Good Morning Washington Nationals Fan,

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, August 28th. My name is Richard and this is your morning briefing, Haden is also going to be contributing today.

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Leading today’s Morning Briefing: Nationals fall in the series finale against the Marlins

Over the weekend, the Nationals played the Miami Marlins. While they won the overall series against the Marlins, they did not win the series finale on Sunday. The Nationals entered Sunday’s game with three straight wins and five consecutive series victors. [Not bad for a team that is “re-tooling huh? more on that below].

A two-run homerun from Marlins Jorge Soler in the third inning spoiled another great outing from starter Trevor Williams.  Williams went seven innings, giving up only two runs on five hits. He struck out five and walked only two. That’s why he is our Player of the Game. His past two starts have been excellent, and according to Andrew Golden of The Washington Post, this success comes from throwing exclusively from the stretch.

Upcoming: The Nationals will now head to Toronto to finish off this nine-game road trip this afternoon. RHP Josiah Gray will take the mound for the Nationals. His 7-10 with an ERA of 3.85. Gray is coming off six innings of one-run ball against the New York Yankees on August 22. The last time he faced the Blue Jays at Nationals Park was on August 18, 20221 which was his fourth start with the Nationals. This afternoon will be a good indicator of how far he has progressed with the Nationals.

LHP Mackenzie Gore (6-10; 4.38 ERA) and LHP Patrick Corbin (9-11; 4.70 ERA) will be the starters for the remainder of the series before they head back to Washington D.C. for the weekend.

News from Toronto: Toronto yesterday lost against Cleveland 10-7 and also lost two critical players to injuries: Tim Mayza and star shortstop Bo Bichette.

The streaking Washington Nationals

Those who completely gave up on the Washington Nationals earlier this year should be completely taken aback by what the Nationals are currently doing. As of this morning, the Nationals are 4th in the NL East above the New York Mets are eight games back from the last Wild Card Spot, and are TIED with the San Deigo Padres! Yeah yes, those Padres.

Entering yesterday’s game and since July 8, Washington is 27–15 (.643), tied for the second-best record in the National League and tied for the fourth-best record in Major League Baseball behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers (29–11, .725), Baltimore Orioles (29–13, .690), Seattle Mariners (29–13, .690) and with the Chicago Cubs (27–15, .643).

Additionally, the Nationals are 4-2 on this current road trip which started in New York against the Yankees. The Nationals have also won 11 of its past 15 games.

Why this matters: At the beginning of the season many thought that the Nationals would have a record that would be the worst team in Major League Baseball, Well that is obviously not the case.  Prospects that the Nationals have acquired at the major league level have been really impressive and the team is now filled to the brim with talent in the minor leagues. No matter what happens for the remaining 2023 season the Nationals’ future is extremely bright. 2025 playoff appearance? We think so!

Must read on the Nats Report: Stephen Strasburg’s Impact on the Washington Nationals

Stephen Strasburg's journey serves as an inspiration to aspiring young pitchers, reminding them that with dedication and determination, they too can achieve greatness on the mound.

I recently shared my thoughts on Stephen Strasburg and his impact on the Washington Nationals on the Nats Report, Check it out here.

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Down on the Farm

The Rochester Red Wings lost 12-1 to the Worcester Red Sox. Derek Hill went 2-4. Richie Martin hit a triple. Joe La Sorsa tossed an inning of scoreless relief.

The Harrisburg Senators lost 2-0 to the Reading Fightin Phils. Lucius Fox and Dylan Crews recorded the only hits of the game for the Senators. DJ Herz threw five innings and struck out seven while walking four. Tanner Rainey threw an inning of rehab work.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks won 4-3 to the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. Andrew Pinckney and Yohandy Morales both got a hit. Sammy Infante went 2-3 with a double. Kyle Luckham threw six two-run innings while striking out three batters.

The FredNats won 8-7 in the 13th inning against the Salem Red Sox. Christian Vaquero went 2-4 with three walks. Elijah Green went 1-5 with two walks. Marcus Brown went 3-6 with a double. Gavin Dugas hit a home run. Johnathan Thomas stole his 53rd base and Elijah Nunez stole his 14th base since getting drafted this year. Luke Young threw five innings and struck out 10. He allowed three runs and walked one batter.

Not everything is bad…

Featured Stories of the Day from around Major League Baseball

• The value of power/speed and premium defense puts CJ Abrams in rare air! via Talk Nats
• Why MLB umpires hope the art of the signature punch out won’t be lost via The Athletic
• Oakland A's become first team eliminated from MLB playoff contention during historically bad season via CBS Sports
• Who are MLB's best starting pitchers in 2023? via MLB

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