MIAMI – A little over a month ago, the Nationals still had the longest streak without a three-game series sweep in major league history. Then, in a weekend series at home against the Giants, they finally pulled off their first sweep since June 14-16, 2021 against the Pirates.

They’ve repeated that feat twice more since, and entered today’s finale against the Marlins with a chance for their fourth sweep in a month after going more than two years without one.

Although they weren’t able to complete this one, suffering a 2-1 loss to the Marlins in front of 17,216 fans at loanDepot Park, the Nationals will still leave town with their eighth series win in their last 10 attempts.

"We had a couple of opportunities and we couldn't capitalize on them. So that's how it goes," said manager Davey Martinez after the game. "We're gonna come back tomorrow, we're playing well. Let's forget about this one, come back tomorrow and go 1-0 tomorrow.”

Trevor Williams turned in his second consecutive impressive start, giving the Nationals a strong chance at the sweep.

The home runs surrendered – all three of them – were bad. They accounted for five of the eight runs the Nationals allowed today during an 8-4 loss to the Reds.

If you’ve paid any attention to this team this year (or recent years, for that matter), you know that matters less to Davey Martinez than the quality of baseball his team plays. Which is why this Independence Day performance, in which the home club made just about every manner of fundamental mistake possible in the sport of baseball, was far more alarming than the glare of the bombs bursting in air rocketed off the Reds’ bats.

There were extra bases taken by Cincinnati and extra bases handed over by Washington. There was a successful pickoff attempt that turned into one of six Reds stolen bases after Dominic Smith's throw tailed past Luis García's reach. There was a popup into shallow left-center that fell in between three fielders. There was an uncontested steal of third that put the runner in position to score moments later on a sacrifice fly, then another uncontested steal of third the following inning that mercifully didn't cost them in the end.

"We've got to play better," Martinez said. "We came off a (6-3) road trip that we played really, really well. We've got to get better. ... Today, the defense wasn't there. We couldn't hold their runners on. They were stealing everywhere. We've got to get better holding runners on. We can't let them just get out there and run."

All of that made for a frustrating game to watch for a Fourth of July crowd of 30,434 that desperately wanted to see better play from the home club, but instead could only watch the young and aggressive Reds win for the 18th time in their last 22 games and wish the Nationals played like that.

The low point of an April that hasn’t gone according to plan for Dominic Smith came in the bottom of the third Tuesday night at Nationals Park.

Standing at the plate with one out and runners on second and third, with a chance to drive in at least one – if not two – teammates and give starter Josiah Gray some desperately needed run support, Smith saw three pitches from Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer.

The first was a 97-mph sinker that sat right over the plate, belt-high. Smith swung and missed. The second was a four-seam fastball, also 97 mph, this one at the letters. Smith swung and missed. The third was another 97 mph, four-seam fastball, this one well above the strike zone. Smith swung and missed.

It was perhaps the worst moment in a failed rally that featured too many frustrating moments to keep track of. And it loomed large at night’s end when the Nationals were trudging off the field having suffered a 1-0 loss to Baltimore.

“You’ve just got to try to do what you can to get the job done,” Smith said afterward. “We haven’t been able to do it as often as we like. We just have to keep working, keep battling, keep grinding and the ball will bounce our way.”

Josiah Gray has unquestionably gotten off to a good start this season, especially once he overcame some early home run foibles in his first outing of the year. That’s important to the Nationals in the grand scheme, because improvement from the 25-year-old right-hander is high on their list of goals for 2023.

It would be nice, though, if the Nats could reward Gray for his efforts by getting him at least one win at some point. Or, you know, providing at least one run of support for him.

Alas, that isn’t happening at all, and the disturbing trend continued tonight during a frustrating, 1-0 loss to the Orioles in the opener of this year’s Battle of the Beltways on South Capitol Street.

Despite another strong start from Gray, the Nationals lineup was once again rendered helpless, shut out for the third time this season. Notably, all three shutouts have come during Gray’s last three starts.

