Hope for the Nationals came on a 97-degree late Saturday afternoon, the kind of afternoon in which the shaded side of the ballpark is packed while the sunny side is vacated. And the kind of afternoon in which the youngest players on the field delivered the promise of what’s to come during what this organization hopes is a rousing second half to this season of transition.

One of the majors’ least-powerful lineups over the last three months torched Lance Lynn and the Cardinals for a season-high 14 runs, thanks in large part to three home runs hit by players ages 25, 23 and 21. And even though their own young starter failed to seize a huge early lead and made things far more interesting than they needed to be, the Nats still had all kinds of reason to celebrate a 14-6 victory on South Capitol Street.

"It's cool, just seeing what we're capable of," rookie James Wood said. "And also just knowing how much more we can grow."

Wood led the way with his first career homer in his sixth career major league game, also adding a two-run double to give him five RBIs in the first three innings alone. He was joined by CJ Abrams and Keibert Ruiz, who also homered during their 11-run barrage against Lynn.

Wood came up one RBI shy of the single-game club rookie record set by Danny Espinosa in 2010. He’s still got 73 games remaining on the schedule to try to top today’s performance.

The Nationals wrapped up a week of notable transactions involving the promotion of young players at the expense of struggling veterans with a significant swap at third base, calling up Trey Lipscomb from Triple-A Rochester and designating Nick Senzel for assignment.

Lipscomb will start at the hot corner for today’s game against the Cardinals and will be given the opportunity to hold down that position for the remainder of the season.

“As you can tell, we’ve got the youth movement going on,” manager Davey Martinez said. “And he’s a big part of our future, so we wanted to give him an opportunity to see what he can do.”

Lipscomb, who is making his fourth stint in the majors this season, joins good friend and fellow Maryland native James Wood as well as 26-year-old first baseman Juan Yepez as players called up from Rochester this week, with the Nats injecting youth to bolster a flailing lineup. Senzel joins outfielder Eddie Rosario as players who have been DFA’d this week; Joey Meneses was optioned to Triple-A on Friday.

Lipscomb’s offensive performance was erratic during his first three big league stints. In 38 total games, he hit .237 with a .311 on-base percentage, only two extra-base hits and 10 stolen bases. But aside from his first call-up after Senzel was injured Opening Day, his playing time was inconsistent.

The Nationals could be a perfect 5-0 on this homestand. Instead, they’re a disappointing 2-3. Why? Because three times they had a chance to walk off the opponent in the bottom of the ninth but failed to do so, then lost in extra innings. It happened twice against the Mets, and then it happened again Friday night against the Cardinals.

The cumulative effect of all that: The bullpen is fried. Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey and Robert Garcia have each pitched four of the last five days. Derek Law has pitched the last two days. Dylan Floro has pitched three of the last five days. In other words, Davey Martinez may have no choice but to use some combination of Jacob Barnes, Tanner Rainey and Jordan Weems today, no matter the score or situation.

MacKenzie Gore could help the cause a lot if he can provide some length on what’s going to be another scorching hot and humid afternoon. The left-hander has managed to complete at least five innings in 14 of his 17 starts to date. But he’s only completed the sixth inning five times, only once in his last seven outings.

Lance Lynn, meanwhile, gets the start for the Cardinals. It’s hard to believe this, but he’s the same guy who was on the mound for St. Louis a whopping 12 years ago when Jayson Werth hit his iconic homer to win Game 4 of the 2012 National League Division Series. Lynn, now 37, has bounced around over the years, but he’s back with the Cardinals and sporting a 3.59 ERA despite a 1.300 WHIP in 17 starts.

You'll notice a new name at third base: Trey Lipscomb. The Nats recalled the 24-year-old from Triple-A Rochester this afternoon and designated Nick Senzel for assignment, signaling a permanent change at the hot corner for the rest of the season. More on that move to come ...

For the third time in five days as a big leaguer, James Wood stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with a chance to win the game for the Nationals. And for the third time in five days as a big leaguer, Wood and the Nats proceeded to go to extra innings.

Where for the third time in five days, they proceeded to lose. But, for the first time, in the 11th instead of the 10th.

Unlike Monday and Tuesday nights against the Mets, the Nationals found a way to extend this game against the Cardinals. That only prolonged the heartache, with St. Louis scoring the eventual winning run on a strikeout that got away from catcher Riley Adams and the Nats lineup unable to mount one final rally before falling, 7-6.

