TORONTO – Trevor Rogers’ early exit from tonight’s game due to left toe discomfort, and the subsequent questions that followed in the brief absence of that injury update, perfectly summed up his recent stretch of dominance. 

The lefty wasn’t his sharpest tonight in Toronto. He walked four batters, contributing to more traffic on the basepaths than we’re accustomed to seeing, and had to work through lengthy innings. 

He didn’t allow an earned run in five innings of work. 

And yet, given Rogers’ standards and the level to which he’s raised the bar, many were left pondering what went wrong. 

That’s the luxurious viewpoint that we’re able to have on Rogers, whose mastery on the mound has made elite outings commonplace and merely good outings surprising. 

The Nationals knew all along James Wood was going to strike out a lot. And truth be told, when you glance at baseball’s strikeout leaderboard, you see a bunch of names with serious star power: Kyle Schwarber, Rafael Devers, Cal Raleigh and Shohei Ohtani all rank in the top 10 this season. Most high-strikeout guys are also high-production guys.

At the top of the list, though, stands Wood, who tonight tied and then broke the Nats’ club record with his 199th and 200th strikeouts of the season.

Ah, but there's more to Wood’s game than whiffs and called third strikes. He may not be producing in the second half of the season the way he did in the first, but he still has the ability to impact ballgames by impacting the baseball with extreme force. And, as it turns out, by firing baseballs to the plate from his position in left field.

Sure enough, what did Wood do tonight after striking out in his first two at-bats? He doubled twice, each of them coming in key moments that helped the Nationals rally from three runs down to take a three-run lead against the Pirates. And then, just when it looked like Jose A. Ferrer was about to blow his first save opportunity since becoming the closer more than a month ago, Wood fired a perfect strike to the plate to nail the potential tying run in the top of the ninth, helping secure the Nationals' 6-5 victory.

"He does insane things I've never seen players do before," third baseman Brady House said of his fellow 22-year-old. "It's almost like, it's awesome that he got the out, but I wasn't surprised at all. It's James. He does things that you can't imagine sometimes." 

TORONTO – On Aug. 1, the Orioles’ outfield no longer included Cedric Mullins, a mainstay in center field since his breakout 2021 campaign. The next day, right-fielder Tyler O’Neill was a late scratch from the lineup due to illness. And a few days later, after a collision with the wall, O’Neill hit the injured list with wrist inflammation. 

On Aug, 1, Jeremiah Jackson was called up to the big leagues after hitting a staggering .377 in 40 games with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. Most anticipated that Jackson, who played 35 of those 40 games in the infield, would fill the role vacated by Ramón Urías. 

Instead, through 35 games with the Orioles, Jackson has spent 27 days in the depleted outfield and has mostly been patrolling right field, a position that he had played on just seven occasions as a minor leaguer. 

Today, Baltimore’s primary right fielder, O’Neill, returns from a rehab assignment. But don’t expect Jackson and his .829 OPS to just hit the bench. 

“We’ll see kind of where it goes,” Tony Mansolino said of his lineup upon O’Neill’s return. “It’ll be very day-to-day, and we’ll do the best we can with the lineup and get people in the right spots.”

MacKenzie Gore reported no issues with his shoulder the day after his return from the 15-day injured list, and the Nationals ace appears good to return to his regular five-day routine to finish out the season.

Gore, who missed the minimum allowable time on the IL with left shoulder inflammation, returned to start Thursday night’s game in Miami and allowed two runs over five solid innings, pulled after 78 pitches.

“He’s feeling good,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “It was good to see him come out and pitch five innings and be healthy. That’s the most important thing. But he’s feeling good.”

The left-hander was encouraged after the game, admitting he felt a little rusty in the first inning (during which both runs scored) but pleased he got sharper as the outing progressed. He retired seven of the last eight batters he faced.

“I thought we were fine,” Gore said. “Able to get through five. We knew we were going to stay around 75 (pitches). Just move forward from this. I felt much better than the last time out.”

There’s no rest for the weary. The Nationals just completed a seven-day road trip that concluded with a getaway night game in Miami. And now they’re right back to work tonight in the opener of a seven-game homestand against the Pirates and Braves that will include a day-night doubleheader Tuesday. Nobody said this would be easy.

Twenty-seven of the current 28 members of the Nationals’ active roster arrived early this morning from Miami. Brad Lord, on the other hand, flew home late Thursday afternoon, giving him a chance to get a good night’s sleep in advance of his start tonight. The rookie right-hander had a much-needed, bounceback start last weekend at Wrigley Field after back-to-back ugly outings, so hopefully he’s on track again and ready to finish the season strong. He faced the Pirates way back on April 14 at PNC Park, allowing four runs in 4 1/3 innings, taking the loss to Paul Skenes that evening.

