WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Last night was nerve-wracking for the Nationals as the team awaited an update on the injured Daylen Lile, who was carted off the field at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers after flipping over the right-center field wall and taken to a local hospital.

Manager Davey Martinez had a look of relief on his face as he provided the good news this morning that the outfield prospect is going to be OK after being released from the hospital and returning to West Palm Beach.

“He went to the hospital last night, took all the tests and everything,” Martinez said in his office before today’s Grapefruit League game against a Marlins split-squad. “Everything came back negative. He's got a lower back contusion. I mean, he's hurting. But he's gonna be OK, which is great news. We lucked out.”

In the bottom of the seventh of yesterday’s 4-2 loss to the Red Sox, Tyler Miller led off with a long drive off Cole Henry. Playing at “Fenway South” – the Red Sox’s replica field of their iconic ballpark back in Boston – means there’s a 3-foot wall in right-center field in front of the home bullpen.

Going back to try to rob Miller of a home run, Lile flipped over the short wall and landed on his back in the Red Sox ‘pen. The moment immediately turned frightening when Boston relievers called for trainers instead of celebrating the homer.

WEST PALM BEACH – The Nationals are back on the Atlantic Coast side of Florida after yesterday’s cross-state trip to Fort Myers. They’ll be here for the next week before making their final trip to the Gulf Coast side a week from today to face the Twins.

What was supposed to be Trevor Williams’ spring debut turned into Zach Davies’ second start after the Nationals flipped the two starters to have Williams pitch tomorrow. Davies had a strong debut with the Nats on Tuesday, pitching two shutout innings with three strikeouts, two walks and a hit batter. The right-hander threw 23-of-40 pitches for strikes against an Astros lineup that included a lot of big-name regulars.

Today he’ll try to go a little deeper in the game against a Marlins split-squad team. Joan Adon, Tanner Rainey, Robert Garcia and Jose A. Ferrer are among the pitchers listed to follow Davies out of the bullpen.

Among the Nationals regulars in the starting lineup: Lane Thomas is leading off and in right field, James Wood is batting second and making his first appearance in left, Joey Meneses is at first base, Keibert Ruiz is catching, Nick Senzel is at third and Victor Robles is in center.

And hey, what better way to spend your Sunday than watching the game on MASN at 1 p.m.?

JUPITER, Fla. – James Wood, a pleasant young man of few words, was surprised to see reporters waiting to speak to him after today’s game at Roger Dean Stadium, less than 24 hours after the same group interviewed him following the Nationals’ exhibition opener in West Palm Beach.

Sorry, kid. But when you homer in each of your first two Grapefruit League games, you get interviewed.

Wood followed up his impressive debut Saturday night with another impressive feat this afternoon. His 422-foot homer to dead-center in the top of the fifth was the top highlight of the Nats’ 6-3 victory over the Marlins, a second straight titanic blast to make the 21-year-old prospect the clear early story of the spring.

“It’s good to see a kid get off like that early in camp,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He does everything the right way. … I’ve got no complaints. I love watching him play. He’s going to be special.”

Given his first opportunity to start in right field after coming off the bench the previous night against the Astros, Wood went 1-for-2 with that two-run homer and a walk. He also recorded an outfield assist, a rare 9-6 force out when Miami’s Jonathan Davis (leading off first base) froze on a line drive single in the third and was thrown out.

As they sought reasons for optimism one year ago, the Nationals knew they could point to the development of their young players, the potential bounce-back performances of some veterans and improved defense (especially around the infield).

They also hoped Major League Baseball’s new schedule format would make a positive difference.

The 2022 Nats were bad at everything, but they were especially bad at beating their division rivals. They finished an atrocious 17-59 against the NL East, a .224 winning percentage that was the worst by any big-league club since division play began in 1969.

Ah, but in 2023 the schedule underwent its most dramatic makeover since interleague play debuted in 1997. For the first time in baseball history, every NL team would play every AL team in at least one three-game series.

The domino effect of that increase in interleague play: A dramatic drop in intra division games, from 76 (19 vs. each opponent) to 52 (13 vs. each opponent). And boy did the Nationals benefit from that.

