This homestand has not been kind to the Nationals' offense. Over the first five games, they only scored 23 runs, 11 of which came in the ninth inning.

One of those ninth-inning runs, however, was last night’s walk-off winner to snap a six-game losing streak. The Nats were hopeful those good vibes would carry over into Thursday’s matinee finale as they went for a much-needed series win over the Athletics.

But the early hole the Nats found themselves in this afternoon was too much for this lifeless lineup to overcome in a 6-0 loss in front of an announced crowd of 14,519 on South Capitol Street.

Interim manager Miguel Cairo tried to go against conventional wisdom against A’s left-hander Jacob Lopez. Instead of stacking his order with right-handed hitters, like most teams have against Lopez this year (only 52 plate appearances by left-handed hitters against him entering today), Cairo put six lefties in his starting lineup, leaving two switch-hitters (Josh Bell and Drew Millas) and one right-hander (Brady House) on the bench.

“House has not been hitting good against lefties," Cairo said to explain his lineup after the game. "I wanted (Paul) DeJong, he's been swinging the bat good. JB right-handed, he's not swinging the back good either. He's a better left-handed hitter. So I was just trying to go with giving a chance to (Luis García Jr.) to play second base to see if he can do a better job. But I guess I gotta do a better job doing the lineup against lefties.”

When Shinnosuke Ogasawara signed a two-year, $3.5 million contract with the Nationals in January, not only did he become the first player the organization signed directly from Asia, but he also became an instant contender for a starting rotation spot.

But that didn’t come to fruition in spring training, as he was optioned to start the season at Triple-A Rochester.

The 27-year-old left-hander was called up to make his major league debut on July 6, completing only 2 ⅔ innings and giving up four runs and seven hits in a loss to the Red Sox. His second start was better, but he still gave up three runs and four hits in just four innings against the Brewers.

The Nats optioned Ogasawara back to Rochester following that start, deciding to instead fill his rotation spot with Brad Lord after the All-Star break. But with holes left on the roster following the trade deadline, the club brought him back to the major leagues to take on a role in the bullpen.

Since then, Ogasawara has found the results he and the team had hoped for back in camp.

What a wild win the Nationals got themselves last night in walk-off fashion to snap a six-game losing streak. You could tell during the on-field celebration the boys needed that one.

And now they have a chance to win a series here this afternoon against the Athletics, which would be another feel-good moment that is desperately needed around these parts.

The Nats turn to Mitchell Parker for this matinee series finale. The left-hander is 7-11 with a 5.35 ERA and 1.470 WHIP over his 22 starts. He really needs a strong bounceback performance after giving up eight runs on 12 hits over four innings in a loss to the Brewers his last time out.

The offense will have to deal with Jacob Lopez to start. The left-hander is 4-6 with a 3.99 ERA and 1.343 WHIP over his 17 games (13 starts) this season. But that ERA is inflated with four tough relief appearances. Over his 13 starts, Lopez is 4-5 with a 3.82 ERA and 1.304 WHIP. And he’s pitched a combined 9 ⅓ shutout innings over his last two starts.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ATHLETICS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 12:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB Network (out-of-market only), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 9 mph in from right field

Anyone inside Nationals Park this afternoon who claimed to know what to expect from Cade Cavalli’s first major league start in nearly three years was guilty either of wishful thinking or doom-and-gloom soothsaying.

Truly, there was no way to know what would happen when the soon-to-be 27-year-old took the mound for the first time since Aug. 26, 2022, because every piece of evidence since then offered conflicting clues.

Between major elbow surgery, several setbacks in his rehab, several dominant starts and several ugly starts at Triple-A Rochester over the last three months that all added up to a 6.09 ERA, Cavalli’s road back to D.C. was anything but smooth. The Nationals gave him the ball tonight hoping for the best but acknowledging the worst was equally possible.

And then, lo and behold, the organization’s 2020 first-round pick went out there and pitched exactly as he and everyone else had long dreamed about at the sport’s highest level. With the best repertoire of pitches any of this team’s starters has displayed in some time, Cavalli tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings during what wound up a 2-1, walk-off win for the Nationals over the Athletics.

CJ Abrams’ bottom-of-the-ninth RBI single to left scored Robert Hassell III, who was aggressively waved around third by Ricky Gutierrez and slid in ahead of an off-line throw by A’s left fielder Tyler Soderstrom. And the Nats celebrated for the first time in a week, having snapped a six-game losing streak in dramatic fashion.

