Around the NL East: A week of chin music

Photo by USA Today

By Steve Roney

CSNwashington.com

Yeah, the Braves have widened their division lead, which at 16 games is more than double the next most-substantial margin: LA's 7.5-game lead over Arizona. That just sets up the rest of the division to play a very underrated late-summer role: that of the spoiler. Washington, New York, and Philadelphia can still make things difficult for more than a few wild card hopefuls.

Atlanta Braves (76-48)

That's enough, guys. Ryan Dempster grouping four fastballs around Alex Rodriguez's trunk is one thing -- whether or not you agree with plunking batters to send a message, I think it's close to a consensus that if anyone in the major leagues has it coming, it's A-Rod. Bryce Harper, though? The 20-year-old didn't deserve three in his ribs over the course of three games with the Braves. You're 16 games up, Atlanta, a fact that is tearing Harper and his teammates up -- hit him once maybe, but shouldn't that be enough?

Despite their league-best record and the 4-1 week they just completed, the Braves are hurting a tad. Second baseman Dan Uggla landed on the DL in order to have LASIK eye surgery; incredibly, he hopes to be back in the lineup not long after becoming eligible. With a .186 average, anything should help. Brian McCann is also a bit banged up, but if any team can absorb the absence of a catcher it's the Braves, who have Evan Gattis and Gerald Laird in the wings. 

Player of the Week: Justin Upton, OF: 4 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .333 AVG, .524 OBP

Around the NL East: Utley stays in Philly

Photo by USA Today

By Steve Roney

CSNwashington.com

An odd pairing has become even more apparent over the past couple weeks, as the Braves have again attained the mantle of the majors' best team, while the rest of the division constitutes baseball's worst. The substantial void between first and second place aside, no other division features just one winning team.

Atlanta Braves (72-47)

Unfortunately, tragedy struck last night in Atlanta, as a man fell some 30-40 feet from the upper deck at Turner Field, and later passed away at Atlanta Medical Center due to the resulting trauma. Rivalries aside, all thoughts should be with the victim's family and loved ones, who are surely enduring the worst moments of their lives. Fatal accidents happen every day, but when associated with a game that bonds and brings joy to so many, the tragedy is almost unthinkable.

Though it feels dwarfed by the events of last night, things on the field for the Braves continue to roll on as efficiently as ever. Though they've dropped a couple of games after reeling off their impressive 14-game winning streak, the Braves' lead now stands at 14 games over the Nationals. Fredi Gonzalez can probably start penciling in his postseason rotation, and use September as a proving ground for the youngsters in Triple-A.

Player of the Week: Jason Heyward, OF: 4 R, 3 2B, 3 RBI, .455 AVG

Around the NL East: Atlanta surging

Photo by USA Today

By Steve Roney

CSNwashington.com

The Braves have led the division throughout the season, and have enjoyed the biggest division lead in the majors for most of that time -- and now, that lead is twice as large as it has ever been. Only the Nationals, at 54-58, have even the faintest hope of challenging for a playoff spot behind Atlanta.

Atlanta Braves (68-45)

The Braves are blowing everyone out of the water right now, riding the majors' longest current winning streak (11 games) to a silly 13.5-game lead over the second-place Nationals. It's their longest streak of the season, improving their record to baseball's second-best -- just percentage points behind the Pittsburgh Pirates. If the season were a baseball game, Luis Avilan and Craig Kimbrel would be warming in the pen, preparing to slam the door on the rest of the division.

The trends in the lineup remain the same, as Brian McCann, Freddie Freeman, and Chris Johnson continue to bring the wood; early-season feel-good story Evan Gattis has slipped more than a bit, as his 15 home runs are nice, but his on-base percentage has fallen to .299. The loss of Tim Hudson for the remainder of the season hurts a ton, but is not the devastating blow that it would be to most teams, as it almost perfectly coincided with Brandon Beachy's return. Though Beachy has been shaky in his first two post-Tommy John starts, his strikeout rates are right where they need to be, and he should be fine. Atlanta's other alliterative starter, Mike Minor, continues to dazzle, and has been far and away the team's best starter this season.

