One Major League Baseball game within the regular season is but a drop in the ocean. The longest professional sports season allows for plenty of ebbs and flows. With the exception of opening day and the final weeks of the season, most of the games blend together.
The Washington Nationals’ 6-1 win over San Francisco on Sunday was just another one of those games. But for a club coming back from a 100-loss season, it was their first sweep since 2021 (two games against Toronto in August and three games against Pittsburgh in June) and it represents a benchmark. They might not be in contention like the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles, but the team is now 8-10 in July with a chance at their first winning month since June 2021.
While the present looks a little better, the future looks even brighter with the signing of first round pick Dylan Crews. The road to respectability is not easy, but the Nationals can see more signs leading to the land of contention.
Digesting the Division: Atlanta (64-34) took two of three from Milwaukee in a potential playoff preview. Philadelphia (53-46) has moved into second place by percentage points despite losing four of five games. That’s because Miami (54-47) had an eight-game slide that ended with Sunday’s win against Colorado. The slumping Marlins visit Tampa Bay this week. The New York Mets (46-53) dropped two of three to Boston over the weekend and are likely going to be in selling mode over the next week before the trade deadline. Washington (41-58) will also be a seller and the question is: Will they get rid of too many parts to have a chance to catch up with the Mets for fourth place?
O’s Piling up the W’s: As previously mentioned, the Orioles (61-38) are in first place of the AL East. One contributing factor is that they haven’t been swept all season. In fact, Baltimore hasn’t been swept since May of 2022, which is 71 series and counting. Last week, the O’s took three of four in Tampa Bay after entering the series percentage points ahead of the Rays. While you can call them Rays, you can also call them slumping. Tampa Bay has lost 14 of 18 games in July and they’re now 3-6 against the O’s. After being the hunter all season, the big question is how will manager Brandon Hyde’s team respond to being the hunted.
Last Week’s Heroes: Keibert Ruiz hit .529 with a homer and four RBI while backup Riley Adams batted 2-4 with a home run. CJ Abrams remains a demon on the base paths with three steals and five runs scored. Enjoy Jeimer Candelario while you can, as the third baseman drove in four while playing a solid third base. Josiah Gray tossed seven innings of one run ball to post his seventh win of the season while Kyle Finnegan (2.1 scoreless innings over two games), Jordan Weems (three scoreless over three games) and Joe La Sorsa (three scoreless over four games) shined out of the bullpen.
Last Week’s Humbled: Paolo Espino is on the injured list after coughing up eight runs while getting one out at Wrigley Field on Tuesday. Amos Willingham showed growing pains as the rookie allowed five runs over 1.2 innings while Cory Abbott and Mason Thompson also posted double digit ERAs. Joey Meneses hit .208 while Alex Call batted .150.
Game to Watch: The Nats can’t eliminate the New York Mets this weekend, but they can certainly persuade them to move all of their chips into selling-off part of the table. On Friday, MacKenzie Gore pitches against Max Scherzer. Scherzer might not be the Cy Young winner he was in D.C., but he’s still a must-watch.
Game to Miss: Saturday at Citi Field is a showdown of teams on the verge of selling off with veteran pitchers who have seen better days. Patrick Corbin (6-10, 4.89 ERA) might be auditioning for a trip to a contender while Hector Carrasco (3-4, 5.82) has allowed nine runs over seven innings in his last two outings.
