The Nationals just completed a seven-game homestand, one that featured all sorts of twists and turns. It began with two straight wins over the Pirates, giving them six wins over an eight-game stretch and giving everyone reason to feel optimistic for the first time in a while. Then it concluded with five straight losses, the last four to the Marlins, who came to town and ransacked the home club over the holiday weekend.

As they now prepare for what looks like a difficult, six-game road trip to Philadelphia and Atlanta, let’s look back at the homestand, breaking it down between the good, the bad and the ugly …

GOOD: JOSH BELL
It doesn’t matter how poorly the team is playing, Josh Bell continues to shine on an individual level. The big first baseman went 11-for-26 on the homestand. Include the big weekend he had just prior to that in Texas, and he’s 18 for his last 38 (a .474 average) with nine extra-base hits, four walks, a .535 on-base percentage and .789 slugging percentage. For the season, Bell is now batting .318 with a .399 on-base percentage (both second best in the National League behind Paul Goldschmidt) and a .913 OPS that ranks fourth (behind Goldschmidt, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado). All-Star rosters are going to be announced at the end of the week. It’s hard to see how Bell doesn’t get his first career selection at this point.

BAD: THE REST OF THE LINEUP
The Nationals as a whole had a dismal weekend at the plate. In getting swept by the Marlins, they hit a measly .194 with a brutal .295 slugging percentage. The lack of power outside of Bell is killing them. The lack of clutch hitting from just about everyone is causing just as much damage. They were no-hit for six innings Sunday by Pablo López. Then they were shut out for seven innings Monday by Braxton Garrett. The worst realization of all: The Nats just lost four straight to Miami, with a feeble offensive performance, and they never even had to go up against ace and early Cy Young Award favorite Sandy Alcantara.

UGLY: ROTATION DEPTH
Just when it looked like they had settled on five quality starters, the Nationals saw Jackson Tetreault succumb to a stress fracture in his right scapula, an injury that figures to sideline the rookie for some time. Which means they need a replacement starter Thursday in Philadelphia. Except the options aren’t all that appealing. Aníbal Sánchez and Josh Rogers likely aren’t ready to be activated off the injured list, needing more time to build their arms up in rehab starts. Cade Cavalli seems to still need to prove he can have consistent success at Triple-A before the organization calls him up, hopefully for good. Joan Adon may be the only remaining choice at this point.

They got another strong start from Patrick Corbin, making it two in a row for the beleaguered lefty. They once again struggled all day to generate any kind of offense against a Marlins starter pitching the game of his life. And they yet again managed to scratch together a late run to tie the game and ultimately send it into extra innings.

At which point an all-too-familiar result awaited.

Bryan De La Cruz’s towering two-run homer off Tanner Rainey in the top of the 10th was the eventual difference, lifting the Marlins to a 3-2 victory over the Nationals. And if any of that comes as a surprise, you haven’t been paying any attention to the 13 games played between these two division foes this season.

The Nats have now lost 12 of those 13 games against Miami, including four in a row this holiday weekend, the last two in 10 innings, each of them defined by a towering home run surrendered by Rainey.

It matters not how often they put themselves in position to beat the Marlins, the Nationals simply are not able to beat the Marlins in 2022. The silver lining: They won’t see each other again until September, with six final matchups between the two remaining on the schedule.

Though he’s not in today’s lineup, and may not be for a few more days, Juan Soto believes he avoided any serious injury to his left calf during Sunday’s loss to the Marlins.

Soto said the MRI he underwent late Sunday showed that “everything was fine” and that he’s only dealing with tightness in the calf. He won’t play this afternoon’s series finale against Miami but hopes to return sometime during this week’s series at the Phillies.

“We’re going to be good,” he said. “They said it’s just a little bit tight. It’s going to take a couple days to see, and then go. It all depends how I’m feeling day by day.”

Soto hurt himself while tracking down Bryan De La Cruz’s third-inning double off the wall in right field. After retrieving the ball, planting and making a long throw to second base, he felt his left leg “grab.” It wasn’t enough to pull him from the game at that point, but after he ran the bases in the bottom of the fourth, he realized it was best if he departed and not risk anything worse.

