It’s been quite a while since the Nationals were last in a position to sweep a three-game series. You have to go all the way back to July 23 when they took the field against the Reds having already won two straight, hoping to win one more and complete the sweep. Alas, they did not, getting shut out by Nick Lodolo during a 5-0 loss.

Well, here they are again at last, having defeated the Marlins each of the last two days and now giving themselves a shot at a sweep this afternoon. They’ll need Mitchell Parker to give them a chance, something the left-hander did finally do over the weekend against the Rays, albeit still in a losing effort. Parker has faced Miami twice this season, and the results haven’t been pretty: 10 runs over 9 1/3 innings. We’ll see if he can turn it around today.

The Nats scored five runs Tuesday night off rookie Adam Mazur. Now they face Eury Pérez, the one-time top prospect who is trying to reestablish himself after missing a year and a half following Tommy John surgery. He was pretty good when he faced the Nationals back in June, allowing only one run over four innings. He failed to make it out of the first inning last time on the mound, though, at Citi Field.

MIAMI MARLINS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 79 degrees, wind 5 mph out to left field

MARLINS
2B Xavier Edwards
C Agustín Ramírez
CF Jakob Marsee
SS Otto Lopez
DH Heriberto Hernández
3B Connor Norby
1B Eric Wagaman
RF Joey Wiemer
LF Javier Sanoja

SAN DIEGO – It keeps happening. In every game and every start that he makes.

Rookie Jeremiah Jackson slashed .323/.344/.484 last month in 96 plate appearances, his first in the majors. Of course, he stayed in the lineup Monday afternoon at Petro Park, shifting from third base to right field, and tied his brief-career high with three hits.

Batting second again last night, Jackson fell behind 0-2 to Yu Darvish in the first inning and pulled a sweeper into the left field seats. He’s homered in three of his last four games. And his fielder’s choice grounder in the eighth scored Dylan Beavers with an insurance run.

The Orioles won’t try to carry over his rookie status to 2026. He isn’t in any Top 100 prospect rankings. He might not break camp with the team next spring, though he’s making a solid case for it.

Jackson is in a different kind of phase as the season draws nearer to a merciful conclusion. The Orioles aren’t focused as much on exposing him to big league pitching as they are figuring out who he really is and whether he can fill a utility role next season.

SAN DIEGO – Tyler Wells waited 508 days to pitch in a major league game. He could handle another 18 minutes.

Padres starter Yu Darvish threw 30 pitches in the top of the first inning, surrendered a home run to Jeremiah Jackson, hit two batters and issued a walk. The three strikeouts extended his stay on the mound while Wells paced in the dugout.

Finally able to pick up the baseball, Wells gave the Orioles five innings with two runs allowed and had teammates waiting to slap hands and hug him after his final batter in a 6-2 victory over the Padres before an announced sellout crowd of 42,536 at Petco Park.

Jackson has homered in back-to-back games and three of the last four. Emmanuel Rivera delivered two-out, two-run singles in the third and fifth innings to tie his career high in RBIs.

The Orioles claimed the series after dropping three in a row, improved their record to 63-76 and made certain that they wouldn’t lose 100 games.

As summer turns to autumn and a long-lost baseball season approaches its conclusion, the Nationals must cling to whatever bright spots remain. And there may be no bigger bright spot the rest of this month than the one that continues to follow Cade Cavalli nearly every time he takes the mound.

Cavalli has been far from perfect, and his most recent start at Yankee Stadium was downright ugly, but there still has been far more good than bad from the finally-healthy right-hander. And there was a lot of good tonight during the Nats’ 5-2 victory over the Marlins.

Bouncing back nicely from that seven-run, four-homer barrage in the Bronx last week, Cavalli shut down Miami’s lineup over five strong innings, a 75-pitch outing that probably could have continued if not for the team’s caution in extending the 26-year-old too much as his healthy-to-date season nears the finish line.

Cavalli’s efforts tonight – with some offensive help from James Wood (two-run homer), Daylen Lile (double, RBI single), Riley Adams (RBI double) and Jacob Young (2-for-2, RBI, stolen base) – earned him his second career win in his seventh career start.

Don’t let the lack of victories, though, overshadow Cavalli’s true performance so far. He has now allowed three or fewer runs in four of his six starts this season. He has notched 28 strikeouts and only eight walks in 29 2/3 innings.

SAN DIEGO – Jeremiah Jackson is in right field again tonight and Dylan Beavers is in left, as the Orioles try to clinch their series against the Padres following last night’s 4-3 win.

Beavers has reached base safely 25 times to begin his career, tied with Glenn Gulliver (1982) for second most in franchise history through the first 15 games behind Curtis Goodwin’s 26 in 1995.

Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter and cleanup hitter. Coby Mayo is starting at first base and batting ninth.

Emmanuel Rivera gets another start at third base. Samuel Basallo is catching Tyler Wells.

Jorge Mateo is on the roster and the bench. He wasn’t in the clubhouse during media access.

The Nationals’ ever-changing catching corps underwent more change today when the club signed veteran Jorge Alfaro to a major league deal and sent C.J. Stubbs back to Triple-A one day after he was part of a shutout win in his major league debut.

The move, which caught plenty by surprise, brings a more experienced player to a Nats roster lacking in that area, especially behind the plate. Alfaro, 32, has 496 games of big league experience, mostly with the Marlins and Phillies, though he hasn’t played at this level since brief stints with the Rockies and Red Sox in 2023.

Alfaro had spent the entire season with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in Nashville, batting .244 with 15 homers, 49 RBIs and a .715 OPS in 82 games. He was released on Monday, and the Nationals immediately jumped in and offered him a chance to return to the majors.

“It’s emotional, getting back to the big leagues,” he said. “Being able to spend the last couple of months in Nashville, playing in Triple-A, it’s like a blessing from god to get this opportunity with the Nationals.”

With Riley Adams having ascended to the No. 1 catching job since Keibert Ruiz’s placement on the 7-day concussion injured list in early July, Alfaro now becomes the new No. 2 catcher. That role has changed hands several times in the last week alone.

SAN DIEGO - Before the Orioles could hand Tyler Wells the ball tonight, they had to reinstate him from the 60-day injured list and do some roster maneuvering.

They also returned infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo from his rehab assignment and reinstated him from the 60-day IL, a little earlier than they indicated yesterday. He’s also back.

Catcher Maverick Handley was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk after spending one day with the team. Pitchers Corbin Martin and Elvin Rodríguez were designated for assignment. Martin was with the Orioles, and his exit frees up another spot on the 28-man roster.

The 40-man roster is full.

Mateo hasn’t played in the majors since June 6 due to elbow and hamstring injuries. He’s batting .180/.231/.279 with 14 steals in 15 attempts over 31 games.

The Nationals enjoyed a much-needed, feel-good Labor Day thanks to Andrew Alvarez, who tossed five scoreless innings in his major league debut and set the stage for his team to beat the Marlins 2-0 and snap an eight-game losing streak. So what does tonight have in store?

There won’t be another big league debut, but there will be another young pitcher on the mound for the Nats in Cade Cavalli. This is Cavalli’s sixth start of the season (seventh of his career) and he’s looking to bounce back from his first truly rough one, in which the Yankees scored seven runs in only 2 1/3 innings, blasting four homers in the process. The Marlins, on paper, look like a much more favorable matchup for the right-hander. And as things stand, he’s scheduled to face them again next week in Miami.

The Marlins send rookie Adam Mazur to the mound tonight for what will be only his 11th career start. (He’s 1-4 with a 7.06 ERA to date.) The Nats faced him last year, when he was with the Padres, and scored four runs in five innings.

