Good morning, Washington Nationals fans.

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, June 24.

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

Welcome to the Morning Briefing! Haden here. The Nats won the weekend series. Let’s talk about it.

Leading this Morning's Briefing: Nats squeak out victory over the Rockies

The Nationals offense exploded on Friday for 11 runs. Drew Millas, Lane Thomas, CJ Abrams, and Jacob Young each had three hits in the game. Millas was a triple short of the cycle and drew a walk, while Thomas was a home run short of the cycle. Young and Abrams doubled twice.

Luis García Jr. got hot this weekend and started the series with a home run, a single, and a stolen base.

DJ Herz struggled in his start, allowing four runs to score, with only three unearned. All the runs came from home runs, as Herz allowed three in this game. On the bright side, Herz did not walk anyone and struck out five.

Dylan Floro threw a scoreless inning followed by a Robert Garcia three-punchout seventh. Tanner Rainey struck out two in two scoreless innings.

On Saturday, the Nationals made history. After a back-and-forth game, the Rockies achieved the first-ever pitch violation walk-off off of Kyle Finnegan.

Despite that, there were still positives. Abrams continued to rake in Coors, going 3-5 with a home run and a double. He got caught stealing for the eighth time of the season. That matches his career total heading into the season, which he accumulated over 241 games.

This is not just an Abrams issue. The entire team is having less success stealing bases right now. In June, the team is 12-29 in stolen base attempts. That is a bit over a 41 percent success rate. While the break-even point for stealing bases shifts year to year, the lowest you’ll hear it fall to is around 60 percent, not in the low 40s. An approach change needs to come from the managerial staff, but only time will tell if that will come.

Back to Saturday’s game, García Jr. continued to rake, getting just one hit, but making it count as a two-run blast that at the time gave the Nationals a 7-5 lead.

On Sunday, the Nationals lineup saw just 111 pitches. They let Kyle Freeland, who made his first MLB start since April 14th after hitting the IL, get through six innings on just 69 pitches. The offense did barely enough as Young went 2-3, with one of those hits coming in the top of the ninth. After Lane Thomas doubled to drive in the run, Joey Meneses singled to send him home. Kyle Finnegan locked down the save in the bottom of the ninth, and the Nats won 2-1.

The Nats will stay west as they head to San Diego to take on the Padres for the mid-week series. Patrick Corbin will take the mound against knuckleballer Matt Waldron (5-6, 3.46 ERA). Lane Thomas homered last time Waldron and the Nationals matched up back in 2023, but Waldron has been on a heater lately as he ramps up his knuckleball usage. Over his last five starts, he has thrown 33.1 innings with a 1.35 ERA and 2.91 FIP. He also struck out 24 and issued six free passes over that span.

First pitch for the game will be at 9:40 p.m. ET and will be televised on MASN 2.

Down in the Minors

The Rochester Red Wings won 3-2 over the Syracuse Mets. Dylan Crews went 2-4 with a double. Darren Baker doubled as well. James Wood got just one hit but walked in two plate appearances. Juan Yepez went 2-4 with a home run. Brad Lord made his Triple-A debut, striking out four over five innings. He gave up nine hits and allowed two earned runs.

The Harrisburg Senators lost 3-2 to the Hartford Yard Goats. Andrew Pinckney went 3-5 from the leadoff spot. Daylen Lile got two of his own in the two-hole including a double, but neither player could get driven in. Cody Wilson went 2-4 with a double and scored both runs for the Senators. It was a bullpen day for the Senators, but Marquis Grissom Jr. struck out two in his lone frame.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks lost to the Aberdeen IronBirds 6-2. Luke Young struck out four over five innings, allowing two earned runs. New-to-the-system Joe Naranjo continues to make a positive impression in Wilmington, doubling and drawing two walks. Viandel Pena notched three hits for the team.

The Fredericksburg Nationals lost 10-4 to the Down East Wood Ducks. Marcus Brown hit a three-run blast in the first inning. Seth Shuman struck out four over three innings, allowing two earned runs. Errors were the word of the day for the Fred Nats, as their three errors led to five unearned runs.

Featured Story of the Day

Mets’ Edwin Diaz ejected, faces a 10-game foreign substance ban via ESPN

The Nats Report is an independent reader-supported project with free and paid subscriptions, not affiliated with the Washington Nationals.

Those who opt for the paid edition are providing vital assistance to bolster our independent coverage of the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball.