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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 10th, 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.
Jeremiah Jackson sat at his locker earlier today, raised his right arm and pointed to the spot where last night’s pitch slammed into his elbow. He showed a teammate the damage, which he said was minimal.
He knew that it could have been worse.
Braxton Ashcraft’s 95.5 mph fastball nailed Jackson in the eighth inning after he singled and homered. Daniel Johnson pinch-ran for him.
“Elbow ‘s fine,” Jackson said this afternoon before heading to the field for the team photo. “A little sore. I was coming out of the game anyway, defensive replacement. But yeah, I mean, it’s never fun to get hit in the elbow, but everything’s fine. Just a little bruise.”
Jackson is playing pretty much every day as a rookie and he’s thriving with a .314/.346/.521 line in 33 games. He has six doubles, two triples, five home runs and 18 RBIs.
MIAMI – The Nationals’ September to remember continues, the team having now opened this final month of the season 7-1, including five straight wins over the Marlins. And there are still two more games to go in this series at loanDepot Park, where they’ll try to do it again tonight and move to within 4 1/2 games of third place in the NL East.
This hot streak has been sparked by good offensive production from up and down the lineup. As a team, the Nats boast an .825 OPS through the first eight games of the month, blasting 14 homers (four of those by Josh Bell over the last three days). And they’ve already done damage to the guy they’re facing tonight: Eury Perez, who allowed seven runs in four innings last week at Nationals Park, with Nasim Nunez and Brady House each homering off the young right-hander.
Jake Irvin, remarkably, has not faced the Marlins yet this season. And he only faced them once in 2024, way back in April when he allowed two runs over six innings. As such, only one current member of Miami’s active roster has ever stepped into the box against Irvin in the big leagues: Joey Wiemer, who went 0-for-2 while playing for the Brewers in July 2023. Perhaps unfamiliarity will play into Irvin’s hands tonight as he tries to extend the Nationals’ winning streak.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MIAMI MARLINS
Where: loanDepot Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Indoors
NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
DH James Wood
1B Josh Bell
2B Luis García Jr.
C Jorge Alfaro
3B Brady House
RF Dylan Crews
CF Robert Hassell III
Seven Orioles will be on the Peoria Javelinas roster in the Arizona Fall League, highlighted by No. 4 prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr.
The Orioles also are sending outfielder Thomas Sosa, catcher Ethan Anderson and pitchers Zach Fruit, Luis De León, Carson Dorsey and Andy Fabian. High-A Aberdeen’s Jeremy Hileman will serve as one of the pitching coaches.
Bradfield has missed time due to hamstring injuries and can recoup some of the at-bats with Peoria. He was promoted from Double-A Chesapeake to Triple-A Norfolk on Sept. 2.
De León is the No. 21 prospect in the system, also per MLB Pipeline.
The Orioles drafted Anderson in the second round in 2024 out of the University of Virginia.
Only the top two minor league affiliates are playing regular season games at this point in the summer, so the Orioles brought their first four draft picks to Camden Yards yesterday – Ike Irish (19th overall), Caden Bodine (30th), Wehiwa Aloy (31st) and Slater de Brun (37th).
The group visited the clubhouse, weight room and other areas of the ballpark, took batting practice and watched the game from a suite. Smiles and waves accompanied their introductions to the crowd after the first inning.
Irish shared his early impressions of Camden Yards with the media while sitting in the dugout.
“The warehouse is pretty sick,” he said.
Maybe he can aim for it in a few years.
The celebration tonight carried up the right field line, as opposed to center field Saturday after Emmanuel Rivera's two-run single. Samuel Basallo was chased like a thief, maybe because the Orioles stole another win.
Basallo dumped a single down the opposite line, hitting chalk with a fly ball that scored Gunnar Henderson in the 11th inning for a 3-2 victory over the Pirates at Camden Yards, the Orioles' third walk-off in four games.
Dietrich Enns tossed two scoreless innings past regulation and Basallo singled off Dauri Moreta before an announced crowd of 15,488. Ryan Mountcastle singled and Colton Cowser was given an intentional walk to set up Basallo, who had to wait through a crew chief review.
Tommy Pham attempted to make a sliding catch, the ball might have nicked his glove and umpire Manny Gonzalez ruled it foul. Crew chief Alan Porter announced the decision.
“Have not seen it that way where umpires pretty much had to place the runners there to finish the game off," said interim manager Tony Mansolino. "It was one of those deals where if they didn’t call it fair, I was probably going to throw a fit.”
MIAMI – The situation was almost comical, until you realized how painful it also was and how upsetting it must have been for everyone associated with the Nationals who nearly ran out of catchers during Tuesday night’s 7-5 win over the Marlins.
