The Nationals keep running into walls trying to find out if Joan Adon can become a regular member of their bullpen.

Adon was placed on the 15-day injured list this afternoon with a right shoulder biceps strain, removing the erratic reliever from the active roster again and replacing him with rookie Orlando Ribalta, who was recalled from Triple-A Rochester.

The Nats are awaiting MRI results on Adon, who had not pitched in six days but did briefly warm up during Monday night’s game against the Yankees. Teams cannot backdate IL moves more than three days, so Adon won’t be eligible to return until Sept. 10.

The 26-year-old, a starter throughout his professional career, was moved to the bullpen in Rochester earlier this season, with the Nationals thinking he might develop into an effective long man. But he’s appeared in only eight big league games across three stints with the club, and he has yet to record more than four outs in any relief appearance.

Ribalta returns to the majors only eight days after he was optioned to Triple-A, a move that came only seven days after he made his big league debut. The 6-foot-8 right-hander was scored upon in each of his two appearances for the Nats but sported a 2.64 ERA, 1.154 WHIP and 69 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings at Rochester and Double-A Harrisburg.

It’s been a fun couple of nights at Nationals Park. Monday night saw the debut of Dylan Crews and the Yankees outplaying the home team during a tight, 5-2 win. Tuesday night saw Crews record his first hit, Andrés Chaparro record his first home run, Patrick Corbin outpitch Gerrit Cole and the Nats emerge with a tight, 4-2 win. The atmosphere in the ballpark has been outstanding, the kind of thing that used to be common around here but hasn’t been common for several years.

Now it’s the rubber game of the series, and a big start for MacKenzie Gore. It’s been a ragged summer for the young left-hander, but he hopes he turned a corner over the weekend in Atlanta, where he held the Braves to one run over six innings without issuing a walk. This is obviously a tough lineup Gore has to face tonight, but he’s unquestionably got better stuff than Corbin, who was hugely successful. It’s up to Gore to make his stuff work against Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Co.

The Nationals would love to give Gore some significant run support. It’s been a strange few days, because they’ve hit the ball hard quite a bit, and they’ve recorded four homers and four doubles, but they’re a staggering 0-for-17 with runners in scoring position. (The Yankees, by the way, are 0-for-13 in the series.) They’ll go up against left-hander Carlos Rodón, who has been hit-or-miss of late, and try to convert at least a few times in clutch situations to provide Gore some support.

The Nats did make a roster move this afternoon: Orlando Ribalta has been recalled from Triple-A Rochester, with Joan Adon placed on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder biceps strain. So it's a swap of right-handed relievers.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs NEW YORK YANKEES
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, 95 degrees, wind 8 mph out to right field

Dylan Crews’ first career hit figured to be a memorable one. And it was, a laser of a double off the left field wall in his first at-bat Tuesday night against a Cy Young Award winner.

And then for good measure, the Nationals rookie added another hit later in the game, stole his first base and scored his first run, then caught the final two outs of his team’s 4-2 victory over the Yankees.

“Overall, I thought today was awesome,” the 22-year-old outfielder said. “And we won, so it was a great day.”

Crews’ major league debut Monday turned out to be nondescript. He put together some quality at-bats but ultimately went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. And he didn’t have much opportunity to make an impact on the bases or in the field.

Tuesday’s game presented a very different opportunity, with Crews front and center for multiple big moments over the course of the night.

If Oct. 30, 2019, represented the pinnacle of Patrick Corbin’s career, it arguably also represented the nadir of Gerrit Cole’s career. As the former came out of the bullpen to win Game 7 of the World Series for the Nationals, the latter sat in his bullpen and helplessly watched it all unfold, ostracized for not appearing in what to that point would’ve been the biggest game of his life.

The two pitchers’ careers have gone in completely opposite directions since, with Corbin devolving into the least effective starter in baseball the last five seasons while Cole moved to New York after signing a record deal and won a Cy Young Award. There’s no comparison between them in the years since.

