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WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 08: James Wood #29 celebrates with Daylen Lile #4 of the Washington Nationals after scoring on a ball hit by CJ Abrams #5 during the third inning against the Houston Astros at Nationals Park on July 08, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Going for the series win and to stay above .500, the Nationals were firing on all cylinders Wednesday night against the Astros. Luis Garcia Jr. and CJ Abrams both recorded their 20th home runs of the season, and Foster Griffin did what he’s done nearly every start recently, going 7 innings and allowing just 1 run while striking out 9 Astros. The 8-2 win put the Nationals 2 games above .500 once again, but unfortunately the Marlins have been red-hot, winning 6 consecutive games, so they currently sit 4 games out of the 3rd NL Wild Card spot.
The Nationals’ final series of the first half will be against the 51-42 New York Yankees, who have scuffled as of late, winning just 3 of their last 10 games, but are coming off a series split against the first-place Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees will be without Aaron Judge this weekend, as they have been for a few weeks, but their lineup is formidable regardless, with the 2nd most runs scored in the American League.
Game One – Friday 6:45 PM EST
NYY: LHP Ryan Weathers (3-7, 4.29 ERA)
WSH: LHP Carson Palmquist (0-1, 7.11 ERA)
Weathers is a left-handed pitcher, but has actually struggled to get lefties out consistently in 2026, with a .295 opponents batting average and 1.45 WHIP, as compared to .236 and 1.21 against righties. Expect the Nats to stack their lineup with lefties and put pressure on him early tonight.
Palmquist will open up the ballgame tonight for the Nats before handing the ball off to Zack Littell for the bulk of the work. Palmquist looked much sharper his last time out against the Astros than he did against the Pirates, where he allowed 4 runs over an inning of work.
Game Two – Saturday 4:05 PM EST
NYY: RHP Cam Schlittler (9-5, 2.01 ERA)
WSH: RHP Miles Mikolas (3-7, 5.78 ERA)
Schlittler has been one of the best starting pitchers in baseball this season, and he had one of his best starts of the year last time out against the Rays, going 8 innings and allowing just 1 run while striking out 8.
Mikolas has certainly eaten innings in his last 2 starts, going 7 and 6 innings, but at the expense of allowing lots of runs, giving up 6 against the Red Sox and 7 against the Astros. He will need to have more success than that if the Nats are going to have a chance against Schlitter and the Yankees on Saturday.
Game Three – Sunday 1:35 PM EST
NYY: RHP Will Warren (7-4, 4.15 ERA)
WSH: TBD (Probable: RHP Cade Cavalli)
Warren has been roughed up in his last few starts, with an ERA over 5.14 in his last 7 starts, allowing 6 runs over 4 innings his last time out against the Rays.
The Nats have not announced a starter for the series finale on Sunday, but it will most likely be Cade Cavalli, coming off his 5-game suspension. He will look to replicate his success in Boston against another AL East club.
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