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August 3, 2023 / Nat Anacostia

‘I don’t think we’re that far off’: Nats’ July in review

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The Nationals played for a respectable 12–14 record in the month, finishing the month as they started, in last place in the NL East. As in the last two years, the month of July ended with team acting as sellers at the trade deadline. This season, only one player—Jeimer Candelario—was traded away, but he was playing at an all-star level this season and will be missed.

The month opened with the Nats in Philadelphia, playing the last two games of a three-game series. In game 2, the Nats were blown out 19–4, but they managed to win game 3 by a single run, giving them the series victory. They finished their nine-game road trip with a 6–3 record.

Returning to Washington, the Nationals played a four-game series against the hot Reds, tied for the NL Central Division lead, who had just called up rookie phenom Elly De La Cruz. The Reds swept the Nats in a series that included two one-run losses (as well as a 9–2 blowout). Next came the Rangers, who were on top of the AL West. Davey Martinez moved CJ Abrams to the leadoff position, and Abrams would respond with a notable improvement in his hitting. The Nats took two games of three for a series win going into the All-Star Game break.

Josiah Gray represented the Nats on the victorious NL All-Star Team, and he pitched the third inning, setting down the side. The MLB amateur draft also took place during the break. The Nats had the second overall pick and used it to select Dylan Crews, a highly touted outfielder from Louisiana State University. Baseball America rated Crews as #4 on their list of Top 100 Prospects (just ahead of #5 James Wood).

After the break, the Nats opened a road trip against the Cardinals in St. Louis. The first game was suspended due to rain and had to be completed the next day—the Nats won it in ten innings. But they lost the next two games and the series. CJ Abrams won the NL Player of the Week Award (which, because of the All-Star break, was based on just three games) after hitting 6-for-13 with a double, a triple, two stolen bases, and 7 runs scored in the St. Louis series. The road trip concluded in Chicago, where the Nats again lost the series two games to one, including a 17–3 blowout loss in game 2. Their record on the road trip was 2–4.  Hunter Harvey, who had been the Nats’ closer, went on the injured list with a right elbow strain.

Returning home, the Nats faced the Giants, who were tied for second place in the NL West. The Nats won all three games for a series sweep, their first three-game sweep since June 2021. Their win in game 2 was a 10–1 blowout over the Giants. The Nats then took two games of three against the Rockies, coming from behind late to win the last two games by one run apiece. The Nats’ record for the home stand was 5–1.

Next came a four-game road trip to New York to play the Mets. In the first game, it was the Nats’ turn to give up the lead in the bottom of the eighth and lose by one run. In game 2, Max Scherzer allowed only one run in another Mets victory. But in game 3, the Nats won over a dispirited Mets team that had just learned that Scherzer had been traded to the Rangers. But the Mets won game 4, winning the series three games to one. The Nats’ final game of the month was played at home against the Brewers, the first of a three-game series, and the Nats won the game 5 to 3. Just before the game, the Nats announced that Jeimer Candelario had been traded to the Cubs for a pair of second-tier prospects.

Making his major league debut on July 1 was Jose Ferrer, a 23-year-old left-handed reliever. Also debuting for the Nationals in July was 29-year-old right-handed reliever Rico Garcia, who had been granted free agency after being designated for assignment by the Oakland A’s and was signed by the Nats. He had also previously pitched for the Rockies, Giants, and Orioles.

Record:
12–14 (.462)

Pythagorean Record:
10–16 (4.85 R/G – 6.04 RA/G)

July MVP:

  • CJ Abrams (.327/.391/.500, 3 HR, 24 R, 8 RBI, 16 SB, 141 wRC+, 1.2 fWAR).

Pitcher of the month:

  • Kyle Finnegan (1–0, 1.54 RA/9, 11 G, 11⅔ IP, 7.7 K/9, .200 opp OBP, 5.68 RE24, 6 shutdowns, 3 meltdowns, 0.7 RA9-WAR).