Except on this night, when Corbin rose to a challenge like he perhaps hasn’t since that glorious October night in Houston and Cole looked decidedly human facing a young and hungry lineup that knocked him out after five innings to give the Nationals a most satisfying 4-2 victory.

Behind back-to-back home runs from rookies Andrés Chaparro and José Tena, plus the first two hits and stolen base of Dylan Crews’ career, the Nats opened up a lead on Cole. Corbin (six scoreless innings) and four relievers then did the rest, holding down one of the most feared lineups in the sport in impressive fashion to pull off one of the team's most impressive wins of the year.

"Patrick did an awesome job today going out and giving us a chance to win," said Crews, who caught the final out of his first major league victory. "That's his job, and he executed it perfectly. It was a great crowd today. Our bullpen did an awesome job today, too. Overall, I thought today was awesome. And we won, so it was a great day."

When Jose A. Ferrer entered from the bullpen in the top of the eighth Monday night and stopped near the infield to be inspected by first base umpire Phil Cuzzi, there was no reason for any observer to pay attention. This was standard practice for any relief pitcher who enters the game, with umpires checking for any evidence of illegal substances on his glove, cap or body.

But when Cuzzi called over the entire umpiring crew, and when Nationals manager Davey Martinez came out of the dugout to find out what was going on, this suddenly became a potential controversy. Was there something wrong with Ferrer’s glove? Was he using “sticky stuff” and about to be ejected and subject to suspension by Major League Baseball?

No, he was not. After a long meeting of all the involved parties, Ferrer was allowed to pitch, and he wound up recording the final four outs of the game for the Nats without incident.

So, what happened? Ferrer accidentally had a legal ointment on his forearm but was allowed to wipe it off without any punishment.

Like many pitchers, Ferrer uses Red Hot ointment, which keeps the shoulder muscle warm, when he pitches, according to Martinez this afternoon. But when Cuzzi noticed the 24-year-old left-hander’s forearm was unusually shiny, he got suspicious and had the entire crew take a look at it in case something illegal was going on.

The hubbub of Monday night is gone, but that doesn’t mean there won’t still be juice in the ballpark tonight. The Yankees are still here, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge are still here, Dylan Crews and James Wood are still here and there’s a juicy (if lopsided, on paper) pitching matchup on tap as well.

Patrick Corbin vs. Gerrit Cole. The guy who did pitch in relief in Game 7 of the 2019 World Series vs. the guy who did not pitch in relief in Game 7 of the 2019 World Series. The guys whose careers have taken wildly different paths since that night.

Corbin is really facing a gantlet tonight in the Yankees lineup, though for whatever it’s worth he tossed a quality start last summer in the Bronx, allowing three runs over six innings to earn the win. Judge and Gleyber Torres each homered, but that’s all Corbin gave up during that game. It’s also worth noting he allowed one run over six innings to the Rockies last time out, earning career win No. 100.

Cole, meanwhile, seems to have found his groove after spending the season’s first 2 1/2 months on the injured list. He enters this one on a 12-inning scoreless streak, having shut out the Tigers and Guardians. He’ll be going up against a very young Nats lineup that now features Crews, Wood and CJ Abrams.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs NEW YORK YANKEES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 88 degrees, wind 8 mph out to left field

It was quite a Monday night at Nationals Park, where a convergence of star players, a returning former hero and a debuting top prospect came together to create as much anticipation as has been felt around these parts in a while. The end result - a 5-2 loss to the Yankees - wasn't satisfying at all. But the mere presence of CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews and James Wood atop the Nats lineup for the first time was plenty of reason to be excited.

There was also the return of Juan Soto for the first time as a Yankee. Aaron Judge robbing home runs instead of hitting them. Mitchell Parker flirting with disaster for four innings but emerging with only minimal damage. One dominant inning of relief from Tanner Rainey, then a not-so-dominant inning after that. Some kind of controversy with Jose A. Ferrer's glove. And then no postgame press conference from Davey Martinez, who according to a club spokesman wasn't feeling well.

