The Orioles selected the contract of right-hander Albert Suárez this afternoon and he’s starting the series finale against the Twins at Camden Yards. He’s working on normal rest after making Friday’s start with Triple-A Norfolk.

Catcher David Bañuelos was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster. Bañuelos flied out last night as a pinch-hitter in his major league debut.

Suárez, who’s wearing No. 49, hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2017 with the Giants. His last start was Sept. 23, 2016 in San Diego.

The Orioles reassigned Suárez on March 22, the same day that they also cut Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo and Connor Norby. He’s made three appearances with Norfolk, including one start, and allowed 10 earned runs (11 total) and 19 hits in 15 1/3 innings. Suárez has walked one batter and struck out 17.

Suárez, 34, signed a minor league deal with the Orioles on Sept. 15 after he spent the past five years pitching in Japan and Korea. He walked two batters and struck out 19 in 15 2/3 innings in spring training.

LOS ANGELES – There was a lot to like about Monday night’s game from the Nationals’ perspective, from Mitchell Parker’s debut to CJ Abrams and Luis García Jr.’s offensive exploits to solid bullpen work. That was probably the team’s best win to date this season.

Which means absolutely nothing going into tonight’s game, of course. The Nats will need to do it all over again if they want to have a chance at two straight over the Dodgers, not to mention a winning road trip.

It starts with Patrick Corbin, who hasn’t exactly had a lot of success in this ballpark. Corbin has won only three of his 15 career outings at Dodger Stadium, none since 2019. And his first three starts this season haven’t been particularly inspired: 15 runs, 27 hits in 16 innings. But the old lefty will give it the old college try again tonight, hoping to hold the vaunted L.A. lineup somewhat in check and give his teammates a chance.

The Nationals will be facing a bunch of pitchers tonight, with the Dodgers set to throw a bullpen game. First up is right-hander Kyle Hurt, making his fourth big league appearance. Hurt does have big strikeout numbers in the minors – 305 of them in 188 2/3 innings – so he appears to have good stuff. We’ll see how a Nats lineup that likes to make contact fares against him before Dave Roberts hands it off to another reliever.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 10:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 69 degrees, wind 5 mph out to center field

Ryan Mountcastle gets his turn to rest tonight, as the Orioles continue their series against the Twins.

Ryan O’Hearn is playing first base. Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter.

James McCann gets another start behind the plate, but this time against a right-hander, Chris Paddack.

Colton Cowser is in left field.

Grayson Rodriguez makes his fourth start. He’s 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA and 1.167 WHIP in 18 innings and has struck out 21.

LOS ANGELES – It’s Jackie Robinson Day across baseball, but really there’s only one place to be for this occasion. And the Nationals have the distinct honor of being at Dodger Stadium this year for this all-important day. There was already a ceremony outside the park at the statue of Robinson, with players and coaches from both clubs attending. There will be more pregame festivities, as well.

And then there will be a ballgame, with a very fresh face on the mound for the Nats. Mitchell Parker is making his major league debut, and while the Nationals probably would have preferred a bit of a softer launch for the young left-hander than this, circumstances dictated that he get the assignment. Parker’s assignment tonight: Somehow try to contain one of the toughest lineups in the sport, especially right off the bat in the bottom of the first. If nothing else, he needs to force them to make contact to get on. Can’t be giving away free bases against the Dodgers.

The Nationals lineup scored six runs Sunday against the Athletics. They’ll need to keep that going tonight against Tyler Glasnow, the hard-throwing former Rays right-hander who now anchors the L.A. rotation. They'll do so with several roster changes announced this afternoon: Nick Senzel has been activated off the 10-day injured list, and Drew Millas has been recalled from Triple-A Rochester. Trey Lipscomb was optioned back to Rochester, and Keibert Ruiz was placed on the 10-day IL with influenza.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 10:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 61 degrees, wind 5 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
DH Jesse Winker
RF Lane Thomas
1B Joey Gallo
2B Luis García Jr.
3B Nick Senzel
LF Eddie Rosario
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Nationals have a chance to win their second straight series this afternoon and depart the Bay Area with a 4-2 record in advance of what should be a tough series at Dodger Stadium beginning Monday night. A win today over the Athletics would be good for morale heading to L.A.