"We've been playing a lot of these tough games here lately," closer Kyle Finnegan said. "It's a testament to our character that we keep showing up and giving everything we have. Hopefully the balls start bouncing our way, and the tides will change here soon."

Unable to mount any more offense of consequence after busting out of the gates early, the Nationals instead had to rely on an overworked bullpen to keep the game alive. That group couldn’t do it, with Hunter Harvey allowing a run in the eighth, Finnegan blowing the save in the ninth and Dylan Floro allowing St. Louis' automatic runner to score in both the 10th and 11th.

The Nationals could have ridden things out with Joey Meneses a bit longer, giving him a chance to snap out of his hitting funk until Joey Gallo is ready to return from the injured list. But with Gallo still weeks away, and with Juan Yepez on a hot streak at Triple-A Rochester, they decided now was the time to make a switch at first base.

Meneses was informed he was being optioned to Triple-A following Thursday’s win over the Mets, and this afternoon the Nats officially purchased Yepez’s contract from Rochester, giving the 26-year-old a chance to play at the big league level.

“It was all really about Joey, trying to get Joey locked in,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He’s got options. He’ll go down and try to work on his swing and just get him back. It’s not like we’ve seen the end of Joey.

“The other guy’s doing really well. Yepez has been hitting the ball really well, playing a good first base. So we wanted to give him the opportunity to come up here and see what he can do.”

Nearly two years removed from his breakthrough two-month debut at 30, Meneses had seen his numbers steadily decline, from a .930 OPS in 2022 to a .722 OPS last season to a .597 mark this season. He was slugging a mere .299 since June 1.

It’s hot today. Really, really hot. And humid. Really, really humid. The temperature in Washington as I type this is 97 degrees, the heat index 109. And it’s barely going to cool down before first pitch tonight against the Cardinals. If you’re coming, please do what you can to hydrate and stay out of the sun. If you’re not coming, enjoy the game on TV from the comforts of home.

After a wild series against the Mets that included back-to-back 10-inning losses and then back-to-back dramatic wins, the Nationals now host the Cardinals for four games in a wraparound series that extends through Monday. They would love to keep the good vibes going, but they’re going to need to continue to get excellent pitching and start scoring some more runs, especially early in games.

Patrick Corbin is tonight’s starter, and you know the drill at this point. With Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli remaining on the injured list for the foreseeable future, Corbin’s spot in the rotation appears to be secure once again. It’s up to him to make the most of it and at least give his team a chance. He was good in three straight starts against the Tigers, Diamondbacks and Padres. Then he struggled against the Rays. A bounceback start tonight would be very nice.

The Nats lineup faces a tough challenge in veteran Sonny Gray, 9-5 with a 2.98 ERA, 0.992 WHIP and 109 strikeouts in only 87 2/3 innings. The good news, if there is any: James Wood gets to face a righty starter for only the second time in five big league games. The Nationals also have a new first baseman: Juan Yepez, who was officially promoted from Triple-A Rochester this afternoon to replace the demoted Joey Meneses, with Josiah Gray transferred to the 60-day injured list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Hot and humid, 95 degrees, wind 9 mph out to left field

All morning, he waited, knowing he was likely to be summoned at some point before the end of the game. Davey Martinez was just waiting for the right moment to signal Jesse Winker to step to the plate.

“He was biting at the bit, I can tell you that,” Martinez said. “He said: ‘I’ll be ready.’ Oh, I know you’ll be ready.”

Winker has been one of the Nationals’ most consistently productive offensive players this season, and in recent weeks he has become their regular No. 3 hitter. But that’s mostly against right-handers. And with the Mets starting three lefties during this week’s four-game series, that meant a lot of time sitting on the bench and waiting for the call.

Thursday’s series finale featured left-hander Jose Quintana on the mound for New York, so it was the right-handed Harold Ramirez batting third and serving as designated hitter. But the moment Mets manager Carlos Mendoza pulled his starter and inserted righty Adrian Houser for the bottom of the eighth, Winker knew his name was about to be called.

“You’re kind of just watching the game, paying attention and seeing when a moment might arise,” he said. “And then you go and prepare and talk a gameplan. I talked to (assistant hitting coach) Chris Johnson about a quick gameplan, went up and just tried to barrel a ball.”

More than three months into this season, it has become clear the Nationals trust Jake Irvin. And with the stars perfectly aligned today, they trusted their young right-hander more than ever before.

And thanks to one – and only one – big hit from his teammates, Irvin and the Nats emerged victorious on Independence Day in the nation’s capital.

