LOS ANGELES – At the end of a 10-day, three-city jaunt that included stops in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles, CJ Abrams was asked how long the Nationals’ just-completed road trip felt.

“It feels long,” the shortstop said. “We’re excited to get back home and beat some more people up.”

Abrams said this with his usual soft voice, no emphasis on that last phrase, so it was easy to gloss right over it. But in those few words, the brightest young star on the Nationals conveyed what many in the clubhouse are beginning to sense.

This team isn’t content with simply making progress anymore. This team is ready to start winning, no matter the level of competition it’s facing.

Overall, the Nationals head home with an 8-10 record that doesn’t inspire a whole lot of confidence. But dig deeper, and it’s not hard to see how this team is starting to come together, and how there’s reason to believe the results are going to keep getting better as this season plays out.

LOS ANGELES – Jake Irvin walked to the dugout after striking out Will Smith to end the bottom of the sixth this afternoon at Dodger Stadium. The scoreboard showed six zeros for the home team, and it showed only 73 pitches for the visiting starter.

In another world, Irvin would have received a slap on the back and encouragement to get ready to head back out for the seventh. In this world, he was given a round of high fives and hugs from everyone in the Nationals dugout, manager Davey Martinez informing the right-hander his day was done.

Love it or hate it, this is the state of baseball in 2024. Teams aren’t letting their young starters go deep anymore, certainly not early in the season. So all Irvin could do today was join everyone else and watch the final three innings, hoping his teammates could finish the job.

They did, with three relievers combining to hold the Dodgers lineup in check in the seventh, eighth and ninth and ultimately rewarding Irvin with a 2-0 victory in a captivating finale to this series and this West Coast trip.

"He's been unbelievable. He's been outstanding, actually," said Martinez, who received a beer shower from his coaches and players after notching his 400th managerial win. "He just keeps getting better and better. The confidence keeps growing."

LOS ANGELES – Take a glance at the major league leaders in the top offensive rate categories, note the expected names that consistently show up and then try not to gasp when Jesse Winker’s name shows up right there alongside everyone else.

Winker, who made the Nationals’ roster Opening Day roster off a minor league deal signed the day before spring training began, currently ranks third in the majors in batting average (.373), first in on-base percentage (.500), 13th in slugging percentage (.608) and fifth in OPS (1.108). The only names ahead of him in that last category: Tyler O’Neill, Mookie Betts, Marcell Ozuna and Jose Altuve.

Nobody’s suggesting Winker will remain there throughout the season. But given his hot start, and his track record of success several years ago while playing for the Reds, there’s reason to be optimistic he can remain productive for the Nats.

“I feel good with the work I’m putting in,” he said. “Obviously, it’s nice when you’re getting results, but I feel great with the work I’m doing with (hitting coach Darnell Coles and assistant hitting coach Chris Johnson).”

Winker entered the season figuring to share playing time in left field with Eddie Rosario. Three weeks later, he’s become not only an everyday player, but the Nationals’ No. 2 hitter in recent days, batting behind CJ Abrams.

LOS ANGELES – It’s another beautiful day in the City of Angels, where this afternoon the Nationals wrap up their long West Coast trip with one more game against the Dodgers. It’s the rubber game of the series, and the rubber game of the entire trip. A win today and they’d head home having gone 5-4 in California. Not bad at all.

The Nats did well against a premier starting pitcher in Tyler Glasnow on Monday night. They struggled against four relievers on Tuesday night. Now they’ll see what they can do against an unknown entity: Landon Knack, who makes his major league debut for the Dodgers. The 2020 second-round pick is the organization’s top pitching prospect, and he went 5-1 with a 2.51 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 100 1/3 innings last season between Double-A and Triple-A.

Jake Irvin looks to pick up right where he left off in Oakland last weekend, when he held the A’s to one hit over six innings. It’s a more daunting assignment today, but the tall right-hander has consistently exceeded expectations for nearly a year now, so maybe he’s got another big-time outing in him today and can send his team home with a winning road trip.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 3:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 75 degrees, wind 3 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF Jesse Winker
RF Lane Thomas
2B Luis García Jr.
1B Joey Meneses
DH Joey Gallo
3B Nick Senzel
CF Eddie Rosario
C Riley Adams

LOS ANGELES – Though he’s now on the injured list with a case of influenza that has plagued him for a week, Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz was at Dodger Stadium today and went through some light drills on the field before tonight’s game.

“He’s still a little bit under the weather, but he felt good enough to come out and do something,” manager Davey Martinez said. “So that’s a good sign.”

