It took the entire day, but the Nationals did sign all four of their arbitration-eligible players to 2024 contracts Thursday, with Lane Thomas ($5.45 million) and Luis García ($1.95 million) agreeing to their deals prior to Major League Baseball’s 1 p.m. deadline, then Kyle Finnegan ($5.1 million) and Hunter Harvey ($2.325 million) agreeing to their deals before the 8 p.m. deadline to file arbitration offers.

With that, the Nats avoided any awkwardness – or even nastiness – that could have come from an arbitration hearing next month. The best takeaway from the day: The team and the players appear to have been on the same page on those players’ value to the club. That’s always better than the alternative.

The other notable takeaway from the day: The team’s Opening Day payroll is starting to come into clearer focus.

The Nationals now have 13 players signed for the 2024 season. The list is top-heavy, with both Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin set to earn $35 million this year (though each is deferring at least $10 million until a later date, so their actual income will be closer to $25 million.

Four other players are signed for $5 million to $7 million: Thomas, Finnegan, Keibert Ruiz ($6.875 million) and Trevor Williams ($7 million). Everyone else makes less than $3 million, that list including Harvey, García, Victor Robles, Dylan Floro, Nick Senzel, Tanner Rainey and Ildemaro Vargas.

The Nationals are cutting ties with infielder Michael Chavis, outfielder Blake Rutherford and reliever Hobie Harris, clearing necessary space on their 40-man roster as they prepare to enter the offseason.

Chavis, Rutherford and Harris cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Rochester. Both Chavis and Rutherford, who ended the season on the active big league roster, had the right to declare free agency and chose to do so, leaving the organization. Harris, who made the Opening Day bullpen but spent most of the season with Rochester, will be a minor league free agent at the conclusion of the World Series.

Those three moves, plus comparable moves with reliever Victor Arano and outfielder Travis Blankenhorn earlier this month, cleared a total of five spots on the Nationals’ 40-man roster, which ultimately will be needed for players who ended the season on the 60-day injured list.

The Nats had six such players on the 60-day IL at season’s end: catcher Riley Adams, outfielders Stone Garrett and Victor Robles, and right-handers Cade Cavalli, Carl Edwards Jr. and Stephen Strasburg. Edwards becomes eligible for free agency after the World Series and is unlikely to return.

Strasburg has already come to the conclusion he’ll need to retire after a failed attempt to return from thoracic outlet surgery, but until he and the organization come to an agreement on how to handle the $105 million he’s still owed through 2026, he will need to occupy a spot on the 40-man roster.

MILWAUKEE – Watch the play, and it looks like Michael Chavis not only makes a fantastic diving stab to his left of Rowdy Tellez’s scorching grounder down the first base line, but then makes the split-second decision to throw to the plate and ultimately retire William Contreras for the double play that sealed the Nationals’ 2-1, 11-inning victory over the Brewers late Sunday afternoon.

Listen, though, to Chavis’ detailed breakdown of the unconventional, 3-2 double play, and you realize it was anything but a spur-of-the-moment decision by the fill-in first baseman.

“That’s one of the cases where the preparation really pays off,” he said.

The scenario: The Brewers had runners on the corners with one out in the bottom of the 11th, needing to plate one run to extend the game, two runs to win it. The left-handed-hitting Tellez was at the plate. The left-handed-throwing Robert Garcia was on the mound. And the right-handed-fielding Chavis was at first base, having entered the game two innings earlier to pinch-run for Dominic Smith and then subsequently taken over his position in the field.

As Tellez made his way toward the batter’s box, Chavis did what any good defensive player does and asked himself what he would do if the ball was hit to him. Except he broke it down in even more detail than that, considering how his play might be different depending on where precisely the ball was hit.

MILWAUKEE – There's no question at the end of this weekend which of the two ballclubs that competed at American Family Field is headed for the postseason and which is headed home for October. The Brewers looked the part of a first-place team. The Nationals looked the part of a last-place team.

And yet every one of these games was there for the Nats to take. They just couldn’t find a way to take any of them in key, late moments. Until they finally did what they needed to do in the most critical moments this afternoon to pull out one victory at last.

Unable to convert on countless scoring opportunities throughout the game, the Nationals finally came through in the top of the 11th and escaped with a 2-1 victory over Milwaukee. In the process, they snapped a five-game losing streak and avoided falling to 20 games under .500 with only 12 left to play this season.

"Just a great win," manager Davey Martinez said. "The guys battled. We battled yesterday, and we're in a lot of these games. To finish a series like this, against a really good team, it feels gratifying."