MIAMI MARLINS 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: Partly cloudy, 75 degrees, wind 6 mph in from right field

MARLINS
2B Xavier Edwards
CF Jakob Marsee
DH Agustín Ramírez
C Liam Hicks
SS Otto Lopez
3B Connor Norby
1B Troy Johnston
LF Heriberto Hernández
RF Victor Mesa Jr.

The Washington Nationals agreed to terms with catcher Jorge Alfaro on a one-year contract and optioned catcher C.J. Stubbs to Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday. To make room on the 40-man roster, catcher Drew Millas was transferred to the 60-day Injured List. Nationals Interim General Manager Mike DeBartolo made the announcement. 

Alfaro, 32, comes to the Nationals after playing 82 games for Triple-A Nashville in the Milwaukee organization this season. He hit .244 with 10 doubles, a triple, 15 home runs, 49 RBI, 11 walks, 12 stolen bases and 49 runs scored. His 15 home runs this season ranked third among International League catchers, while his 12 stolen bases ranked second among all Triple-A backstops this season. Alfaro was also one of only two catchers in all of Minor League baseball to steal at least 10 bases and not be caught a single time.

Defensively this season, Alfaro has caught 23 of 64 prospective base-stealers (.641 stolen base percentage). His 23 caught stealings rank tied for fourth in all of Triple-A.

A native of Sincelejo, Colombia, Alfaro is a veteran of eight Major League seasons with the Phillies (2016-18), Marlins (2019-21), Padres (2022), Rockies (2023) and Red Sox (2023). He has hit .253 with 71 doubles, four triples, 48 home runs, 198 RBI, 18 stolen bases, 72 walks and 152 runs scored in 496 career Major League games.

Stubbs, 28, made his Major League debut yesterday and became the first Nationals catcher and first Major League catcher since 2019 to catch a shutout in his first Major League game.

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• RHP Roansy Contreras claimed off waivers by the Colorado Rockies.

As he grew up and dreamed of one day playing in the majors, C.J. Stubbs never could’ve predicted what would actually happen during his first inning in the big leagues.

The first batter of Monday’s game at Nationals Park, the Marlins’ Xavier Edwards, tapped a little roller between the mound and the plate. Stubbs, the Nats’ starting catcher, sprung to his feet, corralled the ball and made a strong throw to first for the out.

Just like that, the 28-year-old was officially a big league ballplayer.

“The first play, it kind of calmed me down,” he said. “I was kind of like: OK, I belong here. And I’m here because I worked my (butt) off.”

It’s what happened next that will forever remain in Stubbs’ memory bank. Edwards, who was steamed about one of Brennan Miller’s strike calls during the opening at-bat, barked at the plate umpire as he trotted back to the third base side, then kept going once he got back to the Miami dugout. Just as Stubbs was catching the next pitch to No. 2 batter Agustin Ramirez, Miller gave Edwards the heave-ho, prompting Marlins manager Clayton McCullough to come storming out of the dugout and scream a string of expletives at the umpire.

Three minutes into episode 229 of the “MASN Orioles Podcast,” Paul Mancano and I reveled in the Baltimore Orioles’ 15-7 start to the 2023 campaign. 

The Birds had come a long way from the start of the podcast, with shows like Episode 12, titled “What can the O’s get for Manny,” and Episode 66 named “Fill in LeBlanc.” 

Gone were the days of Episode 123, highlighted by Adam Plutko’s addition to the roster, or Episode 157, discussing how Baltimore had claimed Lucius Fox and left Robert Neustrom III unprotected from the Rule 5 draft. 

Instead, the main topics of discussion for episode 226 included Yennier Cano’s outstanding start to the 2023 season, and Jackson Holliday’s promotion to High-A Aberdeen after hitting close to .400 for the Delmarva Shorebirds. 

40 minutes and 35 seconds in, Paul said his goodbyes. 

SAN DIEGO – Tyler Wells would have traveled anywhere to finally pitch in a major league game again. The schedule didn’t matter. He waited 17 months. Just hand him the ball and get out of his way.

