pitches this year than he did last year. Last year, they were trying to pound him in, throw the ball up. He got better at hitting those balls. Now he’s getting a lot more off-speed stuff. He’s got to be able to identify them, get ready a little earlier and identify them early. And give himself a chance.”

If you create a short list of Nationals players for whom the season’s final two months are especially important, MacKenzie Gore would certainly be included. The left-hander had a really strong opening two months, producing a 2.91 ERA and 1.278 WHIP in 11 starts. His last 11 starts, though, haven’t come close to that level: a 6.36 ERA and 1.758 WHIP.

So, which version of Gore will we see in August and September? The answer to that question could go a long way toward shaping everyone’s vision of what the 25-year-old really is heading into next season. He was better last week in Arizona, though still not great. An even better showing tonight against the Giants would be a nice indicator of an upward trend for him.

The Nationals would also love to provide Gore with some run support. To do so, they’ll have to take down a foe none of them has ever seen before. Hayden Birdsong, a 22-year-old rookie in only his third professional season, gets the start tonight. The right-hander has been quite good, with a 2.51 ERA and 1.169 WHIP in 13 starts at Double-A and Triple-A before making his major league debut, then a 2.97 ERA and 1.220 WHIP in six starts since arriving. He strikes out a lot of batters (11.3 per nine innings) but he also walks a lot of batters (4.5 per nine innings).

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 90 degrees, wind 13 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
1B Juan Yepez
2B Luis García Jr.
C Keibert Ruiz
LF James Wood
DH Travis Blankenhorn
RF Alex Call
3B Ildemaro Vargas
CF Jacob Young

The trade deadline has passed, and what an eventual deadline it was for the Nationals this year. Four key veterans (Hunter Harvey, Lane Thomas, Jesse Winker, Dylan Floro) were traded for a horde of prospects, none of whom are in the big leagues yet. That leaves the Nats with a very different roster than they had a few weeks ago, with some obvious holes in both their lineup and their bullpen that have been difficult to adequately fill so far.

There are still nearly two months to go, though, and quite a bit still at stake for a number of players who are trying to secure their place on the roster of a 2025 team that still seems to believe it can contend if the right pieces are in place. That, for better or worse, is going to be the focus the rest of the way.

It's been a while since we did one of these Q&A's, so let's get back on the horse and give it a try. If you have a question you'd like to ask, please submit it in the comments section below, then check back throughout the morning for my responses ...

Twelve seconds. It took all of one dozen seconds for the air to be sucked out of Nationals Park this muggy Monday evening, the time between Patrick Corbin’s first pitch to Tyler Fitzgerald and his second pitch to the Giants leadoff man.

The first one was innocuous enough, a 91 mph sinker that caught the outer edge of the strike zone to give Corbin the early advantage. Then came the second one, another 91 mph sinker, this one over the plate and at the knees.

Fitzgerald took a mighty whack at it, the crack of the bat echoing throughout the ballpark, the ball soaring 416 feet to left field for a game-opening homer that set the tone for what would end up a 4-1 loss by the Nationals that felt like it was decided 12 seconds in.

What already loomed as a tough matchup on paper – Logan Webb vs. a groundball-hitting Nats lineup, Corbin on the heels of a disastrous start in Arizona, with a depleted bullpen behind him – only grew more daunting when the Nationals’ beleaguered left-hander dug his team into an immediate 1-0 hole.

"First batter of the game, if that happens, there's a lot of game left," Corbin said of Fitzgerald, who has 11 homers in his last 17 games. "Sometimes it takes you a pitch or two to locate your fastball. It's just unfortunate that he hit that one out of the ballpark."

Joey Gallo is finally ready to start playing in games again. Minor league games, to be sure, but games nonetheless.

Gallo, out nearly two months with a strained left hamstring, is set to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Rochester, which could put the big slugger on track to rejoin the Nationals’ major league roster next week.

The 30-year-old is expected to play five innings at first base Tuesday when the Red Wings open a six-game road trip in Buffalo. He’ll then serve as designated hitter Wednesday, then play right field Thursday.

With the Nationals needing outfield help after the trades of Lane Thomas and Jesse Winker, and with Juan Yepez having hit well since taking over at first base last month, Gallo could wind up seeing more time in right field once he returns from the injured list.

“We’ll see how things go,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I love him playing first base; he’s done really well over there. But there will be some times when I might have to put him right field, so I want him to get some reps out there.”

The Nationals just took two of three from a good Brewers team, and that made for an encouraging weekend. Now comes another tough challenge, though, with a four-game series on tap against the Giants, who are keeping themselves in the wild card race by winning seven of their last nine (one of those wins a no-hitter by Blake Snell).