“I just felt a little tight behind my knee; it was kind of my calf,” he said. “After the play, the double by De La Cruz, I threw the ball and something just grabbed me right there and it stays and stays and stays. And I think my other at-bat, the rundown, it didn’t feel that way. So I just took the decision to come out of the game and make sure everything’s fine before I keep going and make things worse.”

Good morning from Nationals Park, which is something we can’t often say. We can say it today, though, because it’s July 4th, and that means morning baseball on South Capitol Street. As has been the case every year since 2012 (except for 2020) the Nats are playing an 11:05 a.m. home game on Independence Day, an annual tradition that has become quite popular with fans (if not necessarily players who don’t love having to report to the ballpark so early in the morning for the first time since spring training).

The Nationals desperately need a win right now. They’ve been ransacked by the Marlins, losing 10 of 11 to them this season, including the first three games of this series. They were one strike away from winning Sunday. They still managed to lose in extra innings.

Patrick Corbin gets the ball for his first July 4 assignment as a National. He’s coming off his best start of the season, probably his best start in three years, having notched 12 strikeouts over eight innings against the Pirates. The lefty has felt much better about the quality of his stuff in recent outings. Now he needs to prove he can be effective on a consistent basis again.

The Nats will be facing a lefty starter for the third time in four days, in this case Braxton Garrett. The 24-year-old has spent parts of the last three seasons in the big leagues. He’s made only one career appearance against the Nationals, getting roughed up for five runs in 2 2/3 innings in September 2020. He also has surrendered 16 hits over his last 9 1/3 innings, though he has struck out 12 during that same time.

MIAMI MARLINS vs. WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 11:05 a.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (outside D.C. market), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 81 degrees, wind 4 mph in from center field

There was a no-hit bid by Pablo López, who still had zeros on the board entering the seventh. There was a quality start by Erick Fedde, who limited the damage and gave his team a chance. There was the sight of Juan Soto departing the game after four innings with a left calf injury. There was an inspiring rally in the bottom of the seventh to end López’s no-hit bid and tie the game, then a go-ahead homer by Josh Bell in the bottom of the eighth to put the Nationals on the precipice of a long-awaited victory over the Marlins.

Then there was the top of the ninth, with Tanner Rainey one strike away from closing it out but surrendering a two-run homer to Jesús Sánchez to blow the save and put Miami on the precipice of victory.

But then there was the bottom of the ninth, with Victor Robles delivering the unlikely two-out RBI single to left that tied the game and forced extra innings of a ballgame that left anyone watching in person or from afar physically and emotionally exhausted.

All of which made the Marlins' three-run rally in the top of the 10th en route to a 7-4 win as big a letdown as the Nationals have experienced throughout this frustrating season. They could've lost for the 11th time in 12 games against Miami, the 52nd time in 81 games overall, in uninspired fashion. Instead, they sucked everyone in and made them believe, only to pull the rug out and leave a crowd of 25,385 stunned and downtrodden.

"I think I wear it a lot more sometimes than they do, because I want these guys all to succeed," manager Davey Martinez said. "And it's tough when I see them not. But I've got to make sure that tomorrow I pat them on the back and say: 'That's one game. We've got so many more left. Keep doing what you've been doing.' "

Can the Nationals finally beat the Marlins again today? Can they somehow find a way to beat the unstoppable Marlins for only the second time in 12 games this season? Can you believe this is what it has come to?

Given how little the Nats have hit against Miami’s pitching staff, and given that the very effective Pablo López is on the mound today, it’s probably foolish to think there’s a path to victory trying to outhit these guys. They’ll simply need to take advantage of whatever scoring opportunities they have and hope it’s enough to emerge victorious.

That will also require a fantastic effort from Erick Fedde, who probably has little margin for error today. Fedde actually has only faced the Marlins once this season, way back on April 27. He allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings but threw 91 pitches, and that continues to be his biggest stumbling block. Fedde has allowed two or fewer earned runs in nine of his 15 starts this season. The problem: His pitch count has been so high, he’s only completed six innings in three of those starts.

