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.

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.

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.

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.

A doctor’s review of the MRI taken on Dylan Crews confirmed the club’s initial diagnosis of a left oblique strain, but manager Davey Martinez could not offer anything resembling a timetable for the Nationals rookie to return.

Crews, who already had been dealing with a sore lower back and left side for about a week, experienced additional pain on a check-swing attempt in the fifth inning Tuesday night against the Braves. He was placed on the 10-day injured list the following afternoon, with top outfield prospect Robert Hassell III called up from Triple-A Rochester to take his roster spot.

The timetable for oblique strains varies from player to player and based on the severity of each injury. Nationals first baseman/designated hitter Andrés Chaparro suffered a left oblique strain during batting practice March 14 prior to a spring training game and tonight is finally beginning a rehab assignment with Rochester after going 4-for-15 with a double and a homer in five rehab games for the Nats’ rookie-level Florida Complex League team.

Asked how Crews’ injury compares to Chaparro’s ailment, Martinez redirected his answer to compliment Crews’ physical and mental makeup.

“I’ll be honest with you: When I played, I didn’t even know what an oblique was,” the manager said. “Every guy is different. He’s a very strong kid, I know that. He’s going to work diligently to get back as soon as possible. But we want to make sure that when he does come back, this doesn’t become a problem for him. Hopefully sooner than later, but we’re going to give him as much time as he needs to get him ready.”

BALTIMORE – Luis García Jr. is back on the Nationals’ active roster, but not back in the lineup quite yet.

García was activated off the paternity list this afternoon, having spent the last three days away for the birth of his first child. Under the circumstances – and with left-hander Cade Povich starting for the Orioles – Davey Martinez wanted to give his starting second baseman a day to simply work out before returning to action.

“He’ll hit in the cage. He’ll be available to (pinch) hit if we need him,” the manager said. “But I want to him to go out and catch ground balls, get back in the swing of things.”

It’s been a disappointing season to date for García, particularly on the heels of his breakthrough 2024 campaign. He enters tonight batting .226 with a .618 OPS, down from .282 and .762 a year ago. García has also taken a step back in the field, his minus-8 Defensive Runs Saved ranking last among all major league second basemen.

“It’s just the inconsistency of his hitting,” Martinez said. “And to his defense, he’s hit the ball hard, just had nothing to show for it. … We’ve got to get him going, he’s a big part of our lineup. When he’s going well, he can do some damage with the bat.”

ATLANTA – After rallying to win last night, the Nationals were in position this afternoon to split this four-game series with the Braves. And given how the frustration mounted over the recent seven-game losing streak, that would have been considered a win in this first leg of a seven-game road trip.

The Nats were able to overcome some early mistakes Wednesday. Not a great recipe for success, but they did just enough to scratch out a win. Unfortunately, that was not the case in this matinee finale.

Facing a familiar deficit from last night by the middle innings, the Nationals dropped their third game at Truist Park 5-2 in front of an announced crowd of 34,074. And they can really only blame themselves.

Davey Martinez once again reconfigured his infield defense. With Luis García Jr. landing on the paternity list earlier this week, the manager moved José Tena from third base to second and inserted Amed Rosario at the hot corner for the previous two games.

That was costly a couple of nights ago when both infielders made mistakes on routine plays. So Martinez swapped them today, and at first, it paid dividends.

ATLANTA – Looking for anything new to spark the Nationals' offense, manager Davey Martinez has shuffled his lineup a bit for the third of a four-game set against the Braves.

With the Braves starting right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver (2.76 ERA) for tomorrow’s noon getaway game, Martinez decided to get Keibert Ruiz off his feet today to play tomorrow and start Riley Adams behind the plate tonight against right-hander Bryce Elder (4.97 ERA).

Also, Amed Rosario has been bumped up to the No. 2 spot to split up leadoff hitter CJ Abrams and slugger James Wood and combat the two lefty relievers the Braves have in Aaron Bummer and Dylan Lee.

“We got a 12 o'clock game tomorrow,” Martinez explained during his pregame media session. “So Riley gets tonight, Keibert gets tomorrow. He's available to pinch-hit if we need him. Moved Rosario between the lefties. They have two good left-handed pitchers in the bullpen, so trying to break those lefties up. But yeah, trying to get everybody in there with the early day game tomorrow.”

