2024-06-24T11:05:56.554ZHe's in there: Tampa Bay's Jonny DeLuca beats the throw from Keibert Ruiz for a steal before Luis García Jr. can get a tag down. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)TAMPA — Twice on Friday night, Jose Siri flung his bat to the side and kept his left hand up in the air — akin to a basketball player posing after draining a jumper.The first instance came in the second inning when Siri, the Tampa Bay Rays’ center fielder, launched a solo blast off Mitchell Parker that landed in the left field seats. Siri’s second homer — in the sixth against Jacob Barnes — sailed over the head of center fielder Jacob Young, who eventually stopped running and just turned his head as it flew beyond the wall.The two solo blasts were the difference in the Washington Nationals’ 3-1 loss to the Rays, their fourth straight defeat. The first homer had an exit velocity of 108.5 mph and traveled 405 feet. The second was 107.1 mph and went 428 feet. The Nationals, in the final series of a three-city, 10-day trip, had just five hits and went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.The Nationals looked like a team nearing the end of a long trip. They looked like a team in need of a spark. As it happens, that might be coming Monday with the arrival of touted prospect James Wood.As the Nationals reach the midpoint of the season, they find themselves in the heart of the National League wild-card race but slowly slipping. They left for Colorado last Friday just a half game out of the final wild-card spot in the NL. They started play Friday three games back as they near the end of a nine-game trip that has had its share of chaos.“We were one game under .500 before we went to San Diego,” Young said. “So I think we’re right there. We’ve played a lot of teams tough. We’ve had a pretty tough schedule. ... We need to find these victories and get off this little four-game slide we’re on.”The loss dropped the Nationals to 2-5 on the trip, but they have continued to exceed expectations — they have reached the season’s midpoint at 38-43, five games better than their record at the halfway point last season (33-48).“We’re doing okay,” Manager Dave Martinez said. “We’ve lost some tough games on this road trip, but we’ll pick it up.”There have been positive steps taken by their young stars. Shortstop CJ Abrams, who finished 0 for 2 and was hit by a pitch twice (requiring a postgame X-ray that came back negative), rebounded from a poor May and leads the team in homers (12), RBI (40) and OPS (.832), though his defense has room to improve. Luis García Jr., 1 for 4 on Friday, has been more consistent at the plate and has improved his range defensively.Pitchers Jake Irvin and MacKenzie Gore both have sub-4.00 ERAs, as does Parker — who wasn’t in the team’s immediate plans when the season began. Catcher Keibert Ruiz has been the only young starter who has noticeably regressed. After his two-strikeout performance Friday, his batting average dipped to .197 and his OPS to .530. He has also not made the defensive strides the team might have hoped.Friday’s loss, in some ways, served as a microcosm of the team’s season — strong starting pitching but an offense that can’t provide enough support. Washington’s ERA was 15th in the majors entering Friday, but its offense posted the fifth-lowest slugging percentage.Parker retired the final seven hitters he faced, but Washington’s offense offered little against Zach Eflin. The Nationals played most of the game without Jesse Winker, who fell awkwardly into the wall making a catch in the first inning after his cleat got caught in the turf. He said there’s no structural damage and he’s hopeful he’ll play Saturday.Their only extra base hits were two doubles from Young. He was stranded at third after his first, in the third inning. His second came in the seventh, and he trotted home on a wild pitch after he stole third. Though the Nationals lost Friday, they feel optimistic about their performance through 81 games.“If we were to all sit in Palm Beach and you said we’d be right here, right now at this point, I think everyone would be pretty stoked about that,” Winker said. “Keeping that in perspective is obviously a big deal.”Injury updatesCade Cavalli, who was battling the flu earlier this week, played catch Friday as he continues his rehab from Tommy John surgery. Cavalli made his second rehab start of the season last Friday, tossing three scoreless innings for high Class A Wilmington (N.C.) before getting sick. Martinez said the team hasn’t determined when he’ll make his next start. …Josiah Gray will make another rehab start with Class AAA Rochester (N.Y.) on Sunday, his fifth this month. In his previous outing, Gray threw six innings and allowed one run on 73 pitches for Rochester. …Joey Gallo is trending in the right direction following a hamstring injury that he suffered in mid-June. He’s been riding an exercise bike, hitting off a tee and throwing from 120 feet.