MIAMI MARLINS vs. WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 81 degrees, wind 8 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
2B César Hernández
RF Juan Soto
1B Josh Bell
DH Nelson Cruz
SS Luis García
C Keibert Ruiz
LF Yadiel Hernandez
3B Ehire Adrianza
CF Victor Robles

That the Nationals have been bulldozed by the Mets, Braves and Phillies this season doesn’t come as a huge surprise. Those three division rivals all entered the season with high hopes and currently find themselves in a pennant race.

That the Nats have also been ransacked by the Marlins, who don’t find themselves anywhere near contention, is both surprising and incredibly aggravating to a ballclub that isn’t used to suffering this kind of domination from a traditional division doormat.

Today’s 5-3 loss at steamy Nationals Park was only the latest in a half-season’s worth of losses to this team. The Nats are now a ghastly 1-10 against Miami this year, having been outscored 59-26.

And it’s not like the Marlins are doing this to anybody else. They’re 26-39 against the rest of the league, turning the Nationals into their personal punching bag.

"Today's a different day," manager Davey Martinez said, prior to today's game, which still produced the same result. "We've got to do the the things that we need to do to win, and control some of the things they're doing. And if we do that, any given day we'll win. I worry about the way we play, not what other teams are doing."

It’s a hot, muggy, potentially stormy Saturday in the nation’s capital. In other words, classic July 4th weekend weather. Hopefully the storms hold off and allow the Nationals and Marlins to play as scheduled at 4:05 p.m. Stay tuned.

It’ll be Jackson Tetreault on the mound, making his fourth career start. The rookie right-hander was excellent in his last two outings against the Phillies and Rangers. We’ll see if he can keep that up against a Marlins club that has ransacked the Nats all season, having now won nine of their 10 head-to-head matchups.

The Nationals will be facing another young left-hander in Daniel Castano, who makes his 14th career start. They saw him in relief in May, with Castano pitching the ninth and 10th innings of that crazy game that included an appeal play at third after Jesus Sanchez potentially tagged up too soon.

I wanted to take an opportunity to thank everyone for your kind words (and even the criticism, too!) about my pinch-hitting appearance on the MASN broadcast Friday night. Kevin Frandsen was great doing emergency play-by-play and setting me up to analyze. Director Chip Winfield and producer Joe Matusek helped guide me through everything. And not that it needed to be said, but for the record: Bob Carpenter and Dan Kolko are true pros, and make a very difficult job look and sound easy. They’re both doing well and will be back soon. And finally, thanks to Tim Leonard for stepping in and writing a game story for the site while I was busy.

With all that said, I’m happy to be back in my usual seat in the writer’s press box today, covering the game the way I’m used to covering a game!

The Nationals made adjustments to their bullpen and their catching corps in advance of tonight’s series opener against the Marlins, activating Mason Thompson off the 60-day injured list, designating Sam Clay for assignment, calling up Tres Barrera from Triple-A and optioning Riley Adams to Rochester.

The bullpen moves bring Thompson back to the big leagues nearly three months after he went down with a right biceps strain only two appearances into the season. The right-hander recently began a rehab assignment and made six total appearances between the rookie Florida Complex League and Triple-A, allowing one run in 6 2/3 innings, striking out 11 without issuing any walks.

Thompson gives manager Davey Martinez another potential setup option to take some of the workload off Carl Edwards Jr. and Kyle Finnegan, who each made four appearances in six days over the last week and each was scored upon during Wednesday’s 8-7 loss to the Pirates.

Clay also pitched Wednesday, his first appearance since getting called back up from Rochester. The left-hander, though, issued a walk and then hit a batter, finally recording an out on a sacrifice bunt before he was pulled by Martinez.

Clay still had minor league options, but the Nationals elected to designate him for assignment, opening a necessary spot on the 40-man roster for Thompson’s return from the 60-day IL. Signed away from the Twins prior to the 2021 season, Clay wound up making 64 total appearances for the Nats, with a 6.02 ERA and 1.682 WHIP.

We have reached the holiday weekend, which means a lot of earlier-than-usual baseball. The Nationals’ series opener against the Marlins is still a night game, but first pitch is at 6:05 p.m. to account for postgame fireworks (barring any excessive delays or a super-long game, fingers crossed).

