ST. LOUIS – The Nationals sent Eduardo Salazar down to Triple-A on Tuesday, saying they wanted to see the right-hander back in the big leagues before long. Turns out it took only three days to bring him back.

The Nats recalled Salazar from Rochester this afternoon, permitted to make such a move because he is replacing an injured teammate, in this case Jordan Weems, who was placed on the 15-day injured list with right shin splints.

Pitchers normally are required to spend 15 days in the minors after getting optioned, but exceptions are made for doubleheaders and injuries. And in this case, the Nationals were able to get the exemption because of Weems’ injury, which he made club officials aware of earlier this week.

Owner of a 6.59 ERA and 1.683 WHIP in 40 appearances, Weems was roughed up by the Padres for five runs in one inning of relief Wednesday after starter Mitchell Parker was pulled after only three frames. Manager Davey Martinez said he noticed Weems struggling to push off the mound, and when asked about it, the 29-year-old admitted he has dealt with pain in his shin on and off since last season.

“Last year, it was pretty bad,” said Weems, who still had a 3.62 ERA and 1.207 WHIP in 51 games. “This year, it just kind of continued to get worse and worse. It felt like it was a good time to just give it a blow, instead of letting it get to the point where I do get something like a stress fracture or something like, where you could really be out for a while.”

ST. LOUIS – The Nationals couldn’t have asked for a better start to their homestand. And then they couldn’t have asked for a worse conclusion. They swept the Reds, then they were swept by the Padres, including Dylan Cease’s no-hitter Thursday afternoon. All that just to finish 3-3 for the week.

It’s a new day, though, and the Nats are back on the road, with a six-game trip beginning tonight in St. Louis and extending through Tuesday’s trade deadline in Phoenix.

The Nationals just faced the Cardinals a few weeks ago in D.C., losing three of four, the first of those losses an 11-inning affair. In that game, they jumped all over Sonny Gray for five runs in three innings. Luis García Jr. was the offensive star of the night, going 4-for-5 with a homer, and he’ll hope for similar results in tonight’s rematch with Gray.

Speaking of rematches, MacKenzie Gore gets another crack at the Cardinals after giving up five runs on six hits and five walks in only 3 1/3 innings during that series. That was the first of three subpar outings by Gore, who has totaled only 10 innings in those games while seeing his pitch counts skyrocket. The left-hander hasn’t minced words about his performances. It’s time for him to right the ship, and he knows it.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Busch Stadium
Gametime: 8:15 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 84 degrees, wind 6 mph in from right field

After never happening in the team’s 18-year existence since relocating to Washington, D.C., in 2005, the Nationals have now been no-hit twice in less than a calendar year.

Two weeks from the one-year anniversary of Michael Lorenzen’s no-hitter against the Nats at Citizens Bank Park, Dylan Cease repeated the feat for the Padres in a 3-0 win in front of 20,755 fans, who saw history while sticking out a 1-hour, 16-minute rain delay at Nationals Park.

After being outscored 16-3 through the first two games this week, the Nats had the challenge of facing Cease for the second time this season. He held the Nats scoreless over seven innings of one-run, one-walk ball while striking out 10 on June 26

Entering today riding a 13-inning scoreless streak, the right-hander extended it to 22 frames by no-hitting the Nationals. It was the first no-hitter of his career and second in Padres franchise history after Joe Musgrove's no-hit the Rangers on April 9, 2021.

Cease kept the Nats off-balance with a great mix of his slider and triple-digit fastball. He got a total of 18 swings and misses with 11 coming against the slider, which he threw 53 percent of the time. And because of the Nats’ aggressive approach, his pitch count remained relatively low throughout the start for his second dominant outing against Washington in a month.

MIAMI – In desperate need of a win today in the series and road trip finale at Miami, the Orioles hit a bunch of early homers and watched ace right-hander Corbin Burnes deal on the mound for most of his day.

It was a combination that has worked before and looked like it would again today.

It looked like it could and would be easy, but it was not.

The O's let leads of 6-0 in the fourth, 6-1 in the eighth and 6-3 in the ninth get away. The game moved to the 10th inning.

