Jarlin Susana made his long-awaited rehab debut after last summer's torn lat injury, tossing 2 innings of scoreless ball for Single-A Wilmington, walking 2, striking out 2 and throwing 14-of-28 pitches for strikes.

James Wood (oblique) started playing catch over the weekend and took dry swings today, but almost certainly won’t come off the IL when eligible Friday. Might not need a rehab assignment, though, if he progresses well the next few days, per Blake Butera.

Nats RHP Irvin vs Cubs LHP Imanaga (6:45/Nationals TV/106.7 FM)

Nats’ pitching probables vs Cubs: TUE: Jake Irvin WED: TBA* THU: Cade Cavalli * Team is expected to promote LHP Jackson Kent from AAA, source confirms. @spencernusbaum.bsky.social first reported

It’s too soon to say the Nationals’ bullpen has been completely fixed, but this weekend’s sweep of the Reds did show how the changes they’ve made offer some hope. natsjournal.com/p/the-pen-is...

The pen is suddenly mightier

The Nationals held the Reds to one run during Sunday's bullpen game, capping a weekend that saw dramatic improvement from the remade unit

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Final: Nats 7, Reds 1. Brad Lord, Will Dion, Trevor Williams and Jake Bird combined on a 4-hitter in this bullpen, giving the Nationals their first 3-game sweep since mid-April in Milwaukee. They're back to 2 games under .500 at 59-61.

Nats RHP Lord (bullpen game) vs Reds RHP Singer (12:15/Peacock/NBCSN/106.7 FM)

RHP Jake Bird (acquired in the Luis García Jr. trade) has been recalled from AAA, taking Carson Palmquist’s roster spot.

Carson Palmquist was optioned to AAA after tonight’s game. Brad Lord will start tomorrow’s bullpen game.

Final: Nats 8, Reds 2. Andrew Alvarez carried a shutout into the 6th. Andres Chaparro came off the bench to go 2-for-2 with 3 RBI. Abimelec Ortiz drove in a pair. The bullpen closed it out for the second straight night, setting up a chance at a sweep tomorrow afternoon.

Nats LHP Alvarez vs Reds RHP Burns (6:45/Nationals TV/106.7 FM)

The #Nats got the job done w/ a pair of homers in Friday night's 5-3 win in Navy Yard: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...

Lile & Ford Homer in Cavalli's Win

Podcast Episode · Nats Chat · August 8 · 29m

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Nats RHP Cavalli vs Reds RHP Petty (6:45/Nationals TV/FOX 5/106.7 FM)

The #Nats began their 8 game road trip last week w/ a winning record in Atlanta. When it ended in Thursday night's 7-3 loss at the #Phillies, they dropped to 56-61: open.spotify.com/episode/7c9W...

Mikolas Gives up 12 Hits in Philly Loss

Nats Chat · Episode

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Final: Phillies 7, Nats 3. The road trip has finally ended, the Nationals going 1-7 in Atlanta and Philadelphia to fall out of wild-card contention and back into rebuild mode.

Connelly Early experienced forearm tightness in between innings of his live BP season in West Palm Beach this week, so Nats will be “ultra cautious” and wait to schedule his next outing. Blake Butera: “From what I’ve been told, it’s not super concerning.”

Nats are listing Cavalli, Alvarez and TBA as this weekend’s starters vs Reds.

Nats RHP Mikolas at Phillies LHP Sánchez (6:05/Nationals TV/106.7 FM)

Game 116 on @natschatpodcast.bsky.social * The wild 11th-inning rally * The debut of two trade acquisitions * The decision to DFA Littell www.natschatpodcast.com/episode-post...

Nats End the 7 Game Skid — Nats Chat Podcast

Littell DFA'd but a RBI for Mikolas in Extra-Inning Win

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The day began with one veteran pitcher DFA’d and an acknowledgment the focus is about to shift to the future. The night ended with another veteran pitcher helping the Nationals end their losing streak … as a pinch-hitter. natsjournal.com/p/going-the-...

Going the extra Miles to end a losing streak

It took almost everyone on the roster for the Nationals to beat the Phillies in 11 innings, including emergency pinch-hitter Miles Mikolas

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Final: Nats 10, Phillies 4 in 11. They snap their 7-game losing streak with a 6-run rally keyed by CJ Abrams and ... Miles Mikolas?!

The Nationals DFA'd Zack Littell today, the first of perhaps several decisions they could make in the coming days as the club starts prioritizing the future over the present. natsjournal.com/p/littell-df...

Littell DFA'd, Lord activated as Nats begin prioritizing future

In designating Zack Littell for assignment, the Nationals made the first of potentially several moves to replace veterans with younger players

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Tonight's first pitch has been delayed to 7:05 p.m. due to rain that only recently cleared out of the area.

Nats RHP Irvin at Phillies RHP Painter (6:40/Nationals TV/106.7 FM)

Zack Littell has been DFA’d and Brad Lord has been activated off the IL.

Nationals have requested unconditional release waivers on Joey Wiemer. Surprise star of the season’s first week had been at AAA for months. And when they called up Andrew Pinckney over him yesterday, that was probably the writing on the wall.

The amount of bad news keeps piling up as the #Nats losing streak extended to 7 games on Tuesday night: open.spotify.com/episode/2jzI...

Wood to the IL Before 7th Straight Loss

Nats Chat · Episode

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What happens when the highest-scoring lineup in MLB trades away its best right-handed hitter, then the NL’s leader in slugging, then loses one of the best offensive players in the sport to injury? Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park is what happens. natsjournal.com/p/depleted-l...

Depleted lineup is suddenly a shell of itself

With James Wood on the IL and Luis García Jr. and Curtis Mead playing for other teams, the remaining Nationals hitters are in a major slump

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Final: Phillies 5, Nats 0. The Nationals' 7th straight loss saw a depleted lineup go 0-for-11 with RISP. They were 55-53 a week ago and 1 game out of wild-card position. They're now 55-60 and 6 1/2 games out.

Nats LHP Palmquist at Phillies LHP Luzardo (6:40/Nationals TV/106.7 FM)