WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Orioles roster had a shakeup this afternoon, but it wasn’t the one that most had expected. 

Jordan Westburg has been tearing the cover off the ball in six games in Triple-A Norfolk, but his return will most likely wait until after this road trip.

“You’ll see Westy play these next couple days most likely,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “I think he’s probably the most likely one to be there Tuesday.” 

Baltimore won’t rush him. 

Instead, the honor of reinstated Oriole goes to Ramón Laureano this time around, who is back with the club after playing just two rehab games for the Tides. Ironically, he’s returning to Sutter Health Park, where he has appeared on rehab assignment before. 

Jacob Young is back playing center field for the Nationals, bumping Robert Hassell III to right field and Daylen Lile to the minors.

Young was officially activated off the 10-day injured list today, ready to return just shy of three weeks after spraining the AC joint in his left shoulder trying to make a leaping catch at the wall in Baltimore. The 25-year-old played three games on a rehab stint with Double-A Harrisburg, going 3-for-11 with a double, RBI, walk and stolen base while feeling confident about the state of his shoulder.

“We talked last night, sat down with the medical staff. He checked all the boxes,” manager Davey Martinez said. “They said he felt good. He got a bunch of at-bats fairly quick and said he felt fine. He’s ready to go, excited to be back.”

Young, who hadn’t played since the May 20 collision with the Camden Yards wall, said his body was admittedly out of game shape during Tuesday’s rehab debut. But he woke up Wednesday morning feeling good and had no issues the next two nights. He believes he’ll have no restrictions when he takes the field tonight against the Rangers.

“Full-go. Try to avoid the wall as best as I can out there,” he said with a laugh. “But everything else, full-go. Sliding, diving, all that stuff is good.”

The Orioles have reinstated outfielder Ramón Laureano from the 10-day injured list and designated outfielder Jordyn Adams for assignment.

Laureano sprained his left ankle in Milwaukee. He homered yesterday for Triple-A Norfolk in Louisville in his second rehab game. He’s batting .266/.320/.532 with seven doubles and six homers with the Orioles.

Adams was used as a defensive replacement, his only at-bat coming yesterday.

Jordan Westburg and Gary Sánchez also homered yesterday for Norfolk and should be nearing returns. 

The bullpen will undergo another change. The Orioles acquired Scott Blewett from the Braves today for cash considerations.

The Nationals have welcomed plenty of former teammates back to D.C. in recent years, especially those who were part of the 2019 World Series championship roster. Tonight, though, offers maybe the most intriguing return yet: Patrick Corbin.

Corbin is by no means the best – or the most popular – former Nationals player to come back to town. But he was here much longer after the World Series than anyone else, and nobody had more mixed results over that length of time. The Nats do not win the title if not for Corbin’s performance all season and especially that October. But his performance the ensuing five years didn’t come close to matching the first.

Now the left-hander is a member of the Rangers rotation, with much better baseline stats (3.71 ERA, 1.256 WHIP) through 10 starts despite peripheral numbers that are remarkably similar to what he did here. What kind of reaction will he get from the D.C. crowd? How will he pitch tonight? Either way, it should be fascinating to watch.

The Nationals, who have Michael Soroka on the mound, made a roster move this afternoon. Jacob Young is officially back from the 10-day injured list and will be in tonight’s lineup, back in center field. Daylen Lile, who had his moments while up here over the last two weeks, was optioned back to Triple-A Rochester to clear the spot for Young (who will face some pressure now to be better offensively if he wants to retain his starting job long-term).

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. TEXAS RANGERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 81 degrees, wind 6 mph out to left field

The Orioles today announced that they have reinstated outfielder RAMÓN LAUREANO (left ankle sprain) from the 10-day Injured List and acquired right-handed pitcher SCOTT BLEWETT from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for cash considerations. Blewett has not yet reported. To make room on the active and 40-man rosters, outfielder JORDYN ADAMS has been designated for assignment. The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.

Laureano, 30, is slashing .266/.320/.532 (25-for-94) with seven doubles, six home runs, 13 runs scored, and 11 RBI in 36 games for the Orioles this season. He was placed on the 10-day Injured List on May 24, retroactive to May 21.

Blewett (pronounced BLOO-it), 29, threw two scoreless games (4.1 IP) for the Orioles earlier this season after being claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Twins on April 14. He was designated for assignment by Baltimore on April 19, before being acquired by Atlanta for cash considerations on April 20. Blewett is 2-0 with a 3.91 ERA (11 ER/25.1 IP) in 15 games (1 GS) between the Orioles, Braves, and Twins this year.