There have always been three major items Dylan Crews needs to cross off before rejoining the Nationals’ roster. First, he needs to prove his oblique strain is fully healed. Then, he needs to prove his body is back in full baseball shape, capable of handling the rigors of the daily grind. Finally, he needs to prove he’s performing well again in minor league games, having success both at the plate and in the field.

At this point, Crews appears to be fully healthy. And he’s begun to perform on the field the last few days for Triple-A Rochester. What he hasn’t done yet is play a full nine innings, which now appears to be his final hurdle.

Crews is batting second and starting in right field tonight for the Red Wings, who are playing all week in Norfolk. It’s his first appearance in the field since Sunday, when he played six innings and took four plate appearances.

Crews served as Rochester’s designated hitter Tuesday, enjoying his best offensive performance to date: 3-for-4 with an RBI single. That came on the heels of a two-hit showing Sunday that included a double and a homer.

“The last two games, it’s been awesome,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “It’s good to hear he’s getting his timing, getting some hits, a homer. Now it’s just seeing how many at-bats he’s going to get in the rehab, and we’re going to see from there.”

There haven’t been a lot of things to get excited about recently involving the Nationals, so perhaps tonight’s game provides a long-awaited reason to feel better about the state of things. Cade Cavalli makes his return to the major leagues, nearly three years removed from his one and only major league start. It’s been a long road back from Tommy John surgery and inconsistent performances in the minors, and it’s not like the 26-year-old has been in peak form at Triple-A Rochester leading up to this one. But he's here regardless, and the hope is he’s here to stay at last.

What to watch for with Cavalli: Can he get outs on pitches in or near the strike zone? One criticism of him coming up through the minors was that he relied too much on getting opposing hitters to chase out of the zone. It’s much harder to get big league hitters to do that, so Cavalli needs to be precise with his command. The good news: Even though he was giving up hits at Triple-A, he was recording a good number of strikeouts while keeping his walk total low.

The Nats would love to provide their still-rookie starter with some run support. And that doesn’t mean ninth-inning run support with the team already trailing by a bunch. Early support to give him a lead to work with. Of course, at some point Miguel Cairo is still going to have to hand over the rest of the game to this bullpen. Who knows how that’s going to go?

ATHLETICS 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: Mostly cloudy, 75 degrees, wind 8 mph in from right field

ATHLETICS
C Shea Langeliers
1B Nick Kurtz
DH Brent Rooker
RF JJ Bleday
LF Tyler Soderstrom
SS Darell Hernaiz
CF Lawrence Butler
3B Gio Urshela
2B Max Schuemann

Cade Cavalli’s major league debut was a major moment for a Nationals organization in need of something positive at the time. When they called up their 2020 first round pick on Aug. 26, 2022, they were reeling from the Juan Soto trade earlier that month and needed to showcase as many pieces of the club’s long-term plan as possible.

Who could have imagined it would take almost three years for the Nats to hand Cavalli the ball again in a big league game?

A minor shoulder ailment sidelined the right-hander the rest of the 2022 season after his shaky debut. He was poised to make the Opening Day rotation the following spring but then blew out his elbow in a mid-March start against the Mets, requiring Tommy John surgery. And he has spent every day since trying to make it back to the majors.

It finally happens tonight, with the Nationals planning to recall Cavalli from Triple-A Rochester, a move interim manager Miguel Cairo confirmed following Tuesday night’s loss. (Reliever Andry Lara was optioned to Rochester to clear a roster spot for him.)

It took Cavalli longer than hoped to fully recover from elbow ligament replacement surgery, but he’s been deemed healthy for several months now. Team officials were looking for a reason to promote him, but the right-hander couldn’t string together enough quality starts together to make it a no-brainer decision.

As the hits kept on coming, one after another, MacKenzie Gore stood on the mound with a look on his face that suggested anger, frustration and bewilderment all wrapped up in one.

The Nationals ace, an All-Star just a few weeks ago, the majors’ strikeout leader just a month ago, had faced six Athletics batters to open tonight’s game. Five of them had scored, all five of them having recorded base hits, two of them home runs.

Before having a chance to come up to bat themselves, the Nats already were well on their way to a 16-7 loss, yet another in a string of unsightly, lopsided August losses that have somehow made the disasters that were June and July look tame in comparison.

The Nationals have lost six in a row, the combined score of those games a jaw-dropping 70-26. They've lost the first four games of this homestand 54-20, and that doesn't tell the full story because 11 of the runs they've scored have come in the ninth inning of games that were already well out of hand.

"This is embarrassing," Gore said. "We shouldn't just try to act like nothing happened here. What has happened this homestand is not acceptable, no matter what happened last week. We're all better than this. This is embarrassing. We've got to not let it affect everybody. We've got to be able to come together as a group and get better. What happened this homestand, it's hard to watch."

