Dylan Crews sits against Halos on Sunday afternoon

Chaparro’s excellent run sees him finish at .268/.364/.530 in 228 plate appearances. The Nationals never treated him as a regular during it, even though he was just as effective against righties as he was versus lefties. He’s still probably not a long-term regular, but he should be penciled in for a spot on next year’s roster as at least a platoon guy against lefties, and the Nationals will have to relent and treat him as an everyday guy if he’s nearly as good again.

It is better late than never for Crews to fill the stat sheet. He was in the middle of Nationals’ rallies in both the first and third innings and gave them a valuable insurance run in the seventh with a solo home run. He’s quietly closed his season with a .261/.312/.426 slash line and five stolen bases over his last 30 games. That will put him back in consideration for sleeper lists ahead of 2027 drafts.

Crews singled in the top half of the first inning and came around to score on a throwing error. He then crushed a 379-foot two-run blast off of Kyle Leahy in the third inning that increased the Nationals’ advantage to 5-0. For the season, the 24-year-old outfielder is now hitting .225/.291/.377 with 12 long balls, 42 RBI and nine swipes in 409 plate appearances.

Both hits came off Cristopher Sánchez. Chaparro has slowed down some, but his .258/.356/.517 line through 205 plate appearances is still awfully nice, and he’s back playing a little more of late; he’s started four of the Nationals’ last five games after being included in the lineup in just three of the previous seven games.

Nationals skipper Blake Butera is rolling with a righty-heavy approach against Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez with Wood and Abrams representing the most prominent names to take a seat. It appears to be a matchup-based decision and not anything from a physical standpoint. Wood has picked up right where he left off prior to last month’s oblique strain, hitting .297 (11-for37) with two RBI and four steals in 10 games since returning from the injured list on September 2. It’ll be Dylan Crews in right field with speedster Nasim Nuñez at shortstop.

Lile will get a rare night off with left-hander Yusei Kikuchi toeing the slab for the Angels in this one. Dylan Crews will slide over and cover left field in his place while James Wood covers right field and Andres Chaparro draws a start as the Nationals’ designated hitter and will bat second.

Crews was responsible for nearly half of Washington’s five hits during a low-scoring series opener out in San Diego. The 24-year-old former top prospect took lefty reliever Kyle Hart deep in the sixth inning for his 11th big fly of the season. He also singled against Padres elite closer Mason Miller to put the potential game-tying run on-base in the final frame. He hasn’t offered much from a batting average standpoint, but Crews continues to show a little bit of the power/speed combo skillset that made him such a coveted fantasy prospect just a few years ago.

Crews singled on a soft grounder in the third inning, bringing two runners home after a throwing error to first base. He’d come around to score in the inning before coming through for the Nationals in extras. With two runners on and the game tied in the tenth, he knocked a base hit to walk it off. The 24-year-old outfielder is hitting .223/.292/.368 with 10 homers, 44 runs scored, 34 RBI, and eight steals across 349 plate appearances.

Continuing to impress in a part-time role, Chaparro was the extent of the Nationals’ offense in a game where they were thrashed 13-1. He accounted for three of their seven total hits, two of their four extra-base hits, and drove home their lone run with a solo home run. They’ve been sneaking him into the lineup more so against right-handed pitchers lately because they’ve only faced one lefty in their last 13 games and Chaparro’s role had been to be a lefty-masher. It’s tough to ignore a .906 OPS though.

The official Nationals Communications Department tweeted out six days ago about Chaparro being first in the majors in slugging and OPS since the All-Star break. Alas, actual Nationals management couldn’t care less. They’re probably right about Chaparro not being a long-term regular, but he is hitting .343/.410/.686 in his very limited action against righties this season, and it’s interesting that the team just doesn’t really want to give him a chance. Of course, it’s not helping right now that CJ Abrams is again DHing due to his ankle injury; Chaparro might have gotten the nod there tonight if Abrams was at short or second.