Blewett was originally selected by the Kansas City Royals in the second round of the 2014 Fist-Year Player Draft out of Charles W. Baker (NY) High School. He made his MLB debut with the Royals on September 19, 2020 at Milwaukee. The right-hander has a 3.02 ERA (18 ER/53.2 IP) in 32 career MLB games.

SEATTLE – The Orioles flew to California after yesterday’s game against the Mariners, invigorated by the sweet smell of success on an undefeated road trip and after winning nine of their last 11 games, finally able to enjoy playing baseball again.

The music was cranked after Wednesday night’s thrilling 3-2 victory over the Mariners and a few players groaned when the media needed the volume level turned down to conduct its interviews. Nothing against us, of course, but don’t crash a party and mute the vibe.

“Vibe” is becoming a popular word around this team, perhaps more so than “process.” Heston Kjerstad produced a two-run, go-ahead triple on the field and a different description of the mood at his locker.

"Definitely won a lot more the past two seasons,” he said, “and I think we’re kind of getting back our mojo here the past week winning more games and just playing better baseball.”

Kjerstad always is cooperative but he’s smiling a lot more lately after collecting his fourth hit in three games – three for extra bases. Adley Rutschman kept the smile on his face throughout his four-minute interview, whether the subject was his home run, the team’s hot stretch, playing in front of family and friends from Oregon, or the toe-tap that is or isn’t part of his timing mechanism at the plate.

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• UTL Cooper Hummel elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.

The Washington Nationals returned from rehabilitation assignment and reinstated outfielder Jacob Young from the 10-day Injured List and optioned outfielder Daylen Lile to Triple-A Rochester on Friday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Young, 25, returns to the Nationals after missing 14 games with a left shoulder AC sprain. He appeared in three rehab games with Double-A Harrisburg, going, 3-for-11 (.273) with a double, one RBI, one stolen base and two runs scored.

In his second full Major League season, Young had hit .227 with four doubles, one triple, six RBI, 11 walks, five stolen bases and 15 runs scored prior to suffering the injury on May 17 at Baltimore.

Lile, 22, hit .194 (6-for-31) with three doubles, one triple, two RBI, two walks and four runs scored in 11 games during his first Major League stint.

If recent history can be used to predict future events, the Nationals probably are going to wait a bit longer before promoting Brady House from Triple-A. James Wood certainly looked ready in June 2024, but he didn’t make his debut until July 1 (delayed, perhaps, a couple of weeks by a minor hamstring injury).

But House sure is making a case he’s just about ready right now.

The 2021 first round pick homered again Thursday night for Rochester, going 3-for-5 overall in a 9-6 loss to Worcester. That was merely the latest blast in a sustained run for the 22-year-old third baseman.

Over his last 20 games, House is now batting .325 with a .367 on-base percentage, six doubles, seven homers, 18 RBIs and a robust 1.018 OPS that has to have caught the eye of every Nationals employee, especially general manager Mike Rizzo.

House entered the season needing to prove he could have success at the Triple-A level after a pedestrian 54-game stretch there last summer and fall. By all accounts, he’s done exactly what the organization wanted, both at the plate (12 homers, .527 slugging percentage) and in the field.

There was, undoubtedly, a healthy amount of bad luck associated with the Nationals’ 7-1 loss to the Cubs tonight. They hit the ball with authority a bunch of times and had little to show for it.

But they also hurt their own cause with a number of unforced errors. They ran themselves into multiple outs on the bases. They failed to make several makeable plays in the field. And Jake Irvin couldn’t make a pitch in some key situations where the right-hander needed to be better.

The end result: a lopsided loss in the rubber game of this series, foiling a golden opportunity to take the series from a very good Chicago club after having already won four of their last five series.

"Hey, they're in first place for a reason," manager Davey Martinez said. "You see what they can do. They put the ball in play. They've been hitting the ball hard all year. They make good defensive plays. And their pitching keeps them in the game. We can do that as well. I've seen signs of it. We've got to do it consistently."

Particularly notable this week is the drastic drop-off in offensive production from what had been the majors’ hottest-hitting team not long ago. The Nationals totaled nine-plus runs in four consecutive games out West, capped off with their historic, 10-run top of the first Saturday night in Arizona.

Jacob Young plays his third rehab game with Double-A Harrisburg tonight, after which the Nationals will decide if he needs more time there or will be activated off the injured list, creating a whole new dilemma in their outfield.

Young has been out since crashing into the wall trying to make a catch at Camden Yards on May 17, suffering an AC sprain in his left shoulder on the play. He was deemed ready for a rehab assignment this week and began playing for Harrisburg on Tuesday. Through his first two games with the Senators, he’s 2-for-7 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored. He’s back in the lineup tonight, leading off and starting in center field.