Irvin completed eight innings for the first time in his career, allowing one hit, one walk and nothing else on a day when the Nationals bullpen was severely depleted and needed everything it could get from the 27-year-old starter. And when Jesse Winker blasted a pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the eighth, they had the only run they needed to pull off an inspired, 1-0 victory over the Mets.

"That was unbelievable, it really was," manager Davey Martinez said. "We definitely needed that."

Held to four singles by New York starter Jose Quintana, the Nationals finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth against reliever Adrian Houser. With a right-hander finally on the mound, Martinez sent Winker up to pinch-hit for Harold Ramírez, then watched the veteran blast a 1-0 curveball to right-center for the day’s first and only run and some long-awaited support for his starting pitcher.

Boy, did the Nationals need that win Wednesday night. After dropping five straight to the Mets to begin the season, then falling behind 5-0, they stormed back to win 7-5 thanks to the offensive heroics of Luis García Jr. and James Wood and a really impressive job by an overworked bullpen.

The domino effect of that, though: You have to assume Robert Garcia, Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan are all going to be unavailable for this morning’s series finale, none of them able to pitch for the fourth straight day. If this game is close late, Davey Martinez is going to have to rely on some different relievers for a change.

A long start out of Jake Irvin would help the cause tremendously, and Irvin has shown an ability to do that this year. He has completed at least six innings 12 times in 17 starts, and he has reached the seventh twice. If he can keep his pitch count manageable, you wonder if Martinez will push the right-hander a bit more than usual today.

After finally facing a right-hander Wednesday, the Nats will be going up against a lefty again today in veteran Jose Quintana. Given how well Wood has handled southpaws so far, you have to think he’ll remain in a prominent spot in the lineup.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 11:05 a.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv, MLB Network (outside D.C. market)
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 88 degrees, wind 5 mph out to center field

While James Wood’s first two major league games came with all of the deserved hype, the Nationals’ top prospect had yet to really deliver a signature moment.

Sure, he reached base in high-leverage moments in both games, but he hadn't yet scored his first major league run nor recorded his first major league RBI.

So maybe the third time would be the charm for Wood, who was promoted to the No. 1 prospect in baseball by Baseball America earlier today. And sure enough, his first big league moment came tonight in leading the Nationals to victory.

Wood drove in the game-winning run with an RBI single in the seventh inning of the Nats’ 7-5 win over the Mets, their first against their division rival this season.

After rallying from a 5-0 deficit to make it a one-run game entering the sixth inning, the Nationals offense put Wood in position to be the hero.

The Nationals made a switch at their backup catcher position Wednesday afternoon, recalling Riley Adams from Triple-A Rochester and optioning Drew Millas back to Rochester.

Adams, 28, was sent down to Rochester and replaced by Millas on the major league roster a month ago after he hit .215 with five doubles, two homers, six RBIs, seven walks, one stolen base and six runs scored in 25 games with the Nationals.

Now after 22 games with the Red Wings, he’s back in the big leagues with improved timing at the plate and another defensive position in his back pocket to give manager Davey Martinez more flexibility.

“Feels good to be back,” Adams said mere minutes after he returned to the clubhouse at Nats Park. “Obviously I've been here now for 20 minutes and I'm happy to be back. Happy to be here and anyway can help the team and all that stuff, I'm here for. That's what I told Davey. I'm excited to get back to work.”

Adams slashed .288/.396/.550 with a .946 OPS, three doubles, six homers, 13 RBIs, 12 walks and 16 runs scored with Rochester.

Will tonight be the night? Can the Nationals finally beat the Mets after starting the year 0-5 against their division rival? Better yet, can they do it in the standard nine innings after losing each of the first two games of this series in the 10th?

Starting pitching hasn’t been a problem for the Nats this week. On the contrary, they have remained in these games thanks to some dominant performances from their starters over the last two days. Mitchell Parker will look to continue that trend in his 15th start. The left-hander is 5-4 with a 3.32 ERA and 1.119 WHIP to begin his rookie season.

The Mets called up rookie right-hander Christian Scott to make his sixth major league start tonight. The 25-year-old is 0-2 with a 3.90 ERA and 1.084 WHIP to begin his big league career. After holding his own against two southpaws in his first two games, this will be James Wood’s first time facing a right-handed starter in the majors.

If you’re coming to the game tonight, you’ll be treated to the traditional postgame fireworks ahead of tomorrow’s July 4 celebrations.

Note: The Nationals requested unconditional release waivers on Eddie Rosario, who was designated for assignment on Monday to make room for Wood.

