Before we turn our attention to the Nationals’ No. 2 overall pick in tonight’s MLB Draft and the upcoming All-Star Game festivities, there is still one more game to be played before the unofficial first half of the season ends.

The Nats will look to close this first part of the season on a high note, one of the few they’ve seen at home this season. They have lost 15 of their last 17 home games and need a win this afternoon for some sort of momentum heading into the break.

Patrick Corbin will hope to lead the Nats to that victory in his 19th start. The left-hander is 5-10 with a 5.13 ERA and 1.593 WHIP this season. He got knocked around for six runs and 10 hits over five innings during his July 4 start against the Reds, which came after one of his best starts as a National in the form of seven shutout innings and nine strikeouts against the Mariners. Corbin is 4-3 with a 4.75 ERA and 1.373 WHIP in eight interleague starts this season.

A familiar face will start for the Rangers. Dane Dunning was a first-round pick (29th overall) by the Nats in the 2016 draft. The University of Florida product was traded that December along with Lucas Giolito and Renaldo López to the White Sox in exchange for Adam Eaton. Dunning was traded again in 2020 to the Rangers as part of the two-player package for Lance Lynn.

The 28-year-old right-hander is enjoying his best year in the majors with an 8-1 record, 2.61 ERA and 1.100 WHIP over 19 appearances (11 starts). He’s pitched to a 2.28 ERA over his last four starts, allowing no more than two runs in any of them. His only start against the Nationals came last year here in D.C., when he completed six innings of one-run ball while taking a no-decision in the Nats’ 2-1 win.

Over the last five First-Year Player Drafts, the Nationals have focused on stockpiling pitchers. Thirty of their first 49 selections since 2015 have been pitchers. The Nats have built up their minor leagues with these hurlers and used some of them in big trades that brought players that helped to bring a world championship to D.C. In the 2019 draft, the Nationals selected five pitchers in their first 10 rounds, along with one catcher, one shortstop, one third baseman and one outfielder. The...

It was one of the big trades of the 2016 winter meetings at National Harbor, Md. The Nationals sent three pitchers to the White Sox for outfielder Adam Eaton. In exchange, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López and Dane Dunning were traded to Chicago. Fast-forward to April 2020. Here is a quick look at how this trade in late 2016 affected both teams. The Nationals were in dire need of a starting outfielder who could be a workhorse at the top of the lineup. Eaton fit that bill. But a major injury to...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - There weren't a whole lot of positives to come out of the Nationals' 7-1 exhibition loss to the Marlins yesterday, but if you squinted hard enough you might have come away finding a few developments worth smiling about. For example: Ryan Zimmerman's baserunning. This isn't typically something that gets noticed, good or bad, but something noteworthy did happen during the bottom of the second inning. First up, Zimmerman beat out a grounder to third for an infield...

The Nationals look to stockpile their team for the future as the 2018 First-Year Player Draft gets underway tonight. The club has the No. 27 and No. 65 selections in the first two rounds. According to Baseball America, the Nationals will have a bonus pool of $5,603,800 to work with, which ranks 27th in allotted monies league-wide. Due to the team's on-field success in recent campaigns, they have selected in the lower half of each first round: Erick Fedde (18th, 2014), Carter Kieboom (28th,...

With Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning traded to the Chicago White Sox, one remaining pitching prospect who had his name brought up a lot in offseason trade talks takes center stage. Right-hander Erick Fedde appears to be close to making a big splash with the Nationals after gaining momentum with a solid 2016. The 23-year-old pitched in 18 games (17 starts) with high Single-A Potomac, then was promoted to Double-A Harrisburg. Fedde pitched well in five starts for the Senators....

Accelerating thanks to an incredible end to his Arizona Fall League play, right-hander Austin Voth comes in at No. 10 on the recently released released Baseball America Nationals top 10 prospects list. No. 10: RHP Austin Voth Voth tossed 15 scoreless innings to wrap up his season with the Glendale Desert Dogs. Teddy Cahill, Baseball America's national writer, said Voth's overall numbers this season in the Nationals system, plus his ability to accumulate a ton of innings, gives reason to...

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Lucas Giolito didn't waste any time in embracing his new team after being traded to the White Sox in a deal that netted the Nationals outfielder Adam Eaton. Fans, media and baseball executives were still processing this afternoon's trade - right-handers Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning for Eaton - when Giolito changed his team affiliation on his Twitter account and posted a heartfelt goodbye to the organization that drafted and developed him. "Today is both an...

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - The Nationals knew all along the price tag to acquire the kind of impact players they were seeking in trades would be steep. And so when the opportunity arose this week to acquire one of their primary outfield targets, Adam Eaton, they knew they'd have to make the tough call to deal away not one, not two, but three of their most prized possessions: Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning. "You've got to give to get," general manager Mike Rizzo said in formally...

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - The Nationals are about to acquire their much-desired new outfielder in a trade, but it's not the guy who has drawn most of the headlines over the last week. The Nats and White Sox have agreed to a deal that would bring Adam Eaton to Washington in exchange for pitching prospects Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning, according to a source familiar with the talks. The trade's completion is still contingent upon the review of all players' medical records, but...

The Nationals announced the signing of pitcher Dane Dunning, the second of their two first-round picks, the final significant member of this year's draft class that had yet to come to terms. Dunning received a $2 million signing bonus, according to a club source, which is just below slot value for the 29th selection in this year's draft. A 6-foot-4 right-hander from the University of Florida, Dunning held off signing until now in part because he was still pitching for the Gators in the...

The Nationals and top draft pick Carter Kieboom agreed to terms this week on a deal that will pay the 18-year-old shortstop a $2 million signing bonus, a source familiar with the decision confirmed. That amount, which was first reported by MLB.com's Jim Callis, is roughly the same as Major League Baseball's predetermined slot amount of $2,065,900 for the 28th overall selection in last week's draft. The club has yet to announce Kieboom's signing, but he appeared at Nationals Park on Monday,...

The Nationals selected nine Division I college baseball players out of their first 11 picks in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft. In that lot, eight were position players, including two catchers. In a rare move for the Nationals, only three of their top 11 selections were pitchers. But when asked about that development, Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo was not surprised. "The players that we took certainly fell to us where we felt we were very, very...

The Nationals went to the college ranks with their second selection in Thursday's night's first round of the First-Year Player Draft And as it turned out, seven of their first nine selections were from Division I college baseball. With the 29th pick, the Nats selected right-hander Dane Dunning out of the University of Florida. The Gators are in the NCAA super regionals against Florida State this weekend. The winner gets a ticket to Omaha and the College World Series. Florida's starting...

The Nationals have been impressed with the growth and ability of catcher Spencer Kieboom. The fifth-round selection in 2012 was placed on the 40-man roster November 20, 2015, alongside left-hander Nick Lee and infielder Chris Bostick. Kieboom is currently a catcher at Double-A Harrisburg. And staying in the family to begin the 2016 First-Year Player Draft, the Nationals selected Spencer's little brother, shortstop Carter Kieboom, out of Walton (Ga.) high school. Carter was selected with the...