"You go through some tough luck like this, when you do have good starters make some good pitches and pitch well, and it sucks," first baseman Dominic Smith said. "It sucks that we weren't able to push across a couple runs for him, especially with how well he's been pitching."

The Nationals went into the season touting much-improved defensive play, insisting that would help make their pitching staff better. Sixteen games into the 162-game marathon, there appears to be some truth to that line of thinking.

Though they’ve still made their share of mistakes in the field, including 12 errors (tied for most in the majors) and several fly balls lost in the sun, the Nats have played a much crisper brand of baseball. The eye test says that, but so do some actual defensive metrics.

FanGraphs’ all-encompassing defensive rating has the Nationals right in the middle of the pack, ranked 15th out of 30 major league clubs. They rank 17th with minus-1 Defensive Runs Saved. They rank 16th in Defensive Efficiency, converting 69.1 percent of all batted balls into outs.

By those measurements, the Nats are an average defensive team. Which may not sound like much, until you remember they were one of, if not the worst defensive teams in baseball last year.

The biggest improvement has come in the infield. Their worst position is shortstop, with zero DRS (CJ Abrams’ three Opening Day errors didn’t help there). Their best position is third base, with 3 DRS thanks to Jeimer Candelario’s smooth play through the season’s first 16 games.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Eleven games into the season, we have a pretty good idea what the 2023 Nationals are and what they are not.

They are not going to beat you with home runs. They are not going to trot out a dominant starting pitcher on most nights.

They are, however, going to put the ball in play and probably rack up a good number of singles and the occasional double. They are going to try to manufacture runs in any way possible. And they are going to hope their bullpen can hang on to finish things off.

It may be a narrow path to victory, but it is possible. And when it comes together like it did tonight in a 6-4 victory over the Angels, it actually makes for quite entertaining baseball.

"It's so much fun," first baseman Dominic Smith said. "I feel like that's how we can build a winning culture. That's something that's going to be our team identity. We'll probably have a couple guys in this lineup who will hit 20 home runs, but for the most part, we're going to have to manufacture runs. And this is the way we're going to have to do it."

The Nationals understand they’re not going to hit many home runs this season. That’s just not in the cards with this particular lineup, which features nobody who hit more than 17 homers last year.

But that doesn’t mean they can’t deliver the occasional extra-base hit, some doubles or even a triple. Or, you know, hit the ball in the air every once in a while.

Even that seemingly simple act proved difficult tonight during a 6-2 loss to the Rays. Tampa Bay rode six dominant innings from starter Drew Rasmussen and effective work from their bullpen to cruise to victory on a 70-degree Monday evening in the nation’s capital. The evening would’ve been perfectly pleasant if only the home club was able to give those who attended any valid reason to believe a rally was possible.

Instead, a paid crowd of 10,754 – officially the second-lowest in Nationals history, ahead of only the 9,261 who were announced as attending the first half of a makeup doubleheader against the Diamondbacks last April – was left to watch the lineup flail away at Tampa Bay’s admittedly excellent pitching staff to little avail.

Rasmussen, the Rays’ No. 4 starter despite an 11-7 record and 2.84 ERA last season, cruised through six scoreless innings on a scant 66 pitches. The right-hander allowed two singles, didn’t issue a walk and struck out seven, pulled by manager Kevin Cash only because the organization is being careful with all of its starters early in the season.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Opening Day is one week away. At this point, we should have a pretty clear idea who’s making the roster, who’s filling what slot in the starting rotation and how the back end of the bullpen is set up.

We should also have a pretty clear idea what the Opening Day lineup is going to look like. Except, when it comes to the Nationals, we don’t.

Davey Martinez hasn’t even offered up that many clues so far this spring. That’s mostly because he had been without a couple of lineup lynchpins in Joey Meneses and Jemier Candelario, who both spent considerable time away from the team while competing in the World Baseball Classic. But it’s also because the Nats manager doesn’t appear to have entirely decided how he wants to arrange his hitters one through nine yet.

