The 6 p.m. trade deadline came and went without any more moves from the Nationals. The front offices on South Capitol Street remained quiet after yesterday’s deal that sent Jeimer Candelario to the Cubs for two prospects.

So it was back to business as usual for the boys in the navy blue jerseys and curly W caps.

“Play baseball after that," manager Davey Martinez said after letting out a long sigh when asked about his emotions once the deadline passed. "A couple of our players came in at 6:01 p.m. and asked, 'Am I still here?' I go, 'Yeah, you guys are good. You got traded to the Washington Nationals, so congratulations. Keep playing.'”

Although the fact they didn’t trade away any more players may be a sign that the Nats are closer to contention now than they were when they started this rebuilding project at this time two years ago, unfortunately tonight’s on-field result was similar to many around these parts since the 2019 World Series: A 6-4 loss to the Brewers in front of 19,847 fans who came out to Nats Park on a beautiful August night.

Josiah Gray, who was acquired at the 2021 deadline, started the night off strong, but lost his command as the game went on.

It’s Trade Deadline Day, which means people all around baseball will be glued to their phones, computers and TVs awaiting the big moves being made throughout the day up until the 6 p.m. deadline.

For the Nationals, that means keeping an eye on names like Lane Thomas and Kyle Finnegan after Jeimer Candelario was traded to the Cubs for two prospects last night. Jake Alu was officially recalled from Triple-A Rochester this afternoon to take Candelario’s roster spot.

Thomas is in tonight’s starting lineup … for now. Keep an eye out for any lineup changes leading up to the deadline.

A guy who we know isn’t going anywhere and was acquired two years ago at the deadline is tonight’s starter, Josiah Gray. The young right-hander is 7-8 with a 3.27 ERA and 1.411 WHIP over his first 21 starts this year. After a shaky start to the second half, Gray has pitched seven innings of one-run ball and six shutout innings in his last two outings.

Freddy Peralta makes the start for the Brewers, who could be busy today as they are in a tight battle with the Reds at the top of the National League Central. Peralta is 6-8 with a 4.46 ERA and 1.248 WHIP in 20 starts this season. In five games (three starts) against the Nats, the right-hander is 2-2 with a 7.29 ERA and 1.381 WHIP.

With their No. 3 hitter on his way to the North Side of Chicago, the Nationals face the daunting proposition of making up for lost production from a lineup that doesn’t have a lot of proven producers to begin with.

Fortunately, they have a guy who has already proven he can deliver at the plate at the trade deadline.

Joey Meneses, who famously homered in his major league debut hours after the Nats traded Juan Soto one year ago, did it again tonight. The 31-year-old designated hitter opened the bottom of the second with a blast to left field, his sixth homer in 19 games. Then he delivered a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh that gave the Nationals the 5-3 lead over the Brewers they would hold onto the rest of the night.

Only 30 minutes after they dealt Jeimer Candelario to the Cubs for two prospects, the Nats took the field with a depleted lineup, hoping someone else could step up and produce some runs for them tonight and over the season’s final two months.

They wound up with two someones coming through: Lane Thomas, who drove in a pair of runs, and Meneses, who drove in the other three in a familiar position.

This is a weird portion of the Nationals schedule. They just went on the road for only four days. Now they’re back home for only three days before leaving town again.

This quick homestand comes against the Brewers, who are locked in a tight race with the Reds atop the NL Central. Milwaukee pitches well, so it’s going to be a challenge for a Nats lineup that totaled four runs in its three losses to the Mets over the weekend (while scoring 11 runs in their lone win).

Jake Irvin gets the ball, facing a Brewers lineup that has never seen him before. The rookie right-hander has done a nice job giving his team innings recently, completing at least six in each of his last two starts, but he did surrender four runs in two of his last three outings.

One roster move to announce here on Trade Deadline Eve: With Trevor Williams officially placed on bereavement leave, the Nationals have recalled right-hander Hobie Harris from Triple-A Rochester. Harris gives them a ninth reliever for a few days until Williams returns.