Riley Adams had already been forced to leave the game after taking a foul ball off his groin in the bottom of the second. Now, seven innings later, Jorge Alfaro had the exact same thing happen to him, leaving the veteran stunned and trying to walk it off as interim manager Miguel Cairo rushed from the dugout to check on him.
Keibert Ruiz and Drew Millas were already on the injured list. Adams was out of the game. What would the Nats have done if Alfaro had to depart as well?
Hey, Andres Chaparro, how about you try on a catcher’s mask and mitt and see how it goes.
Chaparro, a first baseman and designated hitter who has never caught as a professional ballplayer, did indeed don the bare minimum tools of ignorance to catch Mitchell Parker’s warm-up pitches prior to the bottom of the third Tuesday night while Alfaro put his gear back on after batting in the top of the inning. Chaparro didn’t exactly look comfortable back there, but he would’ve been the guy if the team needed an emergency catcher.
MIAMI – The National League East standings still show the fifth-place Nationals trailing the third-place Marlins by 5 1/2 games. If you’ve watched the five games played between these two clubs over the last eight days, you would never believe that.
Based strictly on these recent head-to-head matchups, it’s impossible to view the Nats as the inferior team. They have so thoroughly dominated Miami while winning five straight, it doesn’t compute that they’ve got the lesser record over the entirety of the season.
Tonight’s 7-5 victory, featuring yet another Josh Bell homer and one of Mitchell Parker’s best starts of the year before things got a bit hairy during the bottom of the ninth, was the latest example. The Nationals have now won these five consecutive head-to-head matchups by the combined score of 39-19. They’re also now 7-1 in September, having also taken two of three from the playoff-contending Cubs over the weekend in Chicago.
"It's not always going to be a masterpiece," interim manager Miguel Cairo said. "But they battled. We got good at-bats. We scored some runs. The most important thing is we got a W. We've just got to keep going and keep playing the way we've been playing."
Offense has been at the forefront of this recent surge, but tonight the Nats also got a long-awaited pitching gem from Parker.
MIAMI – Keibert Ruiz rejoined the Nationals today, though not under the circumstances he or the club preferred.
After taking another foul ball off his facemask and experiencing a recurrence of concussion symptoms, Ruiz was pulled off his rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg and flown down to Miami to meet with team doctors and determine the next course of action.
“It’s really frustrating that I’ve been dealing with this for what, two months?” said Ruiz, who has been on the 7-day concussion injured list since July 6. “But I feel obviously better than the first time I got hit. I’m just trusting in god that everything’s going to be alright.”
Ruiz, who initially was struck by a foul ball June 23 while in the dugout in San Diego, then again while behind the plate July 5 in Washington, began his minor league rehab assignment one week ago. He successfully caught five innings in Tuesday’s debut with Harrisburg, then served as designated hitter Wednesday, then caught six innings Thursday.
He took another foul ball off his mask during the bottom of the second Thursday, though he remained in the game and finished out his planned six innings behind the plate before departing. He said he felt fine throughout that game and didn’t experience any concussion symptoms until the following day, which he reported to the team.
Catcher Samuel Basallo has returned to the Orioles lineup tonight after being struck on the right hand by a bunted ball Saturday night against the Dodgers.
Jeremiah Jackson is in right field again and batting second. Emmanuel Rivera stays at third base, Dylan Beavers is in left field and Coby Mayo is the first baseman.
Ryan Mountcastle serves again as designated hitter and is batting fourth.
Tomoyuki Sugano and Dean Kremer played catch today and are expected to stay on the active roster. Sugano was hit on the right foot by a one-hopper Sunday afternoon and Kremer exited his start Friday night with right forearm discomfort. Kremer’s start will be skipped, but Sugano could proceed uninterrupted.
“It didn’t get as swollen as much as I expected, and I’m ready for my next start,” Sugano said via interpreter Yuto Sakurai. “We’ll see how I move around today, but as of now, I don’t think it’ll have any affect.”
MIAMI – The Nationals and Marlins have played each other a lot over the last week, and there’s still three more games to go in this series. That familiarity means a lot of familiar pitching matchups. We saw Cade Cavalli face Miami for the second straight outing Monday night. And tonight we’ll see both Mitchell Parker and Adam Mazur face these opposing lineups for the second straight time.
Parker had his best start in weeks when he faced the Marlins on Wednesday afternoon in D.C. He carried a shutout into the fifth before allowing four runs (only two earned). It was an important step forward for the struggling left-hander, who managed to get his ERA back under 6.00. Now, can he continue that positive trend tonight against the same opponent?