Player of the Week: McCann, C: 3 R, 3 HR, 9 RBI, .250 AVG

Miami Marlins (43-67)

You would be hard-pressed to find a more toothless lineup than the one fielded by Miami right now (though, in fairness, they did explode fairly out of nowhere a few days ago in a 10-0 victory over Cleveland). Not a single position player, regardless of the number of at-bats -- whether they have three or 300 -- has an average of .300. The ghost of Placido Polanco leads the regulars with a .257 average, and Giancarlo Stanton -- with just 68 games under his belt -- leads the team with 13 home runs. Only Justin Ruggiano (12) joins him in double digits, and he hasn't hit one in just over a month.

Around the NL East: Deadline time

Photo by USA Today

By Steve Roney
CSNwashington.com

All around baseball, buyers are looking for parts to add and finding few willing trade partners; the second wild card, still a new facet of the game, has widened not only the playoff field but also deepened the pool of teams who believe they have a shot. That likely doesn't apply to most of the NL East, however, as a recent tumble has made Philadelphia realize that it has no business making a run, and also-rans New York and Miami have been out for months already.

Atlanta Braves (61-45)

It's over-simplifying, a bit, to call Atlanta the division's only good team; it's also a pretty fair assumption to make after 100 games have been played. The Braves boast not only the East's only winning record, still, but now lead Washington by nine games. The fat lady isn't warming up her vocal chords just yet, but she's at least going over the sheet music. Atlanta added Scott Downs from the Angels, nabbing that left-handed relief that everyone is looking for at this point in the season and that they sorely needed with Venters and O'Flaherty sidelined. Do they need more help to make the playoffs? No. They should still contemplate a bat, because too many regulars are hitting around .200 for the Braves to truly feel like a championship-caliber club.

One player who is not swinging the cowhide-averse bats apparently favored by the Uptons and Dan Uggla is Chris Johnson, who has manned third base more than admirably for most of the season now. A throw-in at the time, he has been the most productive player acquired from Arizona over the winter, hitting a crisp .338. He offers almost no power for a third baseman, but a .377 OBP forgives a good deal of that. 

Player of the Week: Johnson, 3B: 5 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .476 AVG

Wild homestand ends with winning streak

USA Today Sports Images

The Nationals returned from the All-Star break on July 19 with a winning record, a healthy roster and reason to believe they could take advantage of a long homestand to thrust themselves into the thick of the National League pennant race.

So what transpired over the next 10 days? How much time do you have to run through the laundry list?

The Nationals got swept by the Dodgers. Then they fired their hitting coach, against the manager's wishes. They extended their losing streak to six games before snapping it on Bryce Harper's first career walk-off homer. They got blown out by 11 runs in the first game of a doubleheader, then won the nightcap on Ryan Zimmerman's ninth career walk-off homer. After which they sent their former closer to Class AAA, prompting another reliever to harshly criticize the organization. And then, just as their season appeared on the verge of disaster, they rebounded to win three in a row, capped by Sunday's record-setting, 14-1 throttling of the Mets.

How on earth do the Nationals make sense of all that?

"We can't get too excited," center fielder Denard Span said. "We've been up and down all season. We've just got to stay the course, just try to win series. Definitely this weekend's series was very important for us to win three out of four, especially after losing ... six in a row. Just started off with Zimmerman getting that walk-off home run the other night, and we've just carried that momentum the last two days."
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Instant analysis: Nats 14, Mets 1

USA Today Sports Images

Game in a nutshell: Remember when the Nationals were a disaster? You know, like, three days ago? Well, they've suddenly won four of their last five games and look capable of going on a sustained run. OK, OK, so we've been down this road before, and given the way this season has gone, you'd be wise not to get too excited yet. But there's nothing wrong with enjoying today's lopsided victory, a complete thrashing of the Mets pitching staff. The Nationals rapped out a season-high 18 hits, getting at least one base hit from seven of their eight starting position players (all but Adam LaRoche). Wilson Ramos hit a grand slam. Denard Span hit another homer. Ian Desmond went 4-for-4 with two doubles. Ryan Zimmerman had three hits. Nobody was happier about all that than Taylor Jordan, who in his sixth career start finally earned his first career win, allowing one run over six innings. The Nationals have by no means turned their season around. But they're back to 52-54, and they're actually feeling good about themselves for the moment. So that's an improvement.

