The final days of a lost season aren’t unlike the shuttering of a cottage at the end of the summer season, so it’s only appropriate that with Labor Day in the rearview mirror, the Washington Nationals are packing things up in anticipation of better days in 2024.
The team is currently 11 games out of the last playoff spot in the NL with nineteen games left in the season, meaning their “tragic number” is nine. So with a pitching staff that’s been fraying the last couple of weeks, caution is key.
Pitcher MacKenzie Gore went on the 15-day Injured List over the weekend after blisters cut his start short. Even if the lefthander is good to go at the end of the 15 days, there’s almost no point in ramping him up again only to shut him down. Josiah Gray is also being stretched rest-wise, going over a week between his most recent and next start.
Meanwhile, catcher Riley Adams went on the 10-day Injured List and shortstop C.J. Abrams is day-to-day with a knee injury. They key for the next three weeks is to keep most of the Nats’ important pieces in one piece for spring training.
Digesting the Division — Atlanta (93-49) has clinched a playoff berth and has a magic number of six to win the NL East. The Braves are also in the driver’s seat for home field in the playoffs, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers by six games in the National League while standing three ahead of Baltimore for the best record in the majors. Philadelphia (78-64) leads the wild card race while Kyle Schwarber has a date with history: the slugger has 94 RBI with 20 games left in the season and has a chance to become the first man to hit under .200 while driving in 100+ (he’s batting .198 now). Miami (74-69) is one half game out of the final playoff spot after winning series against the Dodgers and Phillies. The New York Mets (65-77) are eight and a half games behind the Marlins despite owning a better run differential (-37 to -46). Washington (64-79) isn’t officially eliminated yet but stands close to securing a fourth straight losing season.
Break up the Birds — the Orioles (90-52) took two of three from Boston while scoring 27 runs at Fenway Park. The magic number to make the playoffs is five and they very well might have at least a wild-card spot wrapped up when they start a four game series with Tampa Bay Thursday. The O’s lead the season series 6-3 and the best bats against the Rays belong to Ryan O’Hearn (.318 with two homers and four RBI) and Gunnar Henderson (seven runs scored with three driven in).
Last Week’s Heroes — C.J. Abrams hit .500 with four runs scored and three RBI while Jacob Young batted .421. Keibert Ruiz drove in four. Jake Irvin had the strongest start of the week, allowing one run over six innings. Andres Machado shined out of the bullpen by allowing one run over 4.2 innings in three appearances while notching a win in relief.
Last Week’s Humbled — Patrick Corbin allowed eight runs over four innings, turning around what looked like a late-season surge into a September stumble. Trevor Williams allowed six runs over 4.1 frames while reliever Jordan Weems ERA for the week was 20.25. Carter Kieboom hit 1-15 with seven strikeouts while Jake Alu went 2-20 at the plate. Joey Meneses batted 3-16.
Game to Watch — Thursday Josiah Gray starts the series finale against Pittsburgh. Since making the All-Star team two months ago the right-hander is 1-5 with a 5.88 ERA. He only has a handful of opportunities to finish 2023 in a good place, and I’m thinking his best chance is going to be against a Pirates lineup that ranks 27th in the majors in hitting.
Game to Miss — Friday the Nats begin a series in Milwaukee and while Jake Irvin has the best ERA in the rotation since the All Star Break, my attention will be focused closer to home with Maryland meeting Virginia in a college football showdown that used to be a yearly affair from 1957-2013.
