The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Recalled RHP Bryan Baker from Triple-A Norfolk.
• Designated RHP Craig Kimbrel for assignment.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 37 players.

The Orioles ran out of time trying to fix Craig Kimbrel.

The club announced today that it designated Kimbrel for assignment and recalled reliever Bryan Baker from Triple-A Norfolk. The 40-man roster has 37 players.

Kimbrel has been scored upon in 11 of his last 19 appearances to leave him with a 5.33 ERA and 1.357 WHIP in 57 games. He’s averaging 5.3 walks per nine innings, his highest total in a full season since his rookie campaign in 2010.

The six runs surrendered last night were two more than his previous career high. The nine-time All-Star allowed only seven runs in the entire 2012 season.

The Orioles signed Kimbrel to a contract at the Winter Meetings that paid $12 million this season with a $13 million club option for 2025. Bonuses were added for games pitched and finished.

NEW YORK – Shortly after the Nationals traded him to the Mets, Jesse Winker found himself facing the Mariners, one of his former teams. Then the Reds, with whom he spent the bulk of his time in the major leagues. And now, this week, the Nats, his most recent employer and the one that may have resurrected his career.

“It’s crazy. When I got traded, I’ve played every team that I’ve played for,” he said. “And then we play the Brewers the next road trip, so it’s great. It’s really cool, man.”

Winker has become a bit of a baseball nomad in recent years. After five seasons in Cincinnati that culminated with an All-Star selection, the outfielder has now played for four different teams the last three seasons, going from Seattle to Milwaukee to Washington to New York.

His stint in D.C. was the shortest, lasting only four months. But it might well have been the most important stint he’s had to date.

After struggling with performance and injuries last year with the Brewers, Winker faced a crossroads entering 2024. He said he received only one offer for a big league contract, declining to name the particular team, plus only two offers for minor league deals with an invitation to spring training. The Nationals were one of those two, and ultimately he decided to accept their offer and reported to West Palm Beach hoping to earn his way onto the Opening Day roster.

NEW YORK – The Nationals looked ready for primetime Monday night at Citi Field. They just couldn’t deliver the one clutch hit they would’ve needed to beat the Mets.

They looked very much not-ready-for-primetime tonight. From a poor start by Mitchell Parker to a mental mistake by James Wood to an unexpected early departure by Luis García Jr., the Nats never stood a chance of stacking up with their potentially postseason-bound division rivals, who coasted to a 10-1 victory before a raucous crowd of 24,932 at Citi Field.

In one of their uglier games in a while, the Nationals were routed by New York, which has now gone two games up on the Braves (who blew a lead in Cincinnati) in the race for the third and final Wild Card berth in the National League.

"Obviously, that's not how we envisioned this game going," said Wood, who won't want to remember many details from his 22nd birthday. "But we've just got to be able to learn from it and take it into tomorrow and be better tomorrow." 

If the Mets ultimately prevail, they’ll have done so on the strength of their dominance against the Nats. New York is now 10-2 in head-to-head matchups this season, with one more game to go here Wednesday night. The Braves, on the other hand, went 5-8 against Washington, which could spell doom for their chances of reaching the playoffs for the seventh straight year.

NEW YORK – CJ Abrams is good to go again.

Abrams is back in the Nationals lineup for tonight’s game against the Mets after a four-day absence with a left shoulder ailment, having convinced club personnel he was OK to play after going through a full round of pregame workouts.

Abrams last played Thursday against the Marlins, when he made a diving stop of a sharp grounder up the middle at shortstop and jammed his left shoulder in the process. He remained in that game through its conclusion but was scratched the following evening and remained on the bench throughout the rest of the weekend as well as Monday night’s series opener at Citi Field.

Upon reporting to the park this afternoon, Abrams said he felt good enough to play. The Nats had him go through a full round of pregame workouts – batting practice on the field, ground balls at shortstop – before announcing their lineup, but manager Davey Martinez sounded optimistic when he spoke to reporters shortly before 5 p.m.

“We’ve got him in the lineup right now,” Martinez said. “He’s going to do his stretches, take some ground balls, hit, and we’ll see if he can get through it. He said he wanted to try to play today, so we’ll see how he gets through his early work, and we’ll go from there.”