Hitting highlight: There were no shortage of options here, so let's not limit this to only one specific player or one specific inning, but instead to one specific part of the Nationals' lineup: the bottom of

Game 106: Mets at Nats

Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

The way things had been going around here only a couple of days ago, the fact the Nationals today have a chance to win four of their last five is rather remarkable. But that's the position they find themselves in after walk-off wins Thursday and Friday and then yesterday's 4-1 victory over the Mets. Funny how this game works.

If they do find a way to take today's series finale against the Mets, they may just hand Taylor Jordan his much-awaited first career win. The rookie right-hander certainly has pitched well enough in his first five starts (3.68 ERA) to deserve better than an 0-3 record. Today presents a new challenge for him, facing an opponent for the second time for the first time (if that makes sense).

Check back for updates...

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 187
Weather: Scattered storms, 80 degrees, Wind 9 mph out to LF

NATIONALS (51-54)
LF Bryce Harper
2B Anthony Rendon
3B Ryan Zimmerman

Instant Analysis: Nats 4, Mets 1

Photo by USA Today

Game in a nutshell: The Nationals rode some early scoring and one of Dan Haren's best starts of the season to a 4-1 victory over the Mets, their third win in their last four games. Haren was efficient right from the start and pitched the first three innings without allowing a hit. He even added a double and a run to his cause in an all around great day for the veteran starter. The Nats' offense also gave Haren some early help with two runs in the second inning off solo homers and another two in the third off a two-run bomb by Bryce Harper. Once Haren left the game after the seventh, Tyler Clippard and Rafael Soriano closed it out, working around a hour-long rain delay. After a grueling doubleheader and dramatic postgame, the Nats showed no ill effects from the quick turnaround and played one of their most complete games as a team in quite some time.

Hitting highlight: The Nats jumped out with an early lead in the win, scoring two runs in the second and two more in the third, all on home runs. The first two came on back-to-back solo shots by Ian Desmond and Denard Span. The third homer was a two-run smash by Harper in the third inning to score Haren who had reached with a double.

Game 105: Mets at Nats

Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

The last 48 hours for the Nationals have been one wild and crazy time. Two walkoff wins bookending a lopsided loss and some postgame comments by Tyler Clippard that will surely reverberate through the clubhouse.

The Nats have yet another chance today to build off a dramatic, 'could this be the one' win. Lately their response to such victories has been rather flat, just look at their 11-0 loss yesterday in the first game of the doubleheader.

Today they face Dillon Gee (7-7, 4.07 ERA) who has already beaten the Nats three times this season. He pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings on April 21, seven innings of one-run ball on June 5, and six innings with one earned run on June 29.

Dan Haren (4-11, 5.79) will pitch against the Mets for the second time this year. He got shelled for five earned runs in four innings on June 5.

Stay tuned for updates...

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 3:05 p.m. EDT
TV: FOX, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 183
Weather: Scattered T-storms, 84 degrees, Wind 12 mph RF to LF

NATIONALS (50-54)
LF Bryce Harper
2B Anthony Rendon
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche
RF Jayson Werth
SS Ian Desmond
CF Denard Span
C Wilson Ramos
RHP Dan Haren

Instant analysis: Nats 2, Mets 1

Associated Press

Game in a nutshell: Only two hours after suffering one of their worst losses of the season — an 11-0 trouncing — the Nationals re-took the field for the nightcap of this doubleheader, facing a stiff challenge with ace Matt Harvey on the mound for the Mets. Ross Ohlendorf, however, was up to the challenge. The journeyman right-hander was brilliant in this spot start, allowing one run over seven innings to give his team a chance. The Nationals hardly did anything against Harvey — their lone run came via a fifth-inning error — but they managed to keep this a 1-1 game into the ninth. Rafael Soriano wriggled his way out of a first-and-third, one-out jam in the top of the inning, setting the stage for a potential walk-off win. Which they got, from an old friend. Ryan Zimmerman launched a 3-1 pitch from LaTroy Hawkins deep to right-center for his ninth career walk-off homer, his first since 2011, giving the Nationals a much-needed and dramatic victory.