Although he's not in the starting lineup, Jeimer Candelario is still in the Nationals clubhouse and in uniform before tonight's game.

The MLB Draft and All-Star Game festivities are over. Today is the last day without baseball until the end of October.

The Nationals start the second half tomorrow with a six-game midwest road trip against the Cardinals and the Cubs.

As things stand, the Nationals are in last place in the National League East but are on pace to win 65 games this year, a 10-win improvement from 2022.

With the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the new lottery system in the draft preventing tanking across the league, the Nationals cannot pick higher than No. 10 overall in next year’s first round after selecting Dylan Crews with the No. 2 overall pick this year. Not that the ultra-competitive Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez would ever intentionally lose, but that’s part of the reason those rules are in place.

So we’re in for an exciting second half of baseball as the Nationals continue to develop both at the major and minor league levels. Who will stand out over the next 2 ½ months? Will any trades be made before the deadline? Which prospects will be promoted and perhaps make their major league debuts?

MILWAUKEE – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde wanted better at-bats from his club today. Get in more favorable counts. Improve the pitch selection and decision making. Stop pressing.

Start scoring again.

Kyle Bradish settled down after an unusually rough first inning, and an offense that was dormant for most of the series bolted upright against the Brewers’ bullpen, with Gunnar Henderson’s two-run shot in the eighth keying a 6-3 victory before an announced crowd of 27,318 at American Family Field.

Anthony Santander doubled off Peter Strzelecki with one out in the eighth to score Adley Rutschman. Austin Hays took a disputed third strike, but Henderson carried a first-pitch fastball over the left field fence.

Henderson raised his arm as he approached second base. An entire team was lifted.

Only once this year did the Orioles lose the first two games of a three-game series and that was May 26-27 versus Texas, but they did win the series finale to avoid a sweep. They need to do that again today or they will be swept by an opponent for the first time in 2023.

The last time they were swept in a series of two or more games was by Detroit on May 13-15, 2022 on the road.

Milwaukee has posted wins by 4-3 in 10 innings and 10-2 to leave the Orioles at 37-24 overall and 2-3 on their road trip that ends today.  The Orioles have their third road series loss of the season and are now 8-3 in road series. They remain in second place in the AL East, but are now 6.5 games back of Tampa Bay and just 1.5 games up on the New York Yankees, who reside in third in the division.

Even with a recent downturn by the offense, the Orioles remain with the sixth-best team OPS in the American League at .731 and they rank fourth in the AL in runs per game at 4.87.

But here were the O’s offensive numbers through their first 49 games: They batted .253/.330/.427/.757 and scored 5.18 runs per game.

MILWAUKEE – The Orioles try to avoid their first sweep this afternoon with Austin Hays in center field and batting cleanup, and Gunnar Henderson replacing Jorge Mateo at shortstop.

Ryan Mountcastle has returned to the lineup after being on the bench for two of the last five games. He’s 4-for-26 in his last seven and batting sixth today.

Anthony Santander is in right field and batting third. He’s 0-for-20 on the road trip.

James McCann is catching and Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter.

Ryan O’Hearn is starting in left field. Aaron Hicks, who’s 7-for-19 with the Orioles, is on the bench.

CHICAGO – The infield depth at the higher levels of the minor league system cost Patrick Dorrian a place in the Orioles organization.

Dorrian, on Triple-A Norfolk’s roster, was traded to the Brewers this afternoon for cash considerations.

The Orioles acquired Dorrian from the Pirates on June 26, 2019 to complete the May 27 trade of pitcher Yefry Ramirez.

Dorrian, who turns 26 on Sunday, batted .161/.256/.269 with seven doubles and three home runs in 46 games with Norfolk. He was sent down briefly to Double-A Bowie, went 0-for-4, and returned to the Tides.