NEW YORK – The Nationals did a lot of things well in Monday night’s series opener against the Mets. They got a great start from Jake Irvin. They played crisp defense. They got some decent relief pitching. What they did not get is enough offense, especially in clutch situations late in the game. The Nats finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and that included 0-for-6 in the ninth and 10th innings alone, which is why they lost the game 2-1.

So more timely offense would really help the cause tonight. The Nationals will be facing Tylor Megill, who they got to for five runs in five innings back in June. They got a homer from Joey Gallo in that game, but it should be noted much of the damage that night was inflicted by guys no longer with the team (Lane Thomas, Jesse Winker, Eddie Rosario). So this will be a new group going up against Megill tonight.

Mitchell Parker faces the Mets for the second time, and the first outing didn’t go all that well. The lefty gave up five runs in six innings, including three home runs. Those were hit by Tyrone Taylor, Mark Vientos and Francisco Lindor, and while the latter is out again tonight with a back injury, the first two are playing. Parker has been good overall of late, though, and in his last five starts boasts a 3.38 ERA.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 7:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 74 degrees, wind 8 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
3B José Tena
DH Juan Yepez
2B Luis García Jr.
C Keibert Ruiz
RF Dylan Crews
1B Joey Gallo
CF Jacob Young

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• INF/OF Nick Maton has cleared outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.

NEW YORK – It was the first, and arguably only time Jake Irvin faced real danger Monday night. Having set down the first nine Mets he faced, now here was the Nationals right-hander dealing with a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the bottom of the fourth.

Mark Vientos had worked the count to 2-2, and as the Citi Field crowd stood and roared in search of a hit that would put the home team on top in a must-win game, it looked like Vientos had delivered. Albeit not with a line drive to a gap, but a little dribbler up the third base line.

It’s not always how you hit them, but where you hit them, and this looked like a perfectly placed infield single at the right moment.

For Irvin, it was a chance to put into practice what he and other Nationals pitchers had worked on countless times during spring training and on occasion during the season as well.

“In the moment, you can’t really think about it. You rely on your preparation,” the right-hander said. “I guess when you see the ball go down there, imagine in your head making that play. Be convicted in it.”

NEW YORK – These Nationals don’t know what postseason baseball feels like, and they won’t be finding out in 2024. They do want to experience it in 2025, though, at minimum the pressure of a September pennant race where the outcome of each game only magnifies down the stretch.

So consider the final two weeks of this season a dress rehearsal for the youngest team in the majors, with 13 games left on the schedule, all of them against teams still in the race. And the first set of games in this closing stretch – against the Mets at Citi Field – may have the most pressure-packed feeling of the bunch.

So how did the Nats handle it all in tonight’s series opener? They didn’t appear to be overwhelmed by the situation most of the night, certainly not Jake Irvin, who authored yet another gem against the Mets. But they could not deliver the one hit or the one pitch they needed with the game on the line late, and that’s why New York ultimately was celebrating a 2-1 10-inning win at the center of the diamond, a crowd of 21,694 roaring as the home team retook the final Wild Card position in the National League from the Braves.

"It's tough," manager Davey Martinez said. "(Irvin) threw the ball really well. I thought today was probably the best day I've seen him throw the ball. ... He gave us everything we needed. We just couldn't get those couple runs he needed."

Starling Marte won it with a line drive single to left off Jacob Barnes, the Nationals’ fourth pitcher of the night. Tasked with stranding the Mets’ automatic runner after his teammates couldn’t score theirs in the top of the 10th, Barnes got Francisco Alvarez to fly out to right for one out, though that allowed Harrison Bader to advance to third. Barnes then left a 3-1 fastball over the plate to Marte, who lined the ball into left field and was mobbed by his teammates as the Nats trudged off the field.

NEW YORK – Though he’s out of the Nationals lineup for the fourth straight day, CJ Abrams did partake in more pregame drills than he had since hurting his left shoulder Thursday and should be available off the bench tonight if the team needs him during its series opener against the Mets.

Davey Martinez said Abrams has made progress and wants to return to the lineup, but the manager didn’t want to force the issue just to make it happen tonight.

“We’re just going to be very cautious,” Martinez said. “But he’ll go do some activities out there, and he’ll be available to pinch-hit.”

Abrams participated in infield drills with the rest of the team this afternoon and showed no ill effects of the injury to his non-throwing arm. He took swings in the batting tunnel prior to the team’s official batting practice on the field and looked “OK,” according to Martinez.