Hitting highlight: Stymied all night by Harvey, the Nationals couldn't wait to get the young ace out of the game and get into the Mets' bullpen. They finally got the chance in the ninth and made it worthwhile. After Anthony Rendon grounded out, Zimmerman worked the count to 3-1 against Hawkins. He then drove the veteran reliever's next pitch over the wall in right-center for a long-awaited, walk-off homer. It was Zimmerman's ninth of his career, but his first since 2011. It couldn't have come at a better time, salvaging a long day of baseball for the Nationals.

Game 104: Mets at Nats

Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

As if this afternoon's 11-0 thrashing at the hands of the Mets wasn't bad enough, now the Nationals have to come right back out and try to get back on track against All-Star Game starter Matt Harvey. With Bryce Harper out of the lineup.

Yep, Harper is sitting this one out after aggravating his left knee diving for Daniel Murphy's liner in the fifth inning of Game 1, according to Davey Johnson. He stayed in the game until the eighth, at which point he was replaced by pinch-runner Scott Hairston. So Steve Lombardozzi, who has five hits over the last 24 hours, gets the start in left field.

Ross Ohlendorf makes the spot start for the Nationals, perhaps an audition to see if he could join the rotation on a permanent basis with Taylor Jordan perhaps headed back to the minors in advance of his post-Tommy John shutdown. The veteran righty will have to be in top form tonight.

After a debacle like that first game, do the Nats even want to get back out on the field? "Yeah," Johnson said. "I'm actually glad we got another one tonight." We'll see how this plays out.

Updates to come...

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS (Game 2)
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 183
Weather: Mostly clear, 81 degrees, Wind 5 mph out to CF

NATIONALS (49-54)
CF Denard Span
2B Anthony Rendon
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche

Instant analysis: Mets 11, Nats 0

USA Today Sports Images

Game in a nutshell: Hours after an inspiring, walk-off victory, the Nationals opened a day-night doubleheader against the Mets and put forth one of their worst efforts of the season. Jordan Zimmermann labored during 6 2/3 innings, serving up a pair of early homers to Daniel Murphy. The Nationals lineup was completely shut down by Jenrry Mejia, making his first big-league start of the season. And then things really got ugly in the top of the ninth. Ryan Mattheus, making his first appearance since breaking his hand more than two months ago, was charged with three runs. Drew Storen, battling the flu, then gave up three runs on four pitches, including a two-run homer to Ike Davis. The Nats were blown out before an increasingly hostile crowd and now have to take the field again in two hours to face New York ace Matt Harvey. A loss tonight would leave the Nationals and Mets tied for third/fourth place in the NL East.

Hitting lowlight: Facing a guy making his first big-league start of the season and only the seventh big-league start of his career, the Nationals put forth another feeble performance at the plate. They

Mattheus back on active roster

USA Today Sports Images

Major-league clubs are allowed to add an extra, 26th man for doubleheaders, and the Nationals couldn't have asked for better timing in that regard today, with Ryan Mattheus ready to return from a broken right hand.

Mattheus, on the 15-day disabled list since he broke that hand punching his locker May 19 in San Diego, was officially activated before the first game of today's day-night doubleheader against the Mets. He's available to pitch in both games, and manager Davey Johnson plans to use him if the situation arises.

"It was a long time off," Mattheus said. "It's tough to sit back and watch the games from that perspective. It's just great to know that I can go out there and contribute today. So yeah, it's an amazing feeling being back."

The right-hander was understandably embarrassed by the nature of his injury, and he had to spend the last two months watching the Nationals struggle as penance for his mistake.

"The nature of my injury — knowing that it was self-inflicted — and then seeing the struggles that this team's going through, it's tough to deal with. But hopefully I'll be back and contribute and we can turn this thing around."
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Game 103: Mets at Nats

Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

It's a beautiful day for a ballgame, so how 'bout we play two? We've got a day-night doubleheader here between the Nationals and Mets, and the various results could actually be significant. The Nats currently lead New York by only two games in the NL East, so a Mets sweep incredibly would leave the two clubs tied in the standings. A Nationals sweep, on the other hand, would guarantee they'd be back in sole possession of second place in the division.

