MIAMI – The Nationals have pulled Keibert Ruiz back from his minor league rehab assignment after he experienced a recurrence of mild headaches, a concerning development for the 27-year-old catcher, who has been on the 7-day concussion injured list for two months.

Ruiz had been cleared last week to begin playing in games with Double-A Harrisburg, and he was in the Senators lineup for three straight days, catching five innings Tuesday while serving as designated hitter Wednesday. He was struck in the mask by a foul ball in the second inning of Thursday’s game in Bowie but continued to play through the full six innings that were scheduled for him all along.

The Nationals had announced plans for Ruiz to continue building up his workload to seven innings behind the plate Friday and (after again DHing Saturday) the full nine innings Sunday. But he was unable to play in any of those games after reporting “mild headaches,” according to the team.

Ruiz was pulled off the rehab assignment and will now rejoin the Nats here in Miami, where he will continue the concussion protocol the club and Major League Baseball have outlined.

“It’s a little concerning,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “But we’ve got to look at what is best for him. Right now, he’s experiencing a little headache, and we’re going to see how he feels tomorrow. We’ve just got to wait and see.”

MIAMI – After a gorgeous (and successful) weekend in Chicago, the Nationals now open a four-game series here in Miami, where we’re getting torrential rain and the environment inside loanDepot Park figures to be nothing like the environment was at Wrigley Field the last three days. No problem, the Nats just hope to keep their winning ways going, regardless of opponent or venue.

The Nationals did just sweep the Marlins at home last week before taking two of three against the Cubs, so they’re feeling very good about themselves as they prepare to open this series tonight. And the guy on the mound will be looking to continue what he did last time out against this same lineup.

Cade Cavalli tossed five innings of two-run ball vs. Miami, striking out six and earning his second career win. The right-hander now gets a chance to face the Marlins again and keep things going in the right direction. Right-hander Janson Junk, who shut out the Nationals over 5 2/3 innings back in June, takes the mound for Miami.

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
LF James Wood
1B Josh Bell
DH Daylen Lile
2B Luis García Jr.
C Riley Adams
3B Paul DeJong
RF Dylan Crews
CF Robert Hassell III

Perhaps the finest accomplishment that Jackson Holliday can reflect upon after the season is staying away from the injured list, but only if he makes it through the last three weeks unharmed. He’s in rare company. He’s a left-handed hitting unicorn.

Holliday sat yesterday after breaking up Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s no-hit bid Saturday with a two-out home run in the ninth inning. His 134^th game arrives after the off-day, second only to Gunnar Henderson, who will play in his 136^th.

Holliday is first on the team in at-bats with 525 and home runs with 17. His .710 OPS, 130 hits, 20 doubles, three triples, 53 RBIs, 47 walks, 65 runs and 15 stolen bases are second behind Henderson.

The free passes are coming in bunches now. Holliday had two more Friday and closed August with six in San Francisco. He’s drawn 23 in his last 25 games. He also has 12 hits in his last nine games.

The 47 walks are the fourth-highest among Orioles 21 or younger after Curt Blefary’s 88 in 1965, Boog Powell’s 49 in 1963 and Eddie Murray’s 48 in 1977, according to STATS. Cal Ripken Jr. had 46 in 1982.

CHICAGO – At some point last month, Cole Henry said, the members of baseball’s worst bullpen came to an important realization.

Nobody outside the Nationals believed that group was capable of being good. Perhaps that might even have been true for some people within the organization. And given the unit’s lack of experience – 25-year-old Jose A. Ferrer was the only reliever on the staff with more than a year of big league service time – there was nothing for anybody to lose at that point.

“Just looking around, we’re kind of all in the same situation,” Henry said. “Ferrer has the most time out of all of us. It’s kind of like, we’re all in this together. Let’s make something out of it and see if we can finish the year strong.”

You won’t believe what’s happened since. Over the last three weeks, the best bullpen in the major leagues has belonged to the Washington Nationals. Yes, the Nationals.

The pertinent starting point is Aug. 20, when four relievers combined to toss 3 2/3 scoreless innings and preserve a 5-4 win over the Mets. Prior to that game, the Nationals bullpen ranked dead-last in the majors in ERA (5.82) and WHIP (1.549). In 17 games since, that group ranks first in the majors in both categories, delivering a sparkling 1.97 ERA and 1.005 WHIP.