It all made for an eventful, if disappointing, night at the park. And one worthy of plenty of follow-up discussion. So let's do this: If you've got something you'd like to ask - either about Monday's game or anything else - submit it in the comments section below, then check back throughout the morning for my responses ...

They came to see Dylan Crews do something big in his major league debut. They left having seen a pedestrian night from the Nationals’ top prospect, three big blasts from the Yankees’ potent lineup and three soul-crushing catches at the wall that spoiled any chance of a victory on one of the most anticipated nights in recent franchise history.

Gleyber Torres, Austin Wells and Jazz Chisholm Jr. each homered, and though Aaron Judge did not, the majors’ leading home run hitter did rob two potential bombs at the wall in center to dazzle a bipartisan crowd of 32,812 and steal the show during a 5-2 New York win on a night that belonged neither to Crews nor Juan Soto.

Crews, the Nats’ first-round pick in last summer’s draft, went 0-for-3 with a walk, a strikeout, a flyout and a groundout in his first career game. It was a rather uneventful night for the 22-year-old, whose biggest moment may have been a fourth-inning throw from right field that just missed nailing Anthony Volpe at the plate.

"First off, playing against the Yankees, and playing against Judge and Soto for the first time, it was a pretty surreal moment going out there," he said. "And obviously playing with my new team I'm playing on now, the Nationals, it's a great feeling. I'm just going to come out tomorrow and do it all over again."

Batting second behind CJ Abrams and in front of James Wood, Crews came up to bat with runners on base only once; he struck out with two on and one out in the sixth, unable to connect with a 3-2 fastball from Nestor Cortes.

Dylan Crews’ arrival had to come at someone’s expense. And though they don’t play the same position, technically his roster spot with the Nationals was previously occupied by Riley Adams, who was optioned to Triple-A Rochester after Sunday’s game in Atlanta.

Adams had to be worried the clock was ticking when the Nats called up Drew Millas on Saturday, giving the team three catchers for the first time in a long time. Sure enough, Millas started Sunday’s game, recorded two hits in the Nats’ 5-1 victory and remains with the big league club while Adams heads back to Rochester for the second time this season.

It’s been a rocky 2024 for Adams, who entered with high hopes of providing a quality bat behind starter Keibert Ruiz and also improving his defensive work behind the plate. But though the 28-year-old got off to a good start and performed well when Ruiz had to go on the injured list in April with a back case of the flu, he never found a way to maintain that kind of production.

In 41 total major league games this season, Adams is batting .224 with a .292 on-base percentage, five doubles, two homers, eight RBIs and a .629 OPS. He has thrown out only 3-of-34 basestealers.

The Nationals sent Adams down once before, in early June when he was struggling, and he proceeded to deliver a .946 OPS in 22 games with Rochester. That earned him a trip back to D.C. in early July, but Adams’ Triple-A offensive success didn’t carry over to the majors.

It’s a big night on South Capitol Street, and that would’ve already been the case without Dylan Crews crashing the proceedings. Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and the Yankees are in town, and that would be the big storyline under any other circumstances. But now we’ve got the added drama of the latest top prospect to debut for the Nationals.

Crews, who is in right field, joins a Nats lineup that already features James Wood, CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. They’ll all be facing left-hander Nestor Cortes, who is having a decent but not great season. Cortes enters with a 4.00 ERA and 1.153 WHIP in 26 starts, his biggest issue an inability to keep the ball in the yard. Opponents have hit 21 homers off him, though only two in his last five starts. And in each of his last two starts, he’s tossed seven scoreless innings on three hits with zero walks. So the young Nationals have their work cut out for them. Crews, by the way, will bat second in his debut. (And for those who didn't hear the news Sunday night, Riley Adams was optioned to Triple-A Rochester to clear the roster spot for him.)

So does Mitchell Parker, who faces probably the toughest lineup he’s had to face yet as a big leaguer. The rookie lefty was really good against the Rockies last week (one run, five hits in seven innings) but in his previous start he was torched by the Phillies for nine runs in three-plus innings. Suffice it to say, the Yankees lineup bears more resemblance to the Phillies than the Rockies.

