Tuesday’s schedule has already shifted, with Cleveland and Cincinnati now set for a day/night doubleheader after Monday’s washout pushed their matchup into the afternoon.
The biggest jolt Monday came from Miami, where a team that had dropped 12 straight finally found a way to stop the bleeding. Down two runs in the ninth, the Marlins put together five straight baserunners against Jhoan Duran and turned the game on its head.
Griffin Conine finished it with a walk-off single, giving Miami its first victory since July 9. The win knocked the Marlins out of the final NL Wild Card spot, but they’re still only two games back of the Pirates and Diamondbacks.
The problem is the traffic jam around them, with the Nationals, Cardinals, and Padres all sitting ahead in the crowded NL race.
Pittsburgh took advantage of that congestion by beating Arizona in walk-off fashion of its own. Brandon Lowe tied the game with a run in the eighth, then singled in Billy Cook in the bottom of the 10th to send the fans home happy.
The result leaves the Pirates and Diamondbacks tied for the last playoff spot in the National League. Arizona has now lost three in a row after dropping a series to the Nationals over the weekend, and the road only gets tougher from here.
After leaving Pittsburgh, the Diamondbacks are headed into a stretch that includes the Guardians, Padres, and Dodgers.
Monday also brought Max Scherzer back to Washington, and the scene felt familiar from the start. The veteran right-hander, returning after six weeks out with a back injury, took the mound against the Nationals and was greeted with an ovation before and after his third-inning exit.
Scherzer needed 75 pitches to record eight outs and allowed one earned run. The 42-year-old won a World Series with Washington in 2019, and he said the night meant a lot to him: “ It’s special,” Scherzer said (h/t Shi Davidi of Sportsnet).
“ I’ve got a lot of great memories here in D.C., so the fans, I wanted to show them respect as well because they were cheering the whole time, even when I was warming up. Very appreciative of the fans here.”
In Other News...
Nationals Make A Telling Move With Wild Card Pressure Rising
With the Wild Card race tightening and Washington sitting a game back of the final spot, the Nationals are starting to make the kind of roster tweaks that usually come with October pressure. The club sent right-hander Gus Varland to Triple-A and opened a spot as it tries to keep the pitching staff flexible while staying close enough to the pack to matter.
Manager Blake Butera is also adjusting the lineup for the upcoming game against the Blue Jays, with CJ Abrams set to serve as the designated hitter so he can be used a little differently. There is still more sorting to come, too, with another pitching decision looming that could shape how Washington lines up in Atlanta tomorrow. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Just Made A Trevor Williams Decision Fans Need To See
Trevor Williams is back on the Nationals active roster after a rehab assignment, giving Washington another experienced arm to work with as it tries to steady the pitching staff. The right-hander has spent most of his career as a starter, but the clubs latest roster shuffle shows it is looking for ways to use him more flexibly down the stretch.
Gus Varland was sent to Triple-A Rochester to clear the spot, and the move fits a broader bullpen-management approach that has also included sending Andrew Alvarez back to the minors. For the Nationals, the real question now is how quickly Williams can settle into a new role and whether his return gives the team the kind of innings it has been trying to piece together. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Fans Have Seen This Matt Krook Roster Twist Before
Matt Krook is back in familiar territory for the Nationals, who announced the left-hander cleared outright waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Rochester after being designated for assignment. It is the second time this month Washington has run Krook through a waiver move, only to bring him back into the organization after he was claimed off waivers earlier and then re-signed.
The latest shuffle comes as the Nationals continue to sort through their pitching depth with the trade deadline approaching, and it adds another layer to a staff picture that could keep changing over the next few days. Foster Griffin has been mentioned as a possible trade chip, while other impending free-agent starters could also factor into Washingtons decisions, leaving the club with more questions than answers about how much of this group will still be intact soon. [Read more 🡒]