“He feels better. He’s doing well,” manager Davey Martinez said. “But we want to make sure he’s completely ready to go. He’s going to get another round of at-bats today and see where he’s at.”

Though he said the No. 1 factor before activating Young is proving he’s healthy again, Martinez did acknowledge the 25-year-old is simultaneously working on his swing in an attempt to get back on track after a rough start to his season.

“I’m not going to put a timetable on it,” the manager said when asked how many more games Young needs. “We’ll just let him get ready. He’s working on some stuff as well. I’d like to see him continue to work on his swing, really get ready, so when he comes back up here he’s ready to go.”

The Nationals have won four of their last five series, beating the Orioles, Braves, Mariners and Diamondbacks. And tonight they have an opportunity to win another series if they can topple the Cubs in the rubber game of this three-game set. To do so, they’ll need to overcome the dreaded opener.

Yes, Chicago manager Craig Counsell is going new-school with his pitching plan for tonight’s game. Veteran left-handed reliever Drew Pomeranz is going to start, with right-handed starter Colin Rea replacing him at some point in the first few innings. That creates some potential matchup problems for Davey Martinez, who has to decide if he wants to start his right-handed bats (Amed Rosario, Alex Call) and either replace them in-game or stick with them no matter who’s on the mound.

On the flip side, Jake Irvin makes what feels like a big start for the right-hander. He was roughed up in Arizona last week, giving up four quick runs in the first inning and two more in the third, ultimately failing to record a strikeout over five labored innings. But that came on the heels of eight scoreless innings (with seven strikeouts) against San Francisco. Which version shows up tonight against a good Cubs lineup?

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. CHICAGO CUBS
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, 82 degrees, wind 10 mph out to left field

CUBS
LF Ian Happ
RF Kyle Tucker
DH Seiya Suzuki
CF Pete Crow-Armstrong
SS Dansby Swanson
1B Michael Busch
2B Nico Hoerner
3B Matt Shaw
C Reese McGuire

SEATTLE – The Orioles will go for back-to-back series sweeps today and run their winning streak to six straight games with Colton Cowser getting a rest day and Jorge Mateo playing center field.

Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter. Ryan O’Hearn is playing first base, with Coby Mayo on the bench.

Heston Kjerstad gets another start in right field. Emmanuel Rivera is at third base.

Zach Eflin has a 4.46 ERA and 1.091 WHIP in 40 1/3 innings. He shut out the White Sox over seven innings in his last outing after surrendering seven home runs in the previous two.

Eflin has never pitched in Seattle.

It had been 10 days since Amed Rosario, Nasim Nuñez and Alex Call last found themselves in the Nationals’ starting lineup. That’s an eternity for big leaguers who were on the active roster that entire time but were confined to the bench, keeping themselves ready in case the call came but never actually participating (aside from one token inning in the field for Nuñez at the end of a blowout win in Seattle).

So when the opportunity finally presented itself Wednesday night, with all three reserves finding themselves in Davey Martinez’s lineup against Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd, it admittedly took a little while to get back into the swing of things.

Once they did, all three contributed in meaningful ways, making the Nats’ 2-0 victory possible.

“We’re mentally strong,” Nuñez said. “We understand the situation that we haven’t played in a while, so we do what we have to do to stay ready and help the team win some type of way.”

It began in the field with Call chasing down Seiya Suzuki’s fifth-inning blooper in shallow right, making a diving stab at the ball and immediately jogging off the field confident he had recorded the third out. The Cubs did challenge, believing Call trapped the ball in his glove after it touched grass, but there wasn’t enough conclusive evidence to overturn, so the initial call stood.

SEATTLE – The seismic shift in the Orioles’ season has taken them from last call to bars raised.

A rotation that ranked statistically among the worst in baseball is pushing its starters to keep performing at a much higher level. The group has registered a 2.11 ERA in the past 10 games, with two runs or fewer allowed in eight. The next man up must stand tall.

The offense is delivering more often in the clutch, whether with powerful strokes or well-placed pokes. Runs aren’t scoring in bunches, but the amount is sufficient.

Heston Kjerstad tripled for the second time in three games, driving in two runs with two outs in the seventh inning to key the Orioles’ 3-2 victory over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. He has four hits this month, three for extra bases.

The Orioles are 24-36 overall and 9-8 under interim manager Tony Mansolino. They’ve claimed back-to-back series for the first time and built their first five-game winning streak since June 7-12, 2024. They won a fourth straight road game in a single season for the first time since June 7-10, 2024.

The narrative had already been well-established before tonight’s game. MacKenzie Gore had been pitching as well as anybody in the league but had only two wins to show for it because of a lack of run support from his Nationals teammates and a few bullpen mishaps along the way.

