Nationals' Patrick Corbin: Handed loss despite quality start
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Corbin (1-6) yielded two runs on six hits and three walks over six innings Friday, striking out five and taking a loss against Cleveland.
Corbin coughed up a pair of runs in the third inning but otherwise worked around danger to deliver a quality start. It was his second straight quality start and third in 12 appearances this season. The veteran southpaw forced 13 swinging strikes, marking a new season best and his first time hitting double digits in that category since April 28. Corbin will carry a 5.83 ERA into his next outing, which is lined up for next week at home against the Mets.
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Nationals' Jeremy De La Rosa: Makes return from IL
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High-A Wilmington reinstated De La Rosa (shoulder) from its 7-day injured list Wednesday.
De La Rosa made starts Wednesday and Thursday, going 1-for-8 with a double, a walk and a run scored. The outfielder had been on Wilmington's IL all season but was given the green light to join the High-A club after he completed a 16-game rehab assignment with Single-A Fredericksburg.
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Nationals' Jose Ferrer: Throwing from 120 feet
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Ferrer (shoulder) recently extended his throwing distance from flat ground to 120 feet, MLB.com reports.
Ferrer has been making slow progress in his recovery from a teres major strain in his left shoulder, an injury that first cropped up during spring training. He's been limited to playing catch for nearly a month, though he could soon be ready to resume throwing off a mound. Ferrer is likely at least a couple of weeks from heading out on a minor-league rehab assignment and probably won't be a realistic option to return from the 60-day injured list until the second half of June.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Whiffs five in second rehab start
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Cavalli (elbow) gave up two earned runs on no hits and three walks while striking out five over 2.2 innings Thursday in a rehab start with High-A Wilmington.
Cavalli, who is on the mend from March 2023 Tommy John surgery, made the second appearance of his rehab assignment after previously covering 2.2 scoreless innings in the Florida Complex League on May 20. Though he didn't allow a hit Thursday, Cavalli struggled with his control. In addition to issuing three walks, Cavalli threw 30 of his 54 pitches for strikes, hit a batter and threw two wild pitches. He'll look to iron out his control in the subsequent starts during his rehab assignment, which is likely to last until around mid-June.
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Nationals' Joey Meneses: Heating up at plate
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Meneses went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBI in Thursday's win over Atlanta.
The 32-year-old has five hits in his last two games, and starting with a May 14 doubleheader against the Red Sox, Meneses is slashing .333/.385/.438 with two doubles, a homer and seven RBI over 13 contests. With the Nationals' lineup fully healthy again, Meneses will need to keep hitting if he wants to maintain regular playing time between first base and DH.
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Nationals' Jesse Winker: Steals streak at four games
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Winker went 1-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a stolen base in Thursday's win over Atlanta.
The 30-year-old has been arguably the biggest beneficiary this season of the Nationals' aggressive approach on the basepaths. Winker is up to a career-high 10 steals on the season, including a pilfer in four straight games, and over the last 12 games he's slashing .297/.386/.514 with two homers and six RBI.
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Nationals' Jacob Young: Steals 17th bag
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Young went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base in Thursday's win over Atlanta.
The 24-year-old center fielder has heated up again, batting .345 (10-for-29) over the last 10 games. Young remains limited as a fantasy asset -- he has yet to hit a homer this year and has a 4.5 percent walk rate -- but he tends to take full advantage when he does get on base. He's slashing .279/.338/.329 through 46 big-league games with 17 steals in 20 attempts, plus 14 RBI and 25 runs.
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Nationals' Lane Thomas: Two more steals in win
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Thomas went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases and a run scored in Thursday's win over Atlanta.
Thomas reached base and stole second in each of his first two trips to the plate while also coming around to score a run in the latter at-bat. The outfielder has been on a tear since returning from the injured list and is now batting .353 (6-for-17) through four games in May with three RBI, four stolen bases and four runs scored, swiping a pair of bags in back-to-back contests.