Mazur started for Miami the previous night and took the loss to Cavalli. The rookie right-hander, in his 11th career start, gave up five runs (four earned) on 10 hits in six innings, giving up a homer to James Wood and doubles to CJ Abrams, Daylen Lile, Riley Adams and Dylan Crews. The Nats would love to keep that kind of offensive production going, especially after exploding for 15 runs here Monday night.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MIAMI MARLINS
Where: loanDepot Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Indoors
NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
1B Josh Bell
DH Daylen Lile
2B Luis García Jr.
C Riley Adams
3B Brady House
RF Dylan Crews
CF Jacob Young
Each year, in preparation for the MLB Draft, MLB Pipeline ranks their 250 best draft-eligible prospects. From the college ranks to the high school prep class, this list is filled with names that could change the outlook of an organization’s future.
In 2024, that list included the O’s first-round pick Vance Honeycutt, ranked No. 22 among the 250. Griff O’Ferrall came in at No. 38, and his college roommate Ethan Anderson was 40 spots below. The speedy Austin Overn, in Double-A Chesapeake with O’Ferrall and Anderson, checked in at No. 131, and Baltimore’s fifth-round-pick, Ryan Stafford, was ranked 175th.
More often than not, there’s little conversation to be had about the prospects ranked outside of this list.
Baseball America takes things a step further, though, ranking 500 prospects before draft season. Coming in at No. 272 was an “under-the-radar prep prospect” hailing from Illinois with a commitment to Northwest Florida: Nate George.
The center fielder and his raw skillset fell to the 16th round of the 2024 Draft, and that’s where the Orioles selected him, swaying him away from his college commitment.
MIAMI – Cade Cavalli had been in the visitors’ clubhouse at loanDepot Park several times previously. Not because he was a member of the Nationals’ big league roster, but because he had been rehabbing from injuries in nearby West Palm Beach and drove down to Miami when the Nats were in town playing the Marlins to meet with coaches and trainers and feel like part of the roster for at least a few days.
When he entered Monday afternoon, Cavalli recognized the difference. This time, he was on the active roster. This time, he wasn’t just throwing a bullpen session. This time, he was starting that night’s game for the Nationals.
“I felt that exact emotion when I walked in here,” the right-hander said. “I was like: Dang, it was three years in a row of checking in with people, from 2022 up til now that I’ve been here as a rehabber. And now I’m in here as a player. It just takes me back through the journey that I’ve been on. I’m really grateful that god has given me the health to be here and to be a teammate with these guys and be able to go compete for them. It’s really good emotions that came through.”
Cavalli would have felt that way regardless of the results of Monday night’s game. The fact he also pitched well over five efficient innings and emerged with his third career win only sweetened the deal.
It’s taken a lot longer than anyone would have expected, but the Nationals’ 2020 first round pick is finally a healthy, productive member of the big league rotation. Monday represented his seventh start of the season, the eighth of his career. He’s now 3-1 with a 4.67 ERA that’s a bit misleading because of one blowup start at Yankee Stadium two weeks ago that skewered his stats. Throw that one out, and Cavalli is 3-0 with a 3.06 ERA.
Tony Mansolino walked into the auxiliary clubhouse that serves as the media interview room at Camden Yards, sat behind a table covered in a black cloth, pushing back the microphone as he always does, and waited for the first question.
A reporter asked for an injury update.
This could have happened just about any day, pregame or postgame, during the 2025 season. The scene is so old, MASN should air it in black and white.
Mansolino usually reacts to an inquiry but at times will beat the media to the health punch, as he did Saturday while standing outside the clubhouse. The Orioles were using the usual space for their 2,131 celebration guests, but the drill stayed the same.
“I’ve got your guys’ favorite,” Mansolino said. “I’ve got injury updates to start.”
MIAMI – This has not been, by any measure, the rookie season Dylan Crews or the Nationals expected. There was a sluggish start at the plate. Then a lengthy stint on the injured list. And though there have been encouraging moments here and then since his return last month, there still hasn’t been enough consistent production to get anyone excited about a guy who was supposed to be one of the most exciting young players in baseball.
There are nights, though, like this one when Crews does remind everyone just how much difference he can make. And that’s what the Nats must cling to as they look ahead to a 2026 lineup they hope is much more consistently productive than the 2025 version was, with Crews certain to be a key figure.
The version of the 23-year-old outfielder who showed up tonight during a 15-7 thumping of the Marlins was exactly the kind of player the Nationals thought they were getting with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. He went 3-for-5, ripping a clutch single up the middle to drive in the go-ahead run back when the game was close, hustling his way to swipe an extra base thanks to a nifty slide around the tag and then capping it all off with a no-doubt, three-run homer to turn this game into a rout.