There are a few storm cells set to roll through the area this afternoon, but (fingers crossed) the forecast looks OK for this evening, setting up a big Monday at the ballpark.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs NEW YORK YANKEES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Storms ending, 83 degrees, wind 7 mph out to right field

ATLANTA – James Wood hasn’t been a big leaguer long enough to offer much advice to anyone, but he has been a big leaguer long enough to share some words of wisdom with Dylan Crews as the latter prepares to debut tonight for the Nationals.

“I remember it was a lot, in a good way,” Wood said of his first major league game just eight short weeks ago. “You’ve just kind of got to take it all in. You only get one of them. I’d just tell him to enjoy it.”

There are no shortage of similarities between the two events. Each highly rated outfield prospect will have debuted on a Monday night. Each in the first game of a weeklong homestand. Each against a team that hails from New York.

Here’s the biggest difference for Crews: His debut is coming against the Yankees, with Juan Soto (and, oh yeah, Aaron Judge) in the other dugout.

As far as star-studded debuts, this is about as big as it gets. Bryce Harper played his first big league game at Dodger Stadium, with Stephen Strasburg on the mound, but the most notable Dodger on the field that night in 2012 was Matt Kemp. Strasburg’s 2010 debut was perhaps the most hyped in history, but it came against an inferior Pirates club that had a young Andrew McCutchen leading off and – believe it or not – Lastings Milledge batting third.

ATLANTA – There are more promising young players to come, especially the one scheduled to make his major league debut Monday night in D.C. But the Nationals already are awfully young even before Dylan Crews joins them.

Of the nine players in today’s starting lineup, five were rookies. So was the starting pitcher. That made this first time the franchise has started six rookies in a game since 2010, according to Elias Sports. And they added a reliever as well today, bringing the total number to seven.

Sometimes youth has gotten the best of the Nats, who have a penchant for sloppy baserunning, sloppy defense and a lack of clutch hitting. And sometimes it comes together beautifully as it did this afternoon, when DJ Herz tossed five scoreless innings, Drew Millas and Jacob Young contributed clutch hits late and Eduardo Salazar helped bridge the gap to Kyle Finnegan, who notched a four-out save to close out a 5-1 victory over the Braves.

"Everybody's just figuring it out," Herz said. "And it's fun when we put it all together."

In avoiding a weekend sweep at Truist Park, the Nationals also clinched the season series over Atlanta, having gone 7-4 with two games still to go next month on South Capitol Street. It’s the first time they’ve done that since 2017.

ATLANTA – As he rounded the bases in the top of the second Saturday night, having just connected for his first major league home run, José Tena’s smile could be seen throughout Truist Park. And when he crossed the plate and returned to the dugout, the Nationals’ 23-year-old rookie went right to Luis García Jr. and offered an even wider grin.

“I kept running the bases with a big smile on my face,” Tena said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “Thank God for giving me my first opportunity to hit my first home run.”

And thank García for providing Tena with a little extra motivation.

The Nats second baseman is only one year older than Tena, but he’s got 407 more games of big league experience and has taken his new teammate under his wing. And though Tena had been delivering hit after hit since joining the club earlier this month, García jokingly asked him Saturday when he was finally going to hit his first home run.

“I’m so proud of him,” García said with a smile as wide as Tena’s was after the homer.

ATLANTA – Good morning from Truist Park, where the Nationals and Braves wrap up their weekend series with an extra-early, 12:05 p.m. first pitch today. It’s another “MLB Sunday Leadoff on Roku” game, so you’ll only be able to watch this game via streaming devices. Here’s how you can watch for free.

The Nats have lost two incredibly winnable games the last two nights – 3-2 in 10 innings, 4-2 in regulation – and they should be frustrated by the fact they didn’t win either of those games. They have a chance to rectify that today and finally clinch the season series over Atlanta, something, remarkably, they haven’t done since 2017.

