The Washington Nationals had lost eight of nine entering the series against the Cincinnati Reds after being sellers at the trade deadline. That was their worst nine-game stretch of the season.

But they were able to get back on track with their first home series sweep and second sweep of the season. 

The Nationals dominated the series against the Cincinnati Reds, scoring at least five runs in every game and totaling a 14-run differential in the three games.

Washington severely short-handed, missing James Wood due to injury and transitioning to life without Luis García Jr. and Curtis Mead. Abimelec Ortiz, Andrés Chaparro and Daylen Lile stepped up big time to fill in their roles. 

Infielders Ortiz and Chaparro have done a great job filling the void at first base, supplying big right-handed and left-handed bats that the Nationals have relied on in the past with Mead and García.

The pitching was another highlight, only surrendering six runs in the three-game series. The Nationals continue to change around the bullpen, and it worked against the Reds as they allowed only one earned run all series out of the bullpen. 

The Nationals now sit two games below .500 and 4.5 games behind in the NL Wild Card race before starting a series against the 69-50 Chicago Cubs. The Nationals won two of three against the Cubs to start the 2026 season. 

Abimelec Ortiz has looked great in his limited action. Ortiz is the first of the five prospects that the Nationals received in a trade for starting pitcher Mackenzie Gore in the offseason to reach the major leagues. 

The 24-year-old made his major league debut the day before the All-Star break in a loss against the New York Yankees, and was called up for the second time this season at the start of the series against the Philadelphia Phillies. 

He went 2-for-10 with a home run in the series against the Phillies. He made the start in all three games against the Reds and went 3-for-10 with a walk at the plate and added another home run.

Ortiz has also shown some really promising stuff outside of the raw numbers. He’s had an average exit velocity of 91.4 miles per hour and bat speed of 76.4 miles per hour. His barrel percentage, hard-hit percentage and sweet-spot percentage are all eye-popping, and he’s avoided chasing pitches outside of the zone. 

He has shown some real promise so far, but will have to continue producing as he sees more MLB at-bats. 

What does the outlook of the Nationals infield look like? Without Mead and García, the Nationals infield has lacked star power and offensive consistency.

Ortiz and Chaparro have done a good job filling the hole that the García trade left at first base, but the other side of the infield has become more of a problem for the Nationals.

Brady House and Jorbit Vivas are taking up most of the starts at third base after Mead was traded to the Red Sox. House was called back up after being optioned to Triple-A in the middle of May. He has played cleaner defense but has continued to struggle with offensive consistency upon his return to the MLB

Vivas has also been a below-average bat that hasn’t helped make up for the missed production of Curtis Mead when he’s starting.

The Nationals could look to bring up Trey Lipscomb, who has experience playing third base in the MLB and has been raking in Triple-A with 21 home runs and an OPS of .849. 

They could also look to bring in Yohandy Morales, who has played 39 games at third base in the 2026 season and has posted an OPS of .922 with 23 home runs.

The Nationals could also make a move involving the designated hitter spot. Vivas and Jose Tena are capable of playing a similar utility infielder role. Despite that, Tena has spent most of his season in the designated hitter spot. He has been below average in that spot, posting a sub .700 OPS and a -0.3 WAR. 

Cade Cavalli is carving his role in the Nationals' future. After starting the season with worries about his stamina, Cavalli has made six straight quality starts. Eight out of his last nine appearances have been quality starts. 

He pitched six innings against the Reds in Friday’s win, where he allowed three earned runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out eight batters and reached 100 pitches thrown. 

Cavalli continues to impress and has shown that he can be a great long-term pitcher.

There is still a hole in the starting rotation. After the Nationals released Zack Littell and traded Foster Griffin for four prospects, the Nationals have only four starting pitchers on the Major League roster.

Andrew Alvarez, Miles Mikolas, Jake Irvin and Cavalli are the only pitchers being used as long-lengthed starters. 

Brad Lord was forced to make his second start of the season and allowed the only earned run in Sunday’s 7-1 win. Lord’s first start of the season came in an opening role for Andrew Alvarez.

It is still unclear who the Nationals will choose to make their long-term fifth starter, but it looks like Lord could take over the position temporarily. Lord made 19 starts in 2025 and recorded five quality starts.

The problem is that he is yet to go over 3.0 innings pitched in the 2026 season and has been used as the main bullpen piece when healthy.  

The Nationals bullpen is reaping some early rewards from the Luis García Jr. trade.

The Yankees sent over four different pitchers when they traded for García, and two of them have already made their Nationals debut.

Yovanny Cruz joined the Nationals' Major League roster after being traded on August 2nd and has already made three appearances out of the bullpen. 

He struggled in his first appearance, allowing three base runners and an earned run while recording only one out against the Phillies. Since then, he has been solid. He pitched scoreless innings in Friday and Saturday’s wins against the Reds. 

Jake Bird was another bullpen addition from the trade, but he was optioned to Triple-A upon arrival. But he was recalled for Sunday’s bullpen game and pitched the final inning. He allowed no base runners and struck out two batters. 

The Nationals will now look ahead to their second series of the home stretch, against the Chicago Cubs. The series will start on Monday at 6:45 p.m. EST.