July 31, 2025 [LINK / comment]
After recording their worst-ever win-loss record for the month of June (7-19, or .269), as grimly recounted here on June 29, the Washington Nationals improved slightly in July (9-15, or .375). There wasn't much improvement until after the All-Star break, however. Ever inconsistent with up-and-down gyrations, the Nats started the month (at home in Washington) being drubbed by the Detroit Tigers 11-2, but then bounced back to win the next two games by large margins. In that first game, starting pitcher Trevor Williams only lasted 3 innings, and was put on the injured list soon thereafter. He has not pitched since then. In the next game, Nathaniel Lowe led the way with 4 RBIs, and in the final game of the series against the Tigers, Paul DeJong and James Wood both homered. Prevailing over the then-best team in the American League in a series was a big accomplishment, raising fans' hopes. But then followed a dismal 3-game series against the Boston Red Sox, who easily swept the Nats. Only the third game was close, 6-4, so the less said about all that, the better. It was the major league debut of starting pitcher Shinnosuke Ogasawara, who only lasted 2 2/3 innings.
On June 19 I asked "Will Davey Martinez get fired?" It almost seemed like the Lerner family who own the Nationals didn't really care how well the team was doing, and such a perception can easily fester and spread if corrective action is not taken. So very shortly after the loss on July 6, the team owners announced that not only the manager but the general manager Mike Rizzo were being dismissed, with temporary replacements. Miguel Cairo is now filling the dugout role formerly held by Martinez, and Mike De Bartolo has replaced Rizzo in the front office. To me, replacing Martinez was long overdue, but I was taken aback by the dismissal of Rizzo. He had been with the team since the early days, taking over after Jim Bowden was obliged to resign as G.M. due to a recruiting scandal in March 2009. Rizzo played a key role in acquiring Jayson Werth prior to the 2011 season, and made other key acquisitions along the way, including Daniel Murphy and Howie Kendrick. But he also must be faulted for risking so much on the big Stephen Strasburg contract extension soon after the 2019 World Series triumph. That deal turned out to be disastrous for the franchise as a whole. With so much money tied up in one player, the Nats could not afford to field a truly contending team, and soon their top stars such as Max Scherzer and Juan Soto were gone.
The last time the Nationals changed managers in mid-season was June 2011, when Jim Riggleman abruptly resigned after the Nationals swept the Seattle Mariners. That was a strange situation in which he evidently didn't think he was getting proper credit for making the team better. Three years before that, on July 13, 2009 Manny Acta was fired, and few people argued with that move. Acta simply lacked big-league leadership capacity. In that regard, it is worth pointing out what I wrote about the Nationals' owners explanatory "letter to their fans" back then:
One element is missing from the letter, however: any sense of responsibility for the debacle on the part of the owners themselves. Unless they start laying out enough salary money to create a first class team, they should be part of the shakeup in team leadership!
Does all that sound familiar? Well, it should! Indeed, a couple years later the Lerners made a huge commitment by signing free agent Jayson Werth to a fat and juicy contract, and all of a sudden the Nationals fortunes turned sharply upward. Will history repeat itself in this regard?? Let's hope so.
After a day of rest (and reorganization), the Nationals hit the road but were beaten in their first game in St. Louis, on July 8. On the next day, however, their ace pitcher Mackenzie Gore got a rare win, thanks to home runs hit by Nathaniel Lowe, Amed (pronounced "Ahmed") Rosario, and James Wood. In the rubber match game, the Cardinals won by a score of 8-1, with 5 of those runs coming in the sixth inning.
Then they headed up to Miller Park American Family Field in Milwaukee, where the Nats lost all three games. In the Saturday July 12 game, rookie Daylen Lile homered in the second inning, and another rookie, Brady House, homered in the fourth and ninth innings -- the latter being a 2-run shot that put the Nationals ahead 4-3. A sac fly by CJ Abrams gave the Nats a crucial insurance run, but in the bottom of the ninth, closing pitcher Kyle Finnegan wasted it all away, giving up two walks and three hits, as the Brewers won it in walk-off fashion, 6-5. That one really hurt. The next day the Brewers easily completed the series sweep, 8-1.
As widely expected, two Washington Nationals players were chosen as backups for the 2025 All-Star Game, which was played in Atlanta's Truist Park: outfielder-slugger James Wood and pitcher Mackenzie Gore. Wood grounded out in his only at-bat, pinch-hitting in the eighth inning, whereas Gore had a fine 1-2-3 fifth inning on the mound. The Midseason Festivities began in suburban Atlanta with the Home Run Derby, presented by T-Mobile. The first batter was the Nats' James Wood, who got off to a slow start but managed to hit 16 homers, one of which sailed 486 feet, over the "Chop House" beyond right field. That proved to be not quite enough, however, as he was eliminated in the first round. One of the two players who hit 17 homers in the first round, the amazing Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, went on to win the contest.
In the actual All-Star Game, on July 15, the National League took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a 2-run double by Ketel Marte. In the sixth inning, Pete Alonso (of the Mets) hit a 3-run homer, and then Corbin Carroll (of the Diamondbacks) hit a solo homer, seemingly putting the game away. But in the very next inning, Brent Rooker (of the Athletics) hit a 3-run homer, and the AL scored one more run to reduce the lead to just two runs. The AL tied it in the top of the ninth inning, setting up the very first "swing-off" tie-breaker. It's much like the Home Run Derby, not very satisfying for baseball purists but at least better than a frustrating tie game such as in 2002. (Commissioner Bud Selig took so much heat for allowing that to happen that he pushed for a change such that the winning All Star Game league would get home field advantage in the the World Series. That rule was done away with in 2017, unfortunately.) Anyway, Kyle Schwarber was the hero for the Senior Circuit, who were deemed to have prevailed 7-6, without actually scoring an extra-inning run.
Back in Washington to welcome the San Diego Padres on July 18 after a 4-day break, the Nationals rallied to tie the game 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning on a home run by CJ Abrams. But once again, closing pitcher Kyle Finnegan failed to hold the line, giving up five runs in the top of the ninth. Final score: 7-2. That was the Nats' fifth consecutive defeat, a possible sign of lousy morale. But somehow they managed to pull together and win the next game. Second-string catcher Drew Millas hit a clutch 2-run single in the second inning to give the Nats an early lead, and Nathaniel Lowe later homered, as the Nats won it, 4-2. On Sunday, however, Mackenzie Gore had a poor outing, being replaced in the third inning, as the Padres won it, 8-1.
Then the Cincinnati Reds came to town, and the first game (on July 21) was a real slug-fest. Jake Irvin only lasted 3 2/3 innings, but the Nationals still won, 10-8. In Game 2, Brad Lord took the mound as starting pitcher, after Shinnosuke Ogasawara was sent back down to the minors. Lord did a fine job but was pulled after four innings, probably because he is not accustomed to pitching that much. The hero of that game was Josh Bell, who homered for the second day in a row, as the Nats won it easily, 6-1. But any hopes of a series sweep came crashing down as the Nats were blanked by the Reds on Sunday, 5-0.
It should be mentioned that one bright spot in the mostly-bleak Nationals landscape this month is Josh Bell, who was batting well below .200 for the first three months of the 2025 season. He is currently batting .228, with 13 homers and 40 RBIs; in other words, pretty respectable. James Wood, however, remains mired in a slump. Perhaps his experience at the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game was discouraging.
After resting for a day, the Nats flew to Minneapolis to face the Twins. In the first game, the only run scored by either team was in the fifth inning, when Mackenzie Gore walked a batter, allowed him to advance two bases on wild pitches, and then gave up a sac fly RBI. The only run scored was achieved without an actual hit! But the Nats bounced back and won by a score of 9-3 thanks largely to homers by Luis Garcia and Alex Call. The Nats also won the final game of the series, as Jake Irvin lasted 7 innings on the mound, and CJ Abrams homered again.