It’s DJ Herz on the mound, and the rookie has been quite good since the All-Star break: a 3.07 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings. He faced the Braves in his second career start back in early June and did OK, allowing two runs over 4 1/3 innings, though he needed 87 pitches to do it. The lefty has come a long way since then and will look to continue the upward trend this afternoon.

The Nationals will be facing a familiar face in Reynaldo López, the one-time prospect-turned-All-Star who continues to enjoy a breakthrough season here in Atlanta with a 2.05 ERA and 1.195 WHIP in 20 starts. The right-hander gave up two runs (via solo homers by CJ Abrams and Lane Thomas) over six innings in a June 6 no-decision. Abrams is leading off today, but obviously Thomas is no longer here. Interesting to see Drew Millas behind the plate for this one, with Keibert Ruiz serving as designated hitter and Riley Adams sitting.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ATLANTA BRAVES
Where: Truist Park
Gametime: 12:05 p.m. EDT
TV: Roku
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 80 degrees, wind 7 mph left field to right field

ATLANTA – Davey Martinez has managed games of far more significance since joining the Nationals in 2018, but since Day One he has treated every single one of them the same way, forever looking just to "go 1-0 today."

So Martinez managed his 1,000th career game with the same goal as any of the previous 999, which meant doing whatever he thought necessary to try to beat the Braves tonight in another tight, low-scoring affair.

That meant pulling starter Jake Irvin after 5 1/3 innings with a pitch count of 83 and entrusting a big moment to Robert Garcia, a move that backfired and ultimately led to the Nats’ 4-2 loss before a sellout crowd at Truist Park.

Pitching for the third straight day, Garcia gave up the game-tying and go-ahead runs during a ragged bottom of the sixth that defined this affair. And when fellow left-hander Joe La Sorsa surrendered an insurance run in the eighth and the Nationals lineup continued to come up short with runners in scoring position (0-for-9), Martinez’s 550th career loss became official.

The Nats also missed out on a second straight opportunity to clinch a season series against the Braves for the first time since 2017. They’re still 6-4 against Atlanta this year, still needing to win one of the final three head-to-head matchups.

ATLANTA – Though his injury didn’t prove to be as devastating as it appeared to everyone who watched it happen Friday night, Alex Call still did need to be placed on the injured list today with a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his left foot.

The Nationals made that transaction this afternoon, officially putting Call on the 10-day IL and recalling catcher Drew Millas from Triple-A Rochester to take his roster spot for now.

Call hurt himself charging in from right field in the bottom of the second on a shallow fly ball that ultimately was caught by second baseman Luis García Jr. Call fell to the ground in agony about 20 feet behind García, suffering a non-contact injury that left him and plenty others worried he had torn his Achilles’ tendon.

But the 29-year-old, who had been trying to play through a case of plantar fasciitis, felt the “snap” in his foot, not ankle. And though he had to be carted off the field, an MRI of the foot revealed the tear of the fascia, which actually left him encouraged at night’s end.

The injury is serious enough to require an IL stint, though the Nats don’t know yet how long that stint will be.

ATLANTA – There were a lot of encouraging things about Friday night’s game for the Nationals. Except for the one thing that matters more than anything else: the outcome. Their 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Braves was ugly, with CJ Abrams committing a throwing error to allow the winning run to score.

So, they’ll have to dust themselves off and try to get back on track tonight in the second game of the weekend series, hoping to score more than two runs this time. They’ll be facing a seemingly less daunting opposing pitcher in Charlie Morton, the 40-year-old right-hander with a 4.29 ERA. The Nats have roughed up Morton twice this season, scoring 13 runs on 19 hits in 10 2/3 scoreless innings. Abrams (4-for-9, two homers) has excellent numbers against him, though you have to also note the two others with awful career numbers against him: Luis García Jr. (2-for-16, seven strikeouts) and Joey Gallo (0-for-20, two walks, 16 strikeouts).

Jake Irvin has been outstanding in his two starts against Atlanta this season, totaling 12 scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts. The right-hander is still trying to right his wayward ship overall, though, having posted a 6.20 ERA over his last eight starts, victimized by a whopping 14 homers in the process.