The Nationals won’t be seeing Skenes this weekend, because he pitched Wednesday in Baltimore and will next pitch Monday in Pittsburgh. It’ll be veteran Mitch Keller, who unfortunately is best remembered around here for throwing the fastball that hit Paul DeJong in the face during that April series. Keller was quick to check on DeJong that night and apologize to him, so there’s no bad blood whatsoever between the two.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES 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, 77 degrees, wind 7 mph in from right field

PIRATES
SS Jared Triolo
1B Spencer Horwitz
RF Bryan Reynolds
DH Andrew McCutchen
2B Nick Gonzales
CF Oneil Cruz
3B Cam Devanney
LF Ji Hwan Bae
C Henry Davis

Tyler O’Neill is serving as the designated hitter tonight and batting sixth, as the Orioles begin their three-game series in Toronto.

O’Neill was reinstated from the injured list earlier today.

Ryan Mountcastle is the first baseman, which puts Coby Mayo on the bench.

Dylan Beavers is in left field and Jeremiah Jackson is in right. Samuel Basallo is catching.

The Orioles’ five walk-off wins in the second half are tied with the Rangers and Mariners for most in the majors.

Tyler O’Neill will give it another try and hope to make it through the rest of the month.

The Orioles reinstated O’Neill from the 10-day injured list this afternoon and optioned outfielder Daniel Johnson to Triple-A Norfolk. O’Neill hasn’t played since Aug. 5 in Philadelphia due to right wrist inflammation. He just finished a rehab assignment that ended with Triple-A Norfolk.

O'Neill has made three stops on the injured list this season. He's appeared in 43 games in his first season with the Orioles and slashed .210/.293/.434 with six doubles, a triple, eight home runs and 23 RBIs. He homered and went 3-for-3 with three RBIs on Opening Day at Rogers Centre. He also homered against the Blue Jays on April 13 in Baltimore.

Left-hander Trevor Rogers makes his 16^th start after posting a 1.51 ERA and 0.868 WHIP in 95 2/3 innings. He allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Dodgers in his last outing, the first time that he surrendered more than one since July 20 in Tampa.

Rogers’ 1.51 ERA through 15 starts is an all-time low among Orioles pitchers.

Tony Mansolino wrote out his lineup again yesterday, confirmed the plan for starter Dean Kremer in Toronto and tried to guide the Orioles to a series sweep against the Pirates before boarding the team charter for another road trip.

The season is down to the final 16 games. The Blue Jays are in first place in the American League East, fighting to stay ahead of the Yankees. The Orioles play them, too – four games at Camden Yards and three in the Bronx to close out 2025.

Mansolino dismissed a suggestion yesterday that he isn’t managing under any pressure based on the team’s last-place residency and being outside the heat of a playoff chase. That maybe the job is different for him. He recalled some advice he received many years ago from former Cleveland manager Terry Francona.

It still applies with the Orioles as Mansolino related the question to managing in the majors versus the minors.

“He told me at the time, ‘Make Lynchburg your Cleveland,’” Mansolino said.

It’s been a long season, and given what occurred in July, it would be understandable if any Nationals fans out there saw their interest in the team wane in the ensuing months.

But if you’ve lost track, or have just turned your attention to football, it’s worth noting that we have now officially reached the home stretch of the 2025 season. The Nats have only 16 games left to play, which equates to one-tenth of the season.

It’s pretty much too late for anyone to change the narrative of the season as a whole, or on any individual level. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still a few things at stake over these final two weeks. Here are several to keep an eye on (when you’re not watching football) …

* James Wood’s homers and strikeouts
It’s been an incredibly disappointing second half for the young star. Go back to July 3, and he was on pace for 43 homers, 125 RBIs and 190 strikeouts. Now, he finds himself needing to homer three more times just to finish with 30, to drive in 12 more runs just to get to 100. As for the strikeouts, well, that rate has skyrocketed. He’s already at 198, well ahead of his previous pace. That means he’s only one shy of Adam Dunn’s single-season club record from 2010. More concerning, he’s only 25 away from Mark Reynolds’ major-league record of 223 from 2009 with the Diamondbacks.

* CJ Abrams’ push for 20-30
Abrams is sitting on 17 homers, so he needs three more to match last season’s total of 20. He’s already got 30 stolen bases, so he just needs to hit for some power to join the 20-30 Club for the second straight year.

MIAMI – MacKenzie Gore did his part in his return from the 15-day injured list. His teammates didn’t exactly do their part to help give their ace a chance to win in his return to the mound.

