Washington

Nationals

The Nationals offense was quiet in this one despite Abrams’ knack for getting on base. This was the second time in five games Abrams drew multiple walks and his walk total for June got up 11. That’s a welcome sight after he walked just one time the entire month of May. While still inconsistent, there is a lot of development happening for Abrams in a very short period of time.

The Rays smacked Corbin around in this one and he was fortunate to give up just four runs. The Rays had 12 hard-hit balls, nine of which were hit harder than 100 MPH. He’s earned every bit of his 5.49 ERA this season.

Garcia Jr. scored on a wild pitch in the fourth and on Harold Ramirez’s two-run triple in the seventh. He also had an RBI single. Garcia Jr. is hitting .264 with a .695 OPS and 36 RBI on the season.

Abrams’ home run was his 13th of the season. He started the game with a home run off Aaron Civale in the first inning. Abrams is hitting .282 with an .852 OPS and 42 RBI on the season.

Irvin gave up one hit, walked three and struck out six. He allowed a solo home run to Brandon Lowe in the first inning, but was otherwise excellent. Irvin won four of his five starts in June and lowered his ERA to 3.03 on the year. The 27-year-old right-hander is set to face the Mets at home next week.

Abrams is back at shortstop and leading off on Saturday after being hit by a pitch twice during Friday’s game -- first on his right arm by an 89 mph cutter in the first inning and then on his left wrist by an 88 mph offering a couple frames later. The positive news here is that X-rays came back negative and the issue didn’t seem to impact the cyst that he’s been dealing with near that left wrist. All indications are that he’s good to go this weekend.

Winker is back in left field and batting third for Saturday’s showdown after suffering a right knee contusion during the bottom of the first inning of Friday’s game when he attempted to catch a fly ball near the left-field wall. His right cleat got caught in the turf, causing him to stumble and fall into the wall, which led to his exit from the contest. He’s apparently feeling well enough to get back in the lineup, which is a relief for the Nationals, and fantasy managers as well.

Talk about finishing strong. All indications are that Wood is headed to the majors on Monday for his big-league debut when the Nationals kick off a series against the division-rival Mets, but he’s not quite done mashing in the minors just yet. The 21-year-old showed why he’s one of the most exciting prospects in the fantasy landscape in this one by scalding a season-high three doubles on Friday evening to raise his triple-slash line to a sublime .353/.463/.595 with 10 homers and 10 steals across 52 games this season for Triple-A Rochester. He’s ready.

The expectation had been that Gray would return for his next start after hurling six innings of one-run ball at Triple-A Rochester his last time out. The Nationals want to make sure he’s ready to go when he does return though, so one final tune-up in the minors it will be. It’s not clear who will get bumped from the Nationals’ rotation to accommodate his return, though DJ Herz is one option, or Patrick Corbin could get shifted to the bullpen.

Abrams stayed in for the duration of the game, but had X-rays done afterwards just to be on the safe side and they came back negative for any fractures. He should be in his customary leadoff spot in the Nationals’ lineup once again on Saturday.