The Orioles ran out of magic today.

They were no-hit for 3 2/3 innings. Another player left with an injury. There’s only so much adversity that a team can scale in one weekend.

Tomoyuki Sugano limped off the mound in the top of the fourth inning after Hyesong Kim’s 96 mph one-hopper struck his right foot, and the Orioles followed one of the most thrilling wins in franchise history with a 5-2 loss to the Dodgers before an announced crowd of 27,874 at Camden Yards.

Shohei Ohtani hit solo home runs in the first and third innings, giving him 24 career multis and 12 this season to tie the club record set by Mookie Betts in 2023. Ohtani and Betts went back-to-back in the third, and the Orioles (66-77) lost for the first time in their last six games.

They tried to rally, scoring twice in the sixth and forcing the Dodgers to remove future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw and trust a bullpen that’s imploded over the weekend. They widened the margin for mayhem against Rico Garcia in the top of the ninth on Betts’ RBI single off the left field wall, and left-hander Jack Dreyer recorded the save. 

CHICAGO – For eight innings, they did next to nothing at the plate. Three hits. Zero walks. No life. The Nationals looked ready to leave Wrigley Field with a loss in the series finale and head south to Miami.

And then they sprung back to life. In a big way. To pull off perhaps their most unexpected win of the season.

With a furious five-run, top-of-the-ninth rally that included clutch homers from Robert Hassell III and Josh Bell, the Nationals stormed back to beat the Cubs, 6-3 and send the Wrigley Field faithful who turned out to celebrate Sammy Sosa’s induction into the team’s Hall of Fame home devastated.

"The guys, they've been resilient," said interim manager Miguel Cairo, whose team has gone 5-1 to begin September after failing to win 10 games in any of the previous three months. "Like I've said before, they battle to the end."

Maybe so, but the Nats gave no indication all afternoon they had anything like this in them. They barely scored one run through eight innings against Chicago’s seemingly effective bullpen game and looked ready to call it a day.

CHICAGO – Josiah Gray made his return to competitive baseball today, the Nationals right-hander throwing 34 pitches during a rehab start for Single-A Wilmington that represented a major milestone in his return from elbow surgery.

Nearly 14 months removed from Tommy John surgery and an internal brace procedure to reconstruct and reinforce the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, Gray took the mound to face an opposing team for the first time. Donning a No. 20 Blue Rocks uniform at Frawley Stadium in Wilmington, he faced seven Aberdeen batters in total, retiring four without allowing a hit.

Gray was sharp in the top of the first, striking out the first batter he faced before inducing two fly outs. His command wavered in the top of the second, leading to a pair of walks and a hit batter. Scheduled for 30-35 pitches from the outset, he was pulled with the bases loaded and one out in the second, deferring to reliever Peyton Glavine, who got out of the jam without allowing a run.

All told, Gray threw 18 of his 34 pitches for strikes, appearing to use his full arsenal.

Truth be told, results were secondary for Gray in this rehab debut. The Nationals were focused solely on his ability to pitch in a competitive game and emerge healthy from it.

Orioles rookie catcher Samuel Basallo has avoided a serious injury after taking a bunted ball off his right hand last night and exiting the game.

Basallo is out of today’s lineup, but he would have been on the bench anyway against Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw.

“It feels good, feeling much better today,” he said via interpreter Brandon Quinones.

“I got a bit scared, I think a few of us were scared. But thankfully nothing came out bad, so thank God I’m pretty healthy.”

Basallo was a spectator for the remarkable comeback, when the Orioles were no-hit for 8 2/3 innings and won 4-3 on Emmanuel Rivera’s two-run, walk-off single.

CHICAGO – Behind a stellar pitching performance from both their starter and their resurgent bullpen, the Nationals pulled out a 2-1 victory over the Cubs on Saturday afternoon. Which means they now have a chance to win the weekend series this afternoon, with another rookie starter taking the mound.

Andrew Alvarez makes his second career start, and if this one goes anything like his debut did, it’s going to be a great day for the lefty and the Nats. Alvarez was incredibly poised and in control Monday afternoon against the Marlins, tossing five scoreless innings while allowing only one hit. The challenge today is significantly tougher, with a good Chicago lineup standing in his way. But for what it’s worth, the wind has shifted direction here at Wrigley Field, now blowing in from left field instead of out to right field. Maybe, just maybe, that will help keep fly balls off the bats of right-handed batters facing Alvarez within the Friendly Confines instead of reaching the bleachers.

The Nationals managed to win Saturday despite scoring only two runs. They probably need more than that today in a matchup against the Cubs bullpen. Veteran lefty Drew Pomeranz will be the opener, then we’ll have to see how Craig Counsell manages things from there.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at CHICAGO CUBS
Where: Wrigley Field
Gametime: 2:20 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 64 degrees, wind 9 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
DH James Wood
C Riley Adams
LF Daylen Lile
1B Andrés Chaparro
2B Luis García jR.
3B Brady House
RF Dylan Crews
CF Robert Hassell III

The Orioles will try to make it six wins in a row and back-to-back sweeps with a unique lineup this afternoon.

Jeremiah Jackson is leading off and playing right field, Jorge Mateo is in center field and Luis Vázquez is at second base.

Ryan Mountcastle moves up to second in the order.

Alex Jackson is catching. The Orioles will have an update later on Samuel Basallo’s right hand.

Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser and Dylan Beavers also are on the bench.

Davey Johnson didn’t need to manage the Nationals. He had already enjoyed as full and successful a baseball career as anyone could have wanted by the time Mike Rizzo called him up in June 2011 with an unexpected offer to come back to the dugout.

A four-time All-Star second baseman and two-time World Series champion with the Orioles. A record-setting home run hitter in a Braves lineup that also included Hank Aaron. Another World Series title as manager of the powerhouse 1986 Mets. Division titles as manager of the Reds and Orioles, not to mention 1997 American League Manager of Year honors. A bronze medal with Team USA at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, then a semifinal appearance in the first World Baseball Classic the following year.

Johnson was 68, having survived multiple health scares including heart surgery and a ruptured appendix that nearly ended his life. He had dealt with the personal tragedy of losing a daughter and a stepson at young ages. Why did he need to accept Rizzo’s offer to take over the Nats’ job in midseason following Jim Riggleman’s surprise resignation following a walk-off win?

“It was not a tough decision for me to step in,” he said on June 27, 2011, in a press conference room in Anaheim prior to his first game back. “It’s really exciting to even have a chance to compete.”

This was an opportunity Johnson neither sought nor expected. But when it was presented to him, he jumped at the opportunity because he loved any chance he got to turn a ballclub into a winner.

When a game stalled at Camden Yards on Sept. 6, 1995, the curtain calls for Cal Ripken Jr. failing to quiet fans, the only way to get it moving again was to push him.

Teammates Rafael Palmeiro and Bobby Bonilla took Ripken by the arms and led him from the bench to the front of the dugout. Palmeiro smiled and gave Ripken a gentle shove in the back, and the Iron Man headed up the first base line to begin his iconic lap around the warning track as Whitney Houston’s “One Moment in Time” provided the soundtrack over the public address system.

Nothing was scripted at that point. The Orioles were winging it.

“The thing was, he’d come out and he would tip his hat to the fans and then he would get back in the dugout,” Palmeiro recalled yesterday in a phone call after flying into Baltimore as one of the many guests for the 30^th anniversary celebration.

 “I remember him saying, ‘Let’s get the game going again, let’s get the game going again,’ but the fans kept asking him to come back out. I don’t know, it seemed like it took forever. And then, we were just kind of sitting there and if I remember correctly, I think I said, ‘You’ve got to do something because we’re gonna be here all night.’ And so, I don’t know what led to that, I don’t know if he got up or we pulled him up, but I don’t think it was a planned thing. We just kind of pushed him and it just happened. And he just went down the first base line.”