That was a welcome development for Ruiz, who last played eight days ago, the opener of the Nats’ nine-game West Coast trip. He began feeling ill the following day and spent the rest of the week hoping he’d be well enough to play but ultimately unable to do it.

Not wanting to take any more chances with only one healthy catcher, the Nationals placed Ruiz on the 10-day IL prior to Monday’s game and recalled Drew Millas from Triple-A Rochester. Millas will start tonight’s game, ending Riley Adams’ streak of four consecutive games caught.

Teams are only allowed to backdate IL moves three days, so even if he feels well enough to play soon, Ruiz won’t be eligible to return until April 23. It’s possible the Nats will decide to have him play in a few rehab games with a minor league affiliate to give him a chance to get back into game shape before he’s activated.

LOS ANGELES – For the Nationals to win a second straight game here, they were going to have to produce more offense against a Dodger bullpen tasked with pitching all nine innings tonight than Patrick Corbin gave up in his traditional starting role.

Neither end of that equation held up its end of the bargain. Corbin again gave the team length but not quality, and the Nats lineup came through with only one big hit against the L.A. bullpen during a 6-2 loss at Dodger Stadium.

Corbin, who hasn’t won in this historic ballpark since the 2019 regular season, made it to the seventh inning but was charged with five runs (one of those scoring after he departed). He fell to 0-3 with an 8.06 ERA in his first four starts of the season.

"Once again, the numbers show he didn't pitch well," manager Davey Martinez said. "But all in all, he gave us six-plus innings, a couple hits here and there. We just couldn't score any runs today, couldn't get anything really going."

The Nationals got a two-run homer from the surprisingly red-hot Jesse Winker, but little else against the four relievers Dodgers manager Dave Roberts used over the course of nine innings.

LOS ANGELES – There was a lot to like about Monday night’s game from the Nationals’ perspective, from Mitchell Parker’s debut to CJ Abrams and Luis García Jr.’s offensive exploits to solid bullpen work. That was probably the team’s best win to date this season.

Which means absolutely nothing going into tonight’s game, of course. The Nats will need to do it all over again if they want to have a chance at two straight over the Dodgers, not to mention a winning road trip.

It starts with Patrick Corbin, who hasn’t exactly had a lot of success in this ballpark. Corbin has won only three of his 15 career outings at Dodger Stadium, none since 2019. And his first three starts this season haven’t been particularly inspired: 15 runs, 27 hits in 16 innings. But the old lefty will give it the old college try again tonight, hoping to hold the vaunted L.A. lineup somewhat in check and give his teammates a chance.

The Nationals will be facing a bunch of pitchers tonight, with the Dodgers set to throw a bullpen game. First up is right-hander Kyle Hurt, making his fourth big league appearance. Hurt does have big strikeout numbers in the minors – 305 of them in 188 2/3 innings – so he appears to have good stuff. We’ll see how a Nats lineup that likes to make contact fares against him before Dave Roberts hands it off to another reliever.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 10:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 69 degrees, wind 5 mph out to center field

LOS ANGELES – Far more highly touted pitchers have made their major league debuts for the Nationals in the last 14 years than Mitchell Parker. There were first-round picks (Lucas Giolito, Erick Fedde, Cade Cavalli, Jackson Rutledge) and there were high-profile trade acquisitions (Joe Ross).

But none of them – plus a host of others in between – was able to do what Parker did tonight. Not since Stephen Strasburg’s historic performance on June 8, 2010, had a rookie starter made his big league debut for the Nationals and been credited with a win.

That Parker was the one to finally snap a streak that had reached 17 winless debuts was remarkable enough. That he did it by beating one of the most intimidating lineups he’s likely to ever see during the course of his career made this truly special.

With five strong innings of two-run ball, this previously unknown, 24-year-old left-hander led the Nats to a stirring, 6-4 victory over the Dodgers on Jackie Robinson Day and authored his name into club lore in the process.

"The kid has a very low heartbeat," manager Davey Martinez said. "I've known that for a while. Nothing seems to faze him. ... That's a tough team to face. And he did really, really well."

LOS ANGELES – Base hits to the opposite field are nothing out of the ordinary for Luis García Jr. Given his bat control, a little flick of the wrists is often all he needs to poke an outside pitch to left field for a simple single.

What García did Monday night at Dodger Stadium, on the other hand, was a welcome development. The Nationals second baseman hit his first home run of 2024, and he did so with a three-run shot to left-center.