The revolving door that has been the 2025 Nationals bullpen picked up two new passengers today when the club added Clayton Beeter and PJ Poulin to the major league roster, two recent acquisitions who are going to get a chance to contribute to a relief corps that needs all the help it can get.

After trading veterans Kyle Finnegan, Andrew Chafin and Luis Garcia prior to last week’s deadline, the Nats were left with a highly inexperienced bullpen with only one member who had pitched in more than 45 big league games in his career (Jose A. Ferrer). That group was promptly battered around by the Brewers, surrendering 22 runs (19 earned) on 30 hits and nine walks across 14 1/3 innings during their weekend sweep, leading to the demotions of Ryan Loutos and Zach Brzykcy to Triple-A Rochester.

Enter Beeter (one of two prospects acquired from the Yankees for Amed Rosario) and Poulin (claimed off waivers from the Tigers on Sunday).

“I believe we need a lefty, and we just claimed (Poulin) off waivers,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “Beeter, he throws hard, good slider. And I’m looking forward to seeing how he matches up with big league hitters.”

Beeter, 26, has a little bit of major league experience, appearing in five games for the Yankees across the last two seasons. A second-round pick in 2020 from Texas Tech, he spent most of his minor league career as a starter before moving to the bullpen this season. In 18 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after time on the injured list with a shoulder impingement, he produced a 3.10 ERA, striking out 33 batters in only 20 1/3 innings (albeit with 16 walks issued in that same time frame).

The Nationals’ weekend series against the Brewers could not have gone any worse. Perhaps the arrival of the homeless Athletics this week will help turn things around. The A’s – who are playing in Sacramento for three seasons but are officially not allowed to be called by any city name for reasons unclear – come to town playing decent baseball, having gone 14-13 since July 1. And they’ve got one of the hottest hitters in baseball in rookie Nick Kurtz (1.420 OPS over his last 25 games).

So this is no cakewalk for MacKenzie Gore, who needs a bounceback performance after three straight shaky starts that included either six runs allowed or six batters walked. The left-hander has seen his ERA jump to 3.80, and his strikeout rate is down as well. Now that the tension of the trade deadline is behind him, the lefty needs to get himself locked in and finish out the season strong before it falls apart on him.

The Nationals have a couple of new arms in the bullpen tonight: They officially called up right-hander Clayton Beeter and left-hander PJ Poulin, optioning both Ryan Loutos and Zach Brzykcy to Triple-A Rochester. Don’t be surprised if one or both of the new guys is used in a high-leverage spot tonight if the situation arises.

ATHLETICS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 7 mph out to left field

ATHLETICS
C Shea Langeliers
1B Nick Kurtz
DH Brent Rooker
CF JJ Bleday
RF Colby Thomas
SS Darell Hernaiz
LF Tyler Soderstrom
3B Gio Urshela
2B Max Schuemann

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Orioles had gone two consecutive series without allowing four earned runs or more. They, of course, won all six of those games. 

Tonight, Baltimore allowed four earned runs by the end of the third inning. The offense couldn't find the right hits, and the O's fell 5-4 to the Athletics, snapping Baltimore's six-game winning streak. 

A lefty starter on the mound presented a tall task for an Orioles lineup that had been the worst in baseball at hitting southpaws this season. Perhaps some struggles evaporate in the midst of a winning stretch. 

The hometown kid got things started. 

It would take about 20 minutes for Dylan Carlson to hop in the car and drive from Sutter Health Park, the site of the O’s series against the Athletics, to Elk Grove High School, his alma mater. A late game might help him beat some traffic, too. 

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. 

Gunnar Henderson is out of the Orioles lineup tonight in Sacramento, with Jorge Mateo starting at shortstop against Athletics left-hander JP Sears.

Ramón Laureano, reinstated today from the 10-day injured list, is batting third as the designated hitter. Colton Cowser returns to the lineup and is in center field. Coby Mayo is playing first base. Ramón Urías starts at third base.

Ryan O’Hearn is in right field.

O’Hearn ranks among American League leaders in on-base percentage (second at .411), average (fourth at .326), OPS (fifth at .930) and slugging percentage (seventh at .519). He's reached safely in 33 of his last 35 games since April 24.

Adley Rutschman is batting .278/.350/.472 (20-for-72) in 20 games since May 11, with seven extra-base hits, eight RBIs and 10 runs scored. In the previous 22 games, he hit .149/.259/.216 (11-for-74) with three extra-base hits.

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.

