Washington Nationals kick off the homestand with a loss to the Brewers

Washington D.C. - The Washington Nationals kicked off a ten-game home stand tonight with a loss against the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-3.

The Nationals are now 49-61 for the season and are 23-28 at home. They will start the month of August 0-1, start the ten-game homestand with a loss, and are now on a five-game losing streak.

Entering tonight's game, the Nationals were 13-10 (.565) at home since June 7. This comes after they opened the season with a 10-17 (.370) record entering play on June 7. Starting tonight, the Nationals will have 31 home games and 22 road games for the rest of the 2024 season.

The Nationals sent RHP Jake Irvin to the mound to start tonight's game.

Entering tonight's game, Irvin has been a workhorse for his team, ranking fifth in the National League in innings pitched. His command has been exceptional, as evidenced by his sixth-place ranking in walks per nine innings. Additionally, Irvin has been tough to hit, boasting a seventh-place WHIP, a ninth-place opponent's on-base percentage, and a tenth-place strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Tonight, Irvin gave up four runs on six hits and struck out four over 5.2 innings. Irvin faced 24 batters and threw 110 pitches 72 of them being strikes.

Jake Irvin got the loss for the Nationals and now has an 8-9 record and a 3.56 ERA.

CJ Abrams hit his 16th homerun 396 ft to center field launch angle of 33 degrees in the bottom of the third, bringing the Nationals at the time within one.

Byron Kerr of AP Sports pointed out that: "CJ Abrams now has 16 homers on the season after that 2-run shot in the 3rd. He hit his 16th HR last season on Sept. 8 vs. LAD, finishing with a career-high 18 homers in 2023."

Ildemaro Vargas had an RBI single to tie things up 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth. Entering tonight's game, Vargas is 13-for-35 (.371) with 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI, 3 BB, SB, and 3 R over his last 11 games. Vargas is 11-for-26 (.423) with RISP since June 2.

However, the Brewers scored two in the sixth and one in the seventh, putting them up 6-3 heading into the late innings of the game. A two-run top of the eighth by the Brewers put the game out of reach for the Nationals, who lost 8-3.

Tomorrow, Probable pitching starters

LHP DJ Herz will get the start for the Washington Nationals tomorrow night against the Brewers. Herz has a 1-4 record and a 4.79 ERA. DJ Herz has allowed two runs or less in five of his nine career starts. Herz is tied for fourth among MLB rookies with 53 strikeouts since he was called up on June 4. This will be Herz's first career start against the Brewers.

The Brewers will send RHP Aaron Civale to the mound with a 2-7 record with a 4.92 ERA. Civale has faced the Washington Nationals once in the regular season, pitching 5.2 innings and suffering a loss. Despite the defeat, he maintained a respectable 3.18 ERA. However, Civale struggled with control, issuing four walks while striking out only two batters, indicating potential challenges in limiting free passes and generating swings and misses against the Nationals lineup.

Former Washington Nationals Player stat alert

OF Victor Robles is batting .386 (22x57) over his last 18 games since July 7, after recording his second career leadoff home run tonight (the other was on August 4, 2021, with the Nationals).