PITTSBURGH – After combining to close out a tight victory in the opener of Saturday’s day-night doubleheader, Derek Law and Kyle Finnegan were asked jokingly if they were ready to pitch again in the nightcap.

“Of course,” Law said. “It would only be fitting, right?”

“Oh, yeah,” Finnegan said. “Yeah, I’ll be ready for Game 2.”

Some 5 1/2 hours later, after both indeed had pitched in the nightcap to help the Nationals sweep the doubleheader against the Pirates, it was pointed out the questioner was joking with the earlier suggestion.

“I wasn’t,” Law said with a smile. “I had a feeling.”

MIAMI – The Nationals have had their issues with the Marlins over the past two seasons. Entering this season, they were 6-26 against Miami between 2022 and 2023, including going an abysmal 2-11 last year.

But that script has completely flipped this year, with the Nats posting a perfect 8-0 record against their lowly National League East rivals and outscoring them 54-20 coming into tonight’s two-game series finale.

Looking to extend that eight-game winning streak against the Marlins, the Nationals fell just short despite a late rally that gave them the lead in the eighth inning. In the end, Derek Law surrendered the walk-off hit in the 10th inning as the Nats dropped their first game of the season to the Marlins 4-3.

After the Nats went quietly in the top of the 10th, Law entered from the bullpen to face the Marlins’ Nos. 9-1-2 hitters. A groundout to second moved the automatic runner to third and set up Xavier Edwards’ walk-off single to send the announced crowd of 6,156 home happy.

The outcome was almost different though. Facing a 2-0 deficit in the eighth inning and with only five baserunners up until that point, the Nats put together another late rally against the Marlins bullpen.

The Nationals are getting their most durable reliever back for the season’s final month.

Derek Law, the workhorse setup man who landed on the injured list two weeks ago with a flexor strain in his right elbow, was activated Monday and will be available for tonight’s series opener in Miami.

Law was confident all along his IL stint would be short, and indeed he was back throwing within a week of being shut down. He threw 20 pitches to live hitters Saturday and pronounced himself ready to return. The Nats acquiesced, activating him without first requiring a minor league rehab stint.

Even with the time missed, Law still leads all National League relievers with 75 2/3 innings pitched. If he returns to his normal work rate, he would become the Nationals’ first reliever to reach 90 innings pitched since Tyler Clippard in 2010. And if he can throw 17 2/3 innings in the season’s final 25 games, he will eclipse Saul Rivera’s club record of 93 relief innings pitched in 2007.

Needing to clear a spot on the active roster for Law, the Nats optioned right-hander Orlando Ribalta to Triple-A Rochester following Sunday’s game. The rookie has struggled in four big league appearances over the last several weeks, allowing five runs and 10 hits in only 3 1/3 innings.

Derek Law appears ready to return from his brief stint on the injured list. Trevor Williams needs some more time but took a big step in his return from the IL today.

Law and Williams each faced live hitters this afternoon prior to the Nationals’ game against the Cubs, the first time each right-hander had done that since going on the 15-day IL with flexor strains in their elbows.

Law, out since Aug. 17, threw 20 pitches over one simulated inning against teammates Ildemaro Vargas and Nasim Nuñez. He said everything felt strong and that he believes his two-week layoff helped give his arm and body a rare chance to rest after a workhorse season. (His 75 2/3 innings pitched lead all major league relievers.)

“Think about it. This is like the first time your body’s getting a full amount of time off,” Law said, citing advice he got from pitching strategist Sean Doolittle. “It’s almost like you’re in spring training again, instead of the grind of the season, where you’re trying to manipulate your body to throw how it should be throwing.

“I was definitely throwing different ways to try to get around the elbow (before going on the IL). So it’s nice to feel free, I guess.”

Dylan Crews’ arrival had to come at someone’s expense. And though they don’t play the same position, technically his roster spot with the Nationals was previously occupied by Riley Adams, who was optioned to Triple-A Rochester after Sunday’s game in Atlanta.

Adams had to be worried the clock was ticking when the Nats called up Drew Millas on Saturday, giving the team three catchers for the first time in a long time. Sure enough, Millas started Sunday’s game, recorded two hits in the Nats’ 5-1 victory and remains with the big league club while Adams heads back to Rochester for the second time this season.