But if Wells could concoct the ideal scenario, tonight’s comeback start against the Padres at Petco Park might be it.

“You know,” he said, “getting to do it here in Southern California where a lot of my family lives, having my wife (Melissa) and daughter (Ava Faye) with us now, too, it’s pretty special.”

Wells underwent reconstructive elbow surgery in June 2024 and being a new father was a joyous distraction for him. He’d rehab at the Sarasota complex and go home to Melissa and their baby, who arrived in March.

“I mean, I’m just super excited and thankful,” he said. “During this whole process, with her being born and obviously the relationship that me and my wife have continued to grow, it’s just I think a testament to not just the work that I was able to put in the training room and on the field, but also away from the game. It just makes it that much more special.

SAN DIEGO – The season moved into a new month today, the last before the Orioles can board flights home and begin to put it behind them. They will use it to give Kyle Bradish innings in preparation for a normal offseason and spring training. They will keep evaluating rookie Jeremiah Jackson and whether he can be a piece moving forward in a role that fits. They will expose Dylan Beavers to major league pitching, reap the rewards, and be careful to keep his rookie status intact for 2026.

Bradish’s second post-surgery start lasted four innings, a step back results-wise but still encouraging as he retired the last seven Padres batters and turned up the heat on his fastball. Jackson singled twice and homered to keep suggesting that the bat might play at this level.

Wins have been in short supply, but the Orioles eked one out today, getting a tie-breaking single from Beavers off Robert Suarez in the seventh inning to defeat the Padres 4-3 before an announced crowd of 45,586 at Petco Park.

Rico Garcia retired the side in order in the eighth and Keegan Akin stranded a runner in the ninth for the save, improving the Orioles’ record to 62-76 with their third win in 12 games.

"We hung in there, man," said interim manager Tony Mansolino. "Listen, we’re just trying to piece this together. I’ve told you guys there’s gonna be days where it works and there’s gonna be days where it doesn’t. We’ve got guys kind of pitching up in terms of like roles they’re throwing and today it worked out. I’m proud of the guys. They did awesome, and we were kind of due for a good one, so happy for that.”

SAN DIEGO - Ryan O’Hearn has a locker set up on one side of the Padres' home clubhouse and Ramón Laureano dresses across the room. The distance between them can’t interfere with how close they are as teammates.

O’Hearn and Laureano were packaged at the trade deadline for six minor league prospects headlined by left-hander Boston Bateman. They walked out of Baltimore and stepped into a pennant race.

Both players are in today’s lineup for the series opener against the Orioles at Petco Park. Manny Machado is batting third, O’Hearn fourth and Laureano fifth. Jose Iglesias, who appeared in 39 games with the club in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, is batting eighth and playing shortstop.

This is the first time that four former Orioles are in a lineup against the club since the Rangers started Mark McLemore, Rafael Palmeiro, Todd Zeile and Gregg Zaun on May 16, 1999, according to STATS.

“I’m enjoying it, it’s been good,” O’Hearn said. “It’s good guys that welcomed me in. It’s a good team. Been having fun, getting after it. Obviously, I miss the boys over there, I miss you guys, but it’s been a good move for me and I’m enjoying my time here.”

Forget about the notion five weeks ago Andrew Alvarez might somehow pitch five scoreless innings in the major leagues. The mere notion at that time that Alvarez might pitch in the major leagues at all sounded pretty ludicrous.

The 26-year-old left-hander seemingly had stalled out at Triple-A Rochester, winless through his first 19 starts of the season, his ERA in the high 4.00s. As much as the Nationals needed all the pitching help they could get, Alvarez didn’t figure to make the list of prime candidates for a promotion.

Those who know him well, though, knew all along Alvarez wasn’t about to give up on his dream. He was going to find a way to put himself back in the mix somehow, some way. And when his moment did finally come this afternoon, he wasn’t going to waste it.

