SEATTLE – It’s one thing to be aggressive at the plate. It’s quite another thing to have so little success being aggressive at the plate and making no obvious adjustment to reverse that trend.

The Nationals have often shown that unfortunate propensity in recent seasons, and tonight they took it to new (and increasingly agonizing) lengths. During a 9-1 trouncing at the hands of the Mariners, they made quick outs early against Logan Evans, then continued to make quick outs against Seattle’s rookie starter and never did anything to fix it.

By the time Eduard Bazardo completed what Evans started, the Nats ensured tonight would rank among the most futile offensive efforts in club history: They saw 98 total pitches, tied for the 11th fewest they've seen in a nine-inning game over the last 20-plus seasons.

"We're trying to work and see pitches. But when he's like that and you know he's attacking like that, you've got to go up there and be ready to hit," manager Davey Martinez said of Evans, who threw 65 of his 88 pitches for strikes. "You might get just one pitch like that down the middle, and then all of a sudden you're fighting. Tip my cap to him. He kept going out there and kept throwing strikes."

The Nationals nearly failed to draw a walk for the third consecutive game, a distinction they had achieved only once before in club history (September 2016). Josh Bell’s free pass in the top of the eighth finally snapped their streak of impatience at 26 innings.

The managerial wheels were spinning inside Tony Mansolino’s head tonight in the first inning. The migraine didn’t set in until much later.

Tomoyuki Sugano escaped with only one run allowed against the Cardinals despite singles from four of the first five batters, but his opponent squeezed 32 pitches out of him. The count grew to 51 after the second, with Lars Nootbaar creeping halfway to the cycle with his two-run homer. Mansolino had to consider how the rest of the game would be covered if Sugano blew a chance to get deep into it.

Sugano gave up another single in the third as rain continued to fall, but he needed only six pitches to get back to the bench, and he retired the side in order on 11 in the fourth. Those early concerns were put to bed. The bigger worry was whether the Orioles could overcome the deficit.

They did after Ryan O’Hearn swatted a three-run homer in the fifth, but the Cardinals tied the game against Keegan Akin in the seventh and Nolan Arenado homered off Bryan Baker an inning later in a 7-4 victory over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 13,779 at Camden Yards.

Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker had back-to-back triples off Baker in the eighth on fly balls that the Orioles couldn’t track cleanly in wet conditions and with Cedric Mullins on the bench for the third time in four games. Heston Kjerstad failed to make a sliding grab on the track in right-center as Jorge Mateo approached the ball -  Statcast gave it a 95 percent catch probability - and Mateo stopped short of the center field fence and jumped too soon on Walker’s drive.

SEATTLE – The Nationals hope to have Kyle Finnegan available to them for tonight’s series opener against the Mariners, but the closer’s availability was still up in the air as the team took the field this evening for pregame workouts.

Finnegan hasn’t pitched in five days due to shoulder fatigue, a seemingly minor ailment that kept him from taking the mound in the ninth inning of Saturday’s 3-0 victory over the Giants. The Nats lost Sunday’s series finale, so there was no save situation, but it appears their closer would not have been available if they held a lead in the ninth.

Finnegan, who has never spent a day on the injured list in five-plus seasons in the big leagues, expressed confidence the ailment wasn’t serious and believed by mentioning it quickly he avoided any kind of long-term problems. But he still needs to pitch in a game until anyone can say for certainty.

“I’m not going to assume anything until he goes out there and actually throws,” manager Davey Martinez said. “Right now, I have high expectations that he will be able to pitch for us today. But if he doesn’t, we’ll see where he’s at. If he’s better than he was a few days ago, that’s a good sign. If he’s not, then we’ll have to sit down and talk to him and maybe do something else.”

Finnegan was set to throw pregame during batting practice and see how his arm felt. In addition to the physical sensation in his shoulder, the Nationals planned to pay attention to his mechanics for any sign of trouble.

SEATTLE – Hello from the Great Pacific Northwest, where the Nationals are making their bi-annual trip to face the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. It’s the first West Coast trip of the season, with a stop in Arizona coming up this weekend before they head back home.