It’s been a rocky 2024 for Adams, who entered with high hopes of providing a quality bat behind starter Keibert Ruiz and also improving his defensive work behind the plate. But though the 28-year-old got off to a good start and performed well when Ruiz had to go on the injured list in April with a back case of the flu, he never found a way to maintain that kind of production.

In 41 total major league games this season, Adams is batting .224 with a .292 on-base percentage, five doubles, two homers, eight RBIs and a .629 OPS. He has thrown out only 3-of-34 basestealers.

The Nationals sent Adams down once before, in early June when he was struggling, and he proceeded to deliver a .946 OPS in 22 games with Rochester. That earned him a trip back to D.C. in early July, but Adams’ Triple-A offensive success didn’t carry over to the majors.

It’s been more than two months since Joey Gallo last played for the Nationals, a significant hamstring strain having brought his season to an immediate halt on July 11 in Detroit. The team’s lineup that evening included a host of names no longer affiliated with the organization: Lane Thomas, Jesse Winker, Eddie Rosario, Nick Senzel.

Finally activated off the 10-day injured list today, Gallo is healthy but not in the Nats lineup for tonight’s series opener against the Rockies. The lineup instead includes a host of names playing at Triple-A two months ago: James Wood, Juan Yepez, Alex Call, Andrés Chaparro, José Tena.

“It’s funny, because when I was down there, a lot of these guys I met down there. And now they’re up here,” Gallo said “I actually know everybody really, really well. I don’t know if it’s a good thing that I know everybody, because I was hurt. But it’s cool. It’s a new clubhouse, but it’s the guys I already knew and was hanging out with down there.”

Gallo spent the last two weeks at Rochester on an extended rehab assignment, during which he hit three homers, drove in eight runs, walked 11 times, struck out 12 times and saw action both at first base and in right field.

The extra work, he believes, was necessary after the long layoff.

PHILADELPHIA – The Nationals figured they were going to need bullpen help after seven relievers combined to cover almost 10 innings over the last two games. They just didn’t figure an injury would also creep up on one of their most trusted relief pitchers.

Right-hander Derek Law landed on the 15-day injured list this afternoon with a right elbow flexor strain, while left-hander Robert Garcia was placed on the bereavement list. To fill their spots in the ‘pen, the Nats selected the contract of left-hander Joe La Sorsa and recalled right-hander Joan Adon from Triple-A Rochester.

Law’s injury comes after he pitched an important scoreless eighth inning last night on 12 pitches to give the Nats a chance to rally in the ninth. The right-hander said he was supposed to go back out for the ninth of a newly tied game, but he and the Nationals decided it wasn’t a good idea with his elbow bothering him, leading to closer Kyle Finnegan coming in and surrendering the game-winning run without recording an out.

“Well, personally, I don't think it's really an injury. I feel pretty good,” Law said by his locker in the Nats clubhouse before tonight’s game. “Like today, I feel like I could throw. It's just kind of when I get up to the max-effort level for the last two weeks, I kinda have been grinding through it.

“The elbow has just been kind of barking. I think it's the flexor area. Honestly, it kind of came up during that rain game. When I was throwing, it was just soaking wet. I kind of felt something in there and I was just battling through it for a little bit. And finally, it just caught up yesterday. I was supposed to go back out for that ninth and I came in, not that there was no way I could do it, but I just didn't think it was the right decision to go back out there and do that. So I think just a little time off. Sadly, it has to be 15 days. I think I probably only need five or six, maybe seven. But I'll take my time, get right and be back in September.”

The Washington Nationals selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Joe La Sorsa, recalled right-handed pitcher Joan Adon, placed left-handed pitcher Robert Garcia on the Bereavement List and placed right-handed pitcher Derek Law on the 15-day Injured List with a right elbow flexor strain on Saturday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

La Sorsa, 26, has pitched to a 2-2 record with a 2.25 ERA in 56.0 innings pitched for Triple-A Rochester this season. He has worked more than 1.0 inning in 24 of his 42 games this season and has produced 31 scoreless appearances. La Sorsa allowed just six of 42 inherited runners (14.3%) to score this season, including only three of his last 34 (8.8%) dating to May 9. Over his last five games, he has allowed one run in 5.2 innings (1.59 ERA) and has held opponents to a .190 batting average (4-for-21).