When gauging where the Nationals stand in their rebuilding efforts, the simplest answer is to look at their won-loss record since the process began. They went 65-97 in 2021 while starting to tear down the roster. They bottomed out at 55-107 in 2022 after trading Juan Soto. Then they started the climb back up toward contention with a 71-91 record this season, positioning themselves to take another key step forward that could have them on the fringes of contention in 2024.

And there’s nothing wrong with that approach. Sometimes, it’s important to judge a team against itself, not anybody else.

But we do have to acknowledge an important caveat here: The Nats do not exist in a vacuum. They’re one of five teams in the National League East division, one of 15 teams in the NL. Their success ultimately is dependent in many ways on how those other teams do, whether they’re trying to win the division or finish with one of the three best records in the NL among non-division winners to secure a wild card berth.

The Nationals could be better next season, a lot better, and it may not matter if enough other teams in the NL remain ahead of them in the standings.

Which makes their geographic location a bit of a hindrance to the whole rebuild process. As a member of the NL East, the Nats face some additional challenges they wouldn’t face in another division.

If the last week of baseball represented a slow devolve of what had been an uplifting summer for the Nationals, the top of the first inning this afternoon was undoubtedly the low point.

Josiah Gray looked simultaneously lost and irate on the mound after a ragged opening frame that seemed to spell certain doom for the right-hander and his team against a Marlins club that has owned them the last two seasons.

But Gray figured things out just enough to stop the bleeding, and when his teammates rallied to tie the game against Sandy Alcantara, it looked like the weekend might just be salvaged. Until a sloppy top of the ninth spoiled everything and sent the Nats to yet another loss against Miami.

The Marlins scored two runs off closer Kyle Finnegan via two singles, a throwing error and another bloop single, taking a 6-4 lead they would hold in the bottom of the inning to secure the victory on a sweltering Sunday afternoon on South Capitol Street.

Asked to keep the game tied, Finnegan wound up taking his first loss since June 9. He got himself in trouble with a pair of singles sandwiched around a strikeout of Josh Bell, then watched the go-ahead run score on an ill-advised defensive play.

MacKenzie Gore will remain on bereavement leave and miss his next scheduled turn through the rotation.

Gore, who would’ve been on turn to start Tuesday against the Mets, went on bereavement leave Thursday. Manager Davey Martinez said today the left-hander won’t be back in time to make that start and instead will be pushed to a later date.

“When he comes back, we’ll figure out where he’s at,” Martinez said. “I want him to go through his routine, and then we’ll figure out where to plop him. If we have to back off a couple guys a little bit, that would actually be a good thing if we can put him in the middle of those guys. We’ll see how he feels when he gets back.”

Though the circumstances that led to this weren’t intended, the Nationals did want to find a way to give Gore some extra time off down the stretch of his first full big league season. The 24-year-old has totaled 132 1/3 innings, most in his professional career by a significant amount. His previous high was 101 innings in 2019 as a minor leaguer with the Padres. He totaled only 87 innings between the majors and minors last season while missing time with an elbow injury.

Gore last pitched Tuesday in Toronto, allowing one run over five innings but needing 106 pitches to do it. With Patrick Corbin and Joan Adon now scheduled to start a two-game series against the Mets that includes off-days on both the front and back ends, Gore will wind up getting at least 10 days of rest before potentially returning to the mound next weekend against the Dodgers.

Here’s some good news for you on this Sunday morning: This is the last time the Nationals will face the Marlins this season. Here’s some bad news: They’ve got to face Sandy Alcantara in today’s series finale, trying to avoid a four-game sweep and trying to avoid falling to 2-11 against Miami this year.

Alcantara isn’t having a Cy Young season; he’s 6-12 with a 4.23 ERA. And the Nats did hit him around the only time they faced him this year, scoring five runs on 10 hits back on June 16. They’ve got a very different lineup right now, though, with several young players who have never faced the electric right-hander before. We’ll see how they fare against him.