The 2021 season got Dorrian noticed after he collected 21 doubles, 22 home runs and 67 RBIs and posted a .362 on-base percentage in 112 games with the Baysox. But prospects Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg have moved up to Norfolk, Terrin Vavra returned from the injured list, and infielder Jonathan Araúz was optioned to the Tides after the Orioles claimed him off waivers from the Red Sox.

When Victor Robles came up to bat in the bottom of the third Saturday afternoon, moments after teammate Luis Garcia had led off the inning with a single, anyone inside Nationals Park who has been paying attention this season knew what was about to happen.

Sure enough, as Brewers left-hander Eric Lauer began his delivery toward the plate, Robles squared around to bunt. And when he proceeded to pop up that bunt attempt, right to first baseman Rowdy Tellez for an easy out, the crowd moaned, annoyed both with the result of the play but perhaps also the fact it happened in the first place.

That’s not necessarily how the Nationals dugout reacted to the botched bunt attempt.

“Look, it’s got to be part of his game, right? We want him to bunt in certain situations,” manager Davey Martinez said Sunday morning. “I thought yesterday he had the right idea, but he caught the ball back and had his hands up close to his body. So he couldn’t really see the ball hit the bat. He’s got to understand that when he does do that, he’s got to get to the ball out front.”

Officially, it went down as Robles’ 12th sacrifice bunt attempt this season, only six of which have been successful. Those 12 attempts lead the majors. And as a matter of fact, only five teams have attempted more sacrifice bunts this year than Robles has attempted on his own.

The Nationals entered today’s series finale against the Brewers with a suddenly resurgent lineup and a piecemeal pitching plan that needed to come together if they wanted to pull off their first three-game sweep of the season.

Who would’ve thought the pitching part of the equation would be the least of their concerns?

While Paolo Espino, Evan Lee and two relievers teamed up to hold Milwaukee in check, the Nats lineup went silent during a 4-1 loss to spoil any hopes of a weekend sweep on South Capitol Street.

Espino and Lee combined for the equivalent of a “quality start,” allowing three runs over six innings without issuing a walk. But their teammates couldn’t produce enough at the plate, despite several early opportunities with runners in scoring position, and thus couldn’t duplicate the power display they put on the previous two nights, when they launched seven total homers in back-to-back wins.

"Our pitching was good," manager Davey Martinez said. "We just didn't come up with that big hit. Twice had bases loaded, only scored one run. We just couldn't get that big hit today."

Paolo Espino has pitched in 20 games for the Nationals this season, totaling 26 2/3 innings. He’s produced a sparkling 2.03 ERA and 1.013 WHIP, striking out 20 while walking only four. He’s been one of the team’s most effective pitchers through 61 games. Except every one of his appearances has come either with the Nats leading or trailing by at least three runs. He hasn’t had a chance to pitch in a single close game yet.

That changes today, and it changes in a big way, because Espino will be starting the Nationals’ series finale against the Brewers, hoping to help lead his team to its first series sweep of the year. Davey Martinez chose the veteran right-hander over young lefty Evan Lee because he liked the matchup against Milwaukee, and because Espino has been so effective this season, even if it has come entirely in low-leverage situations.

We’ll see if Espino can translate those positive results into a much more prominent assignment, facing the team for which he made his major league debut in 2017. The Brewers have a potent lineup, and they’re desperate for success, having now lost eight in a row to fall out of first place in the National League Central.

The Nationals’ lineup has certainly been potent this weekend, blasting out 11 runs Friday and eight more Saturday, with the big three of Juan Soto, Nelson Cruz and Josh Bell playing a starring role. That group will try to keep it going to against Milwaukee starter Jason Alexander, who makes his third career start. (If this pitching thing doesn’t work out for Alexander, perhaps he can always go back to that career in architecture he always wanted to pretend to have.)

MILWAUKEE BREWERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 77 degrees, wind 8 mph out to left field

This is what they envisioned all along: A well-balanced, sustained offensive attack, with power from Juan Soto, Nelson Cruz and Josh Bell.

