It’s always nice to return to one’s roots.
The Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies wrapped up their series with a Sunday night showdown in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the site of the Little League World Series. Even better was the 4-3 win that delivers a sixth straight home series victory.
Playing the spoiler (the Phillies are in the thick of the Wild Card race) is nice, but it’s also encouraging when those wins mean something to you.
The Nats are now 12-6 in August and are within position of their first winning month since June 2021. They’re also within striking distance (just one game) of fourth place in the NL East, and although that doesn’t merit banners or parades, getting out of the basement this late in the season for the first time since 2019 means something.
Digesting the Division — Atlanta (80-43) has won four straight series to maintain its double-digit lead and their magic number to win the NL East is now 26. They’re atop the East thanks in part to a 25-7 record against division foes, and one of the reasons why Philadelphia (67-57) remains on the second tier of clubs is that the Phillies are 16-18 against the NL East. Miami (64-61) hasn’t cratered yet, but they’re tied with Arizona and Cincinnati — one game behind the final playoff spot in the National League.
The New York Mets (58-67) have won four of five to avoid the basement for the time being, but there will be questions regarding the short and long term future of the club. Does Manager Buck Showalter come back for 2024 after this year’s disaster? Washington (57-68) is one game behind the preseason favorites with Manager Davey Martinez on surer footing.
Break up the Birds — The Birds are 30 games over .500 for the first time since 2014 and they’re also 7-5 since it was revealed that announcer Kevin Brown was benched because of telling the truth during a broadcast … so much for Bad Baseball Karma. They play their next nine games at home and even with two of the three series coming against sub-. 500 teams, one hopes they’ll draw more than the 29,032 they averaged during their previous home stand. Toronto comes to Camden Yards Tuesday.
Last Week’s Heroes — Stone Garrett hit .391 with two homers and seven RBI while Joey Meneses drove in six. The catching combination of Keibert Ruiz & Riley Adams batted .357 with 11 RBI. MacKenzie Gore tossed 6.1 scoreless innings before a blister and broken fingernail ended his start while Patrick Corbin allowed one run in six frames. Kyle Finnegan tallied three saves while Hunter Harvey tossed four scoreless innings over four outings.
Last Week’s Humbled — Ildemaro Vargas hit 2-21 (. 095) while Alex Call (. 111) and Jake Alu (. 154) also had issues at the plate. Starter Josiah Gray allowed five runs over three innings (15.00 ERA) while reliever Cory Abbott coughed up eight runs while getting just three outs for an ERA of 72.00.
Game to Watch — On Wednesday, the Nats wrap up their two-game miniseries with the New York Yankees and are slated to send MacKenzie Gore to the mound one start removed from his blister/broken fingernail. While one hopes he’s healthy and returns to form, the slumping Yankees hope their starter Luis Severino (2-8, 7.98 ERA) finds a different form than the one he’s shown in 2023.
Game to Miss — Saturday they’re in Miami for a 4:10 start. And while it might be fun to watch the surging Nats face the slumping (6-11 to start August) Marlins, Navy kicks off a new football season in Head Coach Brian Newberry’s first game at the helm. They’re facing No. 13 Notre Dame in Dublin (I know, facing the Fighting Irish in Ireland …) and I’ll have my eyes on the Midshipmen as a new era begins.