“We have so many different options,” Martinez said Wednesday.

There are perhaps two ways to interpret that. The cynic would suggest the manager wouldn’t have so many different options if he merely had a better lineup filled with established major league hitters. The optimist would offer that the Nationals’ plethora of interchangeable parts is a good sign of versatility and a way to show opposing clubs different looks on a daily basis.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – What should be the biggest takeaway from Patrick Corbin’s 2023 spring debut? The home runs he surrendered on back-to-back pitches to Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in the top of the first of what wound up a 5-3 loss to the Cardinals? The two strikeouts he recorded after that? The fact he threw 16 of his 22 pitches for strikes before departing with two outs in the second?

This is the dilemma with all spring training outings, finding the right balance between process and results.

So, go to the source. What did Corbin think about it?

“I mean, it’s tough giving up those two homers, but I think overall I felt really good,” the Nationals left-hander said. “I thought the ball was coming out pretty good for my first start. Got swing and miss on all of my pitches. … First step, and I feel pretty good.”

You’re excused if you want to roll your eyes at that response, because you’ve heard it before from Corbin, after any number of poor starts over the last several years. Coming off a disastrous 2022, couldn’t he even put forth one clean inning to open his spring before raising doubts about his ability to turn things around?

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The second day of full-squad workouts saw the arrival of Nationals managing principal owner Mark Lerner, the return of several pitchers for their second round of live batting practice and some moments of levity.

Mark Lerner made his first appearance of the spring at camp, his first public appearance since the death of his father, founding principal owner Ted Lerner, on Feb. 12. Mark Lerner was greeted by nearly everyone in the organization over the course of the morning, accepting condolences and offering thanks to everyone who has shared kind words about his 97-year-old father.

Lerner, who hasn’t spoken publicly about the potential sale of the franchise since early last year, wasn’t subjected to questions from reporters today.

Lerner did make a point to watch several drills up close, including live BP sessions by two of the organization’s top rotation candidates: Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli. Both faced hitters for the second time in camp.

Gray went up against a group of hitters that included Victor Robles and Matt Adams. The young right-hander continued to emphasize a straighter stride toward the plate upon delivery, his biggest point of emphasis over the winter. He also showed again what has made him most successful since arriving in the big leagues: his breaking ball, which he got Robles to whiff at during the session.

Though there’s still time for more additions before pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach – in a mere five weeks, by the way – the Nationals have now assembled what could be their Opening Day 2023 lineup.

They entered the offseason with three holes to fill: Third base, left field and either first base or designated hitter. In Jeimer Candelario, Corey Dickerson and Dominic Smith, they’re hoping they have adequately addressed those needs while constrained to a very tight budget. Those three free agents have a combined $9.25 million salary for the upcoming season, less than Josh Bell alone made last year.

Will that be enough? We’ll see. The success of the Nationals lineup may have less to do with those players’ performances than the performances of returning regulars Joey Meneses, Keibert Ruiz, CJ Abrams and Luis García.

But this is what Davey Martinez has to work with now. The question is how best to arrange this lineup.

Based on what Martinez did late last season, what he’s said this offseason and what’s now available to him, here’s one possible (probable?) batting order for Opening Day …

Wearing a newly purchased, block W cherry blossom cap as he spoke to reporters via Zoom early Wednesday evening, Dominic Smith made it clear he doesn’t just expect to be a part of the 2023 Nationals. He expects to be a big part of the 2023 Nationals as their primary first baseman.

“Oh yeah, they want me to come in and play first base,” Smith said when asked if that was conveyed to him upon signing his one-year, $2 million deal this week. “And obviously just share my knowledge of the game and help some of the younger guys get over the kind of speed bumps I’ve had in my career. I think I can share my knowledge. I’m just excited for the opportunity. I know my ability and what I can do out there.”

