Good morning, Washington Nationals fans.

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, August 1.

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Welcome to the Morning Briefing!

Leading this Morning's Briefing: Nats Continue Schizophrenic Ways

Win three, lose three, win two (almost three), lose four...the post-ASG Nats have been a study in extremes. Yesterday the Diamondbacks completed a three-game sweep of the Nats, the second time that they've been swept in four series since the break, as the boys battled to come back from a four-run deficit but fell one short in the ninth. Ten days ago the Nats were just four games out of the last wild card spot after sweeping the Reds; today they are eleven games under .500, nine games out of the chase, and closer in the standings (by half a game) to the hapless Marlins than to the team that just swept them and currently holds that final playoff spot. And now they get to open a ten-game home stand with the Brewers, currently leading the NL Central by five games and possessing a +77 run differential. Eek.

Last Game Out

In their attempt to salvage the series against Arizona yesterday afternoon, the Nats turned to MacKenzie Gore, who for the second consecutive season was having a disastrous July (an 8.27 ERA and 1.645 WHIP across five starts entering yesterday). To his credit, Gore put forth his best effort since July 1st against the Mets, allowing just one run through the first five frames. He notably did not bring his strikeout stuff, however (he finished with one), and the D-Backs got to him in the sixth, getting two quick hits and an RBI groundout to conclude a 9-pitch at-bat before Davey Martinez lifted Gore for Jacob Barnes - who then did his best Derek Law impression by immediately allowing the remaining inherited runner to score. The Nats clawed one back in the eighth and two more in the ninth (the last on a passed ball), but left the tying run on third base when Riley Adams grounded out to second to end the game.

Nationals Headline of the Day: Call Knows the Drill

Alex Call is a grinder who squeezes all of the juice out of whatever talent he has, but at the end of the day is probably a AAAA player. With so much outfield depth in the Nats' system, that probably gives him even less of a future in DC than the recently traded Lane Thomas, but he's aware of the circumstances and is a thorough-going professional all the way, as Jessica Camerato writes about at MLB.com

Down on the Farm

The biggest news down on the farm yesterday came out of Rochester, where Jackson Rutledge had perhaps his best start of the season (7 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 K) and Brady House barreled went 3-for-5 on three absolute screamers (all 104+ mph), including a walkoff in the bottom of the tenth inning. Don't be surprised to see both of them in DC (again, in Rutledge's case) before the end of the season.

Featured Baseball Story of the Day: Yankees Getting Hot Again

I mainly bring the Yankees up because our old friend Juan Soto plays for them, and as the incumbent team the Yankees will obviously be the favorite to re-sign him. Over at Yahoo! Sports, Jake Mintz (half of the brilliantly named local duo of Cespedes Baseball BBQ) examines the Bronx Bombers getting their groove back.

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