The Nats come here playing better baseball of late but still quite a bit inconsistent at the plate. After scoring 37 runs during their five-game winning streak against the Orioles and Braves, they scored only five runs while losing two of three last weekend to the Giants. Most notably, they drew zero walks Saturday or Sunday.

This is important, because the Nationals now face a Mariners club that boasts a solid 3.69 ERA as a team. Their bullpen is even better, with a 3.43 ERA. And get this: Seattle is a perfect 21-0 when leading after seven innings this year, 24-0 when leading after eighth. The Nats have shown a propensity for coming from behind late, but this might be the wrong opponent to try to pull off that kind of magic against.

It's Mitchell Parker on the mound tonight, looking to build off a solid start last time out against the Braves. He’ll be opposed by right-hander Logan Evans, who makes the sixth start of his career, having gone 2-1 with a 3.33 ERA through his first five.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SEATTLE MARINERS
Where: T-Mobile Park
Gametime: 9:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 69 degrees, wind 9 mph in from left field

Cedric Mullins and Adley Rutschman remain out of the Orioles’ lineup tonight against the Cardinals.

Mullins hasn’t started in three of the last four games. Jorge Mateo is in center field.

Chadwick Tromp makes his first start behind the plate.

Dylan Carlson is in left field after homering yesterday for the second time in two games. His 107.6 mph exit velocity was the hardest-hit home run of his career.

Carlson is 5-for-12 over his last three games after going 1-for-22.

As part of their 20th anniversary celebration, the Nationals invited a number of former players to attend spring training for a few days a piece and serve as guest instructors. The list included familiar faces who have come back frequently over the years (Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond) and some who hadn’t been back at all since retiring (Drew Storen, Danny Espinosa).

Perhaps the ex-National who drew the most attention in West Palm Beach, though, was Jayson Werth. Because while everyone who showed up this spring made a point to say something to the current team, Werth made a point to really say something. Something that appears to have resonated with everyone who was there to hear it.

Two months later, Werth was back at Nationals Park over the weekend, joining Howie Kendrick for the team’s “Mystery Bobblehead” giveaway. He was asked if he could share anything about his spring training speech, and the 46-year-old former outfielder smiled wide and proceeded to tell the story. It’s a bit convoluted, but it makes sense when you get to the end.

Werth began by telling everyone about a critical moment during his playing career: the summer of 2007, when he was an injury-prone 28-year-old trying to make it with the Phillies after previously playing for the Orioles, Blue Jays and Dodgers. Right around the trade deadline that season, starting outfielders Shane Victorino and Michael Bourn both suffered injuries. That opened a spot in the lineup for Werth, who was just coming off the IL himself.

Philadelphia general manager Pat Gillick pulled Werth aside and told him in no uncertain terms this was going to be his last chance to play full-time in the big leagues.

The Orioles have won three games in a row for the first time in 2025, which is cause for celebration.

You can break open the bubbly or watch me bust into the mailbag. One can lead to questionable behavior, the other is filled with questions that I attempt to answer in the latest sequel to the beloved 2008 original.

I don’t edit unless your grammar is as bad as the Cardinals’ infield defense yesterday. Also, my mailbag turns double plays and your mailbag turns left in a right-turn-only lane.

Here we go.

Was firing Brandon Hyde the right decision?
Well, that didn’t take long. How can we truly know? We aren’t armed with the exact reasoning beyond how the team has played below expectations since June 2024. We don’t really know who initiated it. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be David Rubenstein or Mike Elias. But does the front office and ownership think the 2025 season is salvageable and that’s why the firing came so quickly, or is it more about deciding that Hyde wasn’t going to be retained next season and there was no reason to wait? I’ll say that it’s unfair, but that’s typical. Life is unfair. Good people get let go on the reg. You can’t fire 26 players. Hyde didn’t lose the clubhouse. Not even close. He followed orders from above, consuming analytical data by the spoonful. He didn’t become a liability with his in-game decisions. His biggest sin, which ultimately cost him, was the failure to win. Period. That wasn’t an issue during the rebuild, but it became a job killer.

