Just a few years ago, Cole Henry probably envisioned his first two weeks in the major leagues including several starts for the Nationals, perhaps one or two gems in there to set him on his way as a long-term member of the rotation.

It doesn’t always work out as planned, of course, but that doesn’t have to mean it can’t still work out in a positive – if unexpected – way.

Henry’s first two weeks in the big leagues didn’t include any starts, but rather four relief appearances. He twice closed out lopsided losses. Then he closed out a lopsided win Tuesday night. And then on Thursday, the 25-year-old right-hander found himself pitching in a high-leverage spot for the first time.

The Nats still lost the game 2-1 to the Orioles. But Henry’s performance in the top of the eighth and ninth, posting two more zeros, represented a big moment for the rookie, who with each passing day is growing to appreciate this new role as a major league reliever.

“I’m learning every day,” he said. “It’s definitely something different. But I’m up for the challenge. I like being out there, and pitching in those high-leverage spots is really fun. Hopefully I can keep doing it.”

The Nationals lineup tonight, at least on paper, looked as imposing as it has in a while.

CJ Abrams was back after a nearly two-week stint on the injured list. James Wood was back in the No. 3 slot, where ideally he could drive in more runners than himself. The bottom three (Josh Bell, Dylan Crews, Luis García Jr.) featured big names who often hit much higher up in the order.

If only that translated into offensive success once the game actually started.

Imposing or not, the Nats were rendered helpless at the plate tonight by Cade Povich and the Orioles bullpen, which dominated over the course of a 2-1 loss that denied the home team a shot at a rare series sweep over its interleague rivals.

MacKenzie Gore did his part on the mound, tossing six innings of two-run ball, but still was tagged with the loss due to a lack of run support from a lineup that has struggled lately to string together productive nights.

CJ Abrams was all smiles, bouncing around the Nationals clubhouse this afternoon as he prepared to play his first big league game in nearly two weeks.

“It feels good to be back,” the 24-year-old shortstop said. “The boys have been battling, and I’m ready to get in there with them and win some games.”

Officially activated off the 10-day injured list this afternoon, Abrams returns after missing time with a right hip flexor strain, confident that ailment (which he briefly tried to play through before going on the IL) will no longer be a factor.

“No pain. Nothing at all,” he said. “Running, swinging, anything. Everything is 100 percent.”

Abrams played in two rehab games with Double-A Harrisburg, going 0-for-4 with two walks and a sacrifice fly. He played six innings at shortstop Tuesday night, then all nine innings there Wednesday afternoon, emerging from the stint feeling healthy and ready to return.

The Nationals and Orioles have faced each other annually since 2006, and in all that time the Nats have swept only two three-game series from their interleague rivals (2018 at Camden Yards, 2021 at Nationals Park). So if they can pull it off tonight, it’ll be a rare occurrence, indeed.

They’ve won the first two games of this series with some outstanding starting pitching from Mitchell Parker and Trevor Williams. And now they’ve got their ace on the mound in MacKenzie Gore, coming off a dominant 13-strikeout start in Colorado last weekend. Baltimore has really struggled against lefties this season, so there’s a real opportunity for Gore to keep things going in the right direction and put together another stellar start … if he can throw strikes and not let anything negative spiral out of control on him.

The Nationals have also won the last two nights thanks in large part to early offense, thanks to three first-inning homers totaling five runs. And for the first time in nearly two weeks, they’ve got CJ Abrams back in the lineup. Abrams was officially activated off the 10-day injured list this afternoon, with Trey Lipscomb (not Nasim Nuñez) optioned to Triple-A Rochester.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (out-of-market only), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 75 degrees, wind 10 mph right field to left field

ORIOLES
CF Cedric Mullins
C Adley Rutschman
SS Gunnar Henderson
1B Ryan Mountcastle
3B Jordan Westburg
LF Heston Kjerstad
RF Ramón Laureano
DH Ryan O'Hearn
2B Jorge Mateo

James Wood’s reaction the first time he found out he’d be leading off for the Nationals?

“Uh, I don’t know,” he admitted. “But whatever the manager thinks gives us the best chance to win, I’m OK with.”

