With spotlight on Crews and Soto, Judge steals the show (updated)

They came to see Dylan Crews do something big in his major league debut. They left having seen a pedestrian night from the Nationals’ top prospect, three big blasts from the Yankees’ potent lineup and three soul-crushing catches at the wall that spoiled any chance of a victory on one of the most anticipated nights in recent franchise history.

Gleyber Torres, Austin Wells and Jazz Chisholm Jr. each homered, and though Aaron Judge did not, the majors’ leading home run hitter did rob two potential bombs at the wall in center to dazzle a bipartisan crowd of 32,812 and steal the show during a 5-2 New York win on a night that belonged neither to Crews nor Juan Soto.

Crews, the Nats’ first-round pick in last summer’s draft, went 0-for-3 with a walk, a strikeout, a flyout and a groundout in his first career game. It was a rather uneventful night for the 22-year-old, whose biggest moment may have been a fourth-inning throw from right field that just missed nailing Anthony Volpe at the plate.

"First off, playing against the Yankees, and playing against Judge and Soto for the first time, it was a pretty surreal moment going out there," he said. "And obviously playing with my new team I'm playing on now, the Nationals, it's a great feeling. I'm just going to come out tomorrow and do it all over again."

Batting second behind CJ Abrams and in front of James Wood, Crews came up to bat with runners on base only once; he struck out with two on and one out in the sixth, unable to connect with a 3-2 fastball from Nestor Cortes.

Crews completes young trio atop Nats lineup in debut

The day has finally come for Dylan Crews’ major league debut. After James Wood reached the big leagues for the first time on July 1, the Nationals’ newest top prospect will play his first game in a curly W cap tonight against the Yankees.

And if you take a look at manager Davey Martinez’s lineup for the opener of a three-game set against the American League East leaders (and Juan Soto), there’s a lot to be excited about at the top.

CJ Abrams, Crews and Wood will bat in the first three spots in the order, respectively, making the top portion of the lineup filled with three of the organization’s young cornerstone pieces.

“We're facing a left-handed pitcher,” Martinez said during his pregame media session in a jam-packed press conference room at Nationals Park. “It just made sense to put him in between Abrams and Wood. So kind of exciting to see those three together. We've been waiting a little while, but I really believe that this is another piece to the puzzle and to our future. So I'm excited for the kid and his family. We're all excited here. I know Nats fans should be excited. But he's one of 26. That's what I told him today: Go out there, play, have fun, be where your feet are, and let's go try to win a game and go 1-0.”

Crews hit .270 with 21 doubles, six triples, 13 home runs, 68 RBsI, 36 walks, 25 stolen bases and 60 runs scored in 100 games between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester this season. But he was on a tear at Triple-A leading up to his promotion to the big leagues.

Adams sent down, Law throws off mound, García sits again

Dylan Crews’ arrival had to come at someone’s expense. And though they don’t play the same position, technically his roster spot with the Nationals was previously occupied by Riley Adams, who was optioned to Triple-A Rochester after Sunday’s game in Atlanta.

Adams had to be worried the clock was ticking when the Nats called up Drew Millas on Saturday, giving the team three catchers for the first time in a long time. Sure enough, Millas started Sunday’s game, recorded two hits in the Nats’ 5-1 victory and remains with the big league club while Adams heads back to Rochester for the second time this season.

It’s been a rocky 2024 for Adams, who entered with high hopes of providing a quality bat behind starter Keibert Ruiz and also improving his defensive work behind the plate. But though the 28-year-old got off to a good start and performed well when Ruiz had to go on the injured list in April with a back case of the flu, he never found a way to maintain that kind of production.

In 41 total major league games this season, Adams is batting .224 with a .292 on-base percentage, five doubles, two homers, eight RBIs and a .629 OPS. He has thrown out only 3-of-34 basestealers.

The Nationals sent Adams down once before, in early June when he was struggling, and he proceeded to deliver a .946 OPS in 22 games with Rochester. That earned him a trip back to D.C. in early July, but Adams’ Triple-A offensive success didn’t carry over to the majors.

Game 132 lineups: Nats vs. Yankees

It’s a big night on South Capitol Street, and that would’ve already been the case without Dylan Crews crashing the proceedings. Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and the Yankees are in town, and that would be the big storyline under any other circumstances. But now we’ve got the added drama of the latest top prospect to debut for the Nationals.