Josiah Gray gets the start for the Nationals, and this is an important one for him, no matter the opponent. Gray lasted only two innings in Toronto on Monday night, pulled after throwing a whopping 63 pitches. He has not been the same guy he was in the first half of the season, and he’s suddenly in danger of seeing all the good things he did earlier get lost in the shuffle with a rough finish. A bounceback performance today against a Miami team he held to one earned run over seven innings back in June would be wonderful.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MIAMI MARLINS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 91 degrees, wind 7 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
DH Keibert Ruiz
LF Travis Blankenhorn
2B Jake Alu
3B Ildemaro Vargas
1B Dominic Smith
C Drew Millas
CF Jacob Young

The Nationals signed Trevor Williams in December to help stabilize the back of their rotation, enticing the veteran right-hander with a two-year, $13 million deal after he had success as a swingman for the Mets.

The thinking: Williams could provide valuable innings for a rotation that was short on proven arms, then potentially transition to the bullpen if enough young starters established their worth.

As the season enters its final weeks, Williams’ performance suggests his hold on a starting job should be tenuous. But without enough young alternatives presenting themselves, the Nats may have no choice but to just stick with the struggling right-hander the way Davey Martinez stuck with him today during a disastrous outing.

Williams was battered around Nationals Park by a Marlins lineup that launched four homers off him in the span of four innings en route to an 11-5 blowout that spoiled an otherwise splendid September Saturday afternoon at the yard.

The homers kept getting more damaging, from a pair of seemingly harmless solo shots to a pair of three-run blasts that put the game out of reach no matter how many outs still needed to be recorded.

Johnny DiPuglia, the Nationals’ longtime head of international scouting, has resigned after nearly 15 years with the organization, creating an opening for a prominent position within the front office as its longtime general manager continues to negotiate his own extension.

DiPuglia confirmed his resignation but did not offer details of the move, which was first reported by the Washington Post.

Initially hired in 2009, DiPuglia was tasked with overhauling a Latin American scouting and development operation that was in disarray following a scandal involving the falsifying of supposed top prospect Esmailyn Gonzalez’s name, age and playing ability. That scandal wound up costing both former GM Jim Bowden and special assistant Jose Rijo their jobs, with Mike Rizzo ascending to the GM position and hiring DiPuglia away from the Red Sox, where he served as Latin American scouting director.

Over the ensuing decade-plus, DiPuglia, 60, was rewarded with several promotions, most recently named vice president and assistant GM for international operations in November 2019. One month later, he was honored at baseball’s Winter Meetings with the Professional Scouts International Scout of the Year Award.

Under DiPuglia’s watch, the Nationals both spent considerable money on Latin American prospects and watched several of them become major leaguers, with Juan Soto headlining a group that also includes Victor Robles, Luis García, Joan Adon, Jose A. Ferrer, Wander Suero, Reynaldo López, Wilmer Difo, Jefry Rodriguez and Israel Pineda.

One bad week isn’t going to undo everything positive the Nationals have done over the previous six weeks. But you’d sure rather not let this losing streak linger much longer, right? They’ve dropped three in a row, not to mention five of their last six, for the first time since the first week of July.

They’ll try to reverse that trend this afternoon against a Marlins team that continues to beat them with far more regularity than anyone around here would prefer. Aside from a solid couple of days in Miami last weekend, the Nats have been abysmal against their division foes: 2-9 this season, 6-24 over the last two seasons.

A lineup that has struggled but did manage three solo homers Friday night will be facing veteran Johnny Cueto, whose season has twice been disrupted by stints on the injured list, once for biceps tendinitis and most recently for a viral infection. What the crafty 37-year-old, who was roughed up in his last four starts before getting sick, has left in the tank is anyone’s guess.

Trevor Williams gets the start for the Nationals, hoping to build off back-to-back strong outings against the Phillies and these same Marlins. He allowed only two runs and went seven innings Sunday in Miami, taking a tough-luck 2-1 loss. After using six of his seven relievers during Friday’s 11-inning loss, Davey Martinez could certainly use a comparable start today from Williams.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MIAMI MARLINS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 84 degrees, wind 7 mph out to left field

Lane Thomas didn’t like it when someone would bring up his homerless streak to begin the season, and he didn’t like it when someone would bring up his torrid power display through the early portion of the summer. So he obviously didn’t want someone to bring up the fact he had been in another long homerless streak prior to Friday night’s game.

