Good Morning, Washington Nationals fans.
Here are your Washington Nationals Morning headlines, news, analysis, and more for Thursday, July 2, 2026
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📅 NEXT AT BAT
Today - Rest / Travel Day
Friday vs. Pittsburgh Pirates 6:45 PM ET - Start of Home Weekend 4th of July Series
Saturday vs. Pittsburgh Pirates 11:05 AM ET - 4th of July Morning Game!
Sunday vs. Pittsburgh Pirates 1:00 PM ET
Monday vs. Houston Astros 6:45 PM ET - New Home Series
Nats Starting to Look Like Top-10 Team Again
⚾ DUGOUT DISPATCH
After dropping the first game of the series to the Red Sox, and going down 1-0 in the 4th inning of game 2, the Nats got into a bit of a scuffle, started between Cade Cavalli and Willson Contreras with the benches clearing. Since that incident, the Nats have outscored the Red Sox 18-2 and were able to win both the games to take the series win, giving them all the momentum they need as they head home today to prepare for representing the nation’s colors in their home weekend 4th of July series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
📊 THE BOX SCORE:
After a 4 game series loss to the Phillies last week that really put the bullpen issue on full display, and stunted all the Nats momentum, they are finally getting back to looking like a top-10 team again. Over the weekend, the Nats were able to get back to work with a 2-1 series win in the Beltway series over the Orioles and took down the Red Sox with a 2-1 series win to move the Nats back to 2 games above .500. Now with 2 straight series wins and sitting at 45-43, the Nats are at perfect striking distance of the NL East, and a series win over the weekend would position them perfectly as they go into their last week before the All-Star break.
Speaking of the All-Star break, the Nats fans have done their job it seems, as with phase 2 voting closing at noon today, Nats star studded shortstop CJ Abrams is the clear leader at 56% over Mookie Betts at 44%. Although it should be more of a blowout, the Dodgers fans are plentiful, so it is nice to see Abrams getting his flowers despite the smaller market. With CJ Abrams set to start the All-Star game and represent the Nats, be sure to tune in and see if he can get on the board for the NL All-Stars come Tuesday, July 14th. Don’t miss it!
Starting pitching has continued to show that they can do their job for the Nats to keep them close late into the game. Recently, the work of Cade Cavalli, Foster Griffin and Andrew Alvarez has been truly sensational. In the month of June, Griffin has a 1.15 ERA with 31.1 innings pitched and 33 strikeouts… Wow. In Cavalli’s last 2 starts, he has allowed only 2 runs, while striking out 20 through 13.0 innings. And of course, the young arm of Alvarez who is slowly getting more and more responsibility in the Nats rotation has remained consistent. Alvarez has thrown 4+ innings 7 times this season since being called up, and in those 7, he has not once allowed more than 2 earned runs. Quite the rotation the Nats are seeing come together.
🗣️ LOCKER ROOM LORE
As the trade deadline nears closer and Nats fans are stuck wondering if they will buy or trade at the deadline, Nats first year president Paul Toboni gave some answers as to what Nats fan can expect.
“We were pretty careful about not setting expectations too high or too low coming into this, just kind of see how it went with every passing day,” Toboni said this week. “I've been pretty vocal about it: We just want to get the best out of our roster. That, in conjunction with the fact that we're just still more than a month away, I don't know what we're going to be thinking a month from now. So the same mindset remains. We're just going to keep going over the course the next month and change, and then see where we're at and we'll go from there.”
Essentially, Toboni just stressed what the Nats fans already know: these games over the next month are all major regarding the future trajectory of the team.
💬 FAN’S CHOICE
Do you think the Nats can continue playing great ball like they are for a little longer to convince the front office to go all in for a playoff push at the deadline?
📬 SUBSCRIBER CTA
Drive engagement and growth. On the topic of deadlines and trades, check out the new transactions happening down in the minors by Bobby Beaver!
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Nats Stomp Boston in Game 3, Claim Series Win
🔥 HEADLINE
Benches clearing on Tuesday send Nats in right direction, 18 runs against the Red Sox 3 in their last 2 games.