Snell is scheduled to start Wednesday night, so there’s two games to play before that. Tonight’s San Francisco starter is no slouch: Logan Webb, the workhorse right-hander who consistently leads the league in innings pitched and in his last start went the distance, shutting out the Athletics on 106 pitches for a 1-0 win. The Nationals missed Webb earlier this year out west, so this is going to be the first time many of these young hitters see him.

Patrick Corbin did not throw a shutout in his last start. Not even close. The left-hander lasted only three innings against the Diamondbacks while giving up 11 runs, most ever by a Nats pitcher. There’s not much left to say about Corbin at this point, except to say he’s got to give them more length tonight and give them a chance. Even if he does, the bullpen could be in really shaky shape after Derek Law and Kyle Finnegan each pitched the last two days.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 92 degrees, wind 9 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
1B Juan Yepez
2B Luis García Jr.
C Keibert Ruiz
LF James Wood
DH Travis Blankenhorn
RF Alex Call
3B Ildemaro Vargas
CF Jacob Young

CLEVELAND – Five runs scored against Corbin Burnes today, his most with the Orioles. Any chance at a 19^th quality landed in the center field seats in the fifth inning. An abnormal result from the reliable ace.

Eloy Jiménez was in the lineup against a right-hander and collected three hits in his first three at-bats, including a run-scoring single in the third. Didn’t see that one coming, either.

Baseball’s unpredictability surfaced again today and the Orioles were happy to settle for a split of their four-game series against the Guardians, with home runs by Jackson Holliday and Gunnar Henderson contributing to a 9-5 victory before an announced crowd of 33,628 at Progressive Field.

"It’s tough to be consistent offensively, but the quality of the at-bat was much better these past two days," said manager Brandon Hyde. "Give our guys a lot of credit for getting a split out of here. That’s a tough place to play, a tough team to play. Kind of getting our butts kicked the first two games, the way we responded and swung the bat the last two games has been nice.”

Henderson’s two-run shot in the fourth inning was his 29^th homer and first since the break, and the Orioles raised their record to 67-46 heading into an off-day in Toronto.

One week ago, Kyle Finnegan blew a four-run lead in Arizona, then had to sweat out the final 24 hours prior to the trade deadline before learning the Nationals were retaining him. It was an emotional couple of days for the Nationals closer, who found himself suffering his worst loss of the year while simultaneously worrying about where his next appearance would come.

That next appearance finally came Saturday, when Davey Martinez summoned Finnegan for a four-out save against the Brewers. And that was followed immediately on Sunday, when Finnegan recorded the final three outs of a 4-3 victory to cap a wild week with a decidedly upbeat conclusion.

“That’s the life of relief pitching,” he said. “It can be a bit of a roller coaster at times. You’re going to have good outings, bad outings. And you’ve just got to stay the course. I had a rough one in Arizona, but we always bounce back. And I’m happy to have two good outings under my belt and put it behind me.”

Both last Monday’s outing against the Diamondbacks and Saturday’s game against the Brewers saw Finnegan inherit a four-run lead. The cushion Sunday was merely one run, leaving no margin for error. And when he lost a seven-pitch battle with Rhys Hoskins, who delivered a leadoff single to right to begin the ninth, the pressure ratcheted up right away.

Finnegan, though, made quick work of the rest of the inning. He got Blake Perkins to fly out on the second pitch he saw. Then he went right after Brice Turang and got him to hit a ground ball on the second pitch he saw for the game-ending double play.

The situation practically begged for James Wood to do something big. Though the Nationals were leading at the time, the prospect of pulling off a 1-0 victory given the current state of their bullpen felt risky at best.

So here was a golden opportunity to extend that lead: Bases loaded, one out in the bottom of the sixth, Wood at the plate as the crowd tried to will the rookie outfielder to a clutch hit.

And when Wood’s sinking liner to left got past a diving Jackson Chourio and rolled all the way to the wall, that crowd roared as four Nationals sprinted around the bases, three of them scoring in front of Wood, who stopped at third with the clutch triple that proved the difference in a tight, 4-3 victory and a series win over the Brewers.

"That was a big moment, and he came through," manager Davey Martinez said of his 21-year-old phenom. "The kid's going to be OK."

It was the latest in a string of clutch hits by Wood, the 21-year-old phenom whose first month in the big leagues has featured plenty of ups and downs and still leaves much to be desired. But what Wood has lacked in consistency, he has made up for in frequently rising to the occasion in big spots.