Despite getting five solid innings of two-run ball from Gore in his first start back from a mild case of shoulder inflammation, the Nationals again didn’t play clean baseball in the field and did precious little of consequence at the plate during a 5-0 loss to the Marlins.

And what a few days ago looked like a rousing road trip to begin September finished as something far less. With back-to-back losses to close out this four-game series at loanDepot Park, the Nats now head home having gone a respectable-but-not-dominant 4-3 on this trip to Chicago and Miami.

"We had a good road trip, a winning road trip," interim manager Miguel Cairo said. "The guys are playing hard. They keep fighting. But it was a good road trip in general."

Tonight’s finale, played before an announced crowd of 10,110 that brought the total paid attendance for the four-game series up to 35,774, saw the Nationals get shut out for the 12th time this season. It saw Cairo’s lineup manage seven hits, all of them singles, while drawing zero walks.

MIAMI – James Wood is getting a rare day off, the Nationals slugger finding himself on the bench for tonight’s series finale against the Marlins.

It’s only the fourth time in his big league career Wood hasn’t been in the Nats’ starting lineup. All four have come within the last two months, since interim manager Miguel Cairo replaced Davey Martinez.

Why tonight? Cairo described the decision as involving a combination of Miami’s starting pitcher (left-hander Ryan Weathers) and the artificial turf at loanDepot Park.

“We’re playing on turf, and I want to make sure,” Cairo said. “He’s been DHing, playing the outfield. I told him whenever Ryan Weathers was going to pitch, I was going to give him a little break for his knees and his body. Believe me, he’s been playing a lot, and he’s been unbelievable. One day won’t be bad for him.”

Wood started the first 174 games of his career before sitting July 13 in the Nationals’ first half finale in Milwaukee. He also was held out of the lineup July 28 in Houston and Aug. 17 against the Phillies (though he came off the bench for one at-bat in that one).

The Orioles looked like they were trying to maintain their run of walk-off wins this afternoon. Tie the game, take a lead and be tied again within the first three innings. Get in and out of jams. Pin the opposing pitcher on the ropes and let him escape.

Just get them to the ninth or past regulation, when something magic happens.

Dylan Beavers was last night’s hero with his bases-loaded single in the 10^th. He delivered the go-ahead run again today, but it came from an infield hit in the seventh inning to propel the Orioles to a 3-2 win before an announced crowd of 13,957 at sunny Camden Yards.

Four of the previous five games ended with walk-off wins, but wild celebrations aren’t promised.

The Orioles (69-77) have won eight of their last nine games and nine of 11. Twelve more victories guarantee a .500 finish or better.

MIAMI – We have reached the end of the road trip at last. The Nationals and Marlins square off one final time tonight at loanDepot Park, the Nats seeking to head home with a 5-2 record on the trip through Chicago and Miami and improve to 8-2 overall in September. And they’ve got their ace back on the mound after a two-week layoff.

MacKenzie Gore has been activated off the 15-day injured list, his left shoulder feeling fine after missing a couple of starts. He’s raring to go and looking to close out his season on a better note after struggling since the All-Star break. If all goes well, Gore would be on track to make four starts down the stretch, so tonight’s outing against the Marlins provides a good first step toward a good finish.

Fellow left-hander Ryan Weathers starts for Miami, and he’s been quite good when healthy. He’s made only five major league starts this season, with two IL stints sprinkled in there (one for a flexor strain, one for a lat strain). This will mark his return after a three-month layoff. It’s also his first appearance against the Nationals since April 2024 (when he allowed six runs over four innings).

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MIAMI MARLINS
Where: loanDepot Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Dylan Crews
C Riley Adams
LF Daylen Lile
1B Andrés Chaparro
3B Brady House 
DH Paul DeJong
2B Nasim Nuñez
CF Jacob Young

The Orioles will expand their offseason searches beyond deciding on a manager and coaching staff. They have more on their plate than improving the roster. 

Mike Elias was promoted from executive vice president/general manager to president of baseball operations, according to a source. The switch was made last winter.

A replacement for Elias is on the docket. 

The team's staff directory still lists Elias with his former title, which he held since his hiring from the Astros organization on Nov. 16, 2018.

A painfully slow start to the season cost manager Brandon Hyde his job on May 17, with third base coach Tony Mansolino replacing him on an interim basis. Speculation swirled around Elias pertaining to his own job security, with his bump remaining quiet until today.

The Orioles are planning on a bullpen game for Sunday in Toronto, an adjustment made to their rotation after skipping Dean Kremer’s turn.