O's closer Craig Kimbrel allowed a one-out infield single and walked the next two hitters to load the bases in the home ninth with the O's up three. Then shortstop Gunnar Henderson bobbled a grounder off the bat of Jazz Chisholm Jr. and it was 6-4. A sac fly by Xavier Edwards made it 6-5 and when Josh Bell singled to right, the game was tied. Yennier Cano replaced Kimbrel and recorded a strikeout to deny Miami a walk-off win and send the game to the 10th.

MIAMI – Infielder Jorge Mateo is going to miss “a significant amount of time” according to O’s manager Brandon Hyde. Just how much time and if he will need a surgical procedure, it’s too soon to know.

“It’s going to be awhile,” Hyde said pregame today. “Right now it’s so swollen and sore that they are going to take some time to get the swelling out. And then he’s going to get some second opinions and we’re going to have some other doctors take a look at it. But, it’s going to be a significant amount of time.

“Too soon (to know about a procedure). They have to get the swelling out first and then make a determination.”

Mateo went on the 10-day injured list this morning, retroactive to yesterday, with a left elbow subluxation. Infielder/outfielder Connor Norby was recalled from Triple-A for his second stint this year with the club.

The O’s also today recalled right-hander Bryan Baker, who was just optioned out yesterday. He can return early if replacing an injury player and they optioned Chayce McDermott back to Norfolk after his MLB debut last night.

These things have a way of working themselves out. It’s more than just a catchy phrase suitable for stitching on a pillow.

Connor Norby was blocked at second base until he wasn’t. Injuries open doors and Norby is walking through one of them.

Jorge Mateo’s elbow injury is going to keep him off the active roster for an extended period. It’s called a “subluxation,” which is a partial dislocation. It corrected itself somewhere between Gunnar Henderson’s leg and the ground last night as they pursued a ball headed toward center field.

The Orioles haven’t determined whether Mateo needs surgery, but at least it isn’t a full dislocation. I’m not a doctor, but partial doesn’t seem quite as serious. However, it's a lot more than a mere 10-day absence.

In the meantime, here’s Norby, the No. 5 prospect in the organization who hit .297 with 21 doubles, a triple, 16 home runs, 57 RBIs and a .908 OPS in 80 games with Triple-A Norfolk but couldn’t get an extended stay in Baltimore. In pre-Mike Elias years, he would have been playing every day after probably receiving the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year Award. But it’s 2024 and the system is much deeper, making it harder for players like Norby to climb out of it.

The Nationals introduced two more draft signings this morning after announcing two of their top four picks last week in Seaver King and Kevin Bazzell and their second pick in Caleb Lomavita yesterday. And the two were the Nats’ only selections out of high school in this year’s draft.

Second-round pick Luke Dickerson out of Morris Knolls High School in New Jersey and 15th-round pick Sir Jamison Jones out of St. Rita High School in Illinois both officially signed their first professional contracts with the Nationals.

“It's been an honor getting drafted and everything,” Dickerson said during an introductory press conference with both draft picks. “Just being able to celebrate those times with my family and everything. And just getting to work, I'm super excited.”

“First off, I just want to thank God for putting me in this situation,” Jones said. “I've been extremely happy over the past couple of weeks and just glad that I'm here and I can show what I have. I'm ready to get the work and just start on a long career hopefully, Lord willing.”

Dickerson, a shortstop with a commitment to play at the University of Virginia, signed for $3.8 million, which is a record number for a non-first-rounder since Major League Baseball’s Draft pool system began, per a source familiar with the terms. That is more than $1.5 million more than the $2.122 million slot value for the 44th overall pick.

MIAMI - A road trip that began with promise - the O's scored 17 runs in winning the first two games out of the All-Star break in Texas - is ending with a thud. Especially if the Orioles lose again today at Miami. They will have been swept three in a row and will end the trip with four straight losses.

But the top three American League East teams are a combined 5-12 since the break. The Orioles are 2-3, the Yankees 2-4 and Boston 1-5.

The Orioles (60-41) lead the division by 1.5 games over the Yankees and by six games over the Red Sox.

Since scoring the 17 runs in the series at Texas, the O's have scored eight runs in losing the last three games. They have lost eight of 11 and 10 of their past 15. They are 11-16 with a -40 run differential since June 21. But they have actually gained two games on the Yankees, who have gone 9-18 in the same time frame.

O's ace right-hander Corbin Burnes (10-4, 2.38 ERA) gets the start in the series finale. He is a pitcher on a roll and really has easily been the club’s best starter throughout the season.

The good news about today’s early start is that the Nationals can quickly put last night’s 12-3 loss behind them. The bad news is they still have to play the Padres, who they are 0-5 against this season and need to beat this afternoon to avoid a season sweep.

Patrick Corbin will take the mound for this matinee finale. The veteran left-hander was great in his first start of the second half, holding the Reds to one run on three hits and no walks with six strikeouts in six innings on Friday. He also tossed one of his five quality starts this season thus far against the Padres a month ago, holding them to three runs over seven innings with five strikeouts.

That was the only time Corbin has completed seven innings this season, so the Nats are hoping for a repeat today, especially with a depleted bullpen. Corbin is only 2-9 on the season, but a win today would be the 100th of the southpaw’s 12-year career.

Dylan Cease makes his 22nd start of the season for San Diego. The right-hander is 9-8 with a 3.76 ERA, 1.033 WHIP and 11.7 strikeouts-per-nine-innings in his first season as a Padre. He held the Nats scoreless over seven innings of one-run, one-walk ball while striking out 10 in June.

The Nats offense will definitely look for better results against Cease, who is riding a 13-inning scoreless streak entering today’s start.

MIAMI - The Orioles have recalled infielder Connor Norby for the series finale today at Miami and infielder Jorge Mateo goes to the 10-day injured list with a left elbow subluxation. Norby is in the O's lineup today and batting eighth. The move is retroactive to yesterday.

The club also recalled pitcher Bryan Baker and optioned right-hander Chayce McDermott, who started yesterday,  to Triple-A.

A road trip that began with two wins amid promise last Friday in Texas ends this afternoon in Miami with the Orioles looking to reverse a slide.

A slide that has seen them losing three games in a row scoring just eight runs. They have also lost eight of 11 and 10 of their past 15. They are only 11-16 since June 21. 

A loss today and the Orioles would have a four-game losing streak and a pair of five-game losing streaks since June 21.

Josiah Gray underwent Tommy John surgery, plus an additional procedure to further stabilize his right elbow, officially ending his 2024 season and guaranteeing the Nationals’ Opening Day starter will miss the majority of the 2025 season as well.

Gray, who learned last week he had a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, flew to Dallas to be operated on today by orthopedist Keith Meister, who left open the possibility of performing only the less invasive internal brace procedure.

In the end, Meister determined the tear to be significant enough to warrant the full ligament replacement surgery named for the famed left-hander whose career was saved by the then-experimental procedure in the 1970s, plus the internal brace procedure, which reinforces the new elbow ligament.

Typical recovery time for Tommy John surgery is 12-to-18 months, so even in a best-case scenario, Gray would only be ready to return late in the 2025 season.

“He’s going to miss time, as we all know,” said manager Davey Martinez after announcing the news following tonight’s 12-3 loss to the Padres. “But he’s doing well. He feels good about it. … He’s got a long road, he knows that. But knowing him, he’s going to work really hard to get back.”

As much as young starting pitching carried the Nationals through the first half of the season, everyone involved has known all along there were no guarantees that group of unproven arms would continue to perform at such a high level through the second half of the season.

This is especially true for the least-experienced members of the group: Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz, neither of whom opened the year in the big leagues but quickly burst onto the scene to make names for themselves.

Upon seeing Herz begin to struggle earlier this month, the Nats decided to demote him to Triple-A and give him an extended All-Star break to rest his arm and mind. He returned Tuesday night and impressed over five innings against the Padres.

The club might be tempted to do something similar with Parker after he got ransacked tonight by San Diego during an ugly, 12-3 loss that ended with utilityman Ildemaro Vargas firing up a crowd of 23,323 with a scoreless top of the ninth featuring a plethora of eephus pitches.

The Nationals are now 0-5 against the Padres this season, 47-50 against everyone else.

The Nationals signed another one of their top draft picks today, coming to terms with Caleb Lomavita and giving the former Cal catcher a tour of the ballpark and a chance to take batting practice with big leaguers.

