Good morning, Washington Nationals fans.

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, May 21.

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Welcome to the Morning Briefing! Haden here. Let’s talk about last night’s game.

Leading this Morning’s Briefing: Nats win game one over the Twins

Luis García Jr. and Jesse Winker each hit home runs to power the Nationals to a 12-3 victory over the Twins. Everyone but Nick Senzel got a hit for the Nationals, and six Nats ended the night with two hits.

The Nationals pitching excelled. Mitchell Parker was fantastic in his start, striking out seven and walking one over his six innings. Parker allowed three runs, two coming from a two-run home run from Carlos Correa. Derek Law threw two shutout innings. Dylan Floro put a cap on it all, lowering his ERA to 0.38. Among qualified relievers, that is second lowest in the league behind Cleveland’s closer Emmanual Clase.

This game served as a reminder of just how good the Nationals pitching staff has been. The team ranks third in fWAR and fourth in FIP. After allowing the most home runs in MLB last season, the team has gone to the other extremity, allowing just 33 home runs so far this season. Tack on a middle-of-the-pack walk rate, and you make up for the lack of stuff on the roster.

Offense is obviously still an issue, but with players in the minors excelling, it is only a matter of time until it gets a boost.

The Nats now must prep for game two of the series as they send Patrick Corbin (1-4, 5.59 ERA) to the mound to face RHP Joe Ryan (2-3, 3.57 ERA). First pitch is at 6:45 pm ET and the game will be televised on MASN.

Down in the Minors

Rochester Red Wings

Red Wings Stock Watch

JJ • May 21, 2024

This is the second installment in a series of Stock Watch articles that detail how Nationals prospects at various minor league levels are developing. For the Nats’ Double-A affiliate Harrisburg Senators, check out this article by Owen Ranger. Last week, the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate Rochester Red Wings ran the “ROC The Lilac” promotion to celebrate the city’s annual Lilac Festival (with some fantastic jerseys you can pick up at the

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The Nats Report is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.