Wood has been more than OK batting first. He’s been downright unstoppable.

With another big night Wednesday in the Nats’ 4-3 win over the Orioles, the 22-year-old left fielder further established his credentials as a big bat who can provide instant offense for his team.

Wood opened the bottom of the first with a towering, 431-foot blast to the second deck in right-center field at Nationals Park. The exit velocity on that home run: 116.3 mph, making it the hardest-hit homer by a Nats player in this ballpark since such things began getting tracked in 2015.

If Tuesday night’s blowout over the Orioles was a rare cakewalk win for the Nationals, this one felt all along like a walk across a lengthy tightrope, with no net visible down below.

Even after scoring three quick runs in the bottom of the first, the Nats found themselves in a tight contest, their bullpen unable to protect a two-run lead, the game ultimately decided in the eighth and ninth innings.

It’s the kind of pressure situation that has haunted this team too often during its rebuild. But all that experience may be starting to pay off. Even after blowing their slim lead tonight, the Nationals still felt like they were going to emerge victorious.

“We’ve hung in there with some really good teams, some teams that are supposed to be postseason teams,” closer Kyle Finnegan said. “We’ve proven to ourselves and to other people we can play with anybody. I think it’s big for the young guys to recognize that if we focus on what we can control, when we look up at the end of the game, we’ll be in it.”

The Nats were more than just in it tonight. They were indeed victorious, securing a 4-3 win over Baltimore thanks to Luis García Jr.’s go-ahead sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth and another good-enough top of the ninth from Finnegan, who closed out his ninth save in as many opportunities.

CJ Abrams should be back at Nationals Park on Thursday. Then, it’s just a question of whether the team will activate their All-Star shortstop off the 10-day injured list in time for their series finale against the Orioles or will wait for Friday’s series opener against the Mets.

Abrams, who has a right hip flexor strain, played his second rehab game today for Double-A Harrisburg, completing all nine innings while taking four plate appearances. This after he played six innings in the field Tuesday night and took three plate appearances.

His total offensive stats over these two games: 0-for-4 with two walks, a strikeout and a sacrifice fly.

“I think they were a little scared to pitch to him,” right-hander Michael Soroka, who pitched Tuesday as part of his own rehab assignment with Harrisburg, said with a laugh.

Of far more consequence than Abrams’ production was his ability to play 15 innings in less than 24 hours without any apparent physical issues.

It’s a beautiful spring day in the nation’s capital, and everyone around here is in a good mood after Tuesday night’s 7-0 win over the Orioles. The Nationals have quietly won three of their last four as they try to creep closer to the .500 mark. A duplicate performance tonight would certainly help them get closer to that break-even point.

Davey Martinez will hope his lineup continues to rake after producing 10 extra-base hits Tuesday night. The opponent tonight is Tomoyuki Sugano, the 35-year-old Japanese rookie who enters with a 3.43 ERA in four starts but has surrendered four homers while striking out only eight batters in 21 innings. He’s going to be around the plate; it’s up to the Nats to swing at the right pitches that will lead to solid contact.

Trevor Williams starts for the Nationals, coming off his best outing of the young season (one run over five innings in a 1-0 loss to the Pirates). We know the game plan with the veteran right-hander; he has been capped at five innings every time out so far. So it’s probably going to come down to the Nats' bullpen, for better or worse. Buckle up.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 75 degrees, wind 6 mph in from right field

ORIOLES
CF Cedric Mullins
SS Gunnar Henderson
C Adley Rutschman
1B Ryan O’Hearn
RF Tyler O’Neill
LF Heston Kjerstad
DH Jordan Westburg
2B Jackson Holliday
3B Ramón Urías

The afternoon began with Davey Martinez suggesting Jose Tena was going to start getting more playing time, perhaps establishing a righty-lefty platoon at third base with veteran Amed Rosario.

If Tena keeps playing like he did Tuesday evening, he won’t have any trouble convincing his manager to pencil him into the lineup with more regularity.

On a night in which the Nationals lineup totaled 10 extra-base hits en route to a 7-0 blanking of the Orioles, Tena was a surprisingly significant contributor. He went 3-for-4 with a triple and two doubles, turning in far more production than he had in any of his previous seven games played this season.