Tuesday’s news on Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli wasn’t good, certainly not in Gray’s case. The Nationals’ Opening Day starter, who landed on the injured list after two outings with a right flexor strain, has been shut down during the final stages of his rehab assignment after a recurrence of elbow discomfort and is scheduled to visit specialist Keith Meister in Dallas during the All-Star break.

We won’t know until then whether Gray’s injury has become far more significant and requires surgery, or whether he managed to avoid the worst and just needs more time off. Either way, it’s clear he won’t be pitching in the big leagues anytime soon, and his 2024 season could end up a complete wash.

There’s still reasonable hope for Cavalli pitching major league games for the Nationals in the relatively near future, though his return from Tommy John surgery isn’t as imminent as it once looked after the right-hander came down with the flu last week and now needs to start building up his arm yet again. Both Cavalli and Gray’s rehab assignments have been shut down.

This would have qualified as terrible news back in April. The Nats absolutely were counting on both Gray and Cavalli to be a big part of their 2024 rotation, and then for years to come after that.

It’s still bad news, but it may not be as damaging to the club’s short-term and long-term hopes as most would’ve thought when the season began. For that, we can thank the remarkable and unexpected ascension of three other young starting pitchers who have dazzled so far in the majors this year: Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz.

James Wood has spent all of two nights in the big leagues. Each time, the Nationals’ top prospect has found himself stepping to the plate to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning in a tie game. Each time, he hasn’t been able to score the winning run.

And each time, the Nats went on to lose to the Mets after a disastrous top of the 10th.

The script was basically the same tonight, New York scoring five 10th-inning runs after exploding for six in Monday’s series opener. The Nationals didn’t have a last-ditch rally in them and thus lost their fifth straight to their division rivals, this time by a more lopsided score of 7-2.

"I think I've kind of been learning quick that how close these games really are," Wood said, "and one play can really make a difference."

Kept off the bases his first three times up tonight, even though he scorched the ball each time, Wood finally got a chance to face a right-hander in his fourth plate appearance of the game, his ninth overall in the big leagues. He saw six pitches from the Mets’ Jose Butto, didn’t swing at any of them, and wound up drawing the walk.

Josiah Gray is unlikely to pitch again for some time after the right-hander experienced elbow discomfort during his last rehab start, prompting the Nationals to schedule an MRI and a consultation with Dallas specialist Keith Meister during the All-Star break.

Though they don’t yet know the extent of this setback, the Nationals and Gray admittedly are worried about the possibility of a serious injury that requires him to miss considerable time after he already spent nearly three months trying to make it back from a flexor strain in his elbow and forearm.

“I’m a little concerned right now,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We got him ramped up, he looked good. Last outing, the velo wasn’t there. He said he just felt tired. His arm, he felt like he had nothing in there. So we’ll wait and see what happens.”

Gray was making his fifth rehab start of the month Sunday, his previous outing Tuesday for Triple-A Rochester going exceptionally well: six innings of one-run ball on 73 pitches. This latest appearance bore little resemblance to that one, with Gray getting roughed up for seven runs in three innings and his fastball topping out at 91.9 mph.

“Honestly, I felt really good going into it,” the 26-year-old said. “And then in between innings, I didn’t feel like I was recovering well. I just felt a little fatigued. Told the trainers, and we tried to get ahead of it. We’ll see what we’ve got when we get the MRI.”

Monday wasn’t a typical day at the ballpark. Today should be, as the hullaballoo of James Wood’s debut dies down and the rookie outfielder just gets to work on being a big leaguer for a team trying to start winning games again.

The Nationals had themselves within a game of .500 just over a week ago, but they’ve lost six of their last seven and now suddenly sit at 39-45, three games behind a Mets team they led for most of the season’s first half. They need to get this thing back in gear before it spirals too far out of control.

Wood and his teammates will be facing another left-hander tonight in Sean Manaea. The 32-year-old has solid numbers (3.89 ERA, 1.297 WHIP, 76 strikeouts in 76 1/3 innings) but he’s also walking four batters per nine innings. A Nats lineup that frequently hasn’t shown enough patience needs to show it tonight.

DJ Herz, meanwhile, starts for the Nationals, and the rookie left-hander needs a bounceback performance after back-to-back shaky outings on the road that have made his 13-strikeout gem against the Marlins feel like a distant memory. We still don’t know what exactly is going on with Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli, so Herz’s job may not be on the line tonight. But a strong outing would certainly help his cause to stick around and avoid a trip back to Triple-A Rochester.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly clear, 84 degrees, wind 10 mph out to left field

James Wood was the center of attention Monday night, and he may remain so for the foreseeable future. But a whole lot of other stuff happened during the course of the Nationals’ wild, frustrating, 9-7, 10-inning loss to the Mets.

