PHILADELPHIA – The last time the Nationals set foot inside Citizens Bank Park, Max Scherzer was ready to take the mound for the opener of a doubleheader. Trea Turner was still a member of the team, though he had just been placed into quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19. Kyle Schwarber also was still a member of the team, though he was rehabbing from a hamstring strain that derailed his early-summer power explosion.

It was July 29, 2021, and by night’s end, none of those three guys were a member of the Nationals organization anymore. Scherzer (after tossing six innings of one-run ball) and Turner were traded to the Dodgers for four prospects, and Schwarber was dealt to the Red Sox for one. Gone, too, that day were Daniel Hudson and Brad Hand.

Nearly a full calendar year later, the Nationals returned to Philadelphia tonight, bearing no resemblance whatsoever to that team that last appeared here. That much was obvious by the names on the backs of their jerseys, not to mention the final tally on the scoreboard.

During the course of a 11-0 whitewashing, the 2022 Nationals were once again exposed as the weakling of a National League East that has undergone a dramatic overall since the end of the 2019 season. The Phillies are trying to keep up with the contending Mets and Braves, and even the Marlins are hanging in there (in large part because of their dominance of the Nats).

The Nationals? They’ve now lost 18 of their last 19 division games, as ludicrous as that sounds, falling to 6-29 on the season against the NL East. (They’re 23-25 against everyone else.)

Through it all, through the awful starts, the mediocre starts and the hard-luck starts, Davey Martinez has stuck with Patrick Corbin. The Nationals manager has maintained throughout this three-year slump the one-time stalwart of a World Series pitching staff still had it in him, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary.

Whether tonight represented a dramatic turning point or a mere blip on the radar against a weak opponent, we won’t know for a while. But for one late-June evening under an unseasonably mild D.C. summer sky, the lefty did still have it in him.

With a season-high 113 pitches and a career-high-matching 12 strikeouts, Corbin tossed eight innings of one-run ball, giving the Nats a chance to beat the Pirates. Now he just needed somebody with a bat in his hand to make it all worth it.

Enter Yadiel Hernandez. Summoned off the bench to pinch-hit for Alcides Escobar with two on and two out in the bottom of the eighth, Hernandez drilled a two-run double to right to propel the Nationals to a 3-1 victory and extend this team’s sudden hot streak.

"Everyone tonight did a good job," Corbin said. "Defense behind me. (Tanner) Rainey came in and shut the door. And then we get a couple big runs there by Yadi late. It was huge."

Davey Martinez knew Luis García wasn’t going to play every day. Though the Nationals manager made it clear the 22-year-old would be his starting shortstop upon his promotion from Triple-A Rochester at the beginning of the month, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t get a day off at some point.

And that day is today, with García on the bench for the second game of this series against the Pirates, with Alcides Escobar getting the nod at shortstop for the first time in four weeks.

García had started all 25 of the Nationals’ games since his June 1 promotion, and he’s performed quite well at the plate, batting .337 with eight doubles, a triple, two homers, 11 RBIs and an .847 OPS across 101 plate appearances.

On the heels of a 3-for-4, two-double showing Monday night, it might sound illogical for García to get tonight’s game off. But Martinez had this planned for a while, a product of the Nats’ schedule, which includes Wednesday’s 1:05 p.m. series finale before the team’s off-day Thursday.

“So it gives him a few days (of rest), even though he’s available today if we need him,” the manager said. “He’s been playing well. He’s been playing a lot. And we’ve got to remember, he played every day at Triple-A as well before he got here. So I thought today would be a good day, and get Escobar some at-bats.”

ARLINGTON, Texas – In discussing Juan Soto’s struggles with runners in scoring position prior to Sunday’s game, Davey Martinez mentioned the importance of the Nationals slugger “accepting his walks” and thus not trying too hard to drive in runs when presented with the opportunity.

Wouldn’t you know Soto would wind up drawing four walks during Sunday’s 6-4 victory over the Rangers, though none of them came with a runner in scoring position (nor did the single he delivered in his other plate appearance). Instead, it was Josh Bell and Nelson Cruz driving Soto in during an early offensive barrage.

No matter. It’s the approach from Soto that pleased Martinez the most, and the hope that will continue when he does come up again with a chance to drive in runs.

“I would like him to walk a couple times, and then hit the ball a few times,” the manager said with a laugh. “But he’s going to take his walks, and when he’s taking his walks, I know he’s ready to hit. He’s seeing the ball. He got on base for us, and the other guys – Nellie and Josh – picked us up big-time today.”