Crews, who is in right field, joins a Nats lineup that already features James Wood, CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. They’ll all be facing left-hander Nestor Cortes, who is having a decent but not great season. Cortes enters with a 4.00 ERA and 1.153 WHIP in 26 starts, his biggest issue an inability to keep the ball in the yard. Opponents have hit 21 homers off him, though only two in his last five starts. And in each of his last two starts, he’s tossed seven scoreless innings on three hits with zero walks. So the young Nationals have their work cut out for them. Crews, by the way, will bat second in his debut. (And for those who didn't hear the news Sunday night, Riley Adams was optioned to Triple-A Rochester to clear the roster spot for him.)

So does Mitchell Parker, who faces probably the toughest lineup he’s had to face yet as a big leaguer. The rookie lefty was really good against the Rockies last week (one run, five hits in seven innings) but in his previous start he was torched by the Phillies for nine runs in three-plus innings. Suffice it to say, the Yankees lineup bears more resemblance to the Phillies than the Rockies.

There are a few storm cells set to roll through the area this afternoon, but (fingers crossed) the forecast looks OK for this evening, setting up a big Monday at the ballpark.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs NEW YORK YANKEES
Where:
Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Storms ending, 83 degrees, wind 7 mph out to right field

Crews gets the call

Outfielder Dylan Crews, one of the top prospects in all of baseball, is set to make his Major League debut tonight against the New York Yankees, as the organization today announced the selection of his contract. In a corresponding move, Washington optioned catcher Riley Adams to Triple-A Rochester on Sunday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

The No. 3 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com, Crews hit .270 with 21 doubles, six triples, 13 home runs, 68 RBI, 36 walks, 25 stolen bases and 60 runs scored in 100 games between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester this season. He ranks among Nationals full-season Minor Leaguers in extra-base hits (2nd, 40), triples (2nd, 6), slugging percentage (3rd , .451), OPS (3rd, .793), RBI (3rd, 68), doubles (T3rd, 21), home runs (4th, 13), average (4th, .270) and stolen bases (T4th, 25).

According to Baseball America, Crews is the No. 4 prospect in baseball, the “Best Defensive Outfielder” in the International League and the “Best Hitter for Average” in Washington’s Minor League system. He was promoted to Triple-A Rochester on June 18 represented the Nationals in the 2024 All-Star Futures Game in July.

The 22-year-old Crews joins the Nationals after hitting .309 (21-for-68) with a .385 on-base percentage (5 BB, 4 HBP) and a .529 slugging percentage (2B, 3B, 4 HR) in 16 games since Aug. 3. He reached base safely in all 16 games and has hit safely in 13 of the 16.

Crews made his professional debut in 2023, hitting .292 with nine doubles, five homers, 29 RBI, 14 walks, four stolen bases and 26 runs scored in 35 games between the FCL Nationals, Single-A Fredericksburg and Double-A Harrisburg. He was named Carolina League Player of the Week in his first week in the league after going 12-for-29 (.414) with two doubles, three home runs and 14 RBI in six games.

Crews' star-studded debut will be something to see

ATLANTA – James Wood hasn’t been a big leaguer long enough to offer much advice to anyone, but he has been a big leaguer long enough to share some words of wisdom with Dylan Crews as the latter prepares to debut tonight for the Nationals.

“I remember it was a lot, in a good way,” Wood said of his first major league game just eight short weeks ago. “You’ve just kind of got to take it all in. You only get one of them. I’d just tell him to enjoy it.”

There are no shortage of similarities between the two events. Each highly rated outfield prospect will have debuted on a Monday night. Each in the first game of a weeklong homestand. Each against a team that hails from New York.

Here’s the biggest difference for Crews: His debut is coming against the Yankees, with Juan Soto (and, oh yeah, Aaron Judge) in the other dugout.

As far as star-studded debuts, this is about as big as it gets. Bryce Harper played his first big league game at Dodger Stadium, with Stephen Strasburg on the mound, but the most notable Dodger on the field that night in 2012 was Matt Kemp. Strasburg’s 2010 debut was perhaps the most hyped in history, but it came against an inferior Pirates club that had a young Andrew McCutchen leading off and – believe it or not – Lastings Milledge batting third.

