The Washington Nationals will wrap up their three-game series against the San Francisco Giants this afternoon. The Nationals are scheduled to send left-handed pitcher MacKenzie Gore to the mound, which a 4-12 record and an ERA of 4.29. The Nationals will face veteran right-hander Justin Verlander, who has a 1-8 record and an ERA of 4.29.

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The Washington Nationals notched their first conventional win since the trade deadline, thanks to a combination of early power hitting and solid pitching. James Wood ended his dry spell with a leadoff home run, igniting the offense after a month-long homer drought. Paul DeJong and Josh Bell kept the momentum going, each adding solo shots to extend the lead, giving the Nationals an early cushion.

Brad Lord delivered another strong outing, showing poise under pressure and escaping a bases-loaded jam in the third inning with a clutch changeup. Lord's command on the mound and ability to pitch with a lead allowed the team to settle in, and he finished his afternoon with a 3.28 ERA over 85 major league innings—earning praise from interim manager Miguel Cairo as a hard-working and reliable member of the rotation.

The retooled bullpen made its mark as well. Konnor Pilkington kept the Giants in check in the seventh, and Cole Henry navigated part of the eighth before new closer Jose A. Ferrer earned a gutsy five-out save. Ferrer, stepping into the role after Kyle Finnegan's trade to Detroit, shut the door with a game-ending double play, protecting the Nationals' 4-2 lead.

On Deck…

After today’s game, the Nationals will travel to Kansas City and will kick off a three-game series against the Royals. The Nationals are scheduled to send RHP Cade Cavalli, who will be making his second start of the 2025 season, to the mound and will face LHP Bailey Falter, with a record of 7-6 and 4.14 ERA.

In the hole…

On Tuesday night, the Nationals will play game two of their three-game series against Kansas City and are scheduled to send left-handed pitcher LHP Mitchell Parker to the mound, who has a record of 7-12 with a 5.43. The Nationals will face right-handed pitcher Michael Wacha with a 6-9 record and a 3.36 ERA.

Over his last 27 games, Josh Bell has been scorching at the plate, going 29-for-89 (.326) with six doubles, three homers, nine RBI, 16 walks, and 12 runs scored, producing a stellar .439 on-base percentage and a .934 OPS.

Stretching the sample to his past 45 games, Bell has posted a .293/.392/.453 slash line with nine doubles, five home runs, 18 RBI, 23 walks, and 19 runs. His plate discipline has sharpened dramatically — since May 25, he owns a 14.0% strikeout rate (31 K in 222 plate appearances), compared to 23.7% over the season’s first two months.

Bell has shown his best power swing from the left side, with 12 of his 14 home runs coming as a left-handed hitter. He has also excelled when facing a pitcher deeper into a game, batting .322 (28-for-87) with a .632 slugging percentage — including four doubles, a triple, and seven homers — when seeing that pitcher for the second time

CJ Abrams has been one of the most efficient base stealers in the National League this season, swiping 26 bags to rank tied for fifth in the league while being caught only three times all year — and just once over a 71-game stretch since May 7. During that span, he strung together 17 consecutive successful steals from May 7 through July 29, tying the longest stolen-base streak in the majors this season.

Abrams is also in rare company — one of only five players in MLB to record more than 25 stolen bases in each of the past three seasons, alongside José Caballero, Elly De La Cruz, José Ramírez, and Bobby Witt Jr.

The Nationals have been one of baseball's top ninth-inning offenses, leading the National League with 59 runs scored in the final frame—second-most in the majors behind only Oakland (68). Washington has also racked up 100 hits in the ninth inning this season, ranking second in the NL and third in all of MLB, trailing just the Rockies (101) and Athletics (104).

In his last outing, MacKenzie Gore struggled, taking the loss after giving up eight runs on 12 hits over just 3.0 innings against the Athletics on August 5 at Nationals Park.

Gore will be facing the Giants for the sixth time in his career and the second time this season.

Overall, he is 3–2 with a 4.97 ERA against San Francisco, but in his lone career start at Oracle Park — back in 2022 — he earned the win with 6.0 innings of one-run ball (1.50 ERA). Earlier this season, on May 23, he took the loss to the Giants at Nationals Park despite striking out nine over 6.0 innings and allowing just one run.

This year, Gore has been one of the National League’s premier strikeout pitchers. His 148 strikeouts rank tied for sixth in the NL (10th in MLB), and his 10.57 strikeouts per nine innings place him third in the league. His strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.22) is 13th-best in the NL.

Gore’s curveball has been a particularly effective weapon — Baseball Savant data shows it generates a 38.0% whiff rate, 11th-best among all MLB pitchers. Opponents are hitting just .220 (26-for-118) with a .305 slugging percentage against it, managing only four doubles and two homers.

An All-Star selection in 2025, Gore represented the Nationals in Atlanta and delivered a perfect, scoreless fifth inning in the NL’s victory.

He opened his season with a historic performance — striking out 13 on Opening Day, setting a franchise record (Montreal/Washington) for a season opener and matching his career high. He duplicated the feat on April 19 at Coors Field against the Rockies, marking his eighth career double-digit strikeout game. Gore also became just the 10th pitcher since 1900 to strike out 13 or more on Opening Day, and only the second — joining Hall of Famer Bob Gibson (1967) — to do so with no runs and no walks allowed.

Yesterday’s loss continued the Giants’ rough stretch at Oracle Park, dropping them to 1–9 in their last 10 home games. Since June 17, San Francisco has gone just 7–16 (.304) at home — the lowest home winning percentage in the majors over that span — and has managed to win only two series during that stretch (taking two of three from Boston, June 20–22, and defeating Philadelphia, July 7–9).

During this skid, the offense has averaged only 3.1 runs per game, while the pitching staff has surrendered 4.7 runs per game with a 4.18 ERA. Of those 16 home defeats, 11 have been decided by two runs or fewer — including each of the Giants’ last six home losses.

Justin Verlander makes his 20th start of the season this afternoon, seeking his second win of the year and closing in on a major career milestone. The 42-year-old is just three strikeouts shy of 3,500 for his career — a mark reached by only nine pitchers in Major League history.

Verlander has been outstanding lately, recording a 0.60 ERA (1 ER in 15.0 IP) over his last three outings while holding opponents to a .185 batting average (10-for-54). Despite his dominance, the Giants have gone just 1–2 in those games. Expanding the stretch to his last five starts since July 9, he’s posted a 2.66 ERA (7 ER in 23.2 IP), though San Francisco is 1–4 in that span.

Historically, Verlander has dominated the Nationals, winning all five career starts against them with a 2.08 ERA (7 ER in 30.1 IP).

Day: 25-26 | Night: 34-32| Home Record: 29-27 | Road Record: 30-31

Current Streak: L1 | Last Five: 3-2 | Last Ten: 5-5 | Current Month: 5-3

A.L. Teams: 21-21 | N.L. Teams: 38-37 | N.L. East: 16-14