Washington Nationals’ bullpen faces tough tests as home stretch begins—can Brad Lord’s emergence steady the ship? CJ Abrams powers up with three homers against the Tampa Bay Rays, but the Nationals’ chase for a franchise-tying sixth straight road series win falls just short. Host Ryan Clary breaks down what went right—and wrong—during the Rays series, singling out strong performances from Abrams and Lord while questioning the bullpen’s reliability down the stretch. A pivotal four-game showdown with the Philadelphia Phillies awaits, with Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber red-hot and ready to haunt their former club. Ryan Clary outlines the keys to victory, including keeping Harper in check and exploiting Philly’s shaky bullpen. Plus, the Nationals face uncertainty with DJ Herz sidelined by forearm tightness—will the pitching staff hold up with Foster Griffin and others stepping in?  00:00 Nats vs Rays series review 05:10 Nationals' bullpen consistency issues 08:55 Brad Lord's bullpen performance 12:56 Phillies' season turnaround 14:06 Nationals in tight race with Phillies 17:28 Nationals' performance against top teams 22:58 DJ Herz Injury Update Follow Ryan Clary on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ryanclary11 Follow Locked On Nationals on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LO_Nationals   Everydayer Club Link: https://lockedonnationals.supercast.com/   Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!   Cash App Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/2ut33jnc #CashAppPod Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa®️ Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. Cash App Green features, Savings, Direct deposit, Round ups, Overdraft coverage and Discounts provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures. 5-Hour ENERGY Bring on the sweetness with Cotton Candy 5-hour ENERGY®️ shots—available online now at https://5hourENERGY.comor on Amazon. HIMS To get simple, online access to personalized, affordable care for ED, hair loss, weight loss, and more, visit https://Hims.com/LOCKEDONMLB. Odoo Great organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at https://Indeed.com/podcast KALSHI For a limited time, download the Kalshi app and use code LOCKEDON to get ten dollars when you trade ten. Kalshi. Trade on anything. Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. From the opening whistle to the final kick, Let There Be Goals on FanDuel.Visithttps://FANDUEL.COMto get started now.   FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.