Herz, fellow rookies lead Nats to victory in Atlanta (updated)

ATLANTA – There are more promising young players to come, especially the one scheduled to make his major league debut Monday night in D.C. But the Nationals already are awfully young even before Dylan Crews joins them.

Of the nine players in today’s starting lineup, five were rookies. So was the starting pitcher. That made this first time the franchise has started six rookies in a game since 2010, according to Elias Sports. And they added a reliever as well today, bringing the total number to seven.

Sometimes youth has gotten the best of the Nats, who have a penchant for sloppy baserunning, sloppy defense and a lack of clutch hitting. And sometimes it comes together beautifully as it did this afternoon, when DJ Herz tossed five scoreless innings, Drew Millas and Jacob Young contributed clutch hits late and Eduardo Salazar helped bridge the gap to Kyle Finnegan, who notched a four-out save to close out a 5-1 victory over the Braves.

"Everybody's just figuring it out," Herz said. "And it's fun when we put it all together."

In avoiding a weekend sweep at Truist Park, the Nationals also clinched the season series over Atlanta, having gone 7-4 with two games still to go next month on South Capitol Street. It’s the first time they’ve done that since 2017.

As Nats wait for House to arrive, Tena seizing his opportunity

ATLANTA – As he rounded the bases in the top of the second Saturday night, having just connected for his first major league home run, José Tena’s smile could be seen throughout Truist Park. And when he crossed the plate and returned to the dugout, the Nationals’ 23-year-old rookie went right to Luis García Jr. and offered an even wider grin.

“I kept running the bases with a big smile on my face,” Tena said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “Thank God for giving me my first opportunity to hit my first home run.”

And thank García for providing Tena with a little extra motivation.

The Nats second baseman is only one year older than Tena, but he’s got 407 more games of big league experience and has taken his new teammate under his wing. And though Tena had been delivering hit after hit since joining the club earlier this month, García jokingly asked him Saturday when he was finally going to hit his first home run.

“I’m so proud of him,” García said with a smile as wide as Tena’s was after the homer.

Game 131 lineups: Nats at Braves

ATLANTA – Good morning from Truist Park, where the Nationals and Braves wrap up their weekend series with an extra-early, 12:05 p.m. first pitch today. It’s another “MLB Sunday Leadoff on Roku” game, so you’ll only be able to watch this game via streaming devices. Here’s how you can watch for free.

The Nats have lost two incredibly winnable games the last two nights – 3-2 in 10 innings, 4-2 in regulation – and they should be frustrated by the fact they didn’t win either of those games. They have a chance to rectify that today and finally clinch the season series over Atlanta, something, remarkably, they haven’t done since 2017.

It’s DJ Herz on the mound, and the rookie has been quite good since the All-Star break: a 3.07 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings. He faced the Braves in his second career start back in early June and did OK, allowing two runs over 4 1/3 innings, though he needed 87 pitches to do it. The lefty has come a long way since then and will look to continue the upward trend this afternoon.

The Nationals will be facing a familiar face in Reynaldo López, the one-time prospect-turned-All-Star who continues to enjoy a breakthrough season here in Atlanta with a 2.05 ERA and 1.195 WHIP in 20 starts. The right-hander gave up two runs (via solo homers by CJ Abrams and Lane Thomas) over six innings in a June 6 no-decision. Abrams is leading off today, but obviously Thomas is no longer here. Interesting to see Drew Millas behind the plate for this one, with Keibert Ruiz serving as designated hitter and Riley Adams sitting.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ATLANTA BRAVES
Where:
Truist Park

Gametime: 12:05 p.m. EDT
TV: Roku
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 80 degrees, wind 7 mph left field to right field

Disastrous sixth inning looms large for Nats in loss to Braves (updated)

ATLANTA – Davey Martinez has managed games of far more significance since joining the Nationals in 2018, but since Day One he has treated every single one of them the same way, forever looking just to "go 1-0 today."

So Martinez managed his 1,000th career game with the same goal as any of the previous 999, which meant doing whatever he thought necessary to try to beat the Braves tonight in another tight, low-scoring affair.

That meant pulling starter Jake Irvin after 5 1/3 innings with a pitch count of 83 and entrusting a big moment to Robert Garcia, a move that backfired and ultimately led to the Nats’ 4-2 loss before a sellout crowd at Truist Park.

