Scan the stat page and you’ll find that Lucas Sims, Eduardo Salazar and Colin Poche rank among the Nationals’ leaders in appearances as the season’s first month winds down. Then consider none of the three has pitched in at least four days, and you realize just how much Davey Martinez was counting on all of them earlier this month before each struggled.

Poche (owner of a 15.00 ERA and 3.333 WHIP in 10 games) hasn’t pitched since Tuesday. Salazar (owner of an 8.31 ERA and 2.192 WHIP in 11 games) hasn’t pitched since Sunday. Sims (owner of a 15.26 ERA and 2.609 WHIP in 12 games) hasn’t pitched since Saturday, a full week.

Nothing’s physically wrong with any of them, Martinez insisted today. He just hasn’t found the right situation to call upon any of them during this stretch.

“They’re good,” the manager said. “We sat up last night for a while and said they’ve got to get back in the game. I don’t want them sitting for a week. We’ll get them back in there.”

The hidden message in there: While the Nationals began the season counting on Poche, Salazar and Sims to pitch meaningful innings, their performances have dropped them out of contention for anything resembling high-leverage spots, of which there have been many over the last week while the team won five of its last seven games.

How wild was Friday night’s 5-4, walk-off win for the Nationals? So wild that a controversial triple play was like the No. 4 storyline of the game. That’s wild.

The Nats happily took that win, their fifth in their last seven games. They’re back to two games under .500 at 12-14, actually only a game behind the Phillies for second place in the NL East. All things considered, that’s not a bad place to be during the final weekend of April.

They’ll look to continue their winning ways later this afternoon with the second game of four against the division-leading Mets (weather permitting). It’ll be Brad Lord on the mound for his fourth major league start. He has yet to complete five innings or exceed 65 pitches, but hopefully his arm is ready for that kind of workload by now, because the Nationals could certainly use some length to take a little pressure off the bullpen.

After a decent showing Friday night against Kodai Senga, the Nats' lineup gets another tough challenge in Clay Holmes, the former Yankees closer who is now starting in Flushing. Holmes has actually seen his strikeout rate go up despite the move from the bullpen to the rotation, with an eye-popping 11.9 per nine innings so far this year. His walk rate is also up, though, to 4.6 per nine innings. The Nationals need to be patient today, something they haven’t necessarily done all that well this season.

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain, 74 degrees, wind 15 mph left field to right field

DETROIT – The Orioles couldn’t wait any longer on Tyler O’Neill.

Prior to today’s doubleheader, the Orioles placed O’Neill on the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his neck and recalled outfielder Dylan Carlson from Triple-A Norfolk.

The move is backdated to Thursday and O’Neill is eligible to be reinstated on May 4.

“He’s been dealing with that probably since last week,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

“When he’s able to come off the IL, we’re expecting him to not miss any more time.”

Tyler O’Neill is out of the Orioles’ Game 1 lineup today as he continues to receive treatment for neck discomfort.

Outfielder Dylan Carlson is on the taxi squad. He didn’t play yesterday in Triple-A Norfolk’s doubleheader.

Reliever Colin Selby also is on the taxi squad. The Orioles won’t announce their 27^th man until the conclusion of Game 1.

Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle also are on the bench. Jordan Westburg remains the designated hitter. Heston Kjerstad is in left field and Rámon Laureano is in right.

Jackson Holliday is the second baseman.

Monday, April 28

Orioles vs. Yankees | Orioles.com/Tickets

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.

WASHINGTON – Roughly 10 percent of the population is left-handed, according to Norgen Biotek. Lefties, though, make up a much larger percentage of pitchers in Major League Baseball. And in 2025, the Orioles have faced a left-handed starter in over 30 percent of their first 23 games.

Tonight, the Birds face another, as the Nationals roll out one of the best young lefties in the game, MacKenzie Gore.

In the seven games that the O’s have faced a lefty starter to begin 2025, Baltimore is just 1-6.

Gore, the former elite prospect, ranks in the 70th percentile or better in expected ERA, expected batting average, fastball velocity, whiff percentage, strikeout percentage and walk percentage this season.

In fact, he is in the 93rd percentile in whiff rate and leads Major League Baseball with 14 strikeouts per nine innings.

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.

The Washington Nationals returned from rehabilitation assignment and reinstated shortstop CJ Abrams from the 10-day Injured List and optioned infielder Trey Lipscomb to Triple-A Rochester on Thursday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Abrams, 24, was slugging .585 with two doubles and four home runs along with a .244 average, seven RBI, three walks, four stolen bases and six runs scored in 11 games when he was placed on the Injured List on April 12.

Abrams – along with teammate James Wood – is tied for second in Major League Baseball with two leadoff home runs. Washington’s four leadoff homers are tied for the most in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees.

Lipscomb, 24, appeared in three games in his first Major League stint of the season. He went 2-for-4 with a run scored in his lone start on April 20 at Colorado.

WASHINGTON – The Orioles' offense had plenty of opportunities to cash in for a breakout inning in tonight’s 4-3 loss to the Nationals. Instead, they made smaller deposits. 

For the most part, pitching held up its end of the bargain. Sometimes, you can still win baseball games like that, even when you go 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. In this case, the offense came up just short. 

“I’m really happy with how we played,” said Brandon Hyde after the game. “We play baseball like that, we’re going to win a lot of games.”

The Orioles' offense started the contest with three straight batted balls hit over 100 mph off the bats of Cedric Mullins, Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman. Only one, a single from Rutschman, resulted in a hit. Despite the loud contact, Baltimore left the top of the first without a run. That would be a theme. 

“We hit a lot of balls hard that we weren’t rewarded for,” Hyde noted. “I thought we took really good at-bats for the most part.”

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.

WASHINGTON – Expected stats don’t show up in the box score. That makes them easy to dismiss. 

They’re not interchangeable with counting numbers, nor should they be used as a crutch for a struggling offense. 

But, in this case, it could help explain why a lineup with so much talent has struggled to score runs. It’s one thing to say, “This team is talented and they should be hitting better than they are.”

Expected numbers support that claim. 

Entering tonight’s game against the Nationals, the Orioles have the 19th-best team OPS and have scored the 18th-most runs in the game. On paper, with stars like Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Jordan Westburg, they are far better than a fringe top-20 unit. 

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

Left-hander Trevor Rogers made his first injury rehab start today at Double-A Chesapeake and gave up a two-run homer to Altoona’s Kervin Pichardo two batters into the game. Rogers worked three innings and allowed two runs and four hits with one walk and three strikeouts. He threw 44 pitches, 29 for strikes.

Rogers is on the injured list after dislocating his right knee in January.

Braxton Bragg made his Double-A debut and tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings with three hits, two walks and eight strikeouts.

Silas Ardoin hit his second home run.

Heston Kjerstad stays in left field tonight for the Orioles, who continue their series against the Nationals in D.C., and Jackson Holliday remains at second base.

What is “in-market?”

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Where is MASN+ available?  

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Are there any blackout restrictions?

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.