The Nats have gotten great starting pitching so far this weekend, with Jake Irvin and MacKenzie Gore combining to allow one run on five hits in 11 innings. But the bullpen also has been taxed, with the top four guys (Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey, Jordan Weems, Robert Garcia) each appearing in both games. You would have to think Davey Martinez wants to avoid using any of them a third straight day unless absolutely necessary. Some length from starter Trevor Williams would help a lot.

At the plate, the Nationals will try to be more productive against Alex Wood than they were against Paul Blackburn or Joe Boyle. Wood has been around for more than a decade now, and he’s faced the Nats a whopping 16 times in his career. Most of those starts, though, came years ago when he was with the Braves, and he was facing a very different lineup than he’ll see today.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at OAKLAND ATHLETICS
Where: Oakland Coliseum
Gametime: 4:07 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 58 degrees, wind 9 mph left field to right field

NATIONALS
CF Jacob Young
SS CJ Abrams
DH Joey Meneses
LF Jesse Winker
RF Lane Thomas
1B Joey Gallo
2B Ildemaro Vargas
C Riley Adams
3B Trey Lipscomb

OAKLAND, Calif. – Things you don’t expect to see when you come to California: a tarp covering the infield. Yes, it’s raining here today, and it’s supposed to rain on and off all day. We can only hope it doesn’t prevent the Nationals and Athletics from playing as scheduled, or at least with minimal delay. Because the idea of a Sunday doubleheader, with a flight to Los Angeles at the end of that, can’t be appealing to anyone.

The Nats got a really good start Friday night out of Jake Irvin, who gave up one hit (alas, a homer) in six innings. They’ll hope for more good stuff today from MacKenzie Gore, who was very strong last time out against the Phillies and now faces what on paper looks like a far less imposing lineup. (I know, I know. Careful what you wish for.)

The Nationals also could use a much better offensive showing than they put forth Friday night, when they managed only one run (Jesse Winker’s ninth-inning homer) and went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. The good news: They don’t have to face Paul Blackburn again. It’s right-hander Joe Boyle, a rookie making his sixth career start. He was beat around by the Red Sox but then shut out the Tigers over five innings last time out.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at OAKLAND ATHLETICS
Where: Oakland Coliseum
Gametime: 4:07 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Rain, 53 degrees, wind 11 mph right field to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
DH Jesse Winker
1B Joey Gallo
LF Eddie Rosario
2B Luis García Jr. 
3B Trey Lipscomb
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young

OAKLAND, Calif. – For only the third time in club history, the Nationals are playing at the Oakland Coliseum. They were here in 2014. They were here again in 2017. And now they’re back in 2024. And sadly, this appears to be the last time they’ll be coming here, with the Athletics announcing plans to relocate to Sacramento for three seasons while they wait for their proposed new ballpark to open in Las Vegas. It all makes for a sad situation here for a once-proud franchise and its loyal fan base.

The Nats will look to keep things going in a positive direction tonight after taking two of three across the bay in San Francisco. They’ve got Jake Irvin on the mound for his third start of the season, seeking his first truly good start. (He actually pitched pretty well against the Phillies last week but was done in by one bad pitch to J.T. Realmuto, which turned into a three-run homer.)

Keibert Ruiz once again sits, so he must still be feeling sick. That’s not ideal, because the Nationals sent Drew Millas back to Triple-A Rochester after Wednesday’s game and called up reliever Amos Willingham this morning. So it’s Riley Adams behind the plate, with no real help unless Ruiz feels well enough to play in an emergency.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at OAKLAND ATHLETICS
Where: Oakland Coliseum
Gametime: 9:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 57 degrees, wind 15 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
1B Joey Gallo
DH Joey Meneses
LF Jesse Winker
CF Eddie Rosario
C Riley Adams
2B Luis García Jr.
3B Trey Lipscomb

BOSTON – The Orioles go for the sweep of the Red Sox tonight and they’ve got Jackson Holliday at second base again and batting ninth.

Manager Brandon Hyde is repeating another lineup after avoiding duplicates in 2023.