García's blast, on a 3-2 slider from Los Angeles’ Tyler Glasnow, capped what arguably was one of the best at-bats of his major league career. Facing the flamethrowing right-hander, with two on and two out in the top of the fifth, García fell behind in the count, then took three straight pitches down and in to work his way back into a favorable count. He fouled off a 3-1 fastball at the knees. Then he got the full-count slider up and out over the plate and mashed it 103.9 mph toward left-center, where it cleared the fence for a key home runs in the Nats’ 6-4 victory.

“It felt great,” García said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “In that moment, I was just trying to hit the ball hard somewhere, drive in those two runs and try to help the team increase the lead in that moment. He left the pitch there, and I was able to drive it. I was very excited to be able to do that in that moment.”

Power displays have become a rare thing for García, whose priority at times seems to be making contact more so than making loud contact. But he does have the ability to hit the ball hard in the air; he just has to take the right swing on the right pitch to make it happen.

LOS ANGELES – Mitchell Parker’s major league debut takes center stage tonight, but the left-hander’s promotion was only one of five transactions the Nationals made prior to their series opener against the Dodgers.

With Nick Senzel ready to return from his fractured thumb, Trey Lipscomb was optioned back to Triple-A Rochester. And with the team desperately needing a healthy second catcher, Keibert Ruiz was finally placed on the 10-day injured list with influenza and Drew Millas was recalled from Rochester.

The decision to demote Lipscomb was the most difficult for manager Davey Martinez, who has been among the rookie infielder’s biggest supporters since spring training. But Senzel was ready to return only 2 1/2 weeks after suffering his injury prior to Opening Day. And with second baseman Luis García Jr. off to a strong start himself, there wasn’t going to be an opportunity for Lipscomb to get everyday at-bats the way he did since taking Senzel’s spot.

“That was really tough. Such a great kid,” Martinez said. “The whole premise is he’s got to play every day. Luis is playing well. We need to get Nick back. So he’s going to go down and play every day, and I don’t foresee him being down there long. … He’ll be back. He did really well.”

Lipscomb burst onto the scene with five hits in his first 11 big league at-bats, including a homer in Cincinnati. But he regressed since then, going just 6-for-38 over his last 11 games. In 14 total games, the 23-year-old was batting .224 with a .278 on-base percentage and .286 slugging percentage.

The Washington Nationals made the following roster moves on Monday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.

• Recalled left-handed pitcher Mitchell Parker from Triple-A Rochester
• Recalled catcher Drew Millas from Triple-A Rochester
• Returned infielder Nick Senzel from rehab and reinstated him from the Injured List
• Optioned infielder Trey Lipscomb to Triple-A Rochester
• Placed catcher Keibert Ruiz on the 10-day Injured List retroactive to April 12 with Influenza
• Optioned right-handed pitcher Amos Willingham to Triple-A Rochester on Sunday 

A fifth-round pick by the Nationals in 2020, Parker, 24, receives his first call to the Major Leagues and is scheduled to make his debut tonight in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. Coming into the season, he ranked among all Minor League pitchers in opponents’ slugging percentage (2nd, .351), strikeouts per 9.0 innings (3rd, 11.36), strikeouts (T5th, 411), home runs (6th, 28) and opponents’ batting average (11th, .237) since the start of 2021. Parker led all Minor League left-handed pitchers in opponents’ slugging, strikeouts per 9.0 and was tied for the lead in strikeouts over that stretch. 

Parker is set to become the 27^th pitcher drafted or signed and developed by Washington to start a game for the club since 2005. Fellow San Jacinto College (TX) alum Jackson Rutledge was the most recent pitcher to do so. 

Parker threw 4.0 innings, struck out five and allowed one unearned run on one hit in his only start for Triple-A Rochester this season. In four Minor League seasons, he is 19-23 with a 4.15 ERA and 416 strikeouts in 329.2 innings. 

Millas, 26, returns to the Nationals for his second stint of the season. He went 1-for-3 with a stolen base and caught a runner attempting to steal second in his only game with Washington this year on April 10 at San Francisco. He played in three games in Rochester after he was optioned last Wednesday, going  1-for-5 with a double and an RBI.

LOS ANGELES – It’s Jackie Robinson Day across baseball, but really there’s only one place to be for this occasion. And the Nationals have the distinct honor of being at Dodger Stadium this year for this all-important day. There was already a ceremony outside the park at the statue of Robinson, with players and coaches from both clubs attending. There will be more pregame festivities, as well.

