Nationals' Jesse Winker: Goes yard for second straight game
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Winker went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, a solo home run and a second run scored in Monday's win over the Twins.
He led off the fourth inning by working the count full against Pablo Lopez before crushing a fastball over the fence in center field. Winker has left the yard in back-to-back games and has four hits in his last three contests, but that comes on the heels of an 0-for-21 stretch. On the season, the 30-year-old is slashing .232/.346/.411 with six homers, five steals, 21 RBI and 22 runs in 44 games; however, Winker may need to stay hot if he wants to hang onto a significant role in the OF/DH mix with Lane Thomas (knee) closing in on his return and top prospect James Wood (.393/.493/.689 in May for Triple-A Rochester) pounding on the door for a promotion.
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Nationals' Jacob Young: Nabs 15th steal
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Young went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBI and a stolen base in Monday's win over the Twins.
The 24-year-old center fielder's ability to flip the lineup over from the bottom of the order was a key part of the Nationals' 12-run eruption Monday. Young has hit safely in five straight games and is up to 15 steals in 17 attempts on the season, but his overall numbers have sagged in May -- he's slashing .208/.304/.271 through 56 plate appearances.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Sharp in first rehab start
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Cavalli (elbow) struck out five and allowed one hit and one walk in 2.2 scoreless innings Monday in a rehab start for the Nationals' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate.
Seeing his first game action since undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2023, Cavalli simply overmatched FCL hitters over 44 pitches. The 25-year-old right-hander touched 97 miles per hour with his fastball, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com, and the one hit off him came from MLB veteran Jose Abreu. Washington will now have 30 days to decide whether Cavalli is ready to join the big-league rotation in mid-June, but if the front office decided he needs more time to complete his recovery, he could be optioned to Triple-A Rochester. Either way, Cavalli should be back on the 26-man roster at some point this summer.
Garcia went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Monday's victory over the Twins.
Garcia put Washington ahead with his 378-foot, two-run home run in the second inning off Minnesota starter Pablo Lopez. The 24-year-old second baseman entered the game in a cold spell in which he hit .091 (3-for-33) over his previous nine games while battling wrist and heel ailments. This performance may be a sign that Garcia is feeling healthy. He's batting .281 on the season in 145 plate appearances.
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Nationals' Eddie Rosario: Drives in three
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Rosario went 2-for-5 with a stolen base, three RBI and a run scored in Monday's victory over Minnesota.
Rosario knocked two singles against his former club to collect his first three-RBI game with the Nationals. However, the highlight of the 32-year-old's evening came in the sixth inning when he was credited with a steal of home. The veteran outfielder has caught fire in May, hitting .333 (16-for-48) with five homers, 14 RBI and 13 runs scored. Nationals manager Dave Martinez has taken notice too, slotting Rosario at second or third in the order for seven of his last eight starts.
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Nationals' Mitchell Parker: Solid in win
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Parker (3-2) earned the win Monday against the Twins, allowing three runs on seven hits and one walk over six innings. He struck out seven.
Parker tossed his second quality start of the season, requiring 94 pitches to complete the accomplishment. The rookie southpaw has impressed in his first 38 career innings, posting a 3.32 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 32:8 K:BB. Parker currently lines up to face the Mariners in his next start this weekend.
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Nationals' Lane Thomas: Could be activated Friday
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Thomas (knee) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Thomas is set to play Tuesday and Wednesday before being reevaluated. Assuming all goes well, it would set him up to be activated ahead of the Nationals' weekend series against the Mariners. Thomas has missed nearly a month of action with a Grade 2 MCL sprain of his left knee.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Cleared for rehab assignment
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Cavalli (elbow) has been assigned to the Florida Complex League Nationals to begin a rehab assignment, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.
Working his way back from Tommy John surgery, Cavalli's 30-day rehab clock will begin once he makes his first rehab start. It will be the 25-year-old's first game action since 2022. Cavalli should eventually be an option to join the Nationals' rotation this season, but how soon that will be figures to depend largely on how he looks over the next several weeks.
Winker went 1-for-4 with a solo home run during Sunday's 11-5 loss to the Phillies.
Winker is in the midst of a lengthy slump, entering the game with one hit in his last 25 at-bats. His only hit during that stretch came in Saturday's game, which, combined with Sunday's homer, could mean brighter days ahead for the 30-year-old. Even with the cold spell, Winker is slashing .224/.339/.381 with five homers and five stolen bases.
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Nationals' Eddie Rosario: Goes yard
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Rosario went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run during Sunday's 11-5 loss to the Phillies.
Rosario clobbered his sixth home run of the campaign -- each of which has come off right-handed pitching -- in the fourth inning off Aaron Nola. Although Rosario is batting .180, he's swiped six bags through 36 games, tying his combined total from the last two seasons.
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Nationals' Trevor Williams: Inefficient against Phillies
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Williams didn't factor into the decision Sunday, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk over 4.1 innings against Philadelphia. He struck out three.
Williams was pulled at 97 pitches midway through the fourth but was able to keep one of baseball's best offenses in check. He yielded just one extra-base hit and the final run charged against him came after his departure, when Jacob Barnes allowed a walk, a single and a sacrifice fly to the first three batters he faced. After posting a 5.55 ERA last season, Williams boasts a 2.35 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP across 46.0 innings with a 4-0 record. He's scheduled to face the Mariners during a three-game home series next weekend.
Garcia (heel) will serve as the designated hitter and bat cleanup in Sunday's game against the Phillies.
After being held out of the lineup for the first two games of the series with a right heel injury, Garcia has gained clearance to return Sunday, albeit only as the DH. It's uncertain when he may return to the field, but the fact that Garcia is still active suggests the team is not concerned about the injury becoming worse with play.
Abrams went 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI in Saturday's extra-inning loss to Philadelphia.
Abrams had been in a minor rut coming into Saturday, going 1-for-13 over his previous four games. He broke the skid with his first three-hit performance since April 23 while collecting his first RBI since May 8. Abrams' production has fallen off in May -- he's batting .230 with a 1:14 BB:K this month -- but he's still carrying a solid .271/.330/.494 slash line with seven homers, 21 RBI, 28 runs and eight stolen bases on the season.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Blows save, takes loss Saturday
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Finnegan (1-3) took the loss and blew a save against the Phillies on Saturday, allowing two runs (one earned) on one hit and one walk over 1.2 innings.
Finnegan was called upon to protect a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning and got two outs before serving up a game-tying solo homer to Kody Clemens. The contest went into an extra frame, and after Washington failed to score in the top of the 10th, Finnegan was tagged with the loss when Bryce Harper plated the automatic runner on a sacrifice fly. The blown save was just the second for Finnegan this year, with the other coming all the way back on March 31. The right-hander has been one of the best closers in the league this season with 13 saves along with a 1.89 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 17:9 K:BB over 19 frames.
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Nationals' MacKenzie Gore: Fires second straight quality start
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Gore allowed two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out three batters over 6.1 innings in a no-decision against Philadelphia on Saturday.
Gore carried a one-run lead into the seventh inning but was pulled after Bryson Stott tagged him for a one-out, game-tying solo homer. Despite that disappointing exit, this was a positive overall outing for the lefty hurler, and he's now fired back-to-back quality starts for the first time this season. Gore didn't have the strikeout stuff Saturday that he had his previous time out when he fanned nine Red Sox batters over six frames, but Gore did established a season-high mark with his 6.1 frames. He'll look to keep rolling in his next start, which is tentatively scheduled to come at home against Seattle.