The Nats have had all kinds of trouble with Miami this season, going 1-8, their only win coming May 18 in that wild, extra-inning game at loanDepot Park in which they initially thought they had won in the bottom of the ninth when Jesús Sánchez was called out for leaving third base too soon on a sacrifice fly to right, only to have the call overturned on review. (Sound similar to any other recent plays?)

Josiah Gray takes the mound tonight, and the young right-hander has been on some kind of roll lately. He’s got a 1.24 ERA, 0.966 WHIP and 31 strikeouts in 29 innings over his last five starts, never allowing more than two runs in any of them. Alas, Gray has not received a decision in any of his last three outings due to a lack of run support.

The Nationals lineup will try to provide some support tonight against a Marlins rotation that has been elite against them this season. That includes tonight’s starter, left-hander Trevor Rogers, who despite a 5.86 ERA overall has held the Nats to three runs in 11 innings over two starts this season.

MIAMI MARLINS vs. WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 89 degrees, wind 11 mph out to left field

MIAMI – This was never going to be Strasmas II, and anyone who went into tonight’s game believing it might hasn’t been paying close enough attention. He wasn’t going to strike out 14. He wasn’t going to approach anything close to triple digits on the radar gun. He wasn’t going to wow the baseball world with pitching dominance.

No, when Stephen Strasburg took the mound tonight for the 247th time in a career that began with such a flourish 12 years and 1 day earlier, there was only one goal in everyone’s mind: Come out of this one healthy.

In that regard, the initial read of the right-hander’s first start of 2022 was a positive one for the Nationals, even if the final outcome was a 7-4 loss to complete a three-game sweep at the hands of the Marlins.

"It felt good, and I'm excited to learn from it and get back out there for my next one," he said, adding: "All in all, it's a place to start and try to build off it."

Sure, a better result would’ve been nice. Nobody wanted to see Strasburg give up seven runs in 4 2/3 innings or hand the ball over to Davey Martinez after serving up a towering homer instead of after recording a big out. But the 33-year-old’s final line in his long-awaited return from thoracic outlet surgery was never going to be the defining point of his start.

MIAMI – Needing to clear a spot on the active roster for Stephen Strasburg in advance of his return to the mound tonight, the Nationals optioned Sam Clay to Triple-A, sending the reliever back to Rochester only one day after he was called up.

Clay wound up not appearing in a game during this brief stint after pitching in five games in April during his previous time with the major league club.

The move leaves the Nationals without a left-hander in their bullpen, unless they intend to use Evan Lee in that role again. The rookie, who made his big league debut last week in New York with a 3 2/3-inning start, tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief during Tuesday night’s loss to the Marlins.

With Joan Adon demoted to Triple-A following a ragged outing Tuesday, the Nats will need a fifth starter Sunday against the Brewers. Lee appears to be the most likely candidate for that assignment, unless he’s needed in relief before then.

“We’ll see how the game goes,” manager Davey Martinez said. “If we need him today, he’s readily available. If we don’t and we can stay away from him, then we can do something else come that day we need a starter. But he’s here, we ask him every day how he’s doing, he says he feels great. … Today he’s going to go throw, we’ll see how he feels. If he’s available and we need him, he’ll pitch today. If we can stay away from him, then he’ll possibly start in the next few days.”

MIAMI – There’s going to be a right-hander wearing No. 37 on the mound for the Nationals tonight, as you may have heard. It’s the first time Stephen Strasburg will be pitching in that uniform since June 1, 2021, when he departed a start in Atlanta in the second inning with neck and shoulder discomfort, eventually to learn he needed thoracic outlet surgery.

All this time later, Strasburg is back. He has made it through the long rehab process, tossing six scoreless innings on 83 pitches last week in Rochester. Now we find out how he fares against a major league lineup.

Davey Martinez insists there are no restrictions on Strasburg tonight, but let’s be honest: The Nationals are going to be careful. They’ll monitor him inning-by-inning, but you’d think they’ll hold him to 90 pitches at most, maybe less, depending on how he looks and feels.