In the final game of a three-game series and six-game road trip, the Orioles (56-33) play at Oakland (34-57) today. The O's won the series-opener 3-2 Friday and lost 19-8 on Saturday. 

That game produced season-highs or really lows for the Orioles.

* It was the most runs they have allowed this season, topping the 14 from June 21 at Houston.

* It is the most runs the Orioles have allowed since a 22-7 loss on Sept. 12, 2021 against Toronto.

* The Orioles also allowed season highs in hits with 18 (the previous most was 15) and homers, allowing five, one more than the four they gave up to Texas on June 29.

Kyle Bradish is coming back to the Orioles, and a little faster than anticipated.

Manager Brandon Hyde said Bradish is returning to the major league rotation. The right-hander’s injury rehab assignment will end early.

Bradish started last night for Triple-A Norfolk and held Gwinnett to one run in five innings, with one walk and six strikeouts. He’s stretched out to 77 pitches.

The assignment technically began on April 16 with three scoreless innings at Double-A Bowie, and the 30-day period would have carried Bradish into the middle of May. However, he threw a live batting practice session on April 11 at High-A Aberdeen, which sped up the process to get him ready.

“He threw the ball really well last night and our medical team talked to him this morning,” Hyde said. “Our pitching guys, as well. He feels great. We’re just looking right now kind of when to slot him in, but he’s going to be with us soon.”

Gunnar Henderson is having a remarkable start to his season for the Orioles and is second in the American League with an OPS of 1.022. One of his teammates is fifth and it's not Adley Rutschman or Anthony Santander, Ryan O'Hearn or Ryan Mountcastle. It's not Colton Cowser, who has an OPS of 1.139 but not enough plate appearances to qualify for league leaders.

It is Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg, who like his friend and teammate Cowser, has sure taken his game to a higher level this season. And with an OPS of .941, it is Westburg that ranks fifth-best right now in the AL. He is keeping company with some great hitters as the Yankees Juan Soto is one spot ahead of him while Mike Trout and Bobby Witt Jr. are behind Westburg.

After waiting his chance to get to the bigs – he had 714 plate appearances combined in 2022 and 2023 at Triple-A Norfolk – he finally got his first big league opportunity late last June.

He’s been running with it ever since.

And this is a high draft pick, but not a 1/1 like Rutschman or Jackson Holliday or the No. 2 pick in the draft like Heston Kjerstad or No. 5 like Cowser. He was taken No. 30 overall out of Mississippi State in the 2020 MLB Draft.

The Orioles are refreshed after yesterday’s break, which the bullpen needed, and ready to host the Athletics for three games and dive back into division competition with four against the Yankees.

Eight of nine series will be outside the American League East before the Yankees come to town.

It could have something or nothing to do with the 16-8 record and eight wins in the last 10 games. This is a very good team, which falls way short of a hot take. Just stating the facts.

The Orioles will be in the playoffs. The only question is whether they’re still active in November. I’m not making any plans until the second week of the month.

On paper at least, they can only get better with injured pitchers returning, Jackson Holliday eventually being Jackson Holliday, other prospects ready for promotion, and one or more trades likely at the deadline.

The Orioles' West Coast road trip began with an impressive series win at Seattle against a red-hot Mariners team, and they won the last two games of the series in 10 innings. They lost two of three at San Diego, but a win today would give them a three-game sweep at Oakland to end the trip.

A winning road trip is already secured and so is a series win at Oakland. But they will end the trip at 6-3 with a victory this afternoon.

The Orioles (76-47) have a chance to go 30 games over the .500 mark today and take a 2 1/2 game lead over the Tampa Ray Rays atop the American League East. Toronto is 8 1/2 games back with Boston 11 behind and New York 16 games out.

The Orioles scored eight runs in three games in Seattle, scored nine runs in three at San Diego and have scored 16 runs in the first two games at Oakland. They have 25 hits in this series with five doubles, a triple and three homers.

They have gone 8-for-22 (.364) with runners in scoring position this series after going 8-for-34 (.235) with RISP the first six games on the trip.

OAKLAND – Anthony Santander is out of the lineup again this afternoon, as the Orioles conclude their 10-day road trip and attempt to sweep the Athletics.

Santander is day-to-day with back soreness.

Ryan McKenna is in right field and Gunnar Henderson is the designated hitter. Austin Hays is in left field and batting cleanup.

Jordan Westburg moves down from fourth to seventh. He’s starting at second base, with Ramón Urías at third and Jorge Mateo handling shortstop.

Ryan Mountcastle extended his on-base streak to 25 games last night. Jonathan Schoop is the last Oriole with a 26-game streak in 2017.