Jordan Zimmermann gets the start in Game 1 this afternoon against right-hander Jenrry Mejia, making his season debut after dealing with an elbow injury. Davey Johnson is going with his same lineup from yesterday's win, including Steve Lombardozzi at second base and batting second. "I'm not changing a winning hand," the manager said, also speculating that Lombardozzi might try to beat him up if he wasn't playing after a 3-hit performance.

Ryan Mattheus, meanwhile, has been activated off the DL as the 26th man allowed for the doubleheader. The Nats will have to make a decision tonight, removing someone from the roster. They could just send Mattheus back to Syracuse, or they could demote another reliever. Drew Storen, a potential candidate for demotion, is battling the same flu Adam LaRoche had earlier in the week and probably is unavailable to pitch in either game today, according to Johnson.

Lots of updates to come from a long day at the ballpark, so please check back...

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS (Game 1)
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 183
Weather: Mostly sunny, 80 degrees, Wind 4 mph in from LF

NATIONALS (49-53)
LF Bryce Harper
2B Steve Lombardozzi
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche

Around the NL East: Scuffling starts

Photo by USA Today

By Steve Roney

CSNwashington.com

The Nats aren't the only team that has stumbled out of the second-half gate. Things are worse than ever in Miami, as the Marlins' bats have all but gone on strike, and nobody in the division has fared better than 2-2 since play resumed. The only real action in the standings involves Philadelphia moving into second place ahead of Washington, though their seven-game deficit behind the Braves is a veritable chasm compared with the other division leads around baseball.

Atlanta Braves (56-43)

Freddie Freeman has showed no ill effects from the finger injury that kept him from participating in the All-Star Game, boosting his average with a .400 tear since the meaningful games have returned. Paul Maholm, on the other hand, probably wishes he was still on vacation after he was shelled by several soon-to-be-former White Sox on Saturday, giving up seven earned runs in just three innings. The loss was Maholm's ninth, and he's not the only starter saddled with a relatively high number. Though Atlanta's staff is deep and talented, every member has at least five losses, and only Mike Minor (9-5) has a record much above .500. Odd.

It'll be interesting to see what Atlanta does with the non-waiver trade deadline looming; though they likely don't need more ammo to win the East, they can't reasonably expect to contend for a pennant without an upgrade or two. Lefty relief could be a target, but they may choose to add a bat to help in the outfield. If just one of their current outfield starters plays up to his full potential in the second half, that would more than equate to a major deadline acquisition -- but as it is, they have all underperformed, and 99 games is no longer a small sample size.

How important is this homestand?

USA Today Sports Images

If the Nationals are going to make a serious run at their second straight postseason appearance, that run is going to have to start tonight and pick up some serious steam over the next 10 days.

Why? Well, for one thing, there are only 67 games remaining on the schedule. As detailed yesterday, in order to get to 90 wins, the Nationals need to go 42-25 the rest of the way. That's a .627 winning percentage, the equivalent of a 101-win pace.

If they only go, say, 5-6 during their upcoming homestand, they'll leave themselves in a position where they have to go 37-19 to get to 90 wins. That's a .661 winning percentage, the equivalent of a 107-win pace.

Point is, each week that passes without the Nationals making up some ground is a week lost at this stage of the process. Yes, there's still time for them to get back in this thing, but there's no more

Around the NL East: Shut down Harvey?

Photo by USA Today

Atlanta Braves (48-34)

The Braves have won five of their last six games including a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend. They are getting hot and have a favorable schedule up ahead with 16 of their next 20 games against teams under the .500 mark. 13 of those games are on the road, but the Braves have a chance to create some more distance in the N.L. East in the month of July.

Pitching has been a big strength for them lately, especially with the continued dominance of Julio Teheran. The 22-year-old threw six shutout innings against the D’backs on Friday and now has a 3.12 ERA on the year. He has a 2.28 ERA in ten starts since the beginning of May. Craig Kimbrel has also been hot as of late, converting his last 13 save attempts with 17 consecutive outings without allowing a run.