Strasburg will have very few familiar faces around him on the field, the Nats roster having been completely overhauled since the last time he pitched. That group of newcomers will be hoping to do everything they can to help him get through this start with minimal damage.

To make room for Strasburg on the active roster, the Nationals optioned Sam Clay to Triple-A Rochester.

MIAMI – Of all the factors that contributed to last summer’s trade deadline sell-off by the Nationals and initiation of an organizational rebuild, it’s not unfair to suggest that Stephen Strasburg’s latest injury ranked at the top of the list.

By the time the final week of July came around, the Nats knew they weren’t going to win anything in 2021. Once they learned Strasburg needed thoracic outlet surgery, they knew they probably weren’t going to win anything in 2022, either.

So when Strasburg makes his return to the mound tonight here in Miami, he’ll return to a situation that bears almost no resemblance to the one he found himself in the last time he pitched in a major league game.

The Nationals lineup June 1, 2021 in Atlanta included Trea Turner, Ryan Zimmerman, Kyle Schwarber, Yan Gomes, Josh Harrison and Starlin Castro. Daniel Hudson and Brad Hand pitched in relief. None will be here tonight when Strasburg faces the Marlins.

Nobody arguably has had more direct impact on the Nats’ fortunes over the last dozen years than Strasburg, whose availability to pitch has almost always been the difference between winning and losing. In five of the six seasons he made 24 or more starts, the team reached the postseason (all but 2013). In each of the six seasons he made fewer than 24 starts, the team failed to make it to October. And that number will grow to seven this year.

MIAMI – Back and forth they went all night, the Nationals and Marlins, each team stepping to the plate for its respective offensive half-inning, each team returning to the dugout having failed to score.

The Nats couldn’t touch Sandy Alcantara, who quietly might be the best pitcher in baseball in 2022. The Marlins couldn’t convert against Josiah Gray, then Steve Cishek, then Carl Edwards Jr., then Kyle Finnegan.

And so the two teams proceeded to take this scoreless game into extra innings, just waiting for someone to finally break through and emerge victorious.

That someone was the Nationals, who broke through with a run in the top of the 10th, thanks to Keibert Ruiz's RBI single, to take the lead. Only to give it - and the game - right back to the Marlins in the bottom of the inning.

Willians Astudillo's bloop single down the right field line scored automatic runner Jazz Chisholm Jr. from second, though only after a controversial replay review determined Ruiz blocked his path to the plate. Jesús Aguilar's ground ball up the middle then deflected off second base and into center field, allowing Astudillo to scamper home with the run that dealt the Nats an agonizing 2-1 loss.

MIAMI – The Nationals gave Joan Adon two months to experience life pitching every fifth day in the big leagues, letting the rookie right-hander take his lumps while trying to emphasize the positives despite his unsightly overall numbers. By the time he was roughed up by the Marlins on Tuesday night, they decided a move was needed.

Adon was optioned to Triple-A Rochester today, a transaction that felt increasingly likely in recent weeks and came to a head during Tuesday’s 12-2 blowout loss. The Nats for now used the roster opening that demotion created to recall reliever Sam Clay from Rochester, though they already know they’ll need to make another move before Thursday’s series finale, in which Stephen Strasburg will come off the 60-day injured list to make his long-awaited season debut.

Adon heads back to the minors after going 1-10 with a major-league-worst 6.95 ERA in 12 starts, capped off by Tuesday’s outing, in which he allowed eight runs before recording an out in the fourth inning.

“At this point, we want him to understand and work on some things without the pressure of going out there every five days and competing up here,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We want him to go down and work on some things. We had a great conversation yesterday, all positive. This kid’s going to come back here. He’s going to help us win games. His stuff is electric. He’s just got to learn how to use it effectively.”

The Nationals knew the risk they were taking putting Adon in their opening day rotation. The 23-year-old made only three starts at Double-A and one at Triple-A before getting the call to make his major league debut in the final game of the 2021 season.

MIAMI – The Nationals need to do a lot of things better tonight than they did Tuesday during a 12-2 shellacking at the hands of the Marlins, lest they once again leave themselves in position to be swept the following night.

