Before Crews Debut, Washington Nationals Wrap up Series with Atlanta Braves

The Washington Nationals hope to avoid a sweep in the final game of their against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

Aug 20, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher DJ Herz (74) pitches against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning at Nationals Park. / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Nationals just want to end this home series with a victory against the Atlanta Braves, as fans anticipates the debut of one of baseball's biggest prospects on Monday.

The Nationals (58-72) and the Braves (70-59) wrap things up at 12:05 p.m. eastern at Nationals Park. Following that, the New York Yankees come to town for a three-game series that begins on Monday.

That game will be the Major League debut Washington's prospect Dylan Crews, their first-round pick from last year who on Friday the Nationals announced would be called up to begin his big-league career.

But, for now, Washington is just hoping to snap a two-game losing streak.

The Nationals are set to start 23-year-old left-hander DJ Herz, a former eighth-round pick of the Chicago Cubs in 2019.

He is coming off a start on Tuesday in which he took the loss, but only gave up two earned runs in 5.2 innings. He also allowed six hits and two walks while striking out seven.

For the season he is 2-6 with a 4.15 ERA in 13 starts, with 75 strikeouts and 21 walks in 60.2 innings. Washington is hoping to see growth from the rookie the rest of this season.

The Braves will start right-hander Reynaldo López as they look to stay in control of the final wild-card berth in the National League.

He made his last start on Tuesday, as he allowed one earned run in five innings. He took a no-decision as he struck out 10 and walked one.

He's pitched well of late as he is 2-2 with a 3.06 ERA in his last seven starts. For the season he is 7-4 with a 2.05 ERA in 20 starts, with 112 strikeouts and 38 walks in 109.2 innings.

Another young player is starting to make his case for a spot in the 2025 lineup for the Nationals.

José Tena hit his first Major League home run and had his first three-hit game in Saturday’s loss to Atlanta. He was part of the haul that Washington received for Lane Thomas at the trade deadline.

While he made his MLB debut last season, his bat has performed well at this level, as he has a slash line of .300/.347/.386/.733 OPS.

That’s consistent with his work in the minor leagues, where he slashed .284/.338/.441/.779 with 58 home runs and 283 RBIs.

That makes Tena the latest exciting young player to join the Nationals’ lineup, with Crews to follow when he joins the roster on Monday.