Adams has been productive in limited playing time, collecting hits in five of his last six games including two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs.

The formula has become so routine at this point, it almost feels like a cruel joke when it keeps happening.

The Nationals get five good-to-great innings out of their starter, then watch him fade in the sixth inning before handing it over to the bullpen, which proceeds to make an absolute mess of a once-low-scoring ballgame.

But wait, there’s more. Despite facing a suddenly daunting deficit created by their relief corps, the Nats battle back to turn this into a high-scoring nailbiter late. At which point everyone holds his or her breath to see how it will end.

Sometimes that formula has produced dramatic victories, as it did Tuesday afternoon. And sometimes it has produced mind-numbing losses, as it did this afternoon in an 8-6 loss to the Guardians to wrap up a wacky interleague series.

Completing three full, nine-inning games in less than 24 hours, the Nationals wound up losing two of three to Cleveland. They certainly had a chance to duplicate their rousing success from a 10-9 win in the opener of Tuesday’s doubleheader in the finale, but instead they were done in by yet another bullpen disaster and an inability to complete a potentially rousing rally.

CINCINNATI – The Nationals haven’t decided the plan for Michael Soroka yet, but they have decided to give Brad Lord at least one more start in the interim.

Lord is listed as Tuesday night’s starter against the Guardians, staying on turn behind Jake Irvin, who will pitch Monday night’s series opener at Nationals Park. The team has Wednesday’s starter listed as “TBA,” with Soroka a possible candidate to return from a five-week stint on the injured list.

Lord replaced Soroka in the rotation when the latter suffered a right biceps strain during his March 31 season debut in Toronto. The rookie, who opened the year in the bullpen, has slowly been building his arm up since then and Thursday night in Philadelphia reached the sixth inning for the first time in the majors.

Lord has allowed only two runs in each of his last three starts and overall has a 4.43 ERA in eight appearances (five of them starts). He’ll now get a chance to make his sixth start, after which the team will need to decide whether to keep him in the rotation, send him back to the bullpen or option him to Triple-A Rochester to keep him on a starter’s schedule in case the team needs him again in the near future.

Soroka was dominant Friday in his third minor league rehab start, striking out 11 batters over five innings of one-run ball, throwing 94 pitches. The 27-year-old, who was signed for $9 million over the winter, appears ready to go, but the Nationals aren’t making any declarations about the plan for him until they see him throw again Monday when the team returns home.

CINCINNATI – Amed Rosario had already hit the ball hard three times tonight, with only minimal production to show for it. By the time he stepped up to the plate a fourth time to face Nick Lodolo, the veteran Nationals infielder had to like his chances of doing it again. And perhaps finally having something real to show for it.

Sure enough, Rosario delivered. His three-run homer to center in the top of the sixth gave the Nats a lead they would not relinquish during what wound up a satisfying, 11-6 victory over the Reds.

That big blast capped a four-RBI night for Rosario, who got the nod at third base against Cincinnati’s left-handed starter and got four chances to face him. His first two at-bats produced loud outs, both in the air to center field. His third found the gap in left-center for an RBI double. But it was his fourth that made the most impact, literally and figuratively.

Stepping to the plate with two on and one out in a tie game, with Lodolo still on the mound for the Reds, Rosario saw a belt-high changeup over the plate and belted it 408 feet to center field. He cruised around the bases to cheers from the visitors’ dugout.

“I was prepared since my first at-bat,” Rosario said, via interpreter Mauricio Ortiz. “But of course towards the second and third, I kind of knew what he was going to throw.”

The Nationals lineup tonight, at least on paper, looked as imposing as it has in a while.

CJ Abrams was back after a nearly two-week stint on the injured list. James Wood was back in the No. 3 slot, where ideally he could drive in more runners than himself. The bottom three (Josh Bell, Dylan Crews, Luis García Jr.) featured big names who often hit much higher up in the order.

If only that translated into offensive success once the game actually started.

Imposing or not, the Nats were rendered helpless at the plate tonight by Cade Povich and the Orioles bullpen, which dominated over the course of a 2-1 loss that denied the home team a shot at a rare series sweep over its interleague rivals.