Cedric Mullins is out of the Orioles’ lineup today, with Dylan Carlson getting the start in center field.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino kept Mullins and Jackson Holliday on the bench Saturday in Game 2 and said, “Just over the course of the season, there’s little nick-nack things that kind of happen. We were doing the best we could to stay away from them.”

Mullins started Sunday.

Holliday is leading off today, followed by Ramón Urías as the designated hitter. Gunnar Henderson is third.

Ryan Mountcastle is batting cleanup, Ryan O’Hearn is in right field and batting fifth, and Heston Kjerstad is in left field and batting seventh.

Yaramil Hiraldo was a non-roster invitee to Orioles spring training who didn’t pitch in an exhibition game. He was included in an early round of cuts on March 2, his name buried behind outfield prospects Enrique Bradfield Jr., Dylan Beavers and Jud Fabian and major league reliever Colin Selby.

One of them is with the club this week – the reliever who was out of affiliated ball since 2021, pitching in Mexico and the independent Atlantic League until the Orioles signed him on Oct. 31.

Hiraldo had his contract selected on Saturday when the Orioles designated veteran left-hander Cionel Pérez for assignment in a bold bullpen move. He posted a combined 2.45 ERA in 11 games between Triple-A Norfolk (six), High-A Aberdeen (three) and Double-A Chesapeake (two).

“I found out during a practice day and they told me I was gonna come up to Boston and be on the taxi squad,” Hiraldo said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “They told me to just be ready. There’s a chance I could be on the roster, a chance I might not be on the roster. And sure enough, it happened. So I’m here now, I’m ready to go and ready to help the team.”

There are plenty of interesting success stories floating around baseball. Albert Suárez provided a doozy with the Orioles. Hiraldo received a paltry $2,500 bonus from the Diamondbacks during the international signing period in 2017-18, the 11^th lowest among 1,176 players, according to baseball journalist Francys Romero. His adjusted salary with the Orioles is $523,008, per Spotrac.

Injuries happen over the course of a 162-game season. There’s no avoiding it. Teams need to be prepared.

Organizational depth plays a key role in a team’s success over the course of the six-month season. You need quality players as backups, ideally ones that play in a similar fashion as the players you hope you don’t, but inevitably do, lose to injury.

So when the Nationals had to place Dylan Crews (left oblique strain) and Jacob Young (left shoulder AC sprain) on the injured list last week, they were happy to have two prospects ready to fill the roster spots.

Robert Hassell III and Daylen Lile, ranked as the Nats’ Nos. 11 and 9 prospects, respectively, per MLB Pipeline, have had their moments in their short stint in the majors so far. The tools that have made them some of the highest-rated prospects in the farm system have been on display in their quick swings, speed on the basepaths and glovework in the outfield.

Sure, they may need more seasoning at the plate. After becoming the first National to record a multi-hit game and a stolen base in his major league debut, Hassell is hitless in his last three games. Lile is 2-for-8 in his first three major league games after only 18 games at Triple-A Rochester.

So far in this series between the Nationals and Giants, one team scores and the other does not. That was the case in each of the first two games that the squads split via shutouts.

Surely, that meant they were destined for more offensive output in Sunday’s finale in front of an announced crowd of 31,581 at Nationals Park, right?

Early on, it seemed that way. But the Nats were unable to overcome an early deficit in an eventual 3-2 loss to the Giants, giving Washington its first series loss in the last three matchups.

After MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin pitched quality starts in the first two games of this three-game set, it was Michael Soroka’s turn to attempt to get deep in the game and give his team a chance at a win.

Soroka cruised through his first inning, throwing seven of eight pitches for strikes. But he labored over the next two frames to bring his pitch count to 60 after just three innings.

BOSTON – Cooper Hummel exercised the opt-out clause in his contract with the Yankees shortly after midnight Wednesday, didn’t see a path back to the majors and was minutes away from agreeing to a minor league contract – one person described it as “pen to paper “ - when the Orioles called his agent.

Baseball can tug at a player’s emotions and pull him in many unexpected directions.

The Orioles signed Hummel to a one-year deal and brought him to Fenway Park for today’s game. They sought a corner outfielder with Colton Cowser, Tyler O’Neill and Ramón Laureano on the injured list.