And then there will be a ballgame, with a very fresh face on the mound for the Nats. Mitchell Parker is making his major league debut, and while the Nationals probably would have preferred a bit of a softer launch for the young left-hander than this, circumstances dictated that he get the assignment. Parker’s assignment tonight: Somehow try to contain one of the toughest lineups in the sport, especially right off the bat in the bottom of the first. If nothing else, he needs to force them to make contact to get on. Can’t be giving away free bases against the Dodgers.

The Nationals lineup scored six runs Sunday against the Athletics. They’ll need to keep that going tonight against Tyler Glasnow, the hard-throwing former Rays right-hander who now anchors the L.A. rotation. They'll do so with several roster changes announced this afternoon: Nick Senzel has been activated off the 10-day injured list, and Drew Millas has been recalled from Triple-A Rochester. Trey Lipscomb was optioned back to Rochester, and Keibert Ruiz was placed on the 10-day IL with influenza.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 10:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 61 degrees, wind 5 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
DH Jesse Winker
RF Lane Thomas
1B Joey Gallo
2B Luis García Jr.
3B Nick Senzel
LF Eddie Rosario
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young

OAKLAND, Calif. – The mere fact he was being called up by the Nationals to make his major league debut was reason enough to leave Mitchell Parker’s head spinning. Then the 24-year-old left-hander realized where he would be making that debut (Dodger Stadium), when he would be making that debut (Jackie Robinson Day) and who he would be facing in that debut (Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman).

How could Parker not have a million thoughts racing through his mind as he contemplates what the scene will be like tonight?

“I gave myself a couple minutes, but I’m trying not to,” he said. “I’m trying not to overthink anything. Just trying to get out there and do a job for the team. That’s all we really want to.”

The Nationals are giving Parker that opportunity, and they’re doing so with as tough a challenge as any rookie is ever likely to face in his first major league start. There’s every reason to fear this will turn out disastrous for the rookie pitcher.

But after watching him throughout his first big league camp this spring in Florida, Davey Martinez was struck by something about Parker. Something beyond his pitching repertoire.

OAKLAND, Calif. – On a day when several struggling hitters finally came through in some big spots, and on a day when their No. 5 starter turned in his third consecutive strong outing, and on a day when they opened up what felt like a comfortable lead in the rubber game of a weekend series, the Nationals somehow still found themselves lamenting a loss at the end of the day.

How did they fall to the Athletics, 7-6, and drop this series? With a bottom-of-the-sixth bullpen meltdown the likes of which they won’t soon want to remember.

When the critical inning began, the Nats held a 6-1 lead, with Trevor Williams cruising toward what should have been his third straight win to begin the season. When the inning ended, that lead evaporated, with Williams pulled three batters in and relievers Derek Law and Jordan Weems allowing six runs to score, all with two outs.

Manager Davey Martinez could have left Williams in longer but knew the veteran’s history of late-inning troubles. But after using his top four relievers (Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey, Robert Garcia and Weems) each of the previous two days, Martinez’s options weren’t as appealing as they might otherwise have been.

Put that all together and you get a particularly frustrating loss for a team that was seeking its second straight series win to cap off a successful week in the Bay Area.

OAKLAND, Calif. – The Nationals have a chance to win their second straight series this afternoon and depart the Bay Area with a 4-2 record in advance of what should be a tough series at Dodger Stadium beginning Monday night. A win today over the Athletics would be good for morale heading to L.A.

The Nats have gotten great starting pitching so far this weekend, with Jake Irvin and MacKenzie Gore combining to allow one run on five hits in 11 innings. But the bullpen also has been taxed, with the top four guys (Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey, Jordan Weems, Robert Garcia) each appearing in both games. You would have to think Davey Martinez wants to avoid using any of them a third straight day unless absolutely necessary. Some length from starter Trevor Williams would help a lot.

At the plate, the Nationals will try to be more productive against Alex Wood than they were against Paul Blackburn or Joe Boyle. Wood has been around for more than a decade now, and he’s faced the Nats a whopping 16 times in his career. Most of those starts, though, came years ago when he was with the Braves, and he was facing a very different lineup than he’ll see today.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at OAKLAND ATHLETICS
Where: Oakland Coliseum
Gametime: 4:07 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 58 degrees, wind 9 mph left field to right field

NATIONALS
CF Jacob Young
SS CJ Abrams
DH Joey Meneses
LF Jesse Winker
RF Lane Thomas
1B Joey Gallo
2B Ildemaro Vargas
C Riley Adams
3B Trey Lipscomb

OAKLAND, Calif. – Riley Adams has been an everyday catcher before. Just not very often in the big leagues.