“Obviously, I hadn’t played in a couple days. But I felt comfortable and felt relaxed,” he said, via interpreter Kenny Diaz. “I felt thankful that I had the game I had today.”

With Paul DeJong on the 10-day injured list after fracturing his nose when he was struck by a fastball last week in Pittsburgh, and with top prospect Brady House still waiting in the wings at Triple-A Rochester, the Nationals find themselves with no clear daily answer at third base. Rosario got the first opportunity during the final stages of last week’s road trip but saw his production cool off. Trey Lipscomb got a start Sunday in Colorado but struggled to hit the ball in the air.

Mitchell Parker’s Tuesday night actually got off to a rough start.

He walked Orioles leadoff man Cedric Mullins on four pitches, then elicited some Bronx cheers when he finally threw a strike to Adley Rutschman. Little did anyone realize what was still to come.

“It definitely wasn’t ideal,” the Nationals left-hander said with a sheepish grin. “But it basically ended up working out, so I can’t be too upset about it. But maybe we’re going to try to not do it next time.”

Maybe Parker should try to do it again, especially if it leads to the same end result he got this evening: eight scoreless innings of one-hit ball to lead his team to a dominant 7-0 win.

Building off the four quality starts he already had authored to begin the season, Parker took things to another level tonight with the best performance of his young career. The 25-year-old became the Nats’ first starter to complete eight innings since Jake Irvin last July 4. He surrendered one single and two walks. He retired the final 17 batters he faced.

The Nationals can now start counting down the days until CJ Abrams returns to their lineup. But first, the All-Star shortstop needs to prove he’s good to go in a rehab assignment.

Abrams is playing tonight for Double-A Harrisburg, his first game action since aggravating his right hip flexor April 11 in Miami. He’s technically eligible to come off the 10-day injured list now, but the Nats wanted him to get some reps in the minor leagues before activating him.

“I’d like to get him on his feet, get him some at-bats and make sure he’s OK,” manager Davey Martinez said. “The last time he felt it was on the field, so we want to get him out there and let him play shortstop. And if it takes a day or two or three, then we’ll prepare for that. But hopefully he comes out today feeling good and not bothering him.”

Abrams is slated to play six innings at shortstop tonight and take at least three at-bats, with the possibility of more if he feels up for more. The Nationals would love to have him back in their lineup before the end of this week’s series against the Orioles, but they won’t rush it if he doesn’t look ready.

Nasim Nuñez has excelled in the field in Abrams’ place, to nobody’s surprise. But the 24-year-old infielder doesn’t provide nearly the offensive punch as the man ahead of him on the depth chart. In seven games since taking over as the everyday shortstop, Nunez is batting .182 (4-for-22) with three walks and two stolen bases.

It’s good to be home. The Nationals haven’t been here in almost two weeks, back when they won consecutive series against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers. Things took a decided turn downward on the road, but at least they won two of three in Colorado over the weekend. Now after a day off, they prepare for a six-game homestand against the Orioles and Mets.

Baltimore is off to a ragged start to the season, as well, a product of injuries and poor pitching. The Nats’ 5.12 staff ERA ranks 29th in the majors. The only staff worse than that: The Orioles, at 5.43. This would be a nice time to get the offense going.

Mitchell Parker has quietly been the Nationals’ best starter to date, with a 1.85 ERA and 1.110 WHIP in four outings. Most impressively, the left-hander has completed at least six innings in each of those starts. He faced the O’s last May as a rookie and did well, allowing two runs over 5 2/3 innings.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 77 degrees, wind 10 mph in from left field

ORIOLES
CF Cedric Mullins
DH Adley Rutschman
SS Gunnar Henderson
1B Ryan Mountcastle
RF Tyler O’Neill
LF Heston Kjerstad
3B Jordan Westburg
C Gary Sánchez
2B Jackson Holliday

When he stranded the tying run on third base Saturday afternoon to secure the Nationals’ 12-11 win over the Rockies, Kyle Finnegan was credited with his 95th career save, tied with Drew Storen for second-most in club history.