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Nationals' Kyle Finnegan: Records 15th save
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Finnegan picked up the save in a win over Atlanta on Thursday, pitching a scoreless ninth inning while striking out one and issuing a walk.
Finnegan entered the game with a two-run lead in the ninth and issued a leadoff walk to Ozzie Albies to put himself in an early jam. However, the right-handed reliever was able to retire the next three batters in succession to notch his 15th save of the season. Finnegan now has three scoreless appearances since blowing the save against the Phillies on May 18, posting a 5:1 K:BB over that stretch. He currently has six saves this month to go along with a 0.93 ERA.
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Nationals' Trevor Williams: Remains undefeated
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Williams (5-0) picked up the win over Atlanta on Thursday, allowing one run on four hits and two walks over 5.2 innings while striking out four.
The right-hander was able to keep Atlanta's lineup at bay for most of the contest, allowing just one run in the bottom of the third inning after surrendering a leadoff triple to Jarred Kelenic. Williams induced 12 whiffs on the night and retired nine straight batters over his final frames before an Ozzie Albies single sent him to the showers after 95 pitches. Williams has not allowed more than one earned run in eight of his 11 starts this season while also going at least five innings in all but one start.
Nationals' Josiah Gray: Throws live bullpen session
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Gray (elbow) threw 76 pitches in a live batting practice session Thursday, Bobby Blanco of MASN Sports reports.
Gray mixed in his offspeed and breaking pitches more frequently and increased his pitch count by 26 pitches compared to his first session. He's expected to stay on a five-day rotation, lining him up to throw again Tuesday. Following Tuesday's session, he's expected to progress to the next step of his recovery, presumably a rehab assignment.
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Nationals' Luis Garcia: Absent from lineup versus lefty
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Garcia is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest in Atlanta.
Southpaw Ray Kerr is drawing the start for Atlanta, so the left-handed hitting Garcia will defer to switch hitter Ildemaro Vargas at second base. Garcia is slashing just .194/.265/.226 versus lefties this season.
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Nationals' Nick Senzel: In Thursday's lineup
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Senzel (knee) will start at third base and bat sixth in Thursday's game against Atlanta.
Senzel eventually had to depart Wednesday's contest versus Atlanta after fouling a ball off his right knee in the second inning, but he's back in there the following day. The 28-year-old has experienced a power outage in May, going homerless in 22 games after he hit five in just 12 contests during April.
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Nationals' Hunter Harvey: Racks up 16th hold
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Harvey gave up a hit and struck out three over 1.1 scoreless innings Wednesday to record his 16th hold of the season in a win over Atlanta.
The 29-year-old righty is second in the majors in holds behind the Cardinals' JoJo Romero, who has 18. Harvey has stayed healthy so far in 2024 and produced dominant numbers with a 2.22 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 33:6 K:BB through 28.1 innings, but he has yet to pick up a save due to Kyle Finnegan also remaining sharp as the Nationals' closer.
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Nationals' Dylan Floro: Notches sixth hold
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Floro worked a scoreless two-thirds of an inning Wednesday to record his sixth hold of the season in a win over Atlanta.
The veteran right-hander saw a 20-appearance scoreless streak end May 26 against the Mariners, but Floro has overall been a key part of the Nationals' bullpen this season. Through 27 innings, he sports a 1.00 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 19:8 K:BB, and he's been the team's most reliable reliever behind the high-leverage duo of Kyle Finnegan and Hunter Harvey.
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Nationals' Jesse Winker: Keeps running Wednesday
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Winker went 1-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and a stolen base in Wednesday's win over Atlanta.
The Nationals ran wild once again, stealing five bags as a team, and Winker has been a surprising contributor to that success on the basepaths. The 30-year-old came into 2024 with only three career steals in six attempts, but he's already 9-for-10 this year, including stolen bases in three straight games and four of the last five. Winker's bat is also coming back to life, and over the last 11 contests he's batting .303 (10-for-33) with two homers, five RBI and seven runs.