This was shaping up to be an incredibly frustrating afternoon. The Nationals led 1-0 in the sixth, then gave up the tying run. They were in prime position to re-take the lead in the eighth, then blew that opportunity. They stranded a runner on second in the top of the ninth. They stranded a runner on third in the top of the 10th. They finished 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

For all the attention that’s been paid to MacKenzie Gore and Josiah Gray – and for all the attention that will be paid to Cade Cavalli once he returns from Tommy John surgery – the Nationals have another young starter who has made just as compelling a case to be part of this team’s long-term plan.

In some ways, Jake Irvin’s case is even stronger than his rotation mates, if for no other reason than the immutable fact he’s been the Nats’ most consistently effective starter for months.

The fourth-round pick from the 2018 draft may have the pedigree others do, and he may not have shown up on prospect rankings the way others did, but consider the body of work he’s amassed this year: Irvin has a lower ERA than Gore, a lower WHIP than Gray and has averaged more innings per start than either.

Irvin wasn't rewarded for his efforts tonight with an individual win, but at least his Nationals teammates somehow found a way to come away with a collective win, topping the Dodgers 7-6 in 11 wacky innings to cap a long day and night on South Capitol Street.

"That's all we're looking for: For the team to take steps forward," Irvin said. "Tonight was just a grind. The defense played absolutely outstanding. It was a lot of fun to watch."

Last week, the Nationals were finally able to break their curse of the Marlins that was nearing two full seasons. Having yet to beat them this season, the Nats took two of three in Miami over the weekend en route to a 5-4 road trip.

Entering tonight, the Nats were hoping to continue their change of future against a division rival while also continuing their strong play over the last two months.

Those hopes were lost to the wind in a 6-1 loss in front of 17,428 fans on a breezy night in the District.

Joan Adon faced the Marlins for the second time in less than a week. But he could not replicate the six scoreless innings he tossed Friday in Miami.

“The first outing last week, I had a good feeling of all my pitches," Adon said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. "I knew I just had a real good feeling of every pitch and I felt like I had a lot more energy. Today, for some reason, my energy was low and I didn't feel the same way about my pitches. I just didn't have the same feeling.”

The Nationals return home for the first time since the All-Star break with a six-game homestand, starting with three against the Giants.

The Nats won the first game in each of their two series since the break. However, they weren’t able to win either set against the Cardinals or Cubs, dropping the second and third games in each series.

Jake Irvin will try to make it three straight series-opening wins tonight. The young right-hander had a rough outing in his first start after the break, giving up four runs in just three innings Saturday night in St. Louis. In 13 starts this season, Irvin is 2-5 with a 4.96 ERA and 1.492 WHIP. He did have his most impressive outing in his second major league start against the Giants with 6 ⅓ scoreless innings back in May in San Francisco.

Alex Wood gets the start for the Giants. The veteran left-hander is 4-3 with a 4.53 ERA and 1.528 WHIP in 14 appearances (10 starts). He didn’t face the Nats back in May, but is 6-5 with a 3.17 ERA and 1.159 WHIP in 15 career starts against Washington.

Davey Martinez has his right-handed-heavy lineup in tonight against Wood, with Michael Chavis playing first base in place of Dominic Smith.

There was a certain admirable quality to what the Nationals bullpen did Thursday afternoon. After a 1-hour, 43-minute rain delay forced MacKenzie Gore’s start to end after only 1 1/3 innings and 17 pitches, Davey Martinez had to ask six relievers to churn out a combined 8 2/3 innings in a game that wasn’t decided until the 10th.

Of course, the bullpen’s performance would’ve been appreciated even more had Kyle Finnegan not surrendered the game-tying run in the eighth and Hunter Harvey surrendered the game-winning runs in the 10th.

But given the circumstances, and what was asked of them, Martinez couldn’t get too down on the group as a whole.

The key figure in the proceedings was Mason Thompson, who was summoned to take over when the rain delay ended, thrust into a jam in the top of the second. The right-hander proceeded to induce an inning-ending, 6-2-3 double play, then returned to pitch the third and fourth innings, ultimately allowing one run to the Reds.

“It starts with the first guy and wondering how far he can go,” Martinez said. “Mason did a great job. You’re hoping for an inning and two-thirds, and he gave us more than that. So that set the tone. Then the rest of the guys just followed suit. I thought they did really well.”

Jeimer Candelario is back in the Nationals lineup this afternoon, and while that wouldn’t seem to be a dramatic change, for this particular lineup at this particular time, it is quite significant.