“The last few days were kind of a whirlwind for me. I’m excited for this,” he said this morning.

Hummel, 30, has appeared in 66 games with the Diamondbacks, 10 with the Mariners and six with the Astros over the past three seasons. He’s played left and right field in the majors and also caught in 18, and he brings corner infield experience from the minors.

The Nationals are still waiting to see if their All-Star closer is available for this afternoon’s series finale against the Giants. If not, they have no problem giving him some more rest before tomorrow’s off-day and the upcoming six-game West Coast road trip.

Kyle Finnegan has been dealing with arm fatigue after pitching two innings in the Nats’ two wins over the Braves earlier this week. The right-hander recorded his 15th save, good for third in the major leagues, with a perfect ninth inning on Tuesday and then was charged with his third blown save after giving up two hits and an unearned run in the ninth of Thursday’s extra-inning victory.

"Just a little arm fatigue after pitching twice against Atlanta,” Finnegan told reporters yesterday after not appearing in the 3-0 win over the Giants. “I just haven't quite bounced back yet. But I feel fine. It's just an abundance of caution, take an extra day."

Neither the closer nor the team feels too concerned about it. Ideally, he would be available to pitch this afternoon. But even if he’s not, the Nats are confident in their other closing candidates like Jorge López, who recorded his first save of the season Saturday.

“Just like fatigue,” Finnegan said. “Some outings you're more sore than others, really no reason why. Just a little more fatigued. But like I said, it's really not something I'm concerned with at all."

BOSTON – The Orioles made another roster move today, signing outfielder Cooper Hummel and designating infielder Terrin Vavra for assignment.

Hummel, 30, exercised the opt-out clause in his contract with the Yankees. He’s hit .159/.255/.275 in 82 major league games. He had eight doubles, three triples, three home runs and 17 RBIs in 66 games with the Diamondbacks in 2022, and appeared in 10 with the Mariners in 2023 and six with the Astros last summer.

Hummel, a switch-hitter, is a career .266/.403/.443 hitter in nine minor league seasons.

Vavra was DFA’d for the second time with the Orioles. His contract was selected yesterday while Ramón Laureano went on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left ankle.

The Orioles will try for a split of their rain-interrupted four-game series at Fenway Park today before boarding their flight home.

After Friday’s shutout loss to end a five-game win streak, the Nationals bounced right back to shut out the Giants yesterday to get back in the win column. They are now winners of seven of their last nine, and if they can win one more this afternoon, they’ll be winners of three straight series ahead of a long West Coast road trip.

Michael Soroka will try to do what MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin did the last two outings: Hold the Giants lineup to minimal damage and pitch deep into the game. The right-hander enters his fifth start with a 1-2 record, 5.95 ERA and 1.271 WHIP.

Meanwhile, the Nats bats will try to do something few have accomplished this season: Get to Robbie Ray. The veteran left-hander is undefeated at 6-0 with a 2.67 ERA and 1.221 WHIP over his 10 starts. The Giants have only lost one game Ray has started this year, his most recent one in which he pitched seven shutout innings against the Royals.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 68 degrees, wind 10 mph in from left field

BOSTON – The Orioles used their 42^nd player last night when Trevor Rogers stepped on the mound to warm up for Game 2 of the doubleheader. They had Terrin Vavra on the bench and Yaramil Hiraldo in the bullpen. The number is fluid, the clubhouse attendants kept busy making nameplates for lockers.

Vavra and Hiraldo didn’t see any action unless there was some pushing and shoving at the post-game spread. But today brings new possibilities.

The team record for most players used is 62 in 2021. The Orioles needed 60 last season, 58 in 2022 and 2019, and 56 in 2018.

Vavra made it back to the majors yesterday to replace injured outfielder Ramón Laureano. He was on the taxi squad last year at the trade deadline but didn’t play. His last game with the Orioles was on May 31, 2023, before enduring multiple stints on the injured list, including a right labrum tear that required surgery, and a left groin strain.

Vavra could stay until Laureano is eligible to return on May 31, or until Colton Cowser is eligible the day before. Tyler O’Neill has a left shoulder impingement and won’t be ready on his return date, which is Monday.

