Here are some thoughts following the Twins' 8-4 loss to the Nationals

NATS ARE GOOD: They have good starting pitching. They have a solid offense that becomes a very good offense when Bryce Harper is going good. They have a good bullpen - forgot they added Shawn Kelley during the offseason. Did I mention Bryce Harper? And they have a manager who will not let them get into their own heads in the heat of a playoff race. There is no room for error for the Twins this weekend.

WHAT ABOUT GIBSON?: Kyle Gibson has labored all season but has managed to come out with decent results. But it all caught up with him Friday. He walked two batters and hit another in the first. He couldn't retire the pitcher in the third inning and gave up a sacrifice fly. Manager Paul Molitor is concerned about the number of pitches Gibson has thrown in most of his outings. He's not executing or finishing off hitters. While he deflected my question about how his season has gone and focused on only Friday's outing, there sounds like there's some concern among the coaching staff. "Not sure what it is, but I know we are going to try to figure some things out," Molitor said. That was a very interesting comment.

SANO BLAST: Miguel Sano hammered a Felipe Rivero 94 mph fastball to center field that hit off the wall beyond the 402 marker. The Nationals don't announce home run estimates, so I had to wait for it to pop up on a certain website. And Statcast had Sano's home run at 433.7 feet, wow. The big man is now batting .455 over his last six games with three home runs, a double and four RBI. "He's had a fairly good approach," Molitor said before the game. "It just seems like, at the end of good at bats, the results have not been there. He's starting to get his base hits and he feels a little better."