MacKenzie Gore did his part on the mound, tossing six innings of two-run ball, but still was tagged with the loss due to a lack of run support from a lineup that has struggled lately to string together productive nights.

PITTSBURGH – If nothing else, the first two weeks of the season offered up an apparently real sign of improvement from the Nationals lineup: Power.

A ballclub that ranked near the bottom of the majors in home runs and slugging the last two seasons was now hitting the ball in the air with authority. Through their first 13 games, the Nats totaled 42 extra-base hits, 18 of them homers.

And then they hit the road and stopped hitting altogether, the latest example coming today in a lifeless 1-0 loss to the Pirates to wrap up a miserable series at PNC Park.

Shut out into the eighth by Andrew Heaney one night after they suffered the same fate against Bailey Falter, the Nationals wasted a quality pitching performance by Trevor Williams and their own beleaguered bullpen, which rose to the challenge for a change and kept the game close.

"Look, I think we're playing great baseball, and we all believe in ourselves and believe that we can take it to the next level," said Williams, whose team is now 7-12 to open the season. "We hold each other accountable, and we hold each other to a higher standard. We're going to keep putting our head down, because the only way through this is through."

The Nationals, plain and simple, need a win. They’re 1-6 to begin the season, and though they’ve pretty much been in every game, they have not shown an ability to do what they need to do late in those games to emerge victorious. They’ll give it another shot this afternoon against the Diamondbacks, perhaps inspired by the pregame induction of the inaugural 2005 club into the Nationals Park Ring of Honor.

Davey Martinez is going with a different look to his lineup. Facing Arizona left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, he’s got Amed Rosario batting second, the red-hot Nathaniel Lowe batting third, Alex Call batting sixth and Riley Adams finally getting his first start of the season, batting ninth. We’ll see what, if any, difference that look makes.

Mitchell Parker gets the start, and the young lefty will look to pick up where he left off in his season debut last weekend. He’s still the only member of the staff to reach the seventh inning so far in 2025.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 75 degrees, wind 10 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
2B Amed Rosario
1B Nathaniel Lowe
DH Josh Bell
LF James Wood
RF Alex Call
CF Dylan Crews
3B Paul DeJong
C Riley Adams

Luis García Jr. was the Nationals’ surprise No. 3 hitter on Opening Day. Perhaps more surprising is the fact he’s not even in the lineup for Game No. 2.

With left-hander Jesús Luzardo on the mound for the Phillies, García is on the bench this afternoon, with Amed Rosario instead starting at second base and batting fifth.

“It’s early,” manager Davey Martinez explained. “I want to try to get everybody in there, try to get some at-bats to some of these guys. And the reason why we signed Rosario is because he hits lefties really well. So we’ll give him some at-bats today.

García often sat last season against lefties, though he started to get more opportunities later during his breakthrough season. Even so, the 24-year-old was far more effective against right-handers (.796 OPS) than lefties (.641).

Rosario, on the other hand, owns a career .798 OPS vs. left-handers, not to mention a .298 batting average. The Nationals signed the 29-year-old utilityman to a major league deal over the winter, envisioning him as a part-time second baseman who can also play third base, shortstop and the outfield if needed.

After the hullabaloo of Opening Day, after the much-needed rest of an off-day, the actual grind of the 162-game season begins today. The Nationals and Phillies meet in game two of the opening series, and it’s the debut of the Nats’ new City Connect uniforms.

MacKenzie Gore dominated the Phillies’ potent lineup Thursday. You probably can’t as for the same from Jake Irvin in his season debut, but the Nationals do need the right-hander to be on point. He had an excellent spring, until his final start, in which his fastball lost several ticks. Irvin insisted he felt fine physically that day, but we haven’t had a chance to see him since. (He was supposed to pitch Monday’s exhibition finale against the Orioles before that game was rained out.) So keep an eye on him in the first couple innings today, especially the velocity readings. Is he in the low-90s or the mid-90s?

The Nationals lineup sees a familiar left-hander today in the form of Jesús Luzardo, the long-ago organizational prospect who has since faced his original team many times as a member of the Marlins. Now he’s in Philly, going up against some hitters he’s got a book on. One of those hitters, Luis García Jr., is just 2-for-16 in his career against Luzardo. Amed Rosario, meanwhile, is 3-for-8 with a double and a triple. Hence, the different look at second base today. Don’t be surprised, though, if García comes off the bench to pinch-hit against a righty at some point.  