The Orioles filled the dugout this evening, a much larger turnout than normal about an hour before first pitch. Legends who preceded their arrivals in Baltimore came out of the tunnel one by one and walked onto the field, including some Hall of Famers. Cal Ripken Jr. was introduced and circled the warning track in a red Corvette convertible, spinning wheels allowing him to skip the jog from 30 years earlier.

The numbers 2131 hung from the warehouse again. The 1995 Orioles finished in third place in their division and missed the playoffs again. The 2025 team is in last place and also headed home after the final game. Past and present got to mingle tonight, the younger crowd captivated by the history lesson.

Little did they know that they’d almost end up on the wrong side of history and ignite their own celebration with an absolutely wild finish.

Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto tossed a no-hitter for 8 2/3 innings before Jackson Holliday homered to right field. The Orioles loaded the bases, drew a walk and won 4-3 on Emmanuel Rivera's two-run single into center field off Tanner Scott before an announced sellout crowd of 42,612. 

Yamamoto threw 112 pitches, the last a 2-1 cutter that bounced back onto the field. Jackson sped up, thinking double, and was signaled home. Yamamoto left the game to a standing ovation from Dodgers fans. He was sensational, walking two batters in the third inning and retiring 19 in a row. He got two easy outs in the ninth on a strikeout and fly ball. 

CHICAGO – In his two months on the job, Miguel Cairo has established a clear policy on the deployment of his new closer. It doesn’t matter if it’s the seventh, eighth or ninth inning. If the game is on the line, and the opponents’ best hitters are due up, Jose A. Ferrer is going to be on the mound. And if someone else needs to finish out the game after that, so be it.

It’s a forward-thinking strategy that has served the Nationals’ interim manager well to date, and it worked to perfection today during a 2-1 victory over the Cubs.

With Ferrer retiring the top of the Chicago lineup in the bottom of the eighth, it was rookie Cole Henry trotting in from the bullpen for the bottom of the ninth and ultimately earning his second career save.

"It's something that I learned," Cairo said of the somewhat unconventional strategy. "I had really good managers that I played for and I watched work. ... We've got a plan, and we stick to it."

Those two back-end relievers weren’t alone in making this win possible. Brad Lord set the tone with 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball in his best start in weeks. PJ Poulin finished off the sixth with a big out to strand the tying runner in scoring position. And Clayton Beeter worked around two more walks to record his ninth consecutive hitless inning of relief, keeping the one-run lead intact heading to the eighth.

The Orioles sent Dean Kremer for an MRI on his right elbow/forearm at 1:20 p.m. and could have an update on his condition following tonight’s game. Otherwise, the club will provide more information Sunday morning.

Kremer was removed last night after three scoreless and hitless innings due to forearm discomfort. Afterward, interim manager Tony Mansolino said Kremer described it as “mild” and that the club’s level of concern was “pretty low.”

Chayce McDermott is on the 24-hour medical taxi squad in case Kremer is forced onto the injured list for the first time this season. Kremer would be the 29^th different player to occupy it.

McDermott switched to a short relief role with Triple-A Norfolk and allowed one run in his last 11 appearances. He worked more than one inning in only one of those games.

Prior to that stretch, McDermott was scored upon in 10 consecutive appearances after the Orioles optioned him. He allowed 37 earned runs and walked 33 batters in 35 2/3 innings.

The Orioles have brought pitcher Chayce McDermott to Baltimore and put him on the 24-hour medical taxi squad.

McDermott is here in case Dean Kremer’s forearm soreness necessitates a stay on the injured list.

Samuel Basallo is catching again tonight after his walk-off home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning – which also was his first homer at Camden Yards.

Jeremiah Jackson stays in right field, Emmanuel Rivera remains at third base and Coby Mayo stays at first base. Dylan Beavers is the left fielder.

Trevor Rogers has a 1.39 ERA, the lowest by any Orioles starter in his first 14 games. He’s allowed one run in seven innings in each of his last four outings, and one run in each of his last six.

Davey Johnson, one of baseball’s most successful managers who took over the Nationals at a time of unexpected chaos and led them to their first postseason berth, has died at 82, the team confirmed this morning.

Johnson, who had dealt with a number of medical issues later in life, lived outside Orlando with his wife, Susan, since his retirement following the 2013 season.