At 20 years and 128 days, Holliday last night became the fourth-youngest player in franchise history with an RBI in his debut, behind Brooks Robinson, Andy Etchebarren and Ron Hansen.

Jordan Westburg is the third baseman. Colton Cowser is in left field, with Austin Hays on the bench for all three games of the series.

Grayson Rodriguez is 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA and 1.054 WHIP in two starts covering 12 1/3 innings. He’s allowed only three runs and struck out 16.

BOSTON – Jackson Holliday is making his major league debut tonight at second base as the Orioles try to claim a series win against the Red Sox.

Holliday is batting ninth. And yes, he’s wearing No. 7, which was unofficially retired to honor Cal Ripken Sr. No one wore it since 1992.

Infielder Billy Ripken was the last player to wear it in 1988, after his father was fired as manager only six games into the season, and into the historic 21-game losing streak.

“Our family is thrilled that @J_Holliday7 will be wearing dad's #7 ... Excited to watch him play!,” Cal Ripken Jr. posted on the former Twitter.

Colton Cowser stays in left field and Jordan Westburg is playing third base. Westburg should get used to it because Holliday is likely to get the bulk of the work at second.

SAN FRANCISCO – The Nationals have a chance today to sweep a road series, extend their winning streak to four games and reach the .500 mark. Not a bad position to be in, especially considering all the other stuff that’s been going on in recent days.

Despite the injuries, the Nats are playing good baseball right now. And another win this afternoon over the Giants would further solidify that notion.

After using up five relievers, including Hunter Harvey (who had to depart after getting hit on the left hand with a line drive), the bullpen could be thin today. So look for Patrick Corbin to get his 100 pitches in, whether it takes him four or seven innings to get there.

The Nationals made a roster move early this morning, promoting Drew Millas from Triple-A Rochester and optioning Joan Adon back down one day after he gave them four innings in place of the injured Josiah Gray. The move gives the team an extra position player (not to mention three catchers) for the time being. Eventually, they’ll need to call up another starting pitcher, perhaps Jackson Rutledge.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Where: Oracle Park
Gametime: 3:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 67 degrees, wind 7 mph out to center field

SAN FRANCISCO – This was supposed to be a big outing for Josiah Gray, who would have been looking to bounce back from two ragged starts to begin his season. Instead, Gray is on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow/forearm flexor strain and Joan Adon instead will make this start against the Giants.

Adon is no stranger to the big leagues; this is his 26th career start. And he pitched here at Oracle Park two years ago, suffering a 9-3 loss. He made only one start for Triple-A Rochester, though, and that was 11 days ago when he gave up four runs (two earned) in only 2 1/3 innings. The challenge will be even tougher tonight.

The Nationals lineup does get a boost with CJ Abrams returning after three days off with a bone bruise in his left pinky finger. The shortstop took batting practice and fielded grounders prior to Monday’s game, so it appears he’s good to go. The Nats will happily welcome him back to the top of their lineup tonight as they face Giants lefty Kyle Harrison in his 10th career start.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Where: Oracle Park
Gametime: 9:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 60 degrees, wind 11 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
DH Joey Gallo
1B Joey Meneses
LF Jesse Winker
C Riley Adams
2B Ildemaro Vargas
3B Trey Lipscomb
CF Jacob Young

SAN FRANCISCO – Unfortunately, there were no eclipse sightings here on the West Coast today. Fortunately, the view at Oracle Park is awe-inspiring enough, despite the absence of any celestial bodies.

The Nationals open a nine-game West Coast trip tonight, the first six of which take place in the Bay Area, with a nicely scheduled San Francisco-Oakland pairing all week before they head to Los Angeles. And they’ve arrived here just in time to be part of a big debut for the home team.

Blake Snell, the top free agent pitcher who sat around unsigned all winter and spring, finally makes his Giants debut tonight. The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner with the Padres is ready to go after his late start to spring training, but you’d have to think the lefty will be limited to some extent in his first start.

