The book closes on the 2026 Battle of the Beltways with the Washington Nationals taking two of three from their neighbors to the north: the Baltimore Orioles. That’s three straight series wins for the Nats against the O’s, and they’re back over .500 again after dipping under that mark Friday night.
But while it’s nice to continue to get the better of the Orioles and have a winning record, last week’s late-inning flameouts against Philadelphia provided a red flag if this team wants to contend: the bullpen is not exactly awesome.
Three late leads vanishing against a division foe populated by former Nationals is not ideal. And it’s not just the Phillies who are hitting against this leaky pen. The Nats’ 25 blown saves are the most in the majors and the bullpen ERA of 5.02 is third-worst in MLB.
Can the front office fix what is becoming an open sore before it’s too late? Prepare to see plenty of arms thrown up against the wall to see what sticks over the next month, with any trading deadline moves being made to fix a relief corps that needs more than just a Band-Aid.
Digesting the Division: Atlanta (49-33) may still lead the NL East, but their advantage has shrunk from 10-and-a-half games to three since May 22. Philadelphia (47-37) took three of four games from the Nats in D.C. last week and the series finale included accusations of Bryce Harper flipping off fans after hitting a home run. Harper maintained that he showed his ring finger to the Washington faithful, and it remains a finger unencumbered with a World Series ring.
Miami (44-40) has stormed into contention by winning 18 of their first 24 games this month, powered by Kyle Stowers 21 RBI in June. Washington (43-42) might be in fourth place but they’re comfortably ahead of the New York Mets (35-49), who mercifully ended the reign of manager Carlos Mendoza before the weekend while also trading pitcher David Peterson (no relation to Don) to the Chicago Cubs.
O’s Woes: The Birds dropped four of six games last week, losing a series at the last-place Los Angeles Angels before witnessing Washington take two of three at Camden Yards. But unlike the Mets, the Orioles boast plenty of power at first base as Pete Alonso leads the team with 19 homers and 58 RBI.
Diamond King: Luis Garcia Jr. made the move to first base entering this season and he’s heating up big-time in June. Garcia has 11 homers with 25 RBI this month and is coming off of a week where he hit .526 with six homers and nine RBI. His 55 RBI on the season are 15 shy of his career high and we’ve yet to reach the All-Star break.
Last Week’s Heroes: Jorbit Vivas batted .333 with two homers and five RBI, while Dylan Crews went .321 while scoring seven runs. Foster Griffin struck out 18 in 14.1 innings while allowing one earned run and posting his eighth win of the season, while Zack Littell has seven victories after striking out eight over nine frames in his two outings.
Last Week’s Humbled: Brad Lord allowed seven earned runs over 3.1 innings, while Mitchell Parker coughed up six over 3.1 frames and Gus Varland surrendered five over two innings. James Wood hit .133 with 16 strikeouts in 30 at-bats, while C.J. Abrams batted .105 without an RBI.
Game to Watch: On Saturday, America celebrates its 250th birthday. The Nationals host Pittsburgh in their traditional late-morning Fourth of July slot. Pitcher Zack Littell currently has the spirit of 7-6, making him the appropriate starter on Independence Day. The Pirates will be pitching Braxton Ashcraft (7-3, 3.07 ERA), who actually has more wins and a better ERA than Paul Skenes. I’m rocking America, how about you?
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