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The Washington Nationals Summer of Possibilities continues, with two players learning theyre heading to Philadelphia for next weeks All-Star Game.
(If there was ever a time for someone to learn theyre a late fill-in at Hershey Park, a la Kyle Finnegan , itd be this year.) Shortstop C.J.
Abrams is the first Nats player to start the midseason classic since 2018 (Max Scherzer and Bryce Harper), while James Wood makes the team as a reserve for the second straight year.
This is the second All-Star game for both.
Unlike in their first appearances, when they were each largely the lone reason to watch a woeful team play, they are the key building blocks for a club thats remaining relevant deep into summer.
The case could have been made for Foster Griffin and Luis Garcia Jr.
to make the roster, as theyre also major reasons for the Nationals 2026 success.
Sundays loss to Pittsburgh in the heat drops the team to 2-2 in July.
They have two more home series before the All-Star break and host Houston (who are 45-47) and the New York Yankees (who have dropped nine of 10).
Can they finish with a flourish? Digesting the Division: Atlanta (52-36) keeps its cushion after taking two of three over the weekend against the New York Mets, although starting pitcher Martin Perez took a liner from Juan Soto off the forearm and is likely headed to the injured list.
Philadelphia (50-40) keeps pace while Kyle Schwarber is enjoying another odd statistical season, although its not like a few years ago when he became the first sub-.200 hitter to drive 100+ runs in MLB history.
Instead, the outfielders homers account for the majority of his RBI this year (30 of 55).
Miami (49-42) is making its playoff case by doing the big things right.
The Marlins are ranked No.
7 in getting on base while their pitchers hold opponents to the fifth-lowest batting average in the bigs.
Washington (46-45) remains in fourth place after going 3-3 over the week, while the New York Mets (37-53) have yet to enjoy the new manager bounce, going 3-6 under interim skipper Andy Green.
Break up the Birds: Catcher Adley Rutschman will represent Baltimore in the All-Star Game for the third time in four years, while the team (42-49) remains a game ahead of last-place Boston in the AL East.
Meanwhile, it is fellow backstop Samuel Basallo who is heating up in July (two homers and five RBI since Wednesday).
Diamond King: It wasnt one of the two All-Stars who had the best week, but Luis Garcia Jr.
who hit .318 with three homers and nine RBI.
Garcias blast Sunday was his 19th of the season, which is his career high.
Keep in mind that he has been in MLB since 2020 and weve yet to reach the All-Star break.
Last Weeks Heroes: James Wood hit .391 with three homers and seven RBI, including a leadoff homer on Independence Day.
Daylen Lile batted .364 with two homers and four RBI.
Zack Littell held hitters to one run over six innings in his lone start, while Orlando Ribalta tossed three scoreless frames.
Cade Cavalli struck out a career-high 13 while posting seven scoreless innings Tuesday.
Last Weeks Humbled: Cavalli coughed up four runs (three earned with the fourth set up by his throwing error) over 2.1 innings Sunday in the Nats loss to Pittsburgh.
Miles Mikolas allowed six runs over seven innings in his start, while Carson Palmquist surrendered four runs over two innings.
Nasim Nunez hit .200 for the week while Jorbit Vivas went 1-for-12 at the plate.
Game to Watch: On Wednesday, the Nats wrap up their series with Houston and face Spencer Arrighetti (7-4, 3.81 ERA).
Foster Griffin (9-2, 2.87) makes his final pre-All-Star Game start with a chance to show those with votes that they may have made a mistake.
Source.