"I wish we could score more runs for him. I hope today’s the day when we score 8-10," manager Davey Martinez said this afternoon. "But he’s pitched in some really good games and kept us in the game. … I know he’s up there in strikeouts and he’s doing really well. A few more wins would be really awesome for him."

And then for six innings tonight, Gore’s teammates proceeded to supply him with zero runs of support, unable to produce even one baserunner against the Cubs’ Matthew Boyd.

Through it all, Gore just kept doing what he does best, escaping a rare jam, then finding his groove and posting zero after zero until his night was over at the seventh-inning stretch. At which point, Amed Rosario decided enough was enough.

With a solo homer into the right field bullpen on the first pitch of the bottom of the seventh, Rosario gave the Nationals the offense they desperately needed. And then Nasim Nuñez (who like Rosario was in the lineup for the first time in 10 days) supplied a huge insurance run to help lock up a 2-0 victory over Chicago.

The opener of the Nationals’ homestand was pretty much a dud. Despite scoring three early runs against the Cubs, they gave them all back – plus five more – en route to an 8-3 loss. So much for positive momentum coming off that winning West Coast trip. But there’s a golden opportunity to get back on track tonight, and that begins with the man on the mound for the home team.

MacKenzie Gore is putting together the best first half of a season we’ve seen from any pitcher in a while around here. The lefty sports a 3.16 ERA and league-leading 101 strikeouts (while walking only 21, by the way). And his last two starts have been fantastic: one run on two hits in six innings against the Giants, zero runs on four hits in six innings against the Mariners. The problem: Gore wasn’t credited with the win in either game, and in fact his last win came way back on April 19 at Colorado.

In other words, Gore needs some run support for a change. Tonight the Nationals face a left-handed starter for the first time since May 25 (San Francisco’s Robbie Ray). Their lineup since had been almost automatic, aside from Riley Adams starting one game behind the plate to give Keibert Ruiz a night off. So with Matthew Boyd on the mound for the Cubs, we should finally see some new faces in Davey Martinez’s batting order. Whether that translates into enough production to get Gore on the positive side for once remains to be seen.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. CHICAGO CUBS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 82 degrees, wind 10 mph out to left field

CUBS
LF Ian Happ
RF Seiya Suzuki
C Carson Kelly
CF Pete Crow-Armstrong
SS Dansby Swanson
2B Nico Hoerner
1B Michael Busch
DH Justin Turner
3B Matt Shaw

You’re forgiven if you glanced at tonight’s lineup and didn’t recognize three of the names Davey Martinez penciled in for the second game of the Nationals’ series against the Cubs.

Alex Call? Amed Rosario? Nasim Nuñez? They sound vaguely familiar, but it feels like a while since any of them saw the field.

Indeed, none of those three players has been in the Nats lineup since May 25, the finale of their last homestand against the Giants, a full 10 days ago. Not so coincidentally, that’s the last time the team faced a left-handed opposing starter.

“Yeah, it is good to see some of these guys get a chance to play,” Martinez said with a laugh. “Our left-handed lineup has been doing really well. But these guys get an opportunity to go out there and face a lefty today, which is kind of nice.”

The Nationals had faced seven consecutive right-handed starters before tonight. And with only one exception (Riley Adams for Keibert Ruiz behind the plate Friday in Arizona), every member of the lineup in every one of those games batted left-handed.

SEATTLE – Ballots were revealed earlier today for the All-Star Game that’s set for the July 15 at Truist Park in Atlanta.

Votes can be cast at www.mlb.com/all-star/ballot.

Phase 1 runs from today-June 26, and Phase 2 from June 30-July 2. One player may be chosen from each position during the initial round except for outfield (three). Starters are selected beginning June 30.

The top vote recipient in each league automatically makes the starting lineup, and the remaining spots are determined by the fans.  

Starters will be announced on July 2 at 7 p.m. on ESPN, and pitchers and reserves will be revealed July 6 at 5 p.m. on ESPN.

SEATTLE – The starts keep coming to Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad, with injuries presenting more opportunities than otherwise would be available to a struggling hitter.

Kjerstad appeared in his 51^st game last night, making his 18th start in right. He’s made 25 in left and served as designated hitter in one game.

Opportunities aren’t the issue here. It’s the results, which lowered his average to .185 with a .231 on-base percentage and .308 slugging percentage heading into last night.

Kjerstad tripled on Sunday, the first of his career, but was picked off third base. He broke an 0-for-20 streak and was 3-for-38 in his past 10 games.

Batting eighth last night against Mariners right-hander George Kirby, Kjerstad lined a 96.5 mph fastball up the middle for a one-out single in the second inning and lined out to left field to end the fourth. He lined to center on Sunday, and to third and left field on Saturday.