When he had to come out of Wednesday’s series finale in Arizona after getting struck by a foul ball in the groin, Keibert Ruiz figured to be uncertain for Friday’s series opener in Washington. In the end, Ruiz didn’t just start that game against the Brewers. He’s started all three games this weekend.

Feeling strong physically, and performing better at the plate recently, Ruiz is back in the lineup this afternoon. The second time he’s caught a day game after a night game in the last week.

“He’s doing well. He’s playing well,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I just want to continue to get him out there. We’re trying to get him going; he’s been swinging the bat a lot better, so I’m trying to keep him and get him locked in.”

Ruiz’s last day off came Sunday in St. Louis, though even then he wound up as a late-game replacement for Riley Adams. He then started all three games in Arizona, though he departed the last two early (once because the game was a blowout, the other time because of the unfortunately located foul ball).

Because he had to be hospitalized two years ago when a similar incident occurred, the Nationals were initially worried about Ruiz’s status. But he insisted this one wasn’t nearly that bad, so he was back to work Friday night when the team returned home. He’s recorded a hit in each of this series’ first two games, including an RBI single during the Nats’ four-run first-inning rally Saturday evening.

CLEVELAND – The Orioles go for the series split this afternoon with their largely left-handed lineup that includes Colton Cowser batting leadoff. He’s built a 16-game hitting streak, one shy of Trey Mancini’s club rookie record.

Cowser is batting .383 (23-for-60) with three doubles, four home runs, 15 RBIs and a 1.075 OPS during his streak. He’s also reached base in 18 consecutive games, the longest active stretch in the American League.

Jackson Holliday, who’s 5-for-14 since returning to the majors, is batting ninth. Coby Mayo remains at third base and searching for his first major league hit.

Right-handed hitting Eloy Jiménez is the designated hitter, with Ryan Mountcastle on the bench.

Adley Rutschman is catching. His pinch-hit triple last night was the first for the Orioles since Austin Hays on Aug. 28, 2021.

The Nationals haven’t won a bunch recently. But when they have won, they’ve won in bunches. In fact, every time they’ve snapped a losing streak since July 12, they’ve followed that first win with another win. And if they can keep that pattern up today, they’ll wind up with a series victory over the Brewers, their second series win over the National League Central leaders in a month. At this point, you’ll take that, right?

Mitchell Parker faced Milwaukee in that previous series at American Family Field, and though the Nats wound up winning the game, his start was a disaster. That’s the day Parker failed to get out of the first inning. And he followed up that start with another short one against the Padres. Fortunately, he bounced back in Arizona with five innings of two-run ball, so he should enter this one feeling better about himself.

The Nationals jumped all over Aaron Civale in the first inning Saturday. They’ll try to do the same today against a brand-new face: Tobias Myers. The 25-year-old rookie has been pretty good for the Brewers, with a 3.10 ERA and 1.143 WHIP in 16 games (15 starts). And he’s allowed two or fewer earned runs in seven of his last nine outings, so the right-hander presents a real challenge today.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain, 85 degrees, wind 7 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
1B Juan Yepez
2B Luis García Jr. 
C Keibert Ruiz
LF James Wood
DH Travis Blankenhorn
RF Alex Call
CF Jacob Young
3B Trey Lipscomb

Anthony Santander is having quite the season for a player about to enter free agency. He is a pretty invaluable player for the Orioles – productive on the field while being a leader in the clubhouse.

He is one heckuva Rule 5 draft pick. The O’s selected him from the Cleveland organization in the December 2016 Rule 5 draft.

Heading into Saturday’s game at Cleveland, over 106 games he was batting .246/.311/.534/.846 with 17 doubles, two triples, 32 homers and 75 RBIs.

He's on pace to finish with 47 homers and 109 RBIs. Chris Davis and Brady Anderson are the only Orioles ever to hit 50 homers. Tony taters has an outside shot.

We thought his June was great right, where he hit 13 homers. That month he batted .264 with a .960 OPS. But in July, he batted .303 with a .987 OPS and nine home runs.

CLEVELAND - Ryan Mountcastle doesn’t feel old. He’s just a product of his environment.

Mountcastle at age 27 is the respected elder of the Orioles redesigned infield. He scans the diamond and sees 20-year-old second baseman Jackson Holliday, 23-year-old shortstop Gunnar Henderson and 22-year-old third baseman Coby Mayo. Muscles begin to ache and he fights the urge to drive with his blinker on or write a check at the grocery store.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Mountcastle said. “For how young they are, how talented these kids are, it’s pretty remarkable. I guess being 27, the old guy in the infield, is pretty crazy.

“I guess I’m the mentor. I was coming up to bat (Friday) and I was like, ‘All right, you guys better drive papa in today.’”