It was the first time this season Soto drew four walks, the fourth time he’s done that during his career. It was also the first time this season he reached base five times, the sixth time he’s done that during his career.

BALTIMORE – The conversation was had when Alcides Escobar initially landed on the injured list with a right hamstring strain on June 1. Even though the injury wasn’t considered too serious and the shortstop wasn’t expected to miss an extended period of time, manager Davey Martinez told him the plan for whenever he was ready to return.

The Nationals would replace Escobar with 22-year-old Luis García, who would take over everyday shortstop duties even when the veteran was healthy enough to come off the IL. Escobar would then move into a utility role coming off the bench, playing all around the infield and maybe sometimes in the outfield.

“I know Luis is a young player. And obviously he needs that experience and I'm here to help him out, as well as any other player on the field, with my experience,” said Escobar, via interpreter Octavio Martinez, in front of his locker Tuesday afternoon after the Nats reinstated him from the 10-day injured list. “Any way I can help him, that's what I'm here to do and help the team out in any way possible. Davey spoke with me about coming off the bench and basically coming out and playing all positions around the infield, and I'm ready to do that. He's the one that makes that decision. I'm here to help the team win any way possible and I understand my role and I'm ready to do whatever is needed.”

The direction of the franchise has, of course, shifted over the last 11 months. In years past, Escobar’s veteran presence would be a piece of a team trying to make the playoffs. Now the focus is on the development of younger players, like García, so Escobar has been relegated to the bench.

“He's got to understand where we're at right now as far as an organization and he's got to be able to play all positions,” Davey Martinez said. “And I told him, "Just be ready to play.' But he's got the ability to play third base, shortstop, second base, and he played outfield as well. So I kind of like that, having him and (Ehire) Adrianza that I could do a multitude of things. It's kind of nice.”

After fielding questions for several minutes late Sunday afternoon about the Nationals’ 9-3 victory over the Phillies, Davey Martinez was asked how he would sum up the entire 14-games-in-13-days stretch that had finally concluded.

“I can’t wait for the off-day tomorrow,” he said with a smile.

He wasn’t alone. The entire Nationals organization had been counting down the hours to their first day off in two weeks. (The last one came on June 6, in between series in Cincinnati and Miami, if you can remember that far back.)

How’d they do during that 14-game stretch? Not well. They went 3-11, with an eight-game losing streak in there, and were outscored 91-59. They lost Stephen Strasburg to a rib injury and Josiah Gray to a rain delay. They made 21 transactions, bringing three pitchers up to D.C. for the first time: Jackson Tetreault, Reed Garrett and Cory Abbott. They activated Strasburg off the IL and placed him back on the IL. They both recalled and optioned Sam Clay, Joan Adon, Andres Machado and Abbott during that time.

The day off was desperately needed, especially for the pitching staff. Now, though, Martinez has the ability to hit the reset button and align his starters as he prefers.

The Nationals have already had a rough start to the week with Stephen Strasburg’s injury news, a worn out bullpen and three straight losses at home, including the first two games of this three-game set against the Braves. The last thing they need is for their best player to miss time due to a freak injury in the dugout.

But that’s exactly what they have as Juan Soto is not in the starting lineup for the second straight game after slipping in the dugout and banging his right knee on the corner of a bench in the eighth inning of Monday night’s game.

Soto was seen in the Nationals clubhouse before batting practice walking around with a slight limp in his step. He was going to test it out in the cage before making a decision on whether or not he would play, even though he told manager Davey Martinez he’s feeling better.

“He says he feels better, but we'll see,” Martinez said during his pregame session with the media before a starting lineup was announced.

What do the Nationals want to see Soto do before putting him back in the field?

Everything has felt normal for Stephen Strasburg since his season debut Thursday night, so the right-hander is good to remain on a five-day schedule and start Tuesday against the Braves at Nationals Park.

Strasburg emerged from his 83-pitch start in Miami and his subsequent workouts with no issues, giving club officials more reason to be optimistic he can proceed as a healthy member of the rotation after returning at last from last summer’s thoracic outlet surgery.

“He’s got a good routine,” manager Davey Martinez said. “For him, it’s going to be every start, every five days in between, we just have to keep an eye on him and make sure nothing goes awry. So far, so good.”