UPDATE: Trea Turner was scratched from the Phillies' lineup with back spasms. Edmundo Sosa will now start at shortstop.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 83 degrees, wind 11 mph out to center field

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals signed Amed Rosario this winter to be their utility infielder. The veteran figures to get starts at second base if Davey Martinez wants to give Luis Garcia Jr. the day off, third base if Martinez wants to give Paul DeJong the day off and perhaps even shortstop if Martinez wants to give CJ Abrams the day off.

Martinez also likes that Rosario can play the outfield, something he did 26 times last season for the Rays and Reds. Which is why he had him starting in left field Tuesday night for the Nats’ exhibition game against the Astros.

“Some of these guys, I want to see them play multiple positions, in case in-game something does happen, we know he can do it,” Martinez said. “I don’t want to spring it on him. When we signed him, we talked to him about playing multiple positions. This is just part of getting him out there in spring before we leave, and getting him accustomed to playing some left field.”

With James Wood, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews unlikely to get many days off, and with Alex Call already more than capable of filling in for any of them, there probably won’t be much need for Rosario to appear in the outfield this season.

But the Nationals always want to make sure they’re covered just in case. And they wouldn’t want to throw Rosario to the wolves with no practice, so they figured it was worth it to give him at least one start in left this spring.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Spring training is usually held in the mornings and afternoons, but the Nationals are about to experience a bunch of baseball under the lights during this final week of camp. Three of their next four games are night games, beginning this evening against the Astros at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

The lineup includes several regulars, but it also includes several projected members of the Opening Day bench, who need to get used to their upcoming roles as well. Some of those roles are varied, and that’s true for Amed Rosario, who primarily will be the backup infielder this season but also has the ability to play the outfield. With that in mind, the veteran is starting in left field tonight.

Trevor Williams, meanwhile, gets the start for the Nats. The veteran right-hander is assured a spot in the Opening Day rotation, and tonight he’ll get a good test against a Houston lineup that features Jose Altuve (starting in left field himself) in the leadoff position.

You can watch this one live on MASN, so be sure to tune in at 6 p.m.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. HOUSTON ASTROS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 980 AM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 73 degrees, wind 14 mph in from left field

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – CJ Abrams is back in the Nationals lineup, with no apparent lingering concerns after departing Wednesday’s game in the first inning.

Abrams is leading off and starting at shortstop for this afternoon’s game against the Rays, the first leg of a rare overnight spring training trip for the Nats, who brought most of their regulars for these games in Port Charlotte and North Port (home of the Braves).

The 2024 All-Star led off the bottom of the first Wednesday with a triple into the right field corner, but departed two batters later with cramps in both of his quadriceps muscles. Manager Davey Martinez said at the time he wasn’t overly concerned and that Abrams would be making the road trip regardless.

Sure enough, he’s here and back in his usual role today, provided he makes it through pregame drills with no issues.

“He’s going to do everything and see how it goes,” Martinez said. “But he said he feels fine.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The sight of CJ Abrams racing around the bases for a leadoff triple in the bottom of the first today was a beautiful thing for the Nationals. The sight of the All-Star shortstop walking off the field and seeking out a trainer two batters later was the last thing anyone wanted to see.

By all accounts, it doesn’t appear to be anything serious. Abrams said both of his quadriceps muscles cramped up during the leadoff triple, according to manager Davey Martinez, who suggested he had no reason to be concerned following a 9-3 exhibition victory over the Astros.

“I didn’t want to take any chances,” Martinez said. “He came in and got treatment. I haven’t seen (director of athletic training Paul Lessard) yet, but I’ll check up on him. He should be OK. They said they did some tests, and it was fine. He just cramped up.”

Abrams looked good on his 270-foot trek around the bases after he ripped a pitch from Astros left-hander Brandon Walter down the right field line to open the bottom of the first, coasting into third with ease. He remained there as Dylan Crews grounded out to the mound and as James Wood struck out for the inning’s second out.

It was after that strikeout that Abrams could be seen hunching over, dealing with some kind of discomfort. Martinez signaled from the dugout for Abrams to come out of the game, and he walked all the way back, greeted at the steps by Lessard.