I shared a STATS note Friday that the quartet was the fifth-youngest in Orioles history at 23 years and 169 days. The leaders are shortstop Ron Hansen (20), third baseman Brooks Robinson (21), second baseman Jerry Adair (21) and first baseman Bob Hale (24) at 22 years and 47 days on Sept. 28, 1958.

He’s not the most important player on the Nationals roster, and there are others who probably have more to prove over the next two months. But make no mistake, this is an important stretch for Luis García Jr., who would love nothing more than to continue what he’s done so far this summer throughout August and September and state once and for all the Nats should consider him their second baseman of the present and future.

It was exactly one year ago when the Nationals were quite unsure about that and optioned a slumping García to Triple-A to send him a message that he was assured of nothing. And the way manager Davey Martinez talked about him this spring, it seemed clear García still was assured of nothing and the organization wouldn’t hesitate to go in another direction at second base if he didn’t perform.

Four months later, García has done just about everything in his power to put those thoughts to rest. His defense is tremendously improved. And after an up-and-down first half at the plate, he’s now turning into one of the team’s most productive hitters, which he certainly proved this afternoon.

"It's definitely paying off for him," Martinez said. "I see a different kid. More confident. Understands what he needs to do. ... He's playing really well."

During a 6-4 victory over the Brewers that got a bit too tense late, García went 3-for-4 with a homer, a double, a single and a stolen base. By day’s end, the 24-year-old's offensive numbers for the season were creeping up on those of double play partner and National League All-Star CJ Abrams.

Josiah Gray stood in the clubhouse at Nationals Park, his right arm protected by a complex brace, only 10 days removed from major elbow surgery, and had no trouble smiling wide.

“I love seeing everybody,” he said. “I love still being a part of this, still being part of the team and rooting for our guys. Just seeing everybody’s face yesterday was settling.”

In these early days of recovery, there isn’t much for Gray to do from a rehab standpoint. He takes part in about one hour of physical therapy a day, but that’s all for now. It’ll be months before he’s allowed to throw a baseball again. It’ll be at least a year before he’s pitching in a big league game again, maybe longer.

Gray isn’t the first to have Tommy John surgery, nor will he be the last. He’s already consulted with a number of friends in the game who have been through this before – notably Cade Cavalli, Jake Irvin and Joe Ross – and learned some valuable lessons about the proper mental approach to his recovery.

“This is a long process, but also you can learn a lot about yourself in this process,” he said. “You can come out of it a better athlete, a better pitcher, a better person. … I’m looking forward to seeing where I’m at this time next year.”

It’s Harry Potter Day at Nationals Park, and hopefully one or two of these young wizards know how to cast a spell to prevent it from raining. Otherwise, there’s a decent chance of storms later this afternoon. Fingers crossed they somehow hold off and allow the Nationals and Brewers to play as scheduled at 4:05 p.m. with no interruption.

The Nats, plain and simple, need a win. They’ve dropped five in a row since winning two straight in St. Louis last weekend and now reside at a season-worst 12 games under .500. They were in Friday night’s game, which was tied 3-3 in the sixth before Milwaukee broke things open against the bullpen and made it 8-3.

So it’s up to DJ Herz to keep the Brewers lineup in check. This is his first start against those guys, because he was back at Triple-A Rochester when the Nationals visited Milwaukee before the All-Star break. Herz has been solid since returning to the majors, not to mention eerily consistent. In each of his two starts, he has allowed two runs over five innings while throwing 79 pitches. Davey Martinez would certainly take that again this afternoon, though Herz is welcome to be even better if he likes.

The Nats lineup faces a familiar foe, but one wearing a different uniform: Aaron Civale. The right-hander faced them as a member of the Rays on June 29, giving up two runs on six hits and four walks over 5 2/3 innings. Since then, he’s been traded to the Brewers, for whom he has produced a 4.29 ERA and 1.429 WHIP over four starts.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain, 92 degrees, wind 13 mph out to left

CLEVELAND – The Orioles circled their infield tonight with players drafted by the organization, including their catcher, the lone member of the group to play in college. Two-thirds of the outfield also was homegrown.

Five prospects ranked in the top 10 have debuted this season. The present has caught up to the future, and it’s going to take a group effort to make a deep postseason run.

They need to get there first.

Coby Mayo drew two walks in his first major league game and Jackson Holliday was productive at the bottom of the lineup, but the Orioles couldn’t climb out of a seven-run hole and lost to the Guardians 8-4 at Progressive Field.

The Orioles are 65-46 and can’t do any better than a split of the four-game series. They began the night tied with the Yankees for first place and nothing changed.