The results from Strasburg’s start against the Marlins – seven runs allowed in 4 2/3 innings – weren’t encouraging, but both he and the team were highly encouraged by the way he felt physically throughout the game. Strasburg believed any struggles he had were a product of execution and/or pitch selection, not any residual effects of his injury.

There were signs the 33-year-old isn’t all the way back from the surgery, though. After retiring 10 of 12 batters during one stretch, he appeared tired in the bottom of the fifth, allowing five straight hits on loud contact. And his fastball velocity, which averaged 92-94 mph in his minor league rehab starts, was only 90-91 mph in his first big league game.

CINCINNATI – It’s a lovely Sunday in The Queen City as the Nationals look to win this four-game series against the hosting Reds.

With the early game today, a flight to catch tonight and an off-day tomorrow before a series against the Marlins in Miami gets underway Tuesday night, there wasn’t a whole lot of news coming out of the Nats clubhouse this morning. So let’s go through some notes before we get underway one last time in Cincinnati …

* Here’s your daily non-update Stephen Strasburg update: He did some work in the visitors' bullpen at Great American Ball Park this morning as part of his routine while recovering from last summer’s thoracic outlet surgery and Friday’s rehab start with Triple-A Rochester, in which he pitched six shutout innings on 83 pitches. Pitching coach Jim Hickey and others were working with Strasburg.

Although things seem to be going well for the veteran right-hander and his season debut should be coming soon, manager Davey Martinez isn’t ready to commit to anything until Strasburg goes through his bullpen session tomorrow with the team in Miami.

“He's had a routine that he does in between starts, so he's just doing his routine,” Martinez said of Strasburg’s work this morning during his pregame media session. “And he's gonna throw a bullpen here in the next day. We'll see where he's at and we'll have a conversation after the bullpen. But so far, everything looks good. I don't want to make any decisions yet 'til he throws his bullpen and we go from there.”

NEW YORK – The Nationals waited the last two months for Luis García to prove to them he was ready to be called back up to the big leagues. But sometimes other developments force the issue, and when Alcides Escobar injured his right hamstring during Tuesday night’s loss to the Mets, the organization knew it was time to promote their 22-year-old infielder.

García was officially recalled from Triple-A Rochester this morning, with Escobar placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain that’s not serious enough to sideline him long-term but was significant enough to sideline him for a little while.

“He said he was still sore. And the position he plays, it’s tough to play when your hamstring is bothering you,” manager Davey Martinez said prior to today’s series finale against the Mets. “We decided the best thing to do is just let it heal, let it get right. Hopefully it only takes 10 days, 12 days, but we’ll see where he’s at.”

The Nationals could’ve called up a short-term replacement for Escobar, such as utility infielder Lucius Fox. But García has long been considered a potential long-term part of the organization’s rebuilding plan, and his performance over the last two months at Triple-A – most notably a .314/.368/.531 offensive slash line – convinced the team’s decision makers the time was right to promote him.

“It made sense, because we have a shortstop on the (IL),” general manager Mike Rizzo said. “We thought he was very close, and when Escobar went down it made it a fairly simple decision to make.”

NEW YORK – Indignity for the Nationals came in multiple forms tonight.

It came in another lousy start for Patrick Corbin, who recorded only one more out (13) than hits allowed (12).

It came in another feeble offensive showing against a moderately accomplished opposing starter: the Mets’ Trevor Williams, who shut them out over five innings before his bullpen finished the job.

It came in the sight of Maikel Franco getting called out when Dee Strange-Gordon’s scorched liner struck him on the back as he led off first base.

And it came in the loss of Alcides Escobar to what appeared to be a serious hamstring injury suffered making a fine play in the bottom of the fourth, leaving the Nats thinking they might need to search for another shortstop before learning later Escobar appears to be fine.

MIAMI – After a rough start to the week in the form of an 8-2 loss to the Marlins on Monday, the Nationals were greeted to some good news before the second game of this three-game set at loanDepot Park.

Nelson Cruz returns to the starting lineup after being a pregame scratch with an illness before last night’s game. He left the Nationals clubhouse yesterday while wearing a mask – sent away from the rest of the team to keep anyone else from getting sick – but returned this afternoon without a face covering.

“He was good. He just said he wasn't feeling well yesterday, so precautionary,” said manager Davey Martinez during his pregame session with the media. “You know, I don't want anybody else getting sick. He woke up today, said he felt fine. I watched him do his warmups and he hit in the cage and looked good. So he's back in there.”