Pitching for the third straight day, Garcia gave up the game-tying and go-ahead runs during a ragged bottom of the sixth that defined this affair. And when fellow left-hander Joe La Sorsa surrendered an insurance run in the eighth and the Nationals lineup continued to come up short with runners in scoring position (0-for-9), Martinez’s 550th career loss became official.

The Nats also missed out on a second straight opportunity to clinch a season series against the Braves for the first time since 2017. They’re still 6-4 against Atlanta this year, still needing to win one of the final three head-to-head matchups.

Call lands on 10-day IL with Millas taking roster spot for now

ATLANTA – Though his injury didn’t prove to be as devastating as it appeared to everyone who watched it happen Friday night, Alex Call still did need to be placed on the injured list today with a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his left foot.

The Nationals made that transaction this afternoon, officially putting Call on the 10-day IL and recalling catcher Drew Millas from Triple-A Rochester to take his roster spot for now.

Call hurt himself charging in from right field in the bottom of the second on a shallow fly ball that ultimately was caught by second baseman Luis García Jr. Call fell to the ground in agony about 20 feet behind García, suffering a non-contact injury that left him and plenty others worried he had torn his Achilles’ tendon.

But the 29-year-old, who had been trying to play through a case of plantar fasciitis, felt the “snap” in his foot, not ankle. And though he had to be carted off the field, an MRI of the foot revealed the tear of the fascia, which actually left him encouraged at night’s end.

The injury is serious enough to require an IL stint, though the Nats don’t know yet how long that stint will be.

Game 130 lineups: Nats at Braves

ATLANTA – There were a lot of encouraging things about Friday night’s game for the Nationals. Except for the one thing that matters more than anything else: the outcome. Their 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Braves was ugly, with CJ Abrams committing a throwing error to allow the winning run to score.

So, they’ll have to dust themselves off and try to get back on track tonight in the second game of the weekend series, hoping to score more than two runs this time. They’ll be facing a seemingly less daunting opposing pitcher in Charlie Morton, the 40-year-old right-hander with a 4.29 ERA. The Nats have roughed up Morton twice this season, scoring 13 runs on 19 hits in 10 2/3 scoreless innings. Abrams (4-for-9, two homers) has excellent numbers against him, though you have to also note the two others with awful career numbers against him: Luis García Jr. (2-for-16, seven strikeouts) and Joey Gallo (0-for-20, two walks, 16 strikeouts).

Jake Irvin has been outstanding in his two starts against Atlanta this season, totaling 12 scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts. The right-hander is still trying to right his wayward ship overall, though, having posted a 6.20 ERA over his last eight starts, victimized by a whopping 14 homers in the process.

The Nationals did make a roster move this afternoon, officially placing Alex Call on the 10-day injured list with a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his left foot. For now, his replacement is Drew Millas, giving the team three catchers through the rest of the weekend. We’ll have to see what they decide to do Monday when they promote Dylan Crews from Triple-A and have to remove someone from the roster to make room for the top prospect.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ATLANTA BRAVES
Where:
Truist Park

Gametime: 7:20 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 84 degrees, wind 7 mph left field to right field

Millas recalled as Call goes on IL

The Washington Nationals recalled catcher Drew Millas from Triple-A Rochester and placed outfielder Alex Call on the 10-day Injured List with a partial tear of the plantar fascia (left foot) on Saturday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Millas, 26, hit .311 with 13 doubles, three triples, a career-high nine home runs, 35 RBI, 18 walks, 10 stolen bases and 32 runs scored in 60 games for Triple-A Rochester this season. He is 11-for-23 (.478) with two doubles, a triple and a home run in his last five games.

This is Millas’ fourth Major League stint of 2024. He’s appeared in 11 games, going 5-for-30 (.167) with a double, homer, one RBI, two walks, two stolen bases and two runs scored in his second Major League season.

Call, 29, was hitting .343 with nine doubles, three homers, 14 RBI, 12 walks, five stolen bases and 15 runs scored in 30 games prior to suffering the injury on Friday night against Atlanta.

Please see the attached document for the updated 26-man roster.

Why the Nats aren't likely to bump up Crews' debut

ATLANTA – The Nationals determined Friday they were ready to promote Dylan Crews to the major leagues. But not until Monday, when the team opens a high-profile, three-game home series against the Yankees.