"We've been working hard every day," he said. "It's just good to get some results, get a few knocks today."
Crews’ efforts – combined with plenty of others including a two-homer, six-RBI night from Josh Bell – helped lead the Nationals to their sixth win in seven games to begin the month of September. It’s a dramatic turnaround after three straight months in which they couldn’t even win 10 games, and it has probably saved them from the ignominy of a 100-loss season. Now 59-84, they need to go only 4-15 the rest of the way to avoid the century mark.
Building on ten seasons of trusted care and commitment to the community.
The Baltimore Orioles are proud to announce the renewal of their medical partnership with MedStar Health, marking a decade of dedicated collaboration focused on elite care, performance innovation, and community connection.
For 10 seasons, MedStar Health has served as the trusted medical provider of the Baltimore Orioles, with a core group of team physicians led by SEAN CURTIN, MD, head team physician for the Baltimore Orioles and a MedStar Health primary care sports medicine expert, to help players in the major and minor leagues stay healthy, strong, and ready to compete, year-round.
Additionally, a comprehensive multi-disciplinary team of MedStar Health physicians, athletic trainers, and specialists, provide a support network ensuring the same high quality of care for the entire Orioles organization.
“The team at MedStar Health, working alongside our talented athletic training staff, have been a tremendous partner in planning, preparedness, and fulfilling Major League Baseball health protocols,” said MIKE ELIAS, Orioles Executive Vice President And General Manager. “This partnership ensures the expert care and performance support for our players, while dedicating time and opportunities to give back to the communities we serve.”
The Washington Nationals will recognize first responders and service members with a number of events and activations during the Club’s upcoming series against the Pittsburgh Pirates (Sept. 12-14). The weekend will include Heroes Day – the final installment of the Patriotic Series presented by U.S. Steel, the Battle of the Bases Championship at Nationals Park and the annual Nats on Base Abroad trip to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
On Friday, Sept. 12, the Nationals will host Heroes Day in recognition and remembrance of the Sept. 11 tragedy and to honor the first responders who answered the call on that day and every day since. Heroes Day will include special programming and pregame assets, including a national anthem by Officer Brittany Shakir, Metropolitan Police Department; our nation’s colors presented by local first responders; and a flyover by the C-17 East Coast Demo Team from the 437 Airlift Wing located in Joint Base Charleston. Members representing the different branches of local police, fire and EMS will be recognized during pregame ceremonies. Nationals pitcher Trevor Williams will also welcome families from the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) for a pregame meet and greet.
Additionally, the Nationals will honor five local first responders who fell in the line of duty in the last year as part of the Club’s annual Fallen Heroes Tribute, established in 2016. Family members of Investigator Wayne David, Metropolitan Police Department; Lieutenant Robert Heaney, DC Fire and Emergency Medical Service Department; Lieutenant Christopher J. Higgins, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services; Firefighter/Technician Stephen W. Shipp, Jr., DC Fire and Emergency Medical Service Department; and Supervisory Special Agent Dennis M. Wagner, Jr., U.S. Department of Justice – Federal Bureau of Investigation will be recognized in a special pregame ceremony and remain on the field with the team for the national anthem. The names of the five fallen heroes will be memorialized by plaques on dedicated seats in Section 130 along the first base line.
Following Saturday’s 4:05 p.m. contest, Nationals Park will once again host the Battle of the Bases Championship featuring Marine Corps Base Quantico and Joint Base Andrews facing off in a competitive finale to the annual military softball tournament, which serves as an extension of the intramural season at each of the military bases in the National Capital Region. Fourteen teams of active-duty service members from all six military branches participated in a tournament to determine the championship matchup. Fans who attend Saturday’s Nationals game are encouraged to stay and enjoy the softball game. Admission to the Battle of the Bases Championship game on Sept. 13 is free and open to the public.
Sunday, Sept. 14, marks the third annual Nats on Base Abroad simulcast, bringing the gameday experience to service members stationed nearly 7,000 miles away at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest expeditionary wing in the world. Former Nationals second baseman Brian Dozier and outfielder Adam Eaton – who is participating in Nats on Base Abroad for the second consecutive year – along with host Brittney Ramsey and mascot Screech will host a special watch party for service members, complete with several pregame and in-game activities like an honorary first pitch, ballpark games, prizes and a very special Salute to Service. Back home in Washington, D.C., live footage from the watch party will be integrated into the game’s video board programming and MASN telecast, creating a two-way international viewing event. The game will be simulcast to bases everywhere via the American Forces Network, which reaches more than 400,000 audience members worldwide and at sea, as part of AFN’s partnership with Major League Baseball.