Lomavita, the 39th overall pick in this month’s draft, received a signing bonus of $2.325 million, according to a source familiar with the terms. That’s slightly below Major League Baseball’s recommended slot value of $2.4 million for that particular pick.

That the Nationals even found themselves holding the 39th pick was a last-minute surprise, with general manager Mike Rizzo acquiring it along with third base prospect Cayden Wallace from the Royals for reliever Hunter Harvey about 24 hours before the start of the July 14 draft. It was one of only a handful of draft picks eligible to be traded, officially a “Competitive Balance A” pick awarded to Kansas City because it is considered a low-revenue club.

Inside the Nats’ draft war room, scouts were ecstatic to suddenly have a third selection on the event’s opening night to go along with the previously assigned No. 10 and No. 44 overall picks.

Lomavita, 21, is considered a top offensive prospect whose catching skills developed significantly over the last few years in Berkeley. In 158 games across three seasons at Cal, the Hawaii native hit 38 homers with 141 RBIs and a .302/.369/.534 slash line while seeing his caught-stealing percentage improve from 19 percent as a sophomore to 23 percent as a junior.

The Nationals have not fared well against two teams in particular this season. They’re 2-8 against the Mets, and they’re 0-4 against the Padres. Throw out those records – which obviously you can’t do – and they’ve actually gone 45-42 against everybody else in the majors. Which is not bad at all. But one of these days, they’ve got to find a way to beat San Diego, and there are only two games left to do that.

Davey Martinez would love to get a better offensive performance tonight than he got in the opener, when the Nats were shut out for the 11th time this year. That came against unheralded right-hander Randy Vasquez and three relievers. Tonight, it’s Matt Waldron, who enters with better numbers than Vasquez and pitched well against the Nationals just last month at Petco Park, allowing two runs while striking out eight over six innings. (That’s the game that was remembered far more for what happened during a wild 10th inning than anything that happened earlier.)

Mitchell Parker did not pitch in that series, so this will be his first start against the Padres. The rookie left-hander had a breakthrough first half, until a disastrous finale in Milwaukee in which he couldn’t get out of the first inning. A fast and effective start to Parker’s evening this time around is a must.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. SAN DIEGO PADRES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 84 degrees, wind 7 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
DH Jesse Winker
1B Juan Yepez
LF James Wood
2B Luis García Jr.
C Riley Adams
3B Trey Lipscomb
CF Jacob Young

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Selected the contract of RHP Chayce McDermott from Triple-A Norfolk. He will wear No. 60 and start tonight’s game, which will be his Major League debut.
• Optioned RHP Bryan Baker to Triple-A Norfolk after yesterday’s game.
• Designated RHP Jonathan Heasley for assignment.

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

As Tuesday’s trade deadline draws ever closer, the biggest dilemma facing the Nationals has become crystal clear: Whether or not to deal Kyle Finnegan.

Most of the other decisions Mike Rizzo faces over the next six days are pretty clear cut. Jesse Winker and Dylan Floro are here on one-year deals and will most likely be traded for the best available offers. Trevor Williams and Joey Gallo are still on the injured list and unlikely to return until sometime in August at best, so that takes both veterans out of the equation. Lane Thomas’ fate isn’t certain, but the emergence of Jacob Young in center field and the fact Dylan Crews is going to be big-league-ready very soon gives Rizzo plenty of reason to see what he can get for his 28-year-old right fielder.

But then there’s Finnegan, who is sure to draw interest from contending teams and could command a high asking price but also could very much still be a critical part of a Nationals team that hopes to win in 2025.

The pros and cons for trading the All-Star closer:

PRO: On the heels of a dominant first half, and with one-plus years of club control attached to his name, his value may never be higher. Finnegan ranks among the league leaders in saves, ERA and WHIP, and he’s been a consistently dominant presence at the end of games. Fourteen of his 28 saves have come with completely clean innings, with nobody reaching base against him, second-most in the majors behind the Cardinals’ Ryan Helsley.

After a weekend sweep of the Reds that included a series of notable rallies and some long-awaited power displays from a lineup that desperately needed it, the Nationals returned tonight to face the Padres hoping for at least some carryover effect.

Instead, they got the exact opposite. During the course of a lackluster 4-0 loss, they did very little at the plate, squandering the scoring opportunities they had and rarely hitting the ball with any real authority.