Candelario was scratched from the lineup Sunday about an hour prior to first pitch with a sore right thumb after getting jammed the previous evening. Michael Chavis, who was supposed to be filling in at first base for the day, shifted to third base, with Dominic Smith, who was supposed to have the day off, starting at first base after all.

The end result: The Nats managed only two runs on eight hits in a 4-2 loss to the Marlins, with Chavis going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and Smith going 0-for-4 with three groundouts to first.

Candelario may not be thought of elsewhere as a premier, middle-of-the-order bat, but he has become critical to the Nationals’ chances of scoring runs as this season has played out. His .788 OPS ranks second among all regulars on the club, behind Lane Thomas’ .822 mark. His 21 doubles rank third in the National League. And he has three Defensive Runs Saved at third base, providing steady play in the field since Opening Day.

His absence Sunday was noticeable.

ATLANTA – After last night’s tough 3-2 loss in the series opener, the Nationals are making some significant changes to their lineup for this afternoon’s second game against the Braves.

Against rookie left-hander Jared Shuster, who the Nats knocked around for four runs on six hits and five walks in their first meeting on April 2, lefty bats Dominic Smith and CJ Abrams and switching-hitter Keibert Ruiz are all out of today’s starting lineup.

In their places: Michael Chavis is starting at first base and batting seventh, Ildemaro Vargas is playing shortstop and batting eighth and Riley Adams is catching and batting ninth. And as has been typical against a lefty starter, Stone Garrett is starting in left field instead of Corey Dickerson, batting fifth.

“It was just the plan coming into the series,” manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame meeting with the media. “I'm trying to keep everybody involved. Get some guys days off. We're getting to a point where it's starting to warm out there. It's tough to play 162 games, so I want to keep these guys fresh and get these other guys in and get them some at-bats. So we'll see how they do. Riley has been playing well. I wanted to get Chavy in there and Vargas has been playing well as well. And Garrett, he platoons with Corey in the outfield, so he gets a chance to play today.”

It’s Smith’s first day off since April 27 against the Mets in New York, when Joey Meneses started at first and Garrett was the designated hitter. The veteran first baseman has struggled to the tune of a .265/.347/.301 slash line, .648 OPS, five doubles, one home run and 14 RBIs in 59 games. And while he has played strong defense for the majority of the season, he was unable to make a run-saving play on a chopper last night, which allowed the tying run to score in the eighth inning.

NEW YORK – The Nationals had one noticeable player missing from the clubhouse before tonight’s series finale against the Mets. Ildemaro Vargas, on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder strain since April 11, left the team to start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester.

“He went out this morning, though they, unfortunately, had a day game today,” manager Davey Martinez said of his backup utility infielder. “So he's got to start playing tomorrow.”

Vargas jammed his shoulder while making a diving play earlier this month in Colorado. He had recently been able to most of the usual baseball activities, but Martinez had said it still bothered the switch-hitter when swinging right-handed.

When he arrives at Rochester, Vargas will get most of his reps at shortstop while also getting at-bats from both sides of the plate.

“Yeah, he's got to go out there,” Martinez said. “I want him to play some shortstop. I want to see him field. He's definitely got to swing the bat. Hopefully, he can swing both left-handed and right-handed. But we'll see how he does and we'll see how long it's gonna take for him to go out and come back. There's no timetable yet, but hopefully it's only a few days.”

For the fourth time in their first six games of the new season, the Nationals are facing a left-handed starter in Shane McClanahan for this afternoon’s series finale against the Rays.

While trying to avoid a sweep in just the second series of 2023 and with it still being so early, manager Davey Martinez is playing matchups, stacking his starting lineup with right-handed bats and giving some of his everyday lefty hitters a day off.

That leaves Luis García on the bench for the second straight game after he was removed from the lineup for the first time this season against rookie southpaw Josh Fleming on Tuesday. He did record a pinch-hit RBI double in the seventh against righty Kevin Kelly.

Martinez confirmed there is nothing physically wrong with his young second baseman, insisting that he's just playing the matchups. Shortstop CJ Abrams is the only left-handed hitter starting today, with Michael Chavis once again replacing García at second base.

“No, we got a run of just left-handed pitchers, so I kind of want to pick my spots with him,” Martinez said of García. “He came in yesterday, pinch-hit, hit the ball well. But this guy we're facing today, he's tough. He's tough on lefties. Abrams stays in there a little bit better on sliders, so he's gonna play short today. And Chavis swung the bat well yesterday, so I want to get him back out there again and give him a couple of days. But Luis will be back in there. We got a lefty tomorrow, we'll need him today, but he'll be out there again tomorrow.”