In the dream scenario for the 2022 season they conjured up months ago, the Nationals believed that was possible. It probably wouldn’t have been enough to lift this team back into a pennant race, not with all its other flaws as it embarked on an organizational rebuild, but if nothing else this team would be competitive, especially from an offensive standpoint.

That hasn’t happened with any regularity through the season’s first 61 games, but on more than a few occasions it has managed to all come together at once. And in today’s 8-6 win over the Brewers, the Nats may have come as close to realizing that dream scenario as they have all year.

With another sustained power display against a pitching staff that shut them down only a few weeks ago in Milwaukee, the Nationals won behind back-to-back-to-back homers from the three biggest bats in the heart of their lineup.

All this on the heels of an 11-run, 19-hit onslaught Friday night, making it an ultra-rare example of back-to-back big offensive showings from this lineup. Though they’ve scored 10 or more runs eight times this season, second-most in the majors, this was only the second time they’ve followed up by scoring more than five runs in their next game.

The Nationals need someone to start Sunday’s series finale, but they aren’t going to make any final declarations about the identity of that starter until they first play today’s game against the Brewers, recognizing anything can (and often does) happen to spoil best-laid plans.

“Let’s get through today,” manager Davey Martinez said with a laugh, “and then we’ll know more.”

The Nats’ hope and plan seems fairly clear: If they can avoid using him in relief today, they would like to have Evan Lee make Sunday’s start, only his second in the big leagues. The rookie left-hander allowed two runs in 3 2/3 innings during his June 1 debut in New York, and though he’s spent his time since then in the bullpen (making one relief appearance) he’s been prepped in a manner that would allow him to start Sunday if needed.

Lee threw 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief Tuesday in Miami, on what would essentially have been his next turn through the rotation. He then was seen warming up in the bullpen during the final inning of Thursday’s game against the Marlins, not because he was preparing to enter that game but because that essentially served as his between-starts throwing session.

“We tell him all the time with everything going on right now, especially this next week, anything can happen,” Martinez said. “He’s well aware of that, and making sure he stays sharp.”

Good news: The Nationals scored 11 runs Friday night to cruise to victory. Bad news: The Nationals scored 11 runs Friday night to cruise to victory, because so far this season that has spelled doom for their offense the next day.

Seven times this year the Nats have scored 10 or more runs. And in five of those cases, they’ve gone on to lose their next game, scoring a total of 11 runs in those games. So they’ll be looking to buck that trend later this afternoon when they host the Brewers in the second game of this weekend series.

The lineup today is facing Eric Lauer, who carved them up last month in Milwaukee. The left-hander tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits while striking out five on May 20. (That was the game Lane Thomas tried for an inside-the-park homer but was thrown out at the plate.)

Patrick Corbin also started for the Nationals during that series, falling victim to a pair of homers. Andrew McCutchen got him on his very first pitch in the bottom of the first. Then Luis Urías jumped on the first pitch he saw in the fifth inning for a homer of his own. Both are in the Brewers lineup today.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 73 degrees, wind 4 mph in from center field

It’s always nice to be home. After a 10-game road trip in which they went 3-7, the Nationals were happy to return to D.C. to start this long homestand tonight against the Brewers.

You could feel it in the clubhouse before the game. Despite coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of the Marlins and getting into town late last night, players seemed to be in high spirits this afternoon. Even manager Davey Martinez was particularly chipper in his pregame press conference.

Did the late arrival time at Nationals Park allow them to catch up on sleep? Or were they over-caffeinated after not getting enough sleep? We don’t know for sure, but whatever it was it led to an 11-5 win over the Brewers in front of 26,111 in attendance on South Capitol Street.

“I am tired. … I got three hours of sleep," Martinez said immediately after tonight's game. "By the end of the game today, I looked at (bench coach Tim Bogar) and said, 'I'm beat.' ”

It was a picture-perfect Friday night in our nation’s capital. With a gametime temperature of 79 degrees and a per usual perfect national anthem from local favorite D.C. Washington, the Nationals settled right into a victory in which they received contributions from all aspects of the roster.