Cruz is back in his usual designated hitter role and batting cleanup behind Cesár Hernández, Juan Soto and Josh Bell. Yadiel Hernandez, who replaced Cruz as the DH last night while Lane Thomas took over in left field, is back in left and hitting fifth.

The 41-year-old gets another chance to continue his much-improved May after a rough start to the season in April: He’s slashing .275/.333/.450 with a .783 OPS, two homers and nine RBIs over his first 11 games this month. Cruz can also try to take advantage of the controlled elements inside the roofed loanDepot Park, a stadium where he’s only made two plate appearances during his career spent mostly in the American League.

Stephen Strasburg and Joe Ross are ready to shift into a regular, five-day pitching routine that could prepare them to join the Nationals’ rotation sometime next month after completing their latest simulated games with no issues.

Strasburg, who is recovering from last summer’s thoracic outlet surgery, and Ross, who is recovering from March’s surgery to remove a bone spur in his elbow, each tossed two innings during a simulated game Friday in West Palm Beach, Fla. Strasburg threw 27 pitches, reaching 92 mph with his fastball, according to manager Davey Martinez. Ross threw 33 pitches, topping out at 95 mph.

“They’re feeling really good,” Martinez said. “We hope that continues.”

This session came four days after both right-handers pitched their first simulated games at the club’s spring training complex. They’ll now shift to a standard, five-game schedule between outings, further evidence they are transitioning from rehab mode to preparation mode.

Both Strasburg and Ross still need time to build their arms back up. They’re essentially now treating this final stage of rehab as if they were in spring training, with no significant restrictions due to their prior injuries.

As the Nationals look to win their first home series of the 2022 season, they will once again be without shortstop Alcides Escobar, who will miss his third straight game.

Escobar was a late scratch from the starting lineup before Tuesday’s series opener against the Mets. After the game it was revealed he was dealing with an infection under the nail of his left index finger.

The timing of the infection was unfortunate for the veteran infielder. After a slow start to the season in which he was batting only .127 over his first 17 games, Escobar has slashed .440/.482/.560 with a 1.042 OPS over his last seven outings, going 11-for-25 with three runs scored, a double, a triple, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. However, his struggles in the field continued as he committed four errors over that seven-game span.

The 35-year-old tried to convince manager Davey Martinez he could swing the bat without using the affected finger (a la Trea Turner from a couple of years ago), but the skipper didn’t want to risk it.

Doctors removed fluid from the finger on Wednesday, but it remained sore, keeping Escobar out of the lineup for the Nats’ 8-3 win. He then woke up Thursday morning feeling a lot better, with Martinez expecting the shortstop to return for Friday’s series opener against the Astros after one more off-day.

Almost halfway through this six-game homestand, the Nationals need to win this afternoon to earn a series victory against the Mets before the Astros come to town this weekend.

In the four home series before this one, the Nationals went 0-3-1, with the one tie coming in a four-game series three weeks ago in which they won the first two games against the Diamondbacks before dropping the last two.

Joan Adon looks to give the Nats an opportunity to win just their fifth home game of the season. The 23-year-old right-hander is 1-5 with a 6.99 ERA and coming off an outing in which he struck out a season-high six batters against the Angels. 

Adon faced this Mets squad in his season debut on April 9, giving up four runs on four hits and four walks while striking out three over 4 1/3 innings in a 5-0 loss.

Right-hander Taijuan Walker makes his fourth start for the Mets this season and first that won’t come against the Phillies. The 29-year-old is 0-0 with a 4.91 ERA over 11 innings in his three outings against Philadelphia. The Mets went 1-2 in those games, but the one victory came a week ago after Walker gave up seven runs (six earned) and nine hits in just four innings only to watch the Phillies bullpen completely implode while giving up seven runs in the ninth for an 8-7 Mets win.

Stephen Strasburg and Joe Ross each made it through the first simulated games of their rehab programs strong and are prepared to go through that drill again this weekend.

Strasburg and Ross pitched in those game situations Monday at the Nationals’ spring training complex in West Palm Beach, Fla. Davey Martinez didn’t have details on the number of innings or pitches each threw, but the manager had previously said they were scheduled for two innings a piece.

“What I got was: They both felt good,” Martinez said, relaying information he received from the organization’s medical staff. “So that’s good.”