Whatever concern there may have been a few weeks ago about Jake Irvin and his surprisingly sudden inability to strike guys out, feel free to ignore that.

Two strong outings later, Irvin has put any fears to rest. And then some after today’s brilliant outing at Nationals Park.

With eight scoreless innings, Irvin dominated the Giants with relentless efficiency. And thanks to James Wood’s two-run blast in the bottom of the first and Robert Hassell III’s first career RBI in the seventh, the Nationals coasted to a 3-0 win before an enthusiastic crowd of 36,873 that came to see Jayson Werth and Howie Kendrick on their bobblehead day and departed with a rousing victory to celebrate as well, one that was completed a scant 1 hour, 52 minutes.

"It was sweet," Irvin said. "Nats Park was freaking packed. Fans came out. You can feel that energy, and we fed off of it."

Irvin was in peak form all afternoon, recording strikeouts when given the opportunity but more importantly recording quick outs when San Francisco’s hitters were aggressively putting everything in play.

BOSTON – The Orioles led 2-0 yesterday and lost 19-5. They took a 2-0 lead today in the first inning in Game 1 of a doubleheader, it began to pour again, Jarren Duran homered on Zach Eflin’s second pitch, and play was paused so the grounds crew could spread a drying compound on the field, mound and around home plate.

Players walked to the dugout and waited about six minutes. Eflin returned, retired Rafael Devers on a ground ball and surrendered a game-tying home run to Wilyer Abreu.

Teams talk about the value in getting a reset. Can an entire series be eligible for one?

Eflin tried to demolish the built-in excuse for a poor outing by carrying a lead into the sixth inning. The Orioles lost it, and eventually the game when Devers singled up the middle off Gregory Soto in the 10th to give the Red Sox a 6-5 walk-off victory at Fenway Park.

A three-run fifth inning appeared to fuel the Orioles’ second win in 11 games and fourth in 19, but the Red Sox scored twice in the sixth to tie the game, with Gunnar Henderson’s throwing error a big contributor. Greg Weissert tossed a scoreless 10th, with Jorge Mateo striking out to strand two after entering the game earlier as a pinch-runner.

BOSTON – The Orioles weren’t going to make it out of Boston without more roster moves.

Outfielder Ramón Laureano went on the 10-day injured list this afternoon, retroactive to Wednesday, with a sprained left ankle. Infielder/outfielder Terrin Vavra had his contract selected from Triple-A Norfolk.

Laureano got his spikes caught in the turf in Milwaukee while chasing a fly ball during Tuesday’s game. The IL move is retroactive to Wednesday and it could be a quick return.

Laureano said yesterday that he was available to play, but he did some running this morning to test the ankle. The Orioles temporarily lose a player who was 11-for-21 before the injury.

The Orioles signed Laureano to a $4 million contract in February.

Friday night’s series opener was one to forget. MacKenzie Gore was great but had to depart in the seventh when his left leg tightened up, five innings after he was struck by a comebacker. The Nationals bullpen quickly gave up four runs after the starter left. The lineup did nothing all night against Landen Roupp and the Giants bullpen. And so the five-game winning streak ended.

The Nats will try to bounce back this afternoon and not let this devolve into a losing streak, hoping for a better offensive showing against Kyle Harrison. The left-hander has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen so far this season, but with Justin Verlander hurt, San Francisco needs a spot starter and is turning to Harrison, who did make 31 big league starts the last two seasons. That includes a pair of outings last year against the Nationals, during which he allowed five runs over 10 2/3 innings, striking out 11 without issuing any walks.

Jake Irvin gets the start for the Nats, and he’s coming off a really sharp one at Camden Yards in which he allowed two runs over 6 1/3 innings to earn his third win of the season. Most impressive, Irvin rediscovered his swing-and-miss stuff, getting six strikeouts after totaling only three across his previous three starts. That’ll be something to watch today.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 70 degrees, wind 15 mph left to right field

GIANTS
RF Mike Yastrzemski
LF Heliot Ramos
RF Jung Hoo Lee
DH Wilmer Flores
3B Matt Chapman
SS Willy Adames
1B LaMonte Wade
C Patrick Bailey
2B Tyler Fitzgerald