It begins, of course, with pitching. After Joan Adon was roughed up for eight runs in three-plus innings, forcing Davey Martinez to turn to his bullpen early, the spotlight is on Josiah Gray to turn in a quality start. Fortunately for the Nats, Gray did just that his last time out, holding the Reds to one earned run while striking out nine over six innings. And he did just that the last time he faced the Marlins, as well, allowing three runs while striking out seven over six innings May 18 in this very park.

The Nationals also need to hit, which they barely did during the series opener. And they’re going to have to find a way to do that against Miami’s ace, Sandy Alcantara, who enters with a 1.81 ERA, second-best in the National League behind San Diego’s Joe Musgrove. This is the third time Alcantara has faced the Nats this season, and he was dynamite in each of his previous two starts, allowing a total of two runs in 14 innings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MIAMI MARLINS
Where: loanDepot Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

NATIONALS
2B César Hernández
LF Lane Thomas
RF Juan Soto
DH Nelson Cruz
1B Josh Bell
SS Luis García
C Keibert Ruiz
3B Ehire Adrianza
CF Victor Robles

MIAMI – As he walked through the Nationals’ clubhouse Tuesday afternoon, Ehire Adrianza found faces both familiar and unfamiliar. Many of those who came over to say hello were with the veteran utilityman all spring in West Palm Beach, expecting to open the season with him on the roster. Some barely registered during big league camp, only joining the major league club once the regular season began.

It’s been more than two months since Adrianza suffered a left quadriceps strain during the final week of spring training, forcing him first to the 10-day injured list and eventually to the 60-day IL. Now, at last, he’s healthy and on the active roster, finally making his Nats debut during Tuesday night’s loss to the Marlins.

“For me, it’s like opening day right now,” he said. “I’m getting to know the guys a little bit more, and get used to the team. I’m ready to go.”

When he pulled up lame running out a groundball March 31 in Port St. Lucie, Adrianza knew his chances of making the Nationals’ opening day roster had just taken a severe blow. He did not, however, know he wouldn’t be making his season debut until the team’s 57th game.

Turns out the injury required a lengthy period of inactivity, then a slow process of building himself back up, jogging on a gravity-reducing treadmill, then on the field, then finally performing baseball activities before he was ready to play in games. The entire process took more than two months.

MIAMI – Thursday’s return of Stephen Strasburg to the Nationals’ active roster, and the expected debut of top prospects Cade Cavalli (and perhaps Cole Henry) later this summer, serve as legitimately encouraging developments during an otherwise miserable season to date. Those pitchers’ arrivals will be celebrated by the organization and fans alike who desperately want reason to be hopeful about the future.

There is a flip side to the story, though. For every player added to the roster, somebody must be dropped. A group of starters has been given the opportunity to pitch every fifth day through the season’s first two months and make the case to remain here on a permanent basis.

Now those starters can’t help but look over their shoulders and wonder if their time is about to be up.

“I don’t want them to put that kind of pressure on themselves,” manager Davey Martinez said prior to tonight’s series opener against the Marlins. “I just want them to go out there and compete. They’re here for a reason. We felt like they could help us win games. I want them to continue to do that.”

Whether Joan Adon had any of this on his mind, either when he took the mound tonight or when he departed it after surrendering eight runs during what wound up a 12-2 debacle of a loss, is known only by him. The 23-year-old rookie, though, is smart enough to know what’s going on around him. And if he doesn’t, he might just find out the hard way soon.

MIAMI – For the first time in more than a year, Stephen Strasburg is going to pitch for the Nationals.

The veteran right-hander and 2019 World Series MVP will make his long-awaited 2022 debut Thursday night against the Marlins, having finally completed his recovery and rehab from last summer’s thoracic outlet surgery, manager Davey Martinez announced prior to tonight’s series opener.

“He’s excited. I know we’re excited to have him back,” Martinez said. “So he’ll be on the mound Thursday.”

Strasburg’s return had come into clearer focus over the last two weeks as he successfully completed three minor league rehab starts. When he tossed six scoreless innings for Triple-A Rochester on Friday, it seemed like a final step for the 33-year-old.

The only remaining hurdle was a bullpen session Monday here in Miami. Once he made it through that standard, between-starts throwing exercise with no issues, he was declared good to go.