The Washington Nationals will play game two of three against the Boston Red Sox this afternoon at Nationals Park. The Nationals are scheduled to send left-handed pitcher Mitchell Parker to the mound, who has a record of 5-8 and an ERA of 4.63. The Nationals will face right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler with a record of 5-6 and an ERA of 6.45.

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The Washington Nationals were defeated by the Boston Red Sox yesterday, 11-2, during their annual Fourth of July game at Nationals Park. Right-hander Michael Soroka started for Washington, lasting 4.0 innings. He allowed seven runs on nine hits, struck out six, and walked two, raising his ERA to 5.40. Soroka threw 93 pitches, 60 for strikes.

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On Deck…

Tomorrow, the Washington Nationals will wrap up their three-game series against the Boston Red Sox with a scheduled first pitch at 1:35 p.m. EDT.

The Washington Nationals have yet to announce their starter for tomorrow’s game. The Nationals, however, are scheduled to face LHP Garrett Crochet with a record of 8-4 and an ERA of 2.34.

In the hole…

The Nationals will have the day off on Monday and then resume playing on Tuesday night, kicking off a six-game road trip to St. Louis and then to Milwaukee, concluding before the All-Star break.

James Wood has emerged as one of the National League’s top hitters, showcasing elite production and power. Over his last 23 games, Wood is slashing .353/.472/.635 with three doubles, seven home runs, 22 RBI, 20 walks, three stolen bases, and 20 runs scored. He has reached base in seven consecutive games, going 11-for-22 (.500) with a home run, four RBI, and 10 walks for a .636 on-base percentage during that stretch. Wood ranks second in MLB with 12 home runs hit at exit velocities above 110 mph—trailing only Shohei Ohtani—and leads the majors with 53 batted balls exceeding 108 mph, ahead of Aaron Judge. His 31 career home runs are tied for the most by a Nationals player through their first 162 games, matching Bryce Harper and Juan Soto. Wood has started 167 consecutive games since his call-up on July 1, 2024, the third-longest active streak in MLB and the sixth-longest to begin a career in the Expansion Era.

CJ Abrams, a potential 2025 National League All-Star, has also been among the league’s best shortstops lately. In his last 23 games, Abrams is hitting .344/.422/.552 with six doubles, a triple, four home runs, 11 RBI, 11 walks, two hit-by-pitches, eight stolen bases, and 23 runs scored. He has reached safely in 20 of his last 21 games, posting a .420 on-base percentage in that span. Abrams currently ranks seventh in the National League with 19 stolen bases this season and has not been caught since May 6, going 11-for-11 on attempts since then.

Daylen Lile is currently riding an 11-game hitting streak, the fourth-longest active streak in Major League Baseball. During this stretch, he is batting .326 (14-for-43) with two doubles, two RBIs, four walks, two stolen bases, and seven runs scored. If he records a hit today, Lile would tie the longest hitting streak by a National this season—a 12-game streak by Luis Garcia Jr. from June 11-23—and it would mark the longest hitting streak by a Nationals rookie since Steve Lombardozzi’s 13-game streak in 2012.

Among Nationals rookies since 2005, only Lombardozzi and Ryan Zimmerman (who had a 17-game streak in 2006) have had longer hitting streaks..

The Nationals have announced several roster moves. Right-handed pitcher Mason Thompson has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list following his recovery from Tommy John surgery. During his rehab assignment, Thompson impressed by striking out 13 batters over eight innings across three different minor league levels. Meanwhile, right-hander Zach Brzykcy has been optioned to the Rochester Red Wings, and Derek Law has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Parker opened his second Major League season in impressive form, going 3-1 with a 1.39 ERA (5 ER in 32.1 IP), holding opponents to a .167 average (19-for-114) and allowing just three extra-base hits (a double, a triple, and a home run) in that span. His best outing came on April 22 in Baltimore, where he delivered a career-high eight shutout innings of one-hit ball in a 7-0 Nationals win.