“He took quite a few swings in the cage,” the manager said. “I’d like for him to go get ground balls and stuff like that. We’ll keep an eye on him and see how he’s doing.”

NEW YORK – We’ve reached the final two weeks of the season, and the Nationals’ final road trip. Every team remaining on the schedule has a winning record, everyone still technically in the pennant race. And these first three games come against a Mets team very much in the race, tied with the Braves for the National League’s final Wild Card berth.

The Mets have been on a sustained role, but they’re without MVP candidate Francisco Lindor, who is out with a back injury. This is still a tough lineup for Jake Irvin to face (including old pal Jesse Winker batting second and starting in right field) but he’s had some success against that group this season. On July 4, Irvin tossed eight innings of one-hit ball in the best start of his career. (Five days later, he gave up six runs to the same Mets team here at Citi Field.)

Sean Manaea is on the mound for New York, so we’ll see Davey Martinez’s right-handed-heavy lineup tonight. We’re still waiting to see if CJ Abrams is good to go after missing the last three days with a left shoulder impingement. Manaea faced the Nats on July 2 and allowed two runs over seven innings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 7:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 73 degrees, wind 8 mph right field to left field

NATIONALS
RF Dylan Crews
LF James Wood
1B Juan Yepez
DH Andrés Chaparro
2B José Tena
3B Ildemaro Vargas
C Keibert Ruiz
CF Jacob Young
SS Nasim Nuñez

There’s not much to complain about on a Sunday afternoon in mid-September in Washington, D.C. The summer’s heat and humidity have departed the region for the year. And there were matters of sport of all kinds happening in the area on a lovely sunny, 70-degree day in the District.

As it pertained to the local baseball club, this afternoon went as easily as a Sunday morning to wrap up the penultimate homestand of the 2024 season. With a 4-3 victory in front of 18,265 fans on South Capitol Street, the Nats finished this homestand 4-2 and the season series 11-2 against the Marlins.

MacKenzie Gore set the pace en route to his ninth win of the year, despite a prolonged first inning.

“Just command wasn't there from the get-go," Gore said after the game. "And then we got going.”

After issuing a leadoff walk and a two-out walk, the southpaw needed 31 pitches, only 16 of which were strikes, to get out of a scoreless top of the first. But he settled in from there to produce yet another strong stat line against the Marlins.

DETROIT – An O’s starter pitched well, but got little or no run support. A recurring theme in Birdland a lot lately.

Facing a traditional starter – not an opener – was not something that helped the struggling Orioles offense today.

They saw Detroit right-hander Keider Montero. And while his 4.88 ERA was not impressive, his last outing was. He pitched a three-hit shutout Tuesday on 96 pitches versus Colorado.

Today, he didn’t get that deep in the game, but the O’s could not score off him either.

They finally got some offense, but it proved too little and too late today.

DETROIT - They lost Friday's game 1-0 at Comerica Park. And, behind right-hander Corbin Burnes, the Orioles beat the Tigers 4-2 Saturday night. Today they try to end this series and road trip on a winning note. 

At 84-65, they begin play two games back of the Yankees for the American League East lead and two games up on the Royals for the top AL wild-card spot. The Orioles went 4-2 against the Royals this year, so should the teams tie for a playoff spot, the O's hold the tiebreaker and will get the higher seed.

Even in winning last night, the Orioles have lost five of their past seven and six of nine games. They are 26-27 since the All-Star break and 31-34 since July 1.

The Orioles are 1-1 versus the Tigers and the teams play again next weekend in Baltimore. The Orioles are 17-8 (.680) versus AL Central teams, their best win percentage this year against any division.

In the two games this series, Baltimore pitchers have allowed just three runs. Over the past four games, the O's team ERA is 2.04.

The easy part of the Nationals’ 2024 schedule comes to a close today. After this final game against the Marlins, the remaining four opponents over the season’s final two weeks are all over .500, with three of them entering today in a playoff position.

With a win this afternoon, the Nats will improve to 11-2 against the Fish, a good sign that the script has finally flipped between these two teams as they head in different directions moving forward.

MacKenzie Gore will look to get back on track after a rough outing his last time out against the Braves. The young lefty is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA and 19 strikeouts in two starts against Miami this season.