The Nationals did make a roster move this afternoon, officially placing Alex Call on the 10-day injured list with a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his left foot. For now, his replacement is Drew Millas, giving the team three catchers through the rest of the weekend. We’ll have to see what they decide to do Monday when they promote Dylan Crews from Triple-A and have to remove someone from the roster to make room for the top prospect.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ATLANTA BRAVES
Where: Truist Park
Gametime: 7:20 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 84 degrees, wind 7 mph left field to right field

ATLANTA – The Nationals determined Friday they were ready to promote Dylan Crews to the major leagues. But not until Monday, when the team opens a high-profile, three-game home series against the Yankees.

It all makes sense, of course. Teams are always going to try to let their top prospects debut at home, reaping the benefits of the extra attention (and extra ticket sales) that come with that. But it was impossible not to at least ponder one particular question Friday afternoon: If the Nats have already decided Crews is ready to play in the big leagues, why not call him up immediately?

That question became even more pertinent in the bottom of the second inning Friday night, when Alex Call came charging in from right field on a shallow fly ball and felt something snap in his left foot. As Call was being carted off the field in pain, it was only natural to wonder what the team would do to replace him, and whether Crews’ debut would suddenly be bumped up 48 hours.

“I don’t know that yet,” manager Davey Martinez said when asked directly about the possibility after the game, a 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Braves. “I’ve got to talk to (general manager Mike Rizzo).”

It may become moot if Call’s injury turns out not to be as serious as it looked in the moment. He was cautiously optimistic by night’s end that he avoided catastrophe, that he had only felt the already stretched plantar fascia in his foot snap, which could actually relieve the pain he had been experiencing and allow him to return to the field in short order. Perhaps he might not even need to go on the injured list.

ATLANTA – They got the best start they’d seen from MacKenzie Gore in weeks. They got nine hits off Chris Sale and found a way to push across two runs despite a lineup missing CJ Abrams and Luis García Jr. They overcame what appeared to be a serious left foot injury to Alex Call that could throw a wrench into their plans to promote top prospect Dylan Crews three days from now.

The Nationals put themselves in position for an unlikely win over the Braves tonight, if only they could finish the job late.

Alas, they could not. Unable to push across another run late despite several opportunities, they instead watched as Atlanta won 3-2 on Abrams’ throwing error with two outs in the bottom of the 10th.

"It sucks," the All-Star shortstop said. "We all fought. It came down to the wire, extra innings. We wanted to continue to fight, and it just ended like that."

A tight ballgame that saw both talented lefty starters pitch effectively turned into a contest of bullpens late. The Nats couldn’t score against the Braves relievers. The Braves did score against their counterparts, getting the tying run home against Jacob Barnes in the seventh, but did not get the winning run home in regulation, with Barnes and Robert Garcia combining to retire the side in the eighth and rookie Eduardo Salazar cruising through a 1-2-3 ninth to force extra innings.

ATLANTA – Davey Martinez laughed as he recalled his one and only playing experience against Randy Johnson.

On May 24, 1998, the inaugural Devil Rays franchise faced the Mariners at the Kingdome, with the Big Unit on the mound for Seattle. Tampa Bay’s regular lineup featured two Hall of Famers in Fred McGriff and Wade Boggs. Neither of whom played that day, because of the particular challenge left-handed hitters faced against Johnson, who had the ability to screw up a good hitter for weeks with one dominant start.

The only lefty in the lineup that day: Martinez, who batted second. And then proceeded to strike out four times.

Some 26 years later, Martinez was thinking about that scenario as he planned his lineup for tonight’s series opener against Chris Sale. Which explains why CJ Abrams and Luis García Jr. are sitting against the Braves’ left-handed ace and Cy Young Award favorite.

“It’s funny, because when I was looking at how good Chris has been this year, it reminds me a lot of Randy Johnson, where all the lefties sat,” Martinez said. “He’s been really good, so it’ll be a lot of righties in there, and see if we can beat him that way.”