With five scoreless innings of one-hit ball, Alvarez made his major league debut one to remember. And thanks to some help from the Nationals lineup and bullpen, he was appropriately rewarded for it with a 2-0 victory over the Marlins, snapping the team’s eight-game losing streak in the process.

"It's hard to put into words," he said. "I'm just blessed and thankful. The team played awesome, and at the end of the day, the team won. It's such an honor to be a part of this. You dream of this as a kid. And to have it come to fruition is no more than a miracle."

SAN DIEGO - The Orioles will stay with three catchers until infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo is ready for reinstatement from the 60-day injured list.

Maverick Handley was recalled earlier today from Triple-A Norfolk to join Samuel Basallo and Alex Jackson. Mateo is a possibility for this weekend in Baltimore.

Colton Cowser and Ryan Mountcastle are on the bench for today’s series opener against the Padres.

Jeremiah Jackson moves from third base to right field. Dylan Carlson is in center. Samuel Basallo is the designated hitter.

Tony Mansolino is hopeful that reliever Colin Selby will be ready to come off the injured list by the middle of September.

SAN DIEGO – The Orioles expanded from 26 to 28 players this morning by reinstating reliever Albert Suárez from the 60-day injured list and recalling catcher Maverick Handley from Triple-A Norfolk.

Tyler Wells will join the team to make Tuesday’s start against the Padres.

Reliever Cody Poteet was outrighted and he elected free agency.

Suárez made one appearance in March during the opening series in Toronto before injuring his right rotator cuff. Handley hasn’t played for the Orioles since June 22 due to a concussion and wrist injury. He’s 3-for-41.

Handley gives the Orioles a third catcher with Adley Rutschman on the injured list.

Who do you want to send to the mound when you need someone to end a long losing streak? How about a guy making his major league debut?

OK, so it’s perhaps a bit unfair for the Nationals to put that kind of pressure on Andrew Alvarez. The 26-year-old left-hander was a 12th-round pick in the 2021 draft, and he’s not among the organization’s top prospects. But he’s nevertheless going to lead his team onto the field at Nationals Park this afternoon, making his big league debut against the Marlins while trying to snap his team’s eight-game losing streak.

Alvarez, who did produce a 2.37 ERA and 39 strikeouts over his last 30 1/3 innings for Triple-A Rochester, will try his best to keep the Nats in the game before handing it over to a bullpen that actually has been really good of late, including nine scoreless innings of one-run ball the last two days against the Rays. He’s one of two September call-ups joining the roster today, with infielder Nasim Nuñez also promoted from Triple-A.

The best thing the Nationals could do to support their rookie hurler? Get on the board first and give him a lead, something they’ve done only once during this losing streak. (And that 1-0 lead didn’t even last a full inning.) The Marlins apparently are going with a bullpen game today, so they’re going to see a bunch of arms, hoping they can do some damage against several of them along the way.

MIAMI MARLINS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 76 degrees, wind 8 mph in from center field

When it came time to select a pitcher to promote as their September call-up, the Nationals knew they needed Andrew Alvarez, who will make his major league debut this afternoon as MacKenzie Gore’s replacement in the rotation.

When it came time to select a position player to fill the other slot on their expanded September roster, the Nats chose to go with someone who has been here several times before, in the hopes he can provide a much-needed spark to a team mired in an eight-game losing streak: Nasim Nuñez.

Nuñez was officially recalled from Triple-A Rochester this morning, the 25-year-old making his second big league stint of the season after spending all of the 2024 season here as a Rule 5 Draft pick.

The high-energy infielder may have a tough time cracking the lineup on a regular basis, but interim manager Miguel Cairo did say he’s “going to play some,” with shortstop CJ Abrams and second baseman Luis García Jr. getting occasional days off down the stretch.

“He’s exciting,” Cairo said. “A lot of energy. He was doing good at Triple-A. He was doing everything. He was hitting line drives, he was bunting. That’s the kind of player (we want). Energy. Good defense. He can change the game on the bases. I’m glad he’s here.”