Final Score: Nationals 10, Red Sox 2
Date: July 1, 2026
Location: Fenway Park
⚾ DUGOUT DISPATCH
In the game to decide the series yesterday, the green monster was under attack by the Nats bats. James Wood, Nasim Nunez and Andres Chaparro all mashed homers over or into it in the 10-2 dominant victory in a game where the pitching was amazing and the offense was better. Since the benches cleared on Tuesday, it seems this Nats team has decided to wake back up, now winning back-to-back series and getting their number one MLB offense back up and firing as they keep pushing onward to compete for a wild card spot
📊 THE BOX SCORE
Winning Pitcher: Andrew Alvarez ([1-1], 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, 6 K)
Losing Pitcher: Payton Tolle ([4–5], 3.0 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 5 K)
Key Hitters:
James Wood: 2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI
Jacob Young: 2-for-3, RBI, Run
Nasim Nunez: 1-for-4, HR, BB
Team RISP: [6-for-14]
Errors: Nats 0, Red Sox 0
Attendance: 32,574
📅 NEXT AT BAT
Next Game: vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, Friday, July 3, 6:45 PM ET, Nationals Park
Probables: Nats — Foster Griffin, Pirates — Mitch Keller
Key Storyline: With the Nats ace on the mound facing a struggling Pirates offense, can the Nats get the series started right with a series opening win?
📈 MORNING STAT
With yesterday’s bomb, James Wood now has 22 homers on the season. Despite being robbed of an All-Star roster spot, he continues to make his case to compete in the Home Run Derby this year.
💬 FAN’S CHOICE
How do you see the 4th of July series against the Pirates going?
📬 SUBSCRIBER CTA
Like this recap? Check out Monday’s game notes for the Red Sox series by Richard!
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theFUTURE
⚾ DUGOUT DISPATCH
The Nats 4 minor league teams continue to add onto their extremely positive seasons, going 2-1 on the day yesterday with one game being postponed due to rain. As the second half of the season is officially underway, all 4 of the Nats minor league teams are .500 or better on the season, with 2 of their teams first in their respective leagues.
📊 THE BOX SCORE:
The Rochester Red Wings, the Nats Triple-A team had their game postponed yesterday due to weather, meaning they still stand at 49-31 on the year and first in the international league. Nats number 28 prospect Yohandy Morales has continued to play solid ball for the red wings, with a 2 hit, one RBI game to move his season average to .307. Playing amazing ball at Triple-A is always a good thing, as Morales major league debut should be coming closer and closer the better he plays.
The Harrisburg Senators, the Nats Double-A team got a big win yesterday, beating the Richmond Squirrels 7-2 to move them to 38-38 on the season. In the win yesterday, Cayden Wallace continued his outstanding season, tallying 2 hits and a run to move his season average to .299 on the season, as he continues to put solid bat to ball.
The Wilmington Blue Rocks, the Nats High-A team also were able to get a nice win yesterday, winning 5-3 to move to 39-37 on the year. In their win, the Blue Rocks were helped by Nats number 21 prospect Yeremy Cabrera, who tallied 2 hits, 2 RBIs, and 2 runs in the victory Wednesday. Consistently putting up solid numbers in their wins, Cabrera continues to be a prospect to watch for Wilmington.
The Fred Nats, the Nats Single-A affiliate and arguably the Nats strongest minor league team this season lost their game yesterday, but still remain at 52-25 on the year. In their loss yesterday, Nats number 8 prospect Gavin Fien still had a productive outing, notching 3 hits and 2 RBIs in the loss, and getting him to 8 hits in 6 games.
📈 MORNING STAT
The Nats 4 minor league teams are now a combined 178-131 on the year, with all 4 teams above or at .500 on the season.
💬 FAN’S CHOICE
Which minor league team has been the most entertaining for you to watch so far this season?
📬 SUBSCRIBER CTA
Drive engagement and growth. Check out the game notes for the Harrisburg Senators series by Bobby Beaver!
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WHAT WE THINK THE NATIONALS FRONT OFFICE IS READING
Speed Reads
📌 Toboni previews his first Trade Deadline with Nats (MLB)
📌What I’m hearing about the most intriguing arms in the Nationals’ farm system (Athletic)