Then the Nats flew south to Houston (on July 28), where fans on both sides still remember the amazing 2019 World Series. Brad Lord was the starting pitcher, and this time he stayed until the sixth inning. The decisive play in that game was when catcher Riley Adams (who is frankly only an average-at-best player) hit a solo home run in the seventh inning. Nats 2, Astros 1. In the second game, a homer by Luis Garcia put the Nats ahead 2-1 in the third inning, but the Astros scored in the next four innings, and won it, 7-4. Then on Wednesday the crucial play came in the second inning, when diminutive veteran Jose Altuve hit a 3-run homer. Mackenzie Gore remained as starting pitcher until the sixth inning, when Cooper Hummel hit a 2-run blast, followed by another one after Cole Henry took the mound. It quickly became an ugly blowout. Final score: Astros 9, Nats 1.
So while the month ended on a down note, at least the Nationals have won 5 out of their last 10 games. Whether they can remain above the .400 "threshold of respectability" with a reduced roster (after the end-of-month trades) remains to be seen.
Given their bleak near-term prospects, it came as little surprise that the Nationals officially parted ways with several of their most reliable players as the trading deadline arrived today. Closing pitcher Kyle Finnegan, who has been one of the Nationals' few consistent performers since 2020, will be joining the Tigers. The team in Detroit was looking dominant until early July, more or less, but they seemed to hit a "ceiling." Last week they lost six games in a row, but then they won their last four games of the month. Veteran Michael Soroka will be pitching for the first-place Chicago Cubs, who traded two of their top prospects to the Nationals. And one of my personal favorites, Alex Call, was traded to the L.A. Dodgers, who are so overloaded with talent that Call may not get much playing time. After blossoming as a regular left fielder with the Nats this year, he will probably spend most of his time in the dugout as a utility player and/or pinch hitter. Baseball would be a better sport if more players emulated Call's determination and hustle. Finally, the Nats traded away relief pitchers Andrew Chafin and Luis Garcia (NOT the Luis Garcia who plays second base) to the L.A. Angels for a couple minor league pitchers. You can read an analysis of the trades at washingtonpost.com.
All in all, it could have been worse. I was really dreading the possibility that Mackenzie Gore might get traded. He has been in a slump lately, but his past performance leaves no doubt that he will be a top-notch pitcher for years to come.
In other baseball news, on Friday evening in Houston the Athletics rookie Nick Kurtz had one of the biggest offensive nights of any player in MLB history. The 22-year old designated hitter debuted on April 23, and has already hit 23 home runs this year. By the season's end, he will probably have set all sorts of records for a rookie player. In the first inning he singled and then scored a run, in the second inning he hit a two-run homer, in both the sixth and eighth innings he hit solo homers, and in the ninth inning he hit a 2-run homer. Yes, FOUR (4) home runs in one game!! Kurtz became the 20th major leaguer in history to have achieved that awesome feat of slugging. The last player to do so was Eugenio Suarez of the Arizona Diamondbacks, on April 26 this year. (SOURCE: Wikipedia; [the list on that page shows that two such feats were also recorded in 2017, but none otherwise since 2012. Weird.]) Including the above-mentioned single and a double, Kurtz went 6 for 6, as the Athletics crushed the Astros 15-3. It's too bad that Kurtz doesn't have much of a home fan base to cheer him on. The A's owner John Fisher is [evidently] not getting along very well with officials in his team's "temporary" home city of Sacramento, [and attendance is lagging]. It is a travesty that they are not still playing in Oakland, even if they do end up playing in Las Vegas some day.
The Atlanta Braves have lost virtually their entire pitching rotation to injuries this year, and earlier this month fell behind the Miami Marlins, who now occupy third place. In Kansas City on Wednesday, the Braves were tied 0-0 with the Royals until the tenth inning, when a leadoff single by aging veteran Salvador Perez drove in the game's only run. In Cincinnati tonight, they were tied with the Reds 3-3 going into the eighth inning, whereupon they scored 8 runs: an 11-3 lead. But then the Reds did exactly the same thing, scoring 8 runs in the eighth inning. Believe it or not!!! For a second day in a row, the Braves went into extra innings, but this time they won it, 12-11. They'll play a day game tomorrow (Friday), and then the two teams will head down to eastern Tennessee, where they will play in Bristol Motor Speedway. Believe it or not!!!