And it’s worth revisiting some of those other key developments through the course of the game …

* Another rough night for Harvey
There haven’t been many players on the roster this season more consistently reliable than Hunter Harvey, but the right-hander is in a legitimate pitching slump right now. And it’s costing his team games.

Harvey entered Monday’s affair having been scored upon in two of his three previous appearances, not to mention four of his last nine. He endured through an awful 10th-inning meltdown in San Diego last week. And then he basically re-lived it Monday night against the Mets.

Harvey faced six batters and retired only two. The three hits he surrendered were a three-run homer, a two-out double and an RBI triple. He got only two swings and misses out of his 24 pitches. And of the five balls that were put into play against him, four featured exit velocities of at least 101.5 mph, while the fifth still clocked in at 98.6 mph.

This was always going to be James Wood Night at Nationals Park, no matter how the 21-year-old performed in his major league debut, no matter the outcome of the Nats’ series opener against the Mets.

But as early evening turned to dusk turned to night on South Capitol Street, it became clear this game was going to come down to Wood at the plate – or the bases – with a chance to be the hero.

The only problem: Wood needed at least some help from his teammates, and alas they provided none at the critical moment of the game. Which then set the stage for the proceedings to flip entirely in the other direction.

A six-run top of the 10th by the Mets, five of those runs scoring off Hunter Harvey, ultimately was the difference in what devolved into a bizarre, 9-7 Mets victory, spoiling Wood’s highly anticipated debut before a crowd of 26,719 that desperately wanted to go home happy but instead left disappointed.

"Obviously, that's the end goal," the sport's No. 3-ranked prospect said at the end of a long, emotional day. "I wish we'd come out with a win. But we've got another one tomorrow, and that's all I'm focused on."

James Wood’s arrival date had been known since Friday. What wasn’t known was the identity of the player whose roster spot the Nationals’ top prospect would take.

That question finally was answered this morning when the Nats designated Eddie Rosario for assignment, bringing an end to the veteran outfielder’s frustrating three months with the organization. The 32-year-old hit just .183 with seven homers, 26 RBIs and a .555 OPS in 67 games.

The Nationals had high hopes for Rosario when they signed him to a minor league deal in spring training, assuming all along he would make the Opening Day roster. He did make the club and earned a guaranteed $2 million in the process, with the potential to earn up to $2 million more via performance incentives.

Rosario actually started Opening Day in center field, ahead of Victor Robles, though he eventually settled into the two corner outfield positions, playing in right field while Lane Thomas was on the injured list and then shifting to left field once Thomas returned.

Rosario labored through a miserable April, finishing that month with only six hits in 68 at-bats, one homer and three RBIs. A notorious slow starter, he and club officials insisted things would turn around as the season progressed.

A day Nationals fans (and players, for that matter) have long awaited has arrived at last. Nearly two years after the deal went down, the top prospect acquired in the Juan Soto trade makes his major league debut. And he’ll be joined on the field by two other top young building blocks who arrived in the same trade with the Padres.

It’s James Wood Day on South Capitol Street, and this promises to be the organization’s most significant debut since Soto himself arrived in May 2018. Don’t be surprised, though, when the lineup is unveiled and you have to scroll down a bit to find Wood. Soto batted sixth in his first career start (after one game coming off the bench). Same for Ryan Zimmerman (after four games off the bench) and Anthony Rendon. Bryce Harper batted seventh in his debut. Trea Turner batted eighth (after four games off the bench).

Abrams, who also had to earn his way up the lineup, will be leading off as usual against Mets starter David Peterson. Despite the lefty-lefty matchup, here’s some good news: Abrams has an .889 OPS vs. left-handers this season, and Wood had a 1.089 OPS against lefties at Triple-A. Not bad.

MacKenzie Gore is on the mound, and he is especially excited to have this assignment tonight, knowing the significance of this game. The young lefty knows he needs to control his emotions and perform a lot better than he did last week in San Diego, when he allowed five runs in five innings during a highly charged game with the Padres. The Mets also got to Gore for six runs in 4 1/3 innings last month, so he should have plenty of motivation to be good tonight.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv, MLB Network (outside D.C. market)
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 79 degrees, wind 11 mph in from left field