It all makes sense, of course. Teams are always going to try to let their top prospects debut at home, reaping the benefits of the extra attention (and extra ticket sales) that come with that. But it was impossible not to at least ponder one particular question Friday afternoon: If the Nats have already decided Crews is ready to play in the big leagues, why not call him up immediately?

That question became even more pertinent in the bottom of the second inning Friday night, when Alex Call came charging in from right field on a shallow fly ball and felt something snap in his left foot. As Call was being carted off the field in pain, it was only natural to wonder what the team would do to replace him, and whether Crews’ debut would suddenly be bumped up 48 hours.

“I don’t know that yet,” manager Davey Martinez said when asked directly about the possibility after the game, a 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Braves. “I’ve got to talk to (general manager Mike Rizzo).”

It may become moot if Call’s injury turns out not to be as serious as it looked in the moment. He was cautiously optimistic by night’s end that he avoided catastrophe, that he had only felt the already stretched plantar fascia in his foot snap, which could actually relieve the pain he had been experiencing and allow him to return to the field in short order. Perhaps he might not even need to go on the injured list.

Nats fall to Braves on Abrams' 10th-inning error (updated)

ATLANTA – They got the best start they’d seen from MacKenzie Gore in weeks. They got nine hits off Chris Sale and found a way to push across two runs despite a lineup missing CJ Abrams and Luis García Jr. They overcame what appeared to be a serious left foot injury to Alex Call that could throw a wrench into their plans to promote top prospect Dylan Crews three days from now.

The Nationals put themselves in position for an unlikely win over the Braves tonight, if only they could finish the job late.

Alas, they could not. Unable to push across another run late despite several opportunities, they instead watched as Atlanta won 3-2 on Abrams’ throwing error with two outs in the bottom of the 10th.

"It sucks," the All-Star shortstop said. "We all fought. It came down to the wire, extra innings. We wanted to continue to fight, and it just ended like that."

A tight ballgame that saw both talented lefty starters pitch effectively turned into a contest of bullpens late. The Nats couldn’t score against the Braves relievers. The Braves did score against their counterparts, getting the tying run home against Jacob Barnes in the seventh, but did not get the winning run home in regulation, with Barnes and Robert Garcia combining to retire the side in the eighth and rookie Eduardo Salazar cruising through a 1-2-3 ninth to force extra innings.

Rare night off for both Abrams and García vs. Sale

ATLANTA – Davey Martinez laughed as he recalled his one and only playing experience against Randy Johnson.

On May 24, 1998, the inaugural Devil Rays franchise faced the Mariners at the Kingdome, with the Big Unit on the mound for Seattle. Tampa Bay’s regular lineup featured two Hall of Famers in Fred McGriff and Wade Boggs. Neither of whom played that day, because of the particular challenge left-handed hitters faced against Johnson, who had the ability to screw up a good hitter for weeks with one dominant start.

The only lefty in the lineup that day: Martinez, who batted second. And then proceeded to strike out four times.

Some 26 years later, Martinez was thinking about that scenario as he planned his lineup for tonight’s series opener against Chris Sale. Which explains why CJ Abrams and Luis García Jr. are sitting against the Braves’ left-handed ace and Cy Young Award favorite.

“It’s funny, because when I was looking at how good Chris has been this year, it reminds me a lot of Randy Johnson, where all the lefties sat,” Martinez said. “He’s been really good, so it’ll be a lot of righties in there, and see if we can beat him that way.”

Game 129 lineups: Nats at Braves

ATLANTA – There’s big news today about Dylan Crews, if you haven’t seen it yet, but the top prospect won’t be making his major league debut until Monday. Between now and then, the Nationals have a three-game series with the Braves this weekend, and that’s a challenge in itself, even if Atlanta has been dealing with a ton of injuries and is no longer a shoo-in to make the playoffs.

This is a big start for MacKenzie Gore, whose once-promising season has been slipping away over the last two months. In his last 10 starts, the left-hander is 1-5 with a 7.09 ERA, with an ugly 38-to-29 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He’s got to find a way to throw strikes tonight, but he’s also got to find a way to throw quality strikes, keep his pitch count down and at least get through five innings having given his team a chance.