And when he stranded the tying run on third base Sunday afternoon to secure the Nationals’ 3-2 win over the Rockies, Finnegan moved ahead of Storen into sole possession of second place, his 96 career saves now trailing only Chad Cordero in club history.

The veteran reliever had a hard time comprehending that news.

“It’s crazy to think that I’m second. I feel like I just got here,” he said. “I still feel like a new guy in the league.”

Finnegan may feel like the new guy, but he hardly fits that description. He’s now in his sixth major league season, all of them coming with the Nats. Having debuted in the second game of the abbreviated 2020 season, he’s actually the longest tenured player on the current team, beating out Luis Garcia Jr. by a couple weeks.

DENVER – Josh Bell has been doing this long enough to know when his swing feels right and when it doesn’t. And more importantly, when he feels like he’s about to break out of a slump.

The first four weeks of this season have constituted a slump for the veteran slugger. He entered this weekend’s series against the Rockies with a .133 batting average, a .267 slugging percentage and only two homers. What, then would be the sign he was ready to break out at last?

“I think it’s just more balls in the air,” he said Saturday morning. “I think when I’m chopping balls foul, I’m in a dark place. But if I can put it in the air, that means my path is good. And if I can just stay inside a little more, I’ll get it in the air in the field of play. …

“Any fly out is a good thing. Any line out is a good thing.”

A couple hours later, Bell sent a fly ball to left field in his first at-bat of the Nationals’ series opener at Coors Field. It traveled 328 feet and was caught easily by Colorado’s Jordan Beck. But it was a fly out, and in Bell’s mind that was a good thing, right?

DENVER – After the chaos of Saturday’s wild slugfest, who would have imagined today’s doubleheader at Coors Field would feature back-to-back pitchers’ duels, with offense at an extreme premium?

The Nationals certainly weren’t counting on that flipping of the script. Even though they leave town with a series victory, they leave feeling a bit of a sting at missing a golden opportunity at a three-game sweep.

Despite getting quality pitching from Brad Lord and their less-reliable relievers, the Nats fell 3-1 to the Rockies in the nightcap of the doubleheader, settling for a Sunday split in the thin air.

The same lineup that exploded for 12 runs on a 45-degree Saturday afternoon managed only four total runs over 18 innings of baseball played under far more pleasant conditions today, held in check by a Colorado pitching staff that has allowed the most runs in the majors this season.

"Obviously, we can't go up there and put up a dozen every night," said first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who managed three of the team's eight singles tonight. "But we'd like to score more, obviously score more than we did tonight because we didn't like the outcome. We hold ourselves to a pretty high standard and obviously didn't perform to that standard in Game 2."

DENVER – Things looked pretty bleak for the Nationals when they arrived in Colorado following back-to-back series losses in Miami and Pittsburgh. Now, things look a whole lot rosier following back-to-back wins and now the opportunity to not only sweep today’s doubleheader but sweep the weekend series as well and salvage a 5-5 record on the road trip.

Davey Martinez pulled out all the stops to win the first two games, asking for a combined five innings out of Jose A. Ferrer and Kyle Finnegan. You would think neither will be available tonight. But as we’ve seen here before, don’t assume anything when it comes to bullpen usage.

It’s probably safe to say Martinez will need more work out of his bullpen than he did previously, because Brad Lord isn’t likely to provide as much length as MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin did. Lord hasn’t thrown more than 57 pitches in either of his two big league starts, so you would think he won’t go more than 70-75 tonight. Look for Jackson Rutledge and Cole Henry to see action. The Nats also have Jorge López back from suspension, plus 27th man Andry Lara if needed.

At the plate, the Nationals will look to duplicate Saturday’s 12-run explosion, not this afternoon’s six-hit (all singles) performance. They’ve got Keibert Ruiz and Luis García Jr. back in the lineup after both guys got a chance to sit this afternoon.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at COLORADO ROCKIES
Where: Coors Field, Denver
Gametime: 8:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 63 degrees, wind 10 mph in from left field

DENVER – The style of game could not have been more different. Saturday’s delayed series opener was a Coors Field special, with both teams finishing in double digits. Today’s opener of a day-night doubleheader was the rare pitchers’ duel in this hitters’ haven, teams having to scratch and claw for each run.