“It’s a long season. I think at some point you go through a little drought,” he said. “It felt good to put a few good swings on it tonight.”

Thomas did put several good swings on the ball Friday against the Marlins, most notably on his leadoff homer in the bottom of the third. That 430-foot blast to left field was his 21st home run of the season, but his first in a long time.

Thomas notably hit his first homer of 2023 on May 1. He proceeded to hit 20 of them over his next 86 games, a stretch that ended Aug. 8. Since then? Nothing until Friday, a 21-game stretch that saw him bat just .221 and slug just .299.

The outfielder has always been streaky since joining the Nationals, but he seemed to turn a corner earlier this year when he went on a sustained tear at the plate that made him a bona fide All-Star candidate and perhaps solidified his place in the organization’s plans beyond this season.

The Nationals’ winning month of August was defined by success late in games, both at the plate by an opportunistic lineup and on the mound by a lockdown bullpen.

On the first night of September, they showed it might be tough to keep that going through the season's final month.

Despite rallying to tie the game in the bottom of the 10th, the Nationals couldn't overcome an ugly top of the 11th and wound up on the wrong end of an 8-5 loss to the Marlins, suddenly their fifth loss in six days.

Robert Garcia and Mason Thompson, the Nats' fifth and sixth relievers of the night, combined to allow those four decisive runs in the 11th, the first of those scoring in the form of the automatic runner, the others scoring in more conventional fashion.

Garcia, returning to the mound after a two-inning, 28-pitch appearance Thursday night, surrendered three straight singles to open the inning. Thompson then replaced him and immediately served up a two-run homer to Garrett Hampson to cap the rally and make it all the more difficult for the Nationals to bounce back again in the bottom of the inning.

Afforded the opportunity to expand their roster now that the calendar has shifted to September, the Nationals chose to add an outfielder with some prior big league experience and a reliever who has already made several stints in D.C. this season.

The Nats promoted outfielder Travis Blankenhorn and right-hander Amos Willingham from Triple-A Rochester, adding the one extra position player and one extra pitcher allotted by Major League Baseball for the season’s final month.

This is the fourth time the Nationals have called up Willingham, who has allowed 14 runs and 24 hits in 14 innings as a big leaguer. He may not stick here for long, with MacKenzie Gore set to return from bereavement leave in the coming days and Tanner Rainey nearing completion of his rehab assignment from last summer’s Tommy John surgery.

Blankenhorn, who spent the entire season in Rochester to this point, should get a more extended look as the Nats try to evaluate several players who are trying to force their way into the club’s long-term plans before top prospects Dylan Crews, James Wood, Brady House and Robert Hassell III make their major league debuts.

A 27-year-old outfielder with 26 games of prior big league experience with the Twins and Mets, Blankenhorn was a non-roster invitee to spring training and then spent the last five months at Triple-A, where he hit .262/.360/.517 with 23 homers and 75 RBIs across 455 plate appearances.

As well as they played for a good six weeks, the Nationals are kind of slipping a bit of late. They’ve lost four of their last five games, and a big part of the problem has been a lack of offense. The Nats have scored only 10 runs over those five games, totaling 30 hits, only six of those for extra bases. More, obviously, is needed.

The return of Lane Thomas to the lineup after missing Thursday’s game with a tight back would help, though he’s been slumping himself. Perhaps newly promoted outfielder Travis Blankenhorn, called up from Triple-A Rochester this afternoon, will provide a spark and some power.

Jake Irvin gets the start for the Nationals, and he quietly has become their most consistently effective starter. Over his last 13 outings, the rookie right-hander has a 3.64 ERA. And he’s allowed two or fewer runs in seven of those starts, often completing six innings. Another such performance tonight against the Marlins would be great.

The Nats have another arm in their bullpen as well, with Amos Willingham recalled from Triple-A as the roster expands to 28 active players. Reliever Rico Garcia, who had been on the 15-day injured list, was released to clear a 40-man spot for Blankenhorn.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MIAMI MARLINS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 76 degrees, wind 6 mph out to left field

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.”

