Good Morning Washington Nationals Fan,

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, August 14th. My name is Haden Raymer. The Nationals swept the A’s in dramatic fashion. Let’s talk about it.

Be sure to follow The Nats Report on Twitter for all the latest headlines and more.

Leading today’s Morning Briefing: Nationals sweep the Oakland Athletics

The Athletics took a lead in the top of the first of game one, but by the fourth inning the Nationals had taken the lead and would not let it go. Ildemaro Vargas, Keibert Ruiz, and Jake Alu all hit home runs. Joan Adon left the game after three innings because of cramps. The bullpen did not allow any runs to score in the Nationals 8-2 victory.

On Saturday, the A’s had a 2-1 lead entering the bottom of the eight. The Nats manufactured a run in the bottom of the eighth with a pair of singles and a pair of walks. Then in the bottom of the ninth, Keibert Ruiz put an end to things with a walk-off home run to win the game 3-2. Jake Irvin threw 6.2 innings while striking out six batters and Blake Rutherford got his first two big league hits.

Yesterday, Trevor Williams gave up five runs over 4.1 innings. Andres Machado allowed the two runners he inherited from Robert Garcia to score, putting the Nationals down 7-1 entering the bottom of the seventh. After hitting a double to knock in a run earlier for the Nats, Stone Garrett hit a sac fly to knock in a runner in the seventh. The Nats battled in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases. Then Alex Call hit a hall up the middle to tie the game. Which allowed Jeter Downs to be the unlikely walk-off hero. The Nationals secured the sweep and won 8-7.

Ruiz is The Nats Report Player of the Weekend, thanks to his two home runs in the first two games and his 3-5 performance on Sunday. The next game is Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. against the Boston Red Sox.

You can listen to our thoughts on the A’s series and the upcoming Red Sox series tonight at 9:00 p.m. on In the Clubhouse.

In the Clubhouse is back!

Your season analysis is back with In the Clubhouse with TheNatsReport. You can get analysis on every Nationals series live on Twitch and then listen to it after on your preferred podcast platform.

Don’t forget to subscribe to In the Clubhouse on your favorite Podcasting platforms:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1fZLTII1NChYLVjjI7y0CQ

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-the-clubhouse-with-the-nats-report/id1536750004

Down on the Farm

The Rochester Red Wings lost 9-7 against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. Carter Kieboom went 2-4. Drew Millas went 2-5. Travis Blankenhorn went 1-4 with a home run.

The Harrisburg Senators won 8-3 against the Akron RubberDucks. James Wood went 1-5 with a home run. Robert Hassell III went 2-5 with a double. Jacob Young went 2-5 with a double. Trey Lipscomb went 3-5 with two doubles. Mitchell Parker went five innings and struck out eight. These guys have absolutely raked against the RubberDucks.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks lost 18-5 against the Bowling Green Hotrods. Daylen Lile went 0-4. Former top prospect Yasel Antuna went 2-3 with a double.

The FredNats lost 14-13 against the Lynchburg Hillcats. Dylan Crews went 5-5 with two home runs. Yohandy Morales 2-5 with a double. Andrew Pinckney went 2-6 with a home run. Marcus Brown went 2-6 and Gavin Dugas went 2-5. A great day for the 2023 Draft Picks. Johnathan Thomas went 1-5 with a double and two stolen bases.

Links around the League

Davey-isms and the walk-off victories via TalkNats

The Rotation is Struggling via TalkNats

The Wander Franco situation via Tampa Bay Times