Adam Oller will make his sixth start for the Marlins in today’s finale. The right-hander is 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA and 1.388 WHIP. He was charged with six runs, seven hits and three walks in five innings against the Pirates in his last outing. The 29-year-old has never faced the Nationals in his three-year career.

CJ Abrams is missing from the lineup for a third consecutive game. The 23-year-old originally was left out of Friday's lineup with a sore left shoulder.

DETROIT – Heston Kjerstad is back with the Orioles, finally free of concussion symptoms and feeling good about his swing and his health.

He is batting fourth as the DH today, so thrust right back into the mix in a prominent spot. He wants to help an offense that has produced just 15 runs in five games this road trip. Over the last nine games, in going 3-6, Baltimore batters are averaging 2.1 runs per game with a team OPS of .583.

Kjerstad is ready to try and provide a boost with his bat.

“Oh 100 percent. All of us want to provide that boost. Maybe I can bring that. It’s a great lineup we have here. Baseball, you want to play well and the offense, we need to get rolling a bit better. All it takes is one. Once one goes, the rest of the offense will roll with him, so we’ll get it rolling here,” he said.

After he was hit in the helmet July 12, Kjerstad went on the seven-day concussion injured list. He returned eight days later but the symptoms lingered.

DETROIT - The Orioles are adding Heston Kjerstad to their roster for today’s series finale with the Detroit Tigers.

The O's announced that move and series of others this morning. In addition they have reinstated righty reliever Jacob Webb from the injured list where he was out due to right elbow inflammation. Webb has pitched to a 3.08 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings pitched. He last pitched on Aug. 2 at Cleveland.

They designated for assignment pitcher Cole Irvin and infielder/outfielder Nick Maton. The O's 40-man roster right now is at 38.

Kjerstad has been on the injured list with a concussion and playing minor league rehab games in the last several days with both High-A Aberdeen and Double-A Bowie.

He went 4-for-13 with a double and three RBIs in four games with Bowie after going 2-for-5 over two games with Aberdeen. He was the leadoff hitter last night for Bowie at Erie and went 0-for-1 with two walks.

The penultimate road trip of the season concludes later today in Detroit, which limits my usage of the word "penultimate." At least until the next-to-last regular season game.

The Orioles are off Monday and host the Giants and Tigers before wrapping up the regular season in the Bronx and Minnesota.

Those last six games could be meaningful. Don’t you think?

The roster will keep changing as more injured players return. Well, more players will return from the injured list. Phrasing!

Here are some mailbag extras that were stuck at the bottom of the bag. My tube of hair gel leaked. I have no idea how it got in there, so hopefully that isn't one of your questions.

DETROIT – The pressure was most definitely on the Orioles Saturday night at Comerica Park. On this night, they stood up to it with an important and impressive 4-2 win over a hot Detroit Tigers team that had won 21 of 30 coming into play.

The O’s were three games back of the Yankees for the division lead and Kansas City had pulled within two games for the top American League wild card seed.

They needed a win to gain a game on one team after the Yankees lost Saturday afternoon and hold off another. Now they are two back of the Yankees and two up on the Royals.

They were 2-6 over the last eight games and not scoring much. The clubhouse was trying to stay together and avoid the outside criticism the team was getting.

After the win Saturday, catcher James McCann said they have stayed strong as a team.

Maybe it was appropriate today’s game featured a centennial celebration of Washington’s 1924 champions, a club that won the city’s first World Series despite ranking last in the American League with a grand total of 22 home runs that season.

No team in the National League this year has hit fewer home runs than the Nationals, who entered this contest against the Marlins with a grand total of 122 on the season.

Bucky Harris, Muddy Ruel, Goose Goslin and Co. would’ve been proud of Davey Martinez’s current squad, which runs the bases with the kind of abandon more common in the Dead Ball Era than the Modern Era. They might not have known what to make, though, of the three titanic blasts that were on display this afternoon during a 4-1 victory by the home team. (Not to mention the giant scoreboard, flashing lights and instant Statcast data.)

Yes, the 2024 Nationals won a baseball game thanks to three home runs. For that, they can thank Joey Gallo, José Tena and Juan Yepez, who each delivered a solo shot during the course of the afternoon and early evening to send a crowd of 28,175 – just a bit shy of the 31,667 who packed into Griffith Stadium on Oct. 10, 1924 – home happy.

It hasn’t been their typical formula for success this season. But it’s appreciated when it happens.