Starting pitcher of the month:

  • Josiah Gray (1–2, 3.91 RA/9, 4 GS, 23 IP, 6.3 K/9, .375 opp OBP, 0.5 RA9-WAR).

Worst month:

A tie between

  • Amos Willingham (0–2, 10.00 RA/9, 9 G, 9 IP, 7.0 K/9, .447 opp OBP, –0.4 RA9-WAR), and
  • Mason Thompson (0–2, 9.00 RA/9, 9 G, 8 IP, 4.5 K/9, .462 opp OBP, –0.4 RA9-WAR).

Best start this month:

  • Josiah Gray (July 27, 2–1 loss to the Mets in New York) pitched 6 shutout innings, giving up 2 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4 for a game score of 69. The Nats were ahead 1–0 when Gray was pulled from the game after six innings, but the Mets scored 2 in the bottom of the eighth for the win.

Worst start:

  • MacKenzie Gore (July 1, 19–4 loss to the Phillies in Philadelphia) gave up 7 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks in 2⅔ innings with 3 strikeouts for a game score of 18.

Tough loss:

  • Jake Irvin (July 3, 3–2 loss to the Reds at home) gave up 3 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk in 6 innings while striking out 3, for a game score of 50.

Cheap wins:

  • Trevor Williams (July 2, 5–4 win over the Phillies in Philadelphia) gave up 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings while striking out 1, for a game score of 42.
  • Jake Irvin (July 8, 8–3 win over the Rangers at home) gave up 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings while striking out 1, for a game score of 48.
  • MacKenzie Gore (July 17, 7–5 win over the Cubs in Chicago) gave up 5 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in 6⅓ innings while striking out 6, for a game score of 45.
  • Patrick Corbin (July 29, 11–6 win over the Mets in New York) gave up 4 runs on 6 hits and no walks in 5⅔ innings while striking out 2, for a game score of 43.

Biggest shutdown:

  • Kyle Finnegan (July 2, 5–4 win over the Phillies in Philadelphia). The Nats’ lead had just dropped to one run with an RBI double hit by Castellanos. There was one out in the bottom of the seventh, a runner on second, and the Nats were ahead 5–4 when Finnegan got the call. Finnegan walked Bryce Harper but then got Realmuto to ground into an inning-ending double play. He stayed on to pitch the eighth, where he gave up a walk and a single but again got out of the inning with a double play. (Win probability added/WPA +.293)

Worst meltdown:

  • Mason Thompson (July 27, 2–1 loss to the Mets in New York). The Nats were ahead 1 to 0 when Thompson got the call to pitch the bottom of the eighth. After getting Lindor to fly out, he gave up consecutive singles to McNeil and Alonso and an RBI single to Vogelbach, tying the game. A pinch runner came in for Vogelbach, and Thompson threw a wild pitch, advancing the runners to second and third. He then hit the next batter, loading the bases with one out, when Davey Martinez pulled Thompson (WPA –0.497). Kyle Finnegan was brought in, but it immediately started raining hard, so Finnegan had to wait until after a rain delay to try to get out of the jam. When he returned to the mound after the delay, he gave up the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly before getting out of the inning.

Clutch hit:

  • Joey Meneses (July 25, 6–5 win over the Rockies at home). The Nats were trailing 5–3 in the bottom of the eighth when Meneses came to bat with no outs and runners on second and third. He launched a home run into the left field seats, giving the Nats the lead (WPA +.400).

Choke:

  • Keibert Ruiz (July 6, 5–4 loss to the Reds at home in 10 innings). The Reds had hit a home run to score 2 in the top of the tenth, while Lane Thomas had led off the bottom of the inning with an RBI single to get one run back. When Ruiz came to bat, the Nats were still trailing the Reds 5–4 but had the tying runner on third and the winning runner second with two outs. Ruiz swung at a 1–1 pitch at the bottom of the zone and hit a weak fly ball into center field to end the game. (WPA –.245)

Memorable fielding plays:

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Filed under Month in review