Player of the week: RF Jason Heyward – 9-for-22, HR, 4 RBI, 4 R, 4 2B, 2 BB

Philadelphia Phillies (39-44)

After losing three out of their last four, the Phillies have dropped to a season-worst 9 ½ games out of first place in the N.L. East. Their 2013 campaign is continuing on very much like how it started. Chase Utley and Dominic Brown are producing at the plate, while others like Cole Hamels and Jimmy Rollins are having off years.

The question for Philly will become whether they will start selling off pieces. There is interest around the league in Jonathan Papelbon and Michael Young, plus Cliff Lee and Chase Utley may garner some suitors as well. It will be up to Ruben Amaro, Jr. if he wants to pull the trigger. Last season they sold off Hunter Pence and watched him win a World Series. They are never easy decisions for a general manager to make, but the clock is ticking with the trade deadline just weeks away.

State of the Nats-7/1

Photo by USA Today

Team Record: 41-40 (15-15)

N.L. East Standings

Offensive Game of the Week: Ian Desmond 6/30 vs. Mets – 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2B, SB, HBP

Pitching Line of the Week: Gio Gonzalez 6/30 vs. Mets – 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 7 SO, 2 BB, 119 pitches (84 strikes)

Top Storylines

Bryce Harper’s return – The Nats have maintained their .500 pace, treading water if you will, since Harper went out on May 26. Now he comes back right as the Nats are set to play five consecutive series against teams with losing records, 17 total games. With Harper back in the lineup, the Nats’ offense should have balance and power top to bottom. They could be setting up to finally break out on offense, especially with Wilson Ramos coming back around July 4.

Hitting the halfway point on a high

Associated Press

NEW YORK — There have been plenty of days over the last three months when the Nationals don't look anything like a World Series contender, an offensively challenged, defensively sloppy bunch that has put forth way more lifeless performances this season than anybody expected.

But there have also been a handful of days — though admittedly only a few, and usually scattered about — when these Nationals do put it all together and walk away from the ballpark having every reason to believe they can go on the kind of sustained tear that defined their breakthrough 2012 season.

Today was one of those days. Whether it's a positive omen of more good things to come or just another blip in a mediocre season remains to be seen. But as they showed during a 13-2 demolition of the Mets, the Nationals do have the ability to overwhelm any opponent they face.

"We know we've got the lineup that can go out any given day and put up 15 hits and 10 runs, and it just hasn't happened," said Adam LaRoche, who ignited this offensive explosion with a second-inning homer off Zack Wheeler. "This isn't going to happen every day, obviously, but I think it should a lot more often than it has."

The season is now officially halfway complete, and the Nationals sit one game over the .500 mark at 41-40. They've hovered right at, right above or right below sea level for the last six weeks, never getting real hot, never getting real cold. But they've now won seven of their last 11 games, and tomorrow they'll get their most-important player back after a lengthy absence.
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Instant analysis: Nats 13, Mets 2

Associated Press

Ian Desmond congratulates Adam LaRoche after his second-inning homer.

Game in a nutshell: With a young pitching phenom on the mound in Zack Wheeler, runs figured to be at a premium for the Nationals today, right? Right? Uh, maybe not. This previously lackluster lineup went bananas, scoring five early runs off Wheeler and then torturing the Mets bullpen late to set a season-high in runs scored. (Though, to be fair, two of the runs came against Anthony Recker, a backup catcher who pitched the top of the ninth.) Adam LaRoche, Jayson Werth, Kurt Suzuki and Ian Desmond all homered. Gio Gonzalez, meanwhile, tossed seven scoreless innings, firing more strikes than he ever had in his big-league career. Put it all together, and you've got the most-lopsided victory of the season for the Nationals. They've reached the midpoint of the season at 41-40, and now they head home, where Bryce Harper awaits, ready to come off the DL.

Hitting highlight: Obviously, there were no shortage of offensive highlights today, but let's focus on what the Nationals did early