The Washington Nationals look to avoid being swept today by the Milwaukee Brewers this afternoon, with the first pitch being at 1:35 p.m. EDT. The Nationals are scheduled to send right-handed pitcher Brad Lord to the mound with a record of 2-5 and an ERA of 3.27. The Milwaukee Brewers are scheduled to send right-handed pitcher Logan Henderson, who has a 3-0 record and a 1.71 ERA.

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The Washington Nationals were defeated by the Milwaukee Brewers 8-2 yesterday afternoon in Washington, D.C. The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Washington Nationals 8-2, fueled by a relentless offensive performance and a strong start from Brandon Woodruff. Milwaukee, reaching a season-high 22 games over .500, continued its impressive run, having won 20 of its last 26 road games and amassing 40 hits in the previous two contests—tying a franchise record.

Jake Irvin lasted just four innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

On Deck…

The Washington Nationals have the day off tomorrow before kicking off a three-game series against the A’s on Tuesday.

Since being recalled on August 1, Robert Hassell III has gone 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, four RBIs, and one run scored across two games. He hit a home run in his very first at-bat during his first start back in the majors on August 2 against Milwaukee.

Hassell III returned to the Nationals for his second Major League stint this season after posting a .336 batting average, a .435 on-base percentage, and a .519 slugging percentage in 33 games with Rochester since June 16.

Josh Bell is batting .301/.394/.451 over his last 39 games, compiling eight doubles, four home runs, 17 RBIs, 20 walks, and 18 runs scored. Before June 12, his season numbers were .176/.271/.337, but they have since improved to .228/.322/.386.

In his most recent 22 games, Bell has hit .333/.438/.480, with five doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs, 13 walks, one hit by pitch, and 11 runs scored.

CJ Abrams ranks fifth in the National League this season with 26 stolen bases. Since May 7, he has been caught stealing only three times overall and just once in 69 games. From that date through July 29, he tied the longest streak in Major League Baseball with 17 consecutive successful steals.

Abrams is also one of five players across MLB to steal more than 25 bases in each of the last three seasons, joining Jose Caballero, Elly De La Cruz, José Ramírez, and Bobby Witt Jr. Over his last seven games, he is batting .333 (9-for-27) with three doubles, a home run, five RBIs, and four walks.

On July 28 in Houston, Brad Lord pitched 5.1 innings, allowing one earned run on a single hit, while striking out two and issuing one walk. He retired the first 13 batters he faced before surrendering a walk and then a double in the fifth inning. Lord left the game with a 0-1 score, but the Nationals rallied to win 2-1.

From May 11 to July 12, Lord worked out of the bullpen, compiling a 1-1 record with a 2.79 ERA and holding opposing hitters to a .217 batting average across 29 appearances. He struck out 35 batters and walked 14 during that stretch. Among National League rookies pitching at least 65 innings, Lord leads in several key categories: ERA (3.27), opponents' batting average (.237), slugging percentage (.339), hits allowed per nine innings (7.87), WHIP (1.20), and home runs allowed per nine innings (0.61).

The Milwaukee Brewers hold a 30-24 record on the road this season and have gone 9-7-2 in series play, including the current series.

They have been especially strong recently, posting a 20-6 record in their last 26 road games and going 8-1 in their last nine road contests, currently riding a 3-game winning streak. Notably, the team has recorded three separate season-high 5-game road winning streaks, occurring from May 25 to June 2, June 19 to July 2, and July 6 to July 21.

Logan Henderson, 23, is set to make his fifth start of the season. His most recent outing for the Brewers was on May 25 at Pittsburgh, where he earned no decision in a 6-5 victory. In that game, he pitched 5 innings, allowing 5 hits, 1 run (earned), 2 walks, 6 strikeouts, and 1 home run, throwing 89 pitches while leaving the game with a 3-1 lead. The Brewers have won all four of his starts this season. He has recorded one quality start, and opponents are batting just .187 against him (14-for-75, including 3 homers).

In Triple-A Nashville, Henderson has made 16 appearances (15 starts) this year, posting a 10-4 record with a 3.59 ERA over 77.2 innings pitched. There, he has allowed 62 hits, 32 runs (31 earned), walked 24, struck out 87, and surrendered 9 home runs. Henderson made his Major League debut on April 20 against the Athletics.

Drafted by Milwaukee in the fourth round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft out of McLennan (TX) Community College, Henderson was named the 2021 NJCAA Division I Pitcher of the Year in his only season, going 10-2 with a 1.66 ERA and 169 strikeouts in 97.2 innings pitched.

Notably, Henderson became the first pitcher in Brewers history to win each of his first three Major League starts. In his last outing on May 25 at Pittsburgh, he was on track for a fourth straight win but was denied due to a blown save. He has recorded 29 strikeouts over his first four MLB games, second in franchise history only to Freddy Peralta’s 35 strikeouts in 2018.

Minor league career highlights include a 21-14 record with a 3.26 ERA across 60 games (59 starts) from 2022 to 2025, amassing 320 strikeouts in just 251.1 innings (11.46 K/9) while limiting opponents to a .205 batting average and maintaining a 1.02 WHIP. His first professional season in 2022 was limited to 7 starts due to a fractured right elbow. Baseball America rated him as having the best control and best changeup in the Brewers organization entering the 2024 season.

Day: 30-20 | Night: 36-24 | RHP: 44-33 | LHP: 22-11

Current Month: 2-0 | Previous Month: 17-7

A.L. Teams: 23-16 | N.L. Teams: 43-28 | N.L. East: 13-17