In his most recent start, Parker took a no-decision after allowing three runs over five innings with three strikeouts against the Los Angeles Angels, as Washington went on to win 7-4; the Nationals are now 9-8 in his starts this year. He will face the Red Sox for the first time in his career. Notably, Parker has struggled in the first inning this season, posting an 8.47 ERA and a .319 opponents’ average, but has settled in from the second inning on, recording a 3.80 ERA and a .227 opponents’ average over 73.1 innings..

The Red Sox have rebounded from a season-long six-game losing streak (June 21–27) by winning four of their last six games. Since June 7, Boston has posted a 14-10 record over 24 games, which ties them for the third-best mark in the American League during that span, trailing only Houston (18-7) and Toronto (16-9). The team's current three-game series in Washington separates a stretch of 13 home games played over 17 days (June 27–July 13), leading up to the MLB All-Star break. Boston recently snapped a five-game road losing streak, their second-longest of the season, and now holds a 19-25 (.432) record away from Fenway Park compared to 25-20 (.556) at home.

With a win in either of the next two games, the Red Sox would improve to 15-13-1 in series play, including an 8-7-0 mark on the road. They have dropped their last two road series (at the Angels and Giants) after winning the previous three (at Seattle, New York Yankees, and Atlanta). Since June 6, Boston is 5-3-0 in its last eight series, and 7-5-1 in its last 13 dating back to May 19.

Historically, the Red Sox are 27-16 all-time against the Nationals, including a 12-10 record on the road and a dominant 10-3 mark at Nationals Park, where they've won eight of their first nine games. Boston took two of three from Washington at Fenway Park earlier this season, while the Nationals won the last series in D.C. in 2023. The Red Sox are 5-1-0 in their last six series against Washington since 2015, and 7-2-0 in nine series since the franchise relocated from Montreal in 2005

Walker Buehler enters his next start with a 2025 record of 5-6 and a 6.45 ERA over 14 starts, having pitched 67 innings with 74 hits, 48 earned runs, 15 home runs, 32 walks, and 59 strikeouts, resulting in a 1.58 WHIP and a .280 opponent average. His performance has been markedly better at home (3-2, 3.93 ERA, .220 AVG in 7 games) than on the road (2-4, 9.49 ERA, .341 AVG in 7 games). Right-handed batters are hitting just .214 against him (with nine home runs allowed), while left-handed hitters have a .329 average (6 home runs allowed).

Buehler's 6.45 ERA is the highest of his career through his first 14 starts and the highest by a Red Sox starter in their first 14 outings since John Lackey in 2011. He has received just 59 runs of support in those starts, the fewest in any such span in his career. In his last outing, he was charged with his team-high sixth loss, allowing four earned runs over four innings against Toronto. Over his last three starts, Buehler has not pitched more than four innings, allowing 17 earned runs and issuing 14 walks—both career highs for any three-game stretch.

Against the Nationals, Buehler has made five career appearances (four starts), going 2-1 with a 2.49 ERA (7 earned runs in 25.1 innings), allowing just one home run to 107 batters faced. At Nationals Park, he is 1-1 with a 5.11 ERA in three appearances (two starts), and he has also excelled there in the postseason, posting a 0.71 ERA over two starts in the 2019 NLDS. For 2025, his pitch usage includes a mix of four-seam fastballs (24.6%), cutters (17.8%), sinkers (16.2%), sliders (14.3%), knuckle curves (10.5%), changeups (8.3%), and sweepers (8.3%).

Buehler’s 10.4% walk rate and 4.30 walks per nine innings are career highs for a full season, and he issued a career-high seven walks on June 23 at the Angels. Despite his struggles, his average exit velocity allowed (87.6 mph) is the best among Red Sox starters. Of his 14 starts this season, he has pitched at least five innings in eight, including four starts of six or more innings and two of at least seven innings.

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