After a long 10-game road trip across three cities, the Nationals are finally home in D.C., ready to start an 11-game homestand over the next 10 days.

“Yeah, it's awesome,” manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame session in the press conference room at Nationals Park. “I mean, it was a long road trip. It really was. But glad to be home.”

Although the location has changed, the Nationals lineup for their series opener against the Brewers remains mostly the same, with Nelson Cruz starting again as the designated hitter after being a late scratch from last night’s finale in Miami with tightness in his back.

“Cruz is back in there,” Martinez said. “His back was stiff yesterday. So he called this morning, I talked to him this morning. He said he feels a lot better. ... Says he feels good. So he's back in there.”

The 41-year-old has dealt with a handful of nagging issues that have caused him to be scratched from lineups this season. He was also removed from the lineup before an April 12 game in Atlanta with groin tightness, and he was scratched from a May 16 game in Miami with an illness.

Home, sweet home! After going 3-7 over a three-city road trip, the Nationals have finally returned home to South Capitol Street. 

Tonight kicks off an 11-game homestand over the next 10 days (thanks to a doubleheader against the Phillies a week from today), starting with three games against the Brewers. The Nats will be looking for a little payback after dropping two out of three in Milwaukee last month.

Erick Fedde takes the mound for his sixth home start to open this series. He’s 3-4 with 4.88 ERA on the season and gave up two runs on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings against the Brewers in May.

Aaron Ashby gets the start for the Brew Crew tonight. In 12 games (six starts) this season, the young left-hander is 1-4 with a 3.13 ERA. He closed out the Brewers’ 7-0 win with a scoreless ninth inning on the same day Fedde started for the Nationals at American Family Field. As a starter, Ashby is 1-2 with a 3.45 ERA.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 7 mph in from left field 

MILWAUKEE – Some more thoughts, observations and reactions following Sunday’s 8-2 victory over the Brewers, which allowed the Nationals to avoid a weekend sweep at American Family Field …

* As much attention as was given to Juan Soto, Keibert Ruiz, Nelson Cruz and Josh Bell, the member of the Nats lineup who might have had the most significant weekend actually was Lane Thomas.

The 26-year-old outfielder started all three games and went 5-for-12 with two doubles, a triple and a homer. Along the way, he raised his batting average from .202 to .228, his on-base percentage from .255 to .273 and his slugging percentage from .270 to .356.

“Man, I feel like I just see the ball well here,” he said. “And I figured out some timing stuff and just getting back in my legs and seeing the ball a little deeper, so hopefully that stays on track, too. But it just felt good to see the ball well and take some good swings.”

It’s been a rough season to date for Thomas, who after an eye-opening, 45-game audition last August and September hasn’t been able to recapture the magic and has lost considerable playing time in the process.

MILWAUKEE – Now that the quarter mark of the season has passed, storylines have been firmly established. When they happen a few times in April, they’re merely trends. When they keep happening through May, they’re full-blown narratives, destined to hold up for the next four months.

The Nationals entered today’s series finale with plenty of them to go around. Juan Soto can’t drive in runs as a No. 2 hitter. They don’t string together hits to produce big rallies. They ground into way too many double plays. They bunt too much and have nothing to show for it. They’re the only team in the majors that ever has a batter called out for running outside the baseline.

And then over the ensuing three-plus hours, they proceeded to take every one of those seemingly set-in-stone narratives and flipped them on their heads. During an 8-2 thrashing of the Brewers, the Nats provided a case study in trying the opposite approach for a change.

And like George Costanza famously experienced nearly three decades ago on Seinfeld, sometimes the opposite really does work.

Whether any of this will hold true beyond today’s game remains to be seen. But for at least one glorious Sunday afternoon under the open roof at American Family Field, it all worked to perfection for the Nationals.