The challenge is no easier for the Nationals at the plate, because they have to face Chris Sale. The likely National League Cy Young Award winner frontrunner at this point with a 14-3 record and league leading 2.62 ERA. One of those losses, though, did come to the Nats back on June 7, when Sale allowed only two runs over seven innings but was outdueled by Jake Irvin in a 2-1 victory.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ATLANTA BRAVES
Where:
Truist Park
Gametime: 7:20 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 81 degrees, wind 8 mph left field to right field

NATIONALS
RF Alex Call
LF James Wood
1B Juan Yepez
C Keibert Ruiz
DH Andrés Chaparro
2B Ildemaro Vargas
3B José Tena
CF Jacob Young
SS Nasim Nuñez

Source: Nationals plan to call up Crews on Monday

ATLANTA – The Nationals are calling up Dylan Crews to make his major league debut. Against Juan Soto and the Yankees.

Crews, the No. 2 overall pick in last summer’s draft, will be promoted from Triple-A Rochester prior to Monday night’s series opener against the Yankees, a source familiar with the decision confirmed. The 22-year-old outfielder’s first big league game will be a star-studded affair, with fellow top prospect James Wood joining him in the Nats lineup against a Bronx Bombers lineup led by Aaron Judge and former Nationals star Juan Soto.

The news of Crews’ pending promotion, which was first reported by 106.7 The Fan’s Grant Paulsen, comes three days prior to his planned debut. That mirrors the timeline the Nats used when promoting Wood to make his debut July 1, also the Monday night opener of a homestand, also against an opponent from New York (the Mets).

Unlike Wood (one of five prospects acquired from the Padres in the August 2022 blockbuster trade for Soto and Josh Bell), Crews hasn’t dominated in the minors this season. He enters Friday night’s game with a solid-but-unspectacular, .272/.343/.456 slash line, 21 doubles, 13 homers, 68 RBIs and 25 steals in 99 total games split between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester. But Crews has steadily improved as the season has progressed and over his last 19 games sports a .309/.370/.531 slash line.

It remains to be seen how Crews fits into the Nationals lineup and outfield, but he has most frequently led off for Rochester while playing center field. He has, however, shifted to right field the last two days, and that figures to be his most likely initial position in the majors, with Wood starting in left field and Gold Glove Award candidate Jacob Young in center.

Can occasional rest benefit Nats' first base and DH rotation?

Juan Yepez joined the Nationals on July 5, taking over the first base job for the struggling, demoted Joey Meneses, and proceeded to hold that job every day. For more than a month.

It wasn’t until Aug. 13 that someone else started at first base, in this case rookie Andres Chaparro. Even then, Yepez remained in the lineup, serving as the Nats’ designated hitter for the next three nights.

Finally on Sunday, after starting 37 consecutive games since his call-up from Triple-A Rochester, Yepez got to rest. He wasn’t in the lineup for the first time, though he still wound up appearing in the game as a pinch-hitter.

At this point, his production had cooled off. After posting a gargantuan slash line of .330/.380/.523 through his first 28 games, he saw those numbers plummet to .132/.191/.132 over an 11-game stretch that concluded with another game off Wednesday evening.

“It’s late-August,” Yepez said. “Some of us are tired. Some of us are going good. That’s how baseball works.”

Six strong innings, plus run support, earn Corbin his 100th win (updated)

Not that expectations were high for Patrick Corbin when this season began, but even the least optimistic observer out there had to assume the left-hander would reach his 100th career win along the way, and probably not that far along the way.

Corbin needed only three victories to get there. And even if the Nationals’ intention was to move the long-struggling veteran to the bullpen once Cade Cavalli or Josiah Gray was healthy, he surely would’ve achieved the milestone by then.

And yet here was Corbin taking the mound this afternoon to face the Rockies, making his 26th start of the season, his win total stuck on 99 as his ERA once again approached 6.00. Cavalli and Gray remain on the injured list, as does Trevor Williams, so Corbin still isn’t in danger of losing his spot in the rotation anytime soon.

But at long last, he can breathe a sigh of relief. He has finally reached the century mark, thanks to perhaps his best start of the year.

With six innings of one-run ball and a season-high eight strikeouts, Corbin never let the Rockies get anything going at the plate. And thanks to some long-awaited run support from his teammates, he and the Nats cruised to an 8-3 victory in their series finale against Colorado.