Gus

Varland

Nationals manager Blake Butera told reporters Trevor Williams (elbow) will be activated from the injured list to pitch in relief. Varland allowed three runs and failed to record an out against the Blue Jays in his first outing back in the big leagues since late June.

Varland gets the call to replace lefty Andrew Albers in Washington’s relief mix prior to Tuesday’s contest against Toronto. The 29-year-old has compiled an underwhelming 6.25 ERA across 31 2/3 innings in the big leagues this season.

Varland entered in the ninth inning on Thursday against the Phillies with the score tied 5-5. He served up a two-run homer to Bryce Harper, an RBI double to J.T. Realmuto and a two-run blast to Derek Hill in his lone inning of work. That appeared to have been the final straw. Varland and his 6.25 ERA will attempt to get back on track at the Triple-A level.

With Clayton Beeter having thrown on back-to-back days, Varland was called on to protect a three-run lead in the ninth inning on Tuesday. He allowed a solo home run to Lane Thomas but no other damage and picked up his sixth save of the season. Varland came into today with an 8.53 ERA in his last eight games, so we still expect Beeter to get the majority of save opportunities in this bullpen going forward.

Clayton Beeter, who has reemerged as the favorite for saves in D.C., entered in the seventh and wound up with the win despite allowing two runs in the eighth, giving the Giants a 3-1 lead. The Nationals, though, came back with three in the top of the ninth, and Varland shut the door from there. We’re not sure any Nationals reliever is worth rostering in 10- or 12-team leagues at the moment, but Beeter is probably still the best bet of the group. Varland’s save was his first since May 7.

Varland was pulled from a 7-4 game with the bases loaded, and Clayton Beeter bailed him out. Varland hasn’t taken any blown saves in his opportunities to close, but his stock has declined after a shaky month in which the Nationals have often chosen to play matchups late in games. His fourth and most recent save came on May 7, and he’s given up five earned runs in 7 1/3 innings in eight appearances since. Beeter went on to get the save today.

Revenge is sweet. Lovelady, who has had multiple stints with the Mets and pitched for them earlier this season, shut down his former team on just 10 pitches. The southpaw struck out Carson Benge swinging to end it. Despite some shaky control, Loveland has emerged as a key piece in the Nationals’ bullpen with a 2.03 ERA over 13 appearances. It’s worth noting that Gus Varland threw two innings on Monday and was unavailable, but Lovelady is giving Blake Butera an alternative for save chances.

The plan originally was for Andrew Alvarez to go four and piggyback off Zack Littell, but Alvarez allowed a single and walk to start the ninth inning. Gus Varland, the closer in name if not in results, walked Leodys Taveras, struck out Coby Mayo, and allowed a sacrifice fly to get the Nationals to two outs. Then the Nationals summoned Lovelady to deal with lefty-hitting Gunnar Henderson. Henderson singled to bring the Orioles within a run, and after a Taylor Ward walk loaded the bases, the lefty was able to freeze Adley Rutschman on the outside corner to end the game. Varland still looks like the closer to roster in this pen in fantasy leagues, but the Nationals don’t really have a good answer right now.

Beeter is in line to return next week if all goes well. He’ll likely resume challenging Gus Varland for saves, so Varland could definitely use a good week after allowing three runs in the eighth inning and taking a loss Sunday against the Marlins.

Varland came in with two outs in the eighth and gave up a single to Byron Buxton before slamming the door in a two-run game. He was removed from a save opportunity for matchup purposes in Sunday’s game, but he’s very clearly the favorite for saves in D.C. right now.