“On behalf of my family and the entire Washington Nationals organization, I want to extend my condolences to Davey Johnson’s family and loved ones,” managing principal owner Mark Lerner said in a statement. “We are all deeply saddened by his passing and join all of Major League Baseball in honoring his memory.

“Davey was a world-class manager, leading our team to its first NL East title and earning Manager of the Year honors in 2012. But, most importantly, he was an incredible person. I’ll always cherish the memories we made together with the Nationals, and I know his legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of our fans and those across baseball.”

Johnson had long since established his legacy of success as both a four-time All-Star second baseman with the Orioles and Braves in the 1960s and ’70s and as the World Series-winning manager of the Mets in 1986 before joining the Nationals as a consultant to former general manager Jim Bowden in 2006. He became a senior advisor to Mike Rizzo when the latter replaced Bowden as GM in 2009 and seemed content to finish out his career with the off-the-field role.

CHICAGO – It’s another beautiful day at the Friendly Confines, where the Nationals will look to shrug off Friday’s 11-5 loss to the Cubs and get back to the winning ways they previously discovered against the Marlins. To do that, they’re going to need a good start out of Brad Lord.

The rookie right-hander had been on an impressive run for months, but his last three starts have gone sideways (17 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings against the Mets, Yankees and Rays). During that time, his ERA has shot up from 3.26 to 4.34, turning such a promising debut season into something less than that. Lord still has an opportunity to right the ship, though, over the final month and will look to start that process today against a Chicago lineup that launched four homers into the bleachers Friday afternoon.

At the plate, the Nationals will try to get to Cubs starter Matthew Boyd early after going silent the first time through the order against Friday starter Javier Assad before getting hot. The lefty was quite good against the Nats back in June, allowing two runs over 7 1/3 innings. But he took the loss that night because MacKenzie Gore was even better in pitching his team to a 2-0 victory.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at CHICAGO CUBS
Where: Wrigley Field
Gametime: 2:20 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 65 degrees, wind 14 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
DH James Wood
C Jorge Alfaro
1B Josh Bell
LF Daylen Lile
RF Dylan Crews
2B Nasim Nuñez
3B Brady House
CF Jacob Young

Davey Johnson never lacked confidence or brought into question who was in charge during his tenure as a major league manager.

Asked one day in Baltimore to predict an outcome involving his team, Johnson grinned and said, “I always bet on me.” It became one of his most famous quotes.

Johnson informed the media in 1996 of his plans to shift future Hall of Famer and baseball Iron Man Cal Ripken Jr. from shortstop to third base. Ripken found out about it after reporters gathered at his locker.

The move lasted six games. Manny Alexander failed his audition, Ripken went back to short – unhappy with the way Johnson handled it but never complaining about it publicly – and the Orioles made the playoffs.

They signed shortstop Mike Bordick as a free agent over the winter, Ripken returned to third and the Orioles went wire-to-wire to win the division.

A record that the baseball world viewed as unbreakable almost stayed intact because of a brawl on June 6, 1993 at Camden Yards – two years and three months before Cal Ripken Jr. played in his 2,131^st consecutive game to pass Lou Gehrig.

The delay lasted 20 minutes after benches and bullpens emptied. Orioles starter Mike Mussina hit Bill Haselman after the Mariners catcher homered earlier in the day, but the trouble really began when Seattle starter Chris Bosio threw behind Mark McLemore and Harold Reynolds. Plate umpire Durwood Merrill didn’t issue any warnings.

Tempers already were getting hot when Mussina drilled Haselman on the shoulder. Catcher Jeff Tackett chased Haselman, trying to get to him before he reached the mound. Tackett was credited with the tackle, which created a dogpile. Bosio fractured his collarbone for a second time. Bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks squared off against Tino Martinez. It was bedlam.

Seven players were ejected and suspended: Haselman, Bosio, Norm Charlton and Mackey Sasser from the Mariners, and Alan Mills, David Segui and Rick Sutcliffe from the Orioles. Mussina was spared, which led to Seattle manager Lou Piniella being tossed.

Tackett suffered a black eye and required stitches to close a gash on his cheek. Reliever Mark Williamson had a swollen, bloody nose after being slammed to the ground.