Trevor Williams starts for the Nationals, and if you forgot, he actually delivered the best start of anyone in the rotation the first time through, holding the Pirates to two runs and three hits over 5 1/3 innings Wednesday in D.C. This is a great pitcher’s park, so perhaps Williams (who has been known to serve up a homer or two) will benefit from it, though the Giants have quietly assembled a really nice lineup as they try to catch the Dodgers and Diamondbacks in the NL West.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Where: Oracle Park
Gametime: 9:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 61 degrees, wind 13 mph out to center field

The Nationals’ first homestand of the season comes to an end with this afternoon’s finale against the Phillies. The team will board a cross-country flight tonight to begin a nine-game West Coast road trip over the next 10 days.

The Nats will also try to avoid their first sweep of the season after dropping the first two games to their division rivals with MacKenzie Gore taking the mound for his second start of the regular season. The young left-hander struggled in his season debut in the Nats’ home opener on Monday, giving up three runs, five hits and two walks with six strikeouts in a loss to the Pirates.

Gore will look to be more efficient with his pitches against a dangerous Phillies lineup after needing 101 to complete 5 ⅓ innings his first time out.

CJ Abrams is out of the lineup again on Sunday. He was a late scratch before yesterday’s game with a bone bruise in his left pinky finger suffered while sliding into second base Friday night.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 60 degrees, wind 11 mph in from left field

PITTSBURGH – Austin Hays is in today’s Orioles lineup at PNC Park, playing left field and batting sixth.

Hays began yesterday’s game on the bench because of an illness but batted twice, striking out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh and grounding out in the eighth. He’s 2-for-20.

James McCann is catching and Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter. Jordan Westburg is playing third base, moving Ramón Urías to the bench.

Tyler Wells allowed three earned runs and four total in six innings against the Angels in his first start. He walked none and struck out seven.

Wells faced the Pirates on May 13, 2023 in Baltimore and tossed seven scoreless innings with one hit allowed and eight strikeouts.

If it feels like the Nationals are always trying to play catch up, it’s true. Seven games into the season, they’ve played 63 total innings. They’ve held a lead at the end of only 11 of those innings, and eight of them came in Wednesday’s coast-to-coast win over the Pirates. Suffice it to say, these guys need to get better starting pitching from the outset and better offensive performances all around.

They’ll hope for both today in the second game of their weekend series against the Phillies, and it begins with Jake Irvin. The right-hander, as has been noted several times here, was excellent this spring and entered the season feeling really good about himself. Irvin wasn’t bad in his first outing Sunday in Cincinnati, but neither was he great, finishing with three runs and seven hits allowed in five innings. The Philly lineup is certainly more imposing, so this will be a good challenge for him.

At the plate, the Nationals simply need to get something going early against Ranger Suárez. Like Irvin, the left-hander gave up three runs in five innings in his season debut. And the Nats have had some success against him in the past, totaling 18 runs on 41 hits and 12 walks across 35 2/3 innings the last two seasons.

UPDATE: Lineup change for the Nats: CJ Abrams has been scratched, most likely feeling the effects of his slide into second base last night when he jammed his left hand into the bag. So it's going to be Nasim Nuñez making his first big league start, filling in for Abrams at shortstop.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 55 degrees, wind 19 mph in from left field

After back-to-back series against National League Central foes to begin the season, the Nationals face their first NL East rival this weekend, with the Phillies coming to town for a three-game series. That means the return to town of Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and probably more than a few phans from up I-95. This has been the reality for a while now, so it really shouldn’t catch anyone by surprise.

The best thing the Nats can do to minimize the impact: Win more games. They did OK against Philly last season, going 6-7 in head-to-head matchups. So we’ll see how they handle it this season.

More than anything, the Nationals would love to get a quality start for the first time in 2024. Can Patrick Corbin be the one to do it? The matchup wouldn’t seem to favor him. Then again, in his one start against the Phillies last season, he tossed five innings of one-hit ball. So maybe there’s hope for the veteran lefty.

The Nats will also try to jump out to an early lead for only the second time this season. They’ll do so against Aaron Nola, who was lit up by the Braves in his first start of the year, not to mention his first start since signing a $172 million extension.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 50 degrees, wind 17 mph left field to right field

PITTSBURGH – Colton Cowser is in left field for today’s series opener against the Pirates at PNC Park.