And yet the ultimate outcome still boiled down to the same scenario from the previous afternoon: Could Nationals relievers cobble together enough big outs late to preserve a slim lead and make sure a dominant start didn’t go to waste?

Yes, yes they could. With aplomb.

Behind five clutch outs from Jose A. Ferrer to close out the seventh and eighth innings, then three more outs from Kyle Finnegan to close out the game, the Nats escaped with a 3-2 victory over the Rockies, giving themselves a chance to sweep both the doubleheader and the series later tonight.

It was a much-needed effort from perhaps the only two members of the bullpen Davey Martinez can trust right now. Ferrer and Finnegan teamed up to close out Saturday’s wild 12-11 win in which the bullpen nearly blew a 10-run lead. This one felt far more conventional, even though nothing in this ballpark ever is.

DENVER – Andry Lara didn’t understand why Matt LeCroy called a postgame team meeting Friday in Rochester. He certainly didn’t foresee the news his Triple-A manager was about to reveal.

“They did a team meeting afterward, and I was kind of shocked by it,” the right-hander said, via interpreter Kenny Diaz. “But nonetheless, I’m happy to be here. And my family and I are super excited to be here.”

Lara said this standing at his locker at Coors Field this morning, a gray Nationals jersey with his name and the number 72 hanging behind him. He’s a big leaguer, if only for one day.

Needing to add a 27th man for their day-night doubleheader against the Rockies, the Nats promoted the only player who realistically made any sense for the assignment. Lara may sport a 9.26 ERA in three starts for Rochester so far this season, but he was the only pitcher on the 40-man roster who wasn’t already either in the big leagues or on the injured list.

So, the 22-year-old got the call Friday night, flew to Denver on Saturday and now finds himself available to pitch out of the bullpen in either of today’s games.

DENVER – It’s going to be a long day and night of baseball here at Coors Field. Lord knows how many runs these two teams will combine to score over 18 innings of play, but it should be entertaining.

The first game of the doubleheader sees Jake Irvin on the mound for the Nationals. He’s coming off his best start of the season, having shut out the Pirates over seven innings Tuesday to earn his first win of the year. We know Irvin’s curveball is his bread-and-butter out pitch, but can he have the same success with it in the thin air that MacKenzie Gore did Saturday? He pitched here last summer and proved he could do it, striking out 10 over six innings of one-run ball.

The Nats will also hope to keep their power stroke going at the plate following Saturday’s 12-run explosion that included four homers, all to the opposite field. Dylan Crews, James Wood and Co. will be facing veteran left-hander Kyle Freeland, who has spent his entire career here and done a pretty good job given the conditions. Freeland is 60-76 with a 4.49 ERA in 209 games over nine seasons. He’s not a big strikeout guy, but he does throw strikes, so the Nationals will need to be ready to hit.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at COLORADO ROCKIES
Where: Coors Field, Denver
Gametime: 1:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 58 degrees, wind 6 mph in from center field

NATIONALS
LF James Wood
2B Amed Rosario
DH Josh Bell
1B Nathaniel Lowe
RF Dylan Crews
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young
3B Trey Lipscomb
SS Nasim Nuñez

DENVER – As demoralizing as the first two legs of this three-city road trip were, the Nationals at least could take some solace knowing the location of their final stop: Coors Field.

Nothing turns a slumping lineup productive like some thin mountain air. And though they had to wait 19 hours for a mid-April snowstorm to pass through before finally opening their weekend series against the Rockies, the Nats happily accepted the much-needed offense that came with it.

Then again, nothing turns an already struggling bullpen into an absolute mess like Coors Field does, which meant not even a 10-run lead this afternoon was truly safe.

Despite getting four opposite-field homers, two of them by rookie Dylan Crews, and a 13-strikeout performance from starter MacKenzie Gore, the Nationals still had to hang on for dear life as their beleaguered bullpen gave up nine runs before closing out a way-too-tense, 12-11 victory.

"You know how many games like that I've seen here?" manager Davey Martinez sighed. "Whew, a lot."