Thus did the Nats lose for the first time since the All-Star break, missing a chance to sustain some positive momentum with a tepid showing at the plate against an unheralded opposing pitcher.

Randy Vasquez, a 25-year-old right-hander who has given up a bunch of hits – especially homers – this season, combined with three San Diego relievers to shut out the Nationals on only 102 pitches.

"We hit some balls hard, but we just couldn't get any good swings off," manager Davey Martinez said. "We swung the bats today, but we really didn't work good at-bats."

The Washington Nationals recalled left-handed pitcher DJ Herz from Triple-A Rochester and optioned right-handed pitcher Eduardo Salazar to Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Herz will start tonight against the San Diego Padres.

Herz, 23, returns to Washington for his second Major League stint this season. He struck out 41 in 31.1 innings over his first seven career starts from June 4 to July 7. He struck out 13 hitters in 6.0 innings in his first MLB win against Miami on June 15 and fanned 10 in 5.2 innings against the New York Mets on July 2. In all, Herz has gone 1-3 with a 5.17 ERA for the Nationals this year.

Herz was 3-3 with a 3.89 ERA, 44 strikeouts and a .176 opponents’ batting average in 10 starts for the Red Wings this season. Over his last five starts, he went 3-1 with a 2.95 ERA (7 ER/21.1 IP), 27 strikeouts and a .151 average against. In his last start before being recalled, Herz pitched 3.1 innings, struck out two and allowed two runs on two hits on July 14.

Herz leads all of Minor League Baseball with a .176 opponents’ batting average and is third with 13.01 strikeouts per 9.0 innings since the start of the 2021 season (min. 250.0 IP). In parts of five Minor League seasons, Herz is 13-17 with a 3.67 ERA with 457 strikeouts in 321.0 innings and has held opposing hitters to a .178 batting average. 

Salazar, 26, pitched in two games for Washington. He worked 4.0 innings, struck out seven and allowed one unearned run on three hits.

The Nationals used the days before and after the All-Star break to carry an extra reliever. Turns out they only used him once before sending him back to the minors.

Eduardo Salazar, who impressed in his July 14 outing against the Brewers, was optioned to Triple-A Rochester this afternoon, a move necessitated by the return of DJ Herz, who starts tonight’s series opener against the Padres.

Salazar, who posted eye-popping numbers in nine games with Rochester after the Nationals claimed him off waivers from the Mariners last month, was called up for the final two days before the All-Star break when the club could afford to carry a ninth reliever. He pitched two innings in the first half finale in Milwaukee, striking out four batters with a sharp-breaking slider, though he also issued two walks in that game.

The Nats kept the nine-man bullpen for last weekend’s series but never summoned Salazar while sweeping the Reds. So the 26-year-old now heads back to Triple-A, where he’ll hope to make an impression again and earn his way back to the majors.

“I think we will see more eventually,” manager Davey Martinez said. “The thing about it that’s tough is, one, he’s got options. Two, he’s a depth piece for us. But he threw the ball really well. So I’m sure we’ll see more of Salazar.”

The Nationals couldn’t have asked for a better start to their second half, sweeping the Reds over the weekend in impressive fashion. Now they’ll have to try to keep it going against a team that recently swept them.

The Padres are in town, and it was only four weeks ago when they won three straight against the Nationals during a wild series in San Diego that ruined a lot of positive momentum they had built up earlier in June.

One of those games at Petco Park was started by DJ Herz, who makes his return to the big leagues tonight after officially getting recalled from Triple-A. (Reliever Eduardo Salazar was optioned to Rochester to clear up that roster spot.) Herz essentially got a 16-day break since he last pitched up here, making only one abbreviated start for Rochester to keep his arm fresh. It will be fascinating to see how the rookie left-hander returns, and whether he can find some level of more consistency than he showed in his first stint.

Right-hander Randy Vasquez is tonight’s opponent, and he will be a new face from the Nationals’ perspective, nobody on the current roster having faced him before. There will be a few ex-Padres in the lineup, though, with some extra motivation against the franchise that traded them. How will James Wood and CJ Abrams handle this assignment?

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. SAN DIEGO PADRES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain late, 88 degrees, wind 7 mph out to left field