This was a key step for both right-handers in their return from injury-plagued 2021 seasons. Strasburg, who had thoracic outlet surgery last July, and Ross, who was shut down last summer with a partially torn elbow ligament and then had surgery in March to remove a bone spur, had previously only thrown live batting practice.

The simulated game allowed both righties to pitch in a situation that more closely resembles a real game. Facing teammates who are also rehabbing in Florida, they would typically throw about 15 pitches per “inning,” then return to the dugout to rest for 10-15 minutes before taking the mound for their second “inning” of work.

The Nationals have been playing better baseball, getting much better starting pitching. That hasn’t necessarily translated into a lot of wins, though. After going 3-1 to start their recent West Coast trip, they’ve gone 1-5 since entering tonight’s game against the Mets.

Aaron Sanchez gets the ball for his fourth start as a member of the rotation. All three previous outings have come against National League West opponents (the Giants twice, the Rockies once). Sanchez has his work cut for him in a Mets lineup that ranks first in the league in hits and on-base percentage and fourth in runs scored and OPS.

The Nats also have their work cut out facing right-hander Tylor Megill, who has been surprisingly dominant so far. Megill, you’ll remember, was the emergency opening day starter after both Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer were unavailable, and he proceeded to shut them out over five innings.

Alcides Escobar remains out after being scratched from last night's lineup with an infection under his left pointer finger nail. Dee Strange-Gordon is back playing shortstop and batting eighth.

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: The Team 980, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 66 degrees, wind 9 mph in from right field

The Nationals had noticed how well Carl Edwards Jr. was pitching at Triple-A Rochester for several weeks now. Eventually, it got to the point where they felt there was no reason to wait any longer, so this afternoon they called up the 30-year-old and added his experience to their bullpen.

Edwards, owner of a 3.77 ERA and 1.138 WHIP in 206 career big league appearances, had his contract purchased. Fellow right-hander Andres Machado was optioned to Rochester to open a spot on the 26-man roster, with Mason Thompson transferred to the 60-day injured list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

In 13 games at Triple-A, Edwards was utterly dominant. His ERA was 0.63, with only one run allowed in 14 1/3 innings. He surrendered only three hits while walking four and striking out 17. There was nothing not to like about that performance.

“Carl was really throwing the ball well,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I spoke to (Rochester manager) Matt LeCroy, and we thought it was time to get him up here. He did everything we asked him to do. He checked all the boxes, and I think he can help us here.”

Martinez knows Edwards well, having both been employed by the Cubs before. From his debut in 2015 through 2018, Edwards posted a 3.06 ERA and 1.069 WHIP over 172 games. He also made 15 postseason appearances over the years, including eight during Chicago’s historic 2016 World Series run. (Though around here he’s perhaps best known for giving up a towering home run to Bryce Harper during the 2017 National League Division Series.)

As the Nationals wrap up their West Coast road trip by starting a three-game series tonight in Anaheim, we took a look at some of the headlines back east on the farm system on the “MASN All Access Podcast.”

Kyle Glaser, a national writer for Baseball America covering the top prospects in the country, joined Amy Jennings and me on the show to discuss some of the top names on the Nationals farm.

We started with the big question surrounding the Nats, which was also the main focus of the episode: When will Luis García get the call back to the majors?

García, a graduated former top prospect, is raking at Triple-A Rochester, while Nationals shortstops have floundered at the big league level.

The 21-year-old infielder is slashing .351/.406/.649 with a 1.055 OPS, five doubles, three triples, six home runs, 16 RBIs and nine walks in 23 games with the Red Wings. He went 2-for-4 with a triple and a home run while scoring both runs of a 2-0 win over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Yankees) last night.

DENVER – For 48 hours, the Nationals experienced Coors Field like they’d never experienced it before. Quality pitching. Quick games. No late-inning drama. Nothing about the first two games of their series against the Rockies felt typical for this unique baseball setting.

Ah, but you can’t leave the Mile High City without experiencing the true Coors Field at least once. And sure enough, today’s sun-splashed series finale provided a far more typical affair.

It took 3 hours, 25 minutes to play 8 1/2 innings. It featured five combined homers. And it ended in a 9-7 loss to the Rockies that was defined both by the Nationals’ inability to keep the ball in the yard and their inability to do the little things right.

"Two costly mistakes," manager Davey Martinez lamented.

Those two mistakes each resulted in a three-run homer, with Garrett Hampson taking starter Aaron Sanchez deep to left in the second and Brendan Rodgers taking reliever Josh Rogers deep to center in the fifth.