The Nats rallied against Oakland on Saturday for a 3-2 victory that abruptly concluded with a Keibert Ruiz lead-off homer in the bottom of the 9th. Al & Tim dive into Ruiz's hot month; where he is slugging .605 so far in August. It was Ruiz's 16th HR of the season, good for 6th most among NL catchers. (08:30) Lane Thomas was a late scratch in the starting lineup, but came through as a pinch hitter with the game tying RBI in the bottom of the 8th. Thomas currently has the 4th most hits in the NL (132) and the top 7 all are players from the NL East. (12:00) Blake Rutherford finally got his 1st career MLB hit after starting 0 for 16 since getting called up. Rutherford received strong applause from the home crowd and followed it up with another hit later in the game. (23:00) Jake Irvin pitched well and almost lasted for 7 IP vs. the Athletics. Has Irvin made his case to be in the 2024 starting rotation? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices