The Nationals head into Thursday with the kind of buzz that only comes when things start clicking all at once. They’ve won two straight series, they’re back at 45-43, and after a rough patch that exposed the bullpen in a four-game loss to the Phillies, the club is suddenly looking a lot more like the top-10 team it was supposed to be.
That turnaround has been sharp. Washington dropped the first game against Boston, then fell behind 1-0 in the fourth inning of Game 2 before things boiled over between Cade Cavalli and Willson Contreras and the benches cleared. Since that moment, the Nats have ripped off a pair of wins and outscored the Red Sox 18-2, turning a tense series into a convincing win and heading home with momentum for their Fourth of July weekend set against the Pirates.
The timing matters. Washington returns for a home weekend series that starts Friday at 6:45 PM ET, continues Saturday with an 11:05 AM ET holiday game, and wraps Sunday at 1:00 PM ET. After that comes a Monday night matchup with the Astros at 6:45 PM ET.
The rotation has been a big reason this run has held together. Cade Cavalli, Foster Griffin and Andrew Alvarez have all given the Nationals real stability, and the numbers back it up.
Griffin has posted a 1.15 ERA in June across 31.1 innings with 33 strikeouts. Cavalli has allowed just two runs over his last two starts while striking out 20 in 13.0 innings.
Alvarez has also been steady, going 4-plus innings seven times since his call-up and never allowing more than two earned runs in any of those outings.
Washington’s recent surge has also pushed the club back into the thick of the NL East picture, with a series win over the weekend setting the stage for what comes next. A win over the Pirates would keep that pressure building as the team enters its final week before the All-Star break.
There’s also the All-Star race to watch. With phase 2 voting closing at noon today, CJ Abrams is leading Mookie Betts 56% to 44%. Abrams is set to start the All-Star Game and represent the Nationals, and he could take the field for the NL All-Stars on Tuesday, July 14th.
Even with the trade deadline getting closer, first-year president Paul Toboni isn’t rushing to lock the team into a direction. “We were pretty careful about not setting expectations too high or too low coming into this, just kind of see how it went with every passing day,” Toboni said this week.
“I've been pretty vocal about it: We just want to get the best out of our roster. That, in conjunction with the fact that we're just still more than a month away, I don't know what we're going to be thinking a month from now.
So the same mindset remains. We're just going to keep going over the course the next month and change, and then see where we're at and we'll go from there.”
Wednesday’s 10-2 win over Boston only added to the feeling that Washington has found its rhythm again. James Wood, Nasim Nunez and Andres Chaparro all homered against the Green Monster, and the bats kept coming in a game where the pitching stayed in control from start to finish.
Andrew Alvarez earned the win, working 4.2 innings and allowing no runs on two hits with six strikeouts. Payton Tolle took the loss after giving up six runs in 3.0 innings.
Wood finished 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, Jacob Young went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run, and Nunez added a homer and a walk. The Nationals went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position and played a clean game defensively with no errors.
The announced attendance was 32,574.
The positive results haven’t stopped at the major league level. Washington’s four minor league affiliates went 2-1 Wednesday, with one game postponed because of rain, and all four clubs are now .500 or better. Two of them sit in first place in their leagues.
Rochester’s game was postponed, leaving the Red Wings at 49-31 and still first in the International League. Yohandy Morales, Washington’s No. 28 prospect, went 2-for-4 with an RBI and is now hitting .307.
Harrisburg beat Richmond 7-2 to improve to 38-38, with Cayden Wallace collecting two hits and a run to push his average to .299. Wilmington picked up a 5-3 win and got a strong day from No. 21 prospect Yeremy Cabrera, who finished with two hits, two RBIs and two runs.
Fred Nats lost but stayed in strong shape at 52-25, and No. 8 prospect Gavin Fien still turned in a productive night with three hits and two RBIs, giving him eight hits in his last six games.
In Other News...
Orioles Already Flipped Kyle Nicolas Again For Something Else
The Nationals made a small but notable move in adding reliever Kyle Nicolas, then promptly sent him to Triple-A Rochester while clearing a 40-man spot by moving Mitchell Parker to the 60-day injured list. It was the kind of roster shuffle that comes with July business, but it also put Washington in position to take a closer look at a power arm whose big-league track record has been uneven and whose control has long been part of the conversation.
There is also a bit of franchise history tucked into the transaction. The deal with Baltimore was the first trade between the clubs since the Nationals moved from Montreal to Washington in 2005, a reminder that even neighboring teams can go years without matching up in the transaction market. For Washington, the bigger question now is whether Nicolas can turn the raw stuff that keeps him interesting into something more reliable once he settles in with Rochester. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Linked To Another Rotation Target Fans Have Wanted
The market for young pitching may be starting to take shape, and the latest name drawing interest is Los Angeles Angels left-hander Reid Detmers. St. Louis has been mentioned as a possible trade suitor, but the discussion around Detmers also includes Washington, Arizona and Oakland, which is hardly a surprise given the appeal of a starter who is still under club control through 2028 and showing signs he can handle a bigger role.
Detmers has put together a 3.88 ERA this season and has already worked himself into the conversation as a potential frontline starter. His June run only helped that case, and for a Nationals club that has been tied to the same pitching conversation as several others, the question is less about whether the fit makes sense and more about how aggressive the front office wants to get if the asking price starts climbing. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals May Have An Unusual Bullpen Option Fans Didn't See Coming
Erick Mejia has taken one of the more unusual paths in the Nationals system, going from an outfielder to a pitcher and steadily working his way through the minors. In 2025, he put together a 4.59 ERA across three levels, then opened this season with a 1.50 ERA in Double-A before earning a move to Triple-A, where the early returns have been encouraging.
For Washington, the appeal goes beyond the backstory. Mejias metrics have drawn attention, and the organization has reason to keep watching closely as it looks for help on the mound. If the bullpen continues to wobble, his name could move from curiosity to real possibility sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]