Albert Suárez is a candidate after working three innings Saturday. He also earned the win last night with a scoreless 10^th inning.

Keegan Akin also could be under consideration. He’s served as an opener three times. Dietrich Enns has opened in one game.

“Kind of whoever we have available after the first two,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino.

Trevor Rogers starts Friday night and Tomoyuki Sugano on Saturday.

MIAMI – You would think three night games at loanDepot Park in front of announced crowds under 10,000 would be enough. But guess what, there's still one more game to be played in this four-game series, and it's yet another night game!

The Nationals saw their winning streak against the Marlins end at five with Wednesday night's ugly, 8-3 loss. That was only their second loss in nine total games so far in September, so the unsightly performance wasn't consistent with the quality of play we had seen over the majority of the last week and a half. And tonight's game sees the surprise return of MacKenzie Gore to the mound exactly 15 days after he landed on the IL with left shoulder inflammation.

It's been a while since we did one of these Q&A's. And since there wasn't really anything else to follow up on from Wednesday's game, let's open the floor this morning to your questions. Please leave them in the comments section below, then check back throughout the morning for my responses ...

Exceptions have the power to cloud judgements and cast doubts about a specific trend.

What the Orioles are getting from their bullpen this month is crystal clear.

Yennier Cano blew the save Tuesday night when Tommy Pham homered in the top of the ninth inning, but another look reveals that he strung together six scoreless appearances in a row.

Lean in and you’ll also see that Rico Garcia retired the side in order in the eighth and Dietrich Enns earned the win with two hitless innings beyond regulation, twice stranding the automatic runner before Samuel Basallo’s walk-off fly ball down the left field line.

Actually, on the left field line.

MIAMI – The Nationals’ first loss to the Marlins in six head-to-head matchups this month came amid a flurry of ground ball singles, defensive gaffes and red-hot emotions that may have gotten the best of them.

During the critical sequence of events that led to tonight’s 8-3 loss at loanDepot Park, both interim manager Miguel Cairo and starting pitcher Jake Irvin were ejected by crew chief Laz Diaz, Irvin shortly after he had been pulled from the game.

The ejections were a direct result of a controversial call made by Diaz’s crew during the decisive bottom of the sixth, but it would be understandable if both Cairo and Irvin’s emotions were so high because of their own team’s shaky play in the moments that preceded the actual controversial call.

This, to be sure, was an ugly game, not to mention a winnable game until Miami blew it open late. The Nationals did not win because they gave up four runs in the sixth and another in the seventh despite very little loud contact off Irvin and the bullpen, but rather a series of ground balls that either found holes or were misplayed by defenders.

"We could've been sharper," Cairo said. "Irvin was pitching really good, and I kind of feel bad for him, because he was dealing. We could've been sharper."

Tyler Wells isn’t in a band and he isn’t interested in playing second fiddle.

He knows how to conduct himself against a phenom.

Wells was the other starter tonight opposite the Pirates’ Paul Skenes, the former first-overall draft pick and reigning National League Rookie of the Year who naturally drew most of the attention. Wells didn’t care. He’s just glad to be back on a mound.

Skenes shut out the Orioles for five innings before manager Don Kelly removed him from the game as part of a planned ramp down. Wells kept going, lasting 6 2/3 innings with one run and one hit allowed, and the Orioles produced their fourth walk-off win in five games, 2-1, over the Pirates before an announced crowd of 18,210 at Camden Yards.

Jackson Holliday’s two-out RBI single off former Orioles reliever Isaac Mattson tied the game in the eighth. Albert Suárez didn’t let the automatic runner score in the 10^th, the bullpen’s exceptional month continuing with 3 1/3 scoreless innings, and Dylan Beavers pulled a full-count 98 mph fastball down the left field line to score pinch-runner Jorge Mateo and ignite another celebration.

MIAMI – When MacKenzie Gore said Tuesday he planned on pitching again this season, he actually meant he planned on pitching again this week.

Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo announced today that Gore, having recovered from left shoulder inflammation, will be activated off the 15-day injured list Thursday and start his team’s series finale against the Marlins.

“I think it was good to just let him make sure his shoulder was fine, and it wasn’t that bad,” Cairo said. “I’m glad that he’s back, and he’s going to start tomorrow.”

It’s a rapid return for Gore, who was placed on the IL on Aug. 30 (retroactive to Aug. 27). He expressed optimism all along the move was only precautionary and that he’d back pitching for the Nats as soon as possible.

Turns out he’ll be pitching on the first day he’s eligible to return, having completed a bullpen session Tuesday at loanDepot Park with no issues and declaring himself ready to go.