Austin Hays is on the bench.

Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter. Jordan Westburg is playing second base, and Ramón Urías is the third baseman and looking for his first hit.

Grayson Rodriguez held the Angels to one run in six innings and struck out nine batters in his first start.

The Orioles have allowed four runs or fewer in their first six games, tied for their second-longest streak to begin a season. They did it in seven in 2002.

Gray home white

They managed to play Monday’s home opener as scheduled with no interruption. They managed to play Wednesday night as scheduled with no interruption. Can the Nationals and Pirates do the impossible and play today’s series finale as scheduled with no interruption?

There’s once again rain in the forecast, so that may be too much to ask for. But perhaps the baseball gods will smile upon us again and provide a window of dryness during the late-afternoon/early-evening hours.

The Nats will again be looking to win the rubber game of a series, having missed their chance to do that Sunday in Cincinnati when Kyle Finnegan blew the save. All things considered, if they could emerge from this opening week with a 3-3 record, everyone would have to be satisfied.

Josiah Gray is back on the mound for his second start, hoping for better results than his Opening Day outing. If nothing else, the right-hander really would like to go deeper in the game, perhaps even becoming the first Nationals starter to complete six innings this season.

The Nats are making a roster move today: Jacob Young is coming up from Triple-A Rochester, with Victor Robles headed to the injured list with a left hamstring strain. Young fits the profile well to take Robles’ spot, so look for him to share center field with Eddie Rosario and come off the bench to pinch-run and play defense late in games.

The first four games of the Nationals’ season all were played in daylight, three of them starting shortly after 4 p.m., the other shortly after 1:30 p.m. Now, at last in Game 5 of the season, we get our first night game. But don’t forget: Night games at Nationals Park now start at 6:45 p.m. Adjust your commuting and TV-watching plans accordingly.

After a disappointing home opener Monday, the Nats will hope not only to beat the undefeated Pirates tonight, but perhaps even take an early lead and hold it all night. They’ve played 36 innings to date in 2024, and would you believe they’ve held the lead at the end of only three of those? That’s not a winning formula, even if they did manage to win one game in Cincinnati.

The Nationals also haven’t received a quality start from anyone yet. Trevor Williams would be an unlikely candidate to deliver the first one of those this season, but the veteran right-hander is certainly capable of keeping his team in the ballgame for five, maybe six, innings. That’s what Davey Martinez will hope for tonight before handing it over to a fresh bullpen thanks to Tuesday’s day off.

All of this, of course, depends on the weather. The forecast again isn’t great, but it looks better than it did earlier. And even though it didn’t look great Monday, they still played without a drop falling from the sky during the game. So keep hope alive!

PITTSBURGH PIRATES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Rain, 55 degrees, wind 12 mph left field to right field

In a perfect world, the Nationals would have come home from Cincinnati with a winning record to a sun-splashed ballpark for today’s home opener. Alas, this isn’t a perfect world. The Nats lost Sunday’s series finale to the Reds with a gut punch of a bottom of the ninth. And the sun will not be shining on South Capitol Street today, with lots of rain in the forecast.

The glimmer of hope? The percentage chance of rain goes down during the mid-to-late afternoon hours, so perhaps it will be dry enough to play as scheduled at 4:05 p.m. If the Nats knew Tuesday looked better, they absolutely would have postponed today’s game well in advance. Unfortunately, Tuesday’s forecast looks worse, so they really have no choice but to attempt to play today. It’s not ideal, but it’s the best they can do with what Mother Nature is throwing their way.

The Nationals come home to face a Pirates team that just swept a four-game series in Miami, two of those wins coming in extra innings. This is a team filled with young talent, making for an intriguing series here the next few days.

It’s MacKenzie Gore getting the ball for the home opener, an honor Davey Martinez wanted the young lefty to have. After less-than-dominant showings from Josiah Gray, Patrick Corbin and Jake Irvin in Cincy, it would be lovely to get some quality out of Gore today.

MASN has all the proceedings today, with a special hour-long pregame show beginning at 3 p.m. and concluding with all of the player intros, the anthem and flyover. If you can’t be here in person, be sure to tune in!