Since joining the Nationals in August 2021, Adams has been the team’s No. 2 catcher, backing up Keibert Ruiz, making one or two starts a week except for rare times when Ruiz has been unavailable.

This week has turned into one of those rare times. Ruiz hasn’t played since Monday, beset with flu-like symptoms that have prevented him from playing in any of the Nats’ last four games and likely will sideline him again for today’s series finale against the Athletics.

Aside from one start Wednesday by Drew Millas during his brief promotion from Triple-A Rochester, it’s been all Adams behind the plate this week. And he’s handled the situation with aplomb, delivering both offensively and defensively for a team that has desperately needed it.

“He’s a godsend for me,” manager Davey Martinez said following Sunday’s 3-1 win. “Anytime I call upon him, he does the best he can. Today was another example.”

Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias seems unconcerned that top prospect Jackson Holliday is still looking for his first big league hit after his first three games.

Baseball’s No. 1 ranked prospect is 0-for-11 with seven strikeouts after going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts Friday night. Holliday did not start today against Brewers' lefty and former Oriole DL Hall.

Milwaukee won this afternoon 11-5 and the Orioles (8-6) need a win Sunday to avoid being swept. 

Elias, in an interview with reporters today in the Orioles dugout before the game, said Holliday’s first couple of series in Triple-A this year were “reassuring is the word I would use, those of us that were leaning toward adding him Opening Day with the thought he was ready.”

He was not on the Opening Day roster, but Holliday, 20, is here now and searching for hit No. 1.

OAKLAND, Calif. – It’s days like this, performances like this, that make you realize why the Nationals were so high on MacKenzie Gore all along.

The Nats have had promising young left-handers over the years. They’ve had guys with good fastballs. They’ve had pitchers determined to be the best.

But they’ve never had all of that wrapped into one package. Gore has everything going for him; he just needs to start putting it together on a regular basis. And on this day, he did.

With an unhittable fastball that overwhelmed the Athletics lineup, Gore struck out 11 in five scoreless innings, leading the Nationals to a 3-1 victory in one of the signature starts of his burgeoning career.

“It’s beautiful,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He goes out there and attacks the strike zone. He goes out there and competes. Hopefully, we can now see that consistency.”

OAKLAND, Calif. – Things you don’t expect to see when you come to California: a tarp covering the infield. Yes, it’s raining here today, and it’s supposed to rain on and off all day. We can only hope it doesn’t prevent the Nationals and Athletics from playing as scheduled, or at least with minimal delay. Because the idea of a Sunday doubleheader, with a flight to Los Angeles at the end of that, can’t be appealing to anyone.

The Nats got a really good start Friday night out of Jake Irvin, who gave up one hit (alas, a homer) in six innings. They’ll hope for more good stuff today from MacKenzie Gore, who was very strong last time out against the Phillies and now faces what on paper looks like a far less imposing lineup. (I know, I know. Careful what you wish for.)

The Nationals also could use a much better offensive showing than they put forth Friday night, when they managed only one run (Jesse Winker’s ninth-inning homer) and went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. The good news: They don’t have to face Paul Blackburn again. It’s right-hander Joe Boyle, a rookie making his sixth career start. He was beat around by the Red Sox but then shut out the Tigers over five innings last time out.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at OAKLAND ATHLETICS
Where: Oakland Coliseum
Gametime: 4:07 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Rain, 53 degrees, wind 11 mph right field to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
DH Jesse Winker
1B Joey Gallo
LF Eddie Rosario
2B Luis García Jr. 
3B Trey Lipscomb
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young

OAKLAND, Calif. – As the Nationals looked up at the massive scoreboards at Oakland Coliseum, they saw the number one listed in the Athletics’ hit column most of the night. It would be changed to a two late in the evening, but that’s not exactly a big number, either.

And yet here the Nats were, coming up to bat in the top of the ninth, trailing the game because one of Oakland’s hits off Jake Irvin was Lawrence Butler’s third-inning homer and none of their own hits had produced a run.

Jesse Winker, at long last, took care of that annoying situation.

Winker’s leadoff homer in the top of the ninth off A’s closer Dany Jiménez finally got the Nats on the board and Irvin off the hook. But when they couldn't take the lead, the game moved into extra innings, at which point Trey Lipscomb made a baserunning blunder and Kyle Finnegan surrendered a walk-off single to Lawrence Butler for a tough 2-1 loss.

"We created some opportunities; just couldn't get that run in," said manager Davey Martinez, whose team went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. "Winker was our offense today."