After a successful 5-4 road trip, the Nationals have returned home to begin a nine-game homestand, starting with four games this weekend against the Marlins.

A team they have struggled to beat since the start of last season, the Nationals finally won a series against the Fish, taking two of three against their division rivals in Miami last weekend. While the Nats have been winning over the last two months (29-19 in their last 47 games), the Marlins have been falling down the standings by dipping below .500 for the first time since May with a loss to the Rays last night.

Joan Adon will get his second start against the Marlins in less than a week. He impressed Friday by completing six shutout innings with no walks and three hits while earning just his third major league win. The young right-hander will try to reverse his fortunes at home tonight: He has a 10.29 ERA over two starts at Nationals Park compared to a 2.25 ERA in his two road starts.

Braxton Garrett will also get his second chance at the Nationals in less than a week, as he was Adon’s opposition last week in Miami. The left-hander turned in a quality start with three runs over six innings, but that was enough to charge him with the loss. He tossed six innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts here back in June.

There was a pregame roster move to report: The Nationals placed MacKenzie Gore on the bereavement list and recalled Joe La Sorsa to the active roster. Gore was possibly in line to start Sunday if the Nats decided to give Josiah Gray extra rest after his bullpen session tomorrow. If not Gore nor Gray for Sunday, they could use a bullpen game instead, especially with rosters expanding to 28 players tomorrow.

MIAMI – A little over a month ago, the Nationals still had the longest streak without a three-game series sweep in major league history. Then, in a weekend series at home against the Giants, they finally pulled off their first sweep since June 14-16, 2021 against the Pirates.

They’ve repeated that feat twice more since, and entered today’s finale against the Marlins with a chance for their fourth sweep in a month after going more than two years without one.

Although they weren’t able to complete this one, suffering a 2-1 loss to the Marlins in front of 17,216 fans at loanDepot Park, the Nationals will still leave town with their eighth series win in their last 10 attempts.

"We had a couple of opportunities and we couldn't capitalize on them. So that's how it goes," said manager Davey Martinez after the game. "We're gonna come back tomorrow, we're playing well. Let's forget about this one, come back tomorrow and go 1-0 tomorrow.”

Trevor Williams turned in his second consecutive impressive start, giving the Nationals a strong chance at the sweep.

MIAMI – Remember that time earlier this year when the Nationals were searching for their first series sweep in over two years to break the longest major league streak without one?

Well, here they are now in search of their fourth series sweep since the All-Star break. Oh, and have we mentioned the fact that the Nats are only four games behind these Marlins in the National League East and only seven games back from a Wild Card spot?

Trevor Williams will lead the charge as he looks to follow up one of his best starts of the season. He pitched six shutout innings of two-hit ball against the Phillies in Sunday’s Little League Classic. He’s 0-1 with a 6.97 ERA and 1.548 WHIP in two starts against the Marlins this year, including giving up three runs with five strikeouts over six innings in a start here in May.

Right-hander JT Chargois will start a bullpen game for the Fish. He’s 1-0 with a 3.56 ERA and 1.154 WHIP in 32 appearances this year. After pitching a scoreless ninth inning Friday, he has four shutout outings against the Nats in his career.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MIAMI MARLINS
Where: loanDepot Park
Gametime: 1:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

MIAMI – The Nationals have been playing great ball lately. After last night’s 7-4 win over the Marlins – their first of the season against the Fish and first in Miami since last season – they were in line to win their fifth straight series this afternoon.

A sign of their good play recently is the amount of close games they’ve been in. Four of their last five wins have been by just a one-run margin. These Nats are as scrappy as ever after making it five of their last six.

The Nationals won another tight game in front of 13,966 fans at loanDepot Park, this time thanks to a ninth-inning rally for a 3-2 win.

“That was a good one," said manager Davey Martinez. "That's a well-played game."

The Nats tied it in the ninth after Lane Thomas hit a leadoff triple to right-center and Joey Meneses was hit by a pitch, with Jacob Young making his major league debut as a pinch-runner at first. But Dominic Smith’s hard-hit ball was fielded by Luis Arraez, who then threw out Thomas at home. An infield popout by Carter Kieboom put two outs on the board.