Club officials have not spoken publicly since Smith’s contract became official, but manager Davey Martinez had indicated last month he wanted Joey Meneses to be his regular first baseman, with a focus instead on acquiring a left fielder.

Smith, though, profiles best at first base. Though he played a comparable number of games at both positions during parts of six seasons with the Mets, he rated much better at first base (minus-3 Defensive Runs Saved) than in left field (minus-11).

The 27-year-old made it sound like the promise of an everyday job at first base was a key reason for his decision to come to Washington. He believes some of his offensive struggles the last two seasons were exacerbated by his defensive struggles in the outfield. A chance to stay at his more comfortable position full-time would take a lot of weight off his shoulders, he believes.

The Washington Nationals agreed to terms on a one-year contract with first baseman Dominic Smith and designated right-handed pitcher A.J. Alexy for assignment on Wednesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Smith, 27, hit .246 with a .308 on-base percentage and a .424 slugging percentage in 447 games across six Major League seasons with the New York Mets. He recorded 78 doubles, three triples, 46 home runs, 179 RBI, 95 walks and 147 runs scored in that time fame. Smith hit double-digit home runs in three of his last four seasons.

From 2019 through 2021, Smith slashed .269/.332/.455 while clubbing 51 doubles, one triple, 32 homers and 125 RBI in 284 games. He set or matched career marks in nearly every offensive category in 2021, including home runs (11), runs (43), hits (109), RBI (58), walks (32) and stolen bases (two).

 Smith ranked among National League hitters in doubles (2^nd, 21), extra-base hits (T2^nd, 32), OPS (4^th, .993), slugging percentage (4^th, .616), RBI (T5^th, 42) and batting average (8^th, .316) during the 60-game season in 2020.

Smith appeared in 58 Major League games in 2022, hitting .194 with 10 doubles, one triple, 17 RBI, 12 walks and 11 runs scored. He hit .284/.367/.472 with 11 doubles, 10 homers, 38 RBI, 25 walks, four stolen bases and 42 runs scored in 54 games with Triple-A Syracuse. 

In compiling a list Tuesday morning of remaining free agents the Nationals might have been looking at to play left field for them, we failed to mention the guy they actually agreed to a deal with later in the day.

Sorry, MLB Trade Rumors’ free agent page had Dominic Smith listed among the first basemen, not the left fielders.

It remains to be seen exactly how Davey Martinez intends to use Smith, who sources confirmed agreed to a one-year, $2 million deal with an additional $2 million possible in incentives. But MLB Trade Rumors’ decision to categorize him only as a first baseman might shed some important light into the matter.

Though he has played nearly the same number of games in left field (182) as first base (187) in his major league career, Smith has been considerably better at the latter position. He’s totaled minus-3 Defensive Runs Saved at first base, compared to minus-11 in left field.

It’s more instructive to look at Smith’s minor league career, where he spent the overwhelming majority of his time at first base (565 games), not in left field (22 games).

The Nationals’ search for a left-handed bat has landed on a familiar face from the National League East: Dominic Smith.

The Nats have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the former Mets first baseman and outfielder, guaranteeing him $2 million plus incentives, a source familiar with the terms confirmed.

Smith, 27, had been a member of the Mets since 2017, producing a .246/.308/.424 slash line with 46 homers, 179 RBIs and a .733 OPS over 447 total games. He was non-tendered in November, though, after a rough 2022 season that saw him bat only .194 with zero homers over 152 plate appearances.

USA Today was first to report the signing.

The Nationals had been searching for an affordable, left-handed bat to fill a much-needed hole in their lineup, and Smith certainly fits that bill. It remains to be seen where he’s used in the field, but he could either start in left field, at first base (bumping Joey Meneses to the outfield), serve as designated hitter or be the left-handed portion of a platoon at any of those positions, depending on what manager Davey Martinez needs on a given night.