The Mount Kisco, N.Y. native appeared in 23 games for the Nationals in 2023 after he was claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays on June 8. La Sorsa went 1-0 with a 4.76 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 28.1 innings pitched in those games. He did not allow a run and struck out eight over his final six appearances, totaling 9.0 innings, including 3.2 scoreless innings with four strikeouts against the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 10.

Adon, 26, returns to the Nationals for his fourth Major League stint this season. Since transitioning to the bullpen in Rochester on June 25, he has a 2.51 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 14.1 innings. He’s gone multiple innings in four of his 10 games in relief and has worked seven scoreless appearances.

Adon’s last two appearances for Washington have been scoreless, working a perfect ninth inning against San Francisco on August 7 and retiring one of two batters he faced on August 8 against the Giants. In all, he is 0-0 with a 6.48 ERA in six games, including one start, for the Nationals this season.

The Nationals have played their fair share of back-and-forth games this week. They saw six lead changes over their last four games, some of which included late-inning dramatics and extra frames.

And so here they were again having to battle through another one in their second matchup against the Angels. But although they saw an early lead change swing in their favor, they couldn’t keep the score of this one from flip-flopping. In the end, the Nats were able to come back for a 5-4 walk-off win in 10 innings in front of 22,183 fans at Nationals Park thanks to a new face.

After Derek Law kept it a 4-4 game with a scoreless top of the ninth while closer Kyle Finnegan was unavailable due to an increased workload over the past two games, the heart of the Nats order couldn’t provide a walk-off hit just yet.

So to extras we went yet again, the Nats’ third straight extra-inning game. Law returned to the mound and pitched a perfect 10th, stranding the automatic runner at third.

Because CJ Abrams was out of the starting lineup with a stiff upper back, he was available to pinch-run for Keibert Ruiz as the automatic runner. José Tena, an infield prospect from the Lane Thomas trade with the Guardians who was recalled from Triple-A Rochester before the game, stepped up as the first batter in the bottom of the 10th.

Some stats and thoughts as everyone tries to forget Thursday’s rain-soaked, 10-inning loss to the Giants and looks ahead to tonight’s series opener against Anthony Rendon and the Angels …

* What’s the biggest reason the Nationals haven’t played as well over the last month as they did earlier this summer? The quality of the performances by their starting pitchers has gone dramatically downhill.

The emergence of a young rotation was the top storyline of the season’s first half, and there was a lot to like about the way MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz were not only pitching well but also pitching relatively deep into games. Over a 40-game stretch from May 22-July 4, the Nats had 17 quality starts (three or fewer earned runs over six or more innings). Unsurprisingly, the team’s record during that stretch was 20-20.

What’s happened since? Over their last 29 games, the Nationals have only five quality starts. Their record, unsurprisingly, is only 12-17 during this prolonged stretch.

Abbreviated outings have especially become a problem in recent weeks, with starters failing to complete five innings in 10 of the last 29 games. In other words, the Nats have been twice as likely to get fewer than five innings than a quality start for the last month.

NEW YORK – Davey Martinez needed to shake up his lineup. For the most part, it hasn’t been getting the job done as is over the past couple of weeks. Sure there were a few offensive outbursts here and there, but it definitely needed a kickstart to be more consistent.

So what did the Nationals manager do against Mets right-hander Luis Severino? He stacked the first five spots in the batting order with four left-handed hitters and one switch-hitter. And although it was actually the right-handed hitters at the bottom of the lineup that helped give the Nats an early lead, a disastrous sixth inning led to a fourth straight loss.

The Nats fell to the Mets 6-2 in front of an announced crowd of 24,887 at Citi Field, who got very loud during the bottom of the sixth.

With a 2-1 lead, Patrick Corbin returned to the mound to give his team at least one more inning and keep the lead intact. He had been effective up until that point at only 65 pitches, but the third time through the heart of the Mets order proved too much for the veteran lefty to handle.

Three straight hits tied the game at 2-2 and that was enough for Martinez to go to the bullpen to try to keep this one close. In came Derek Law, who has struggled with inherited runners this season, with two runners in scoring position and no outs. What could have been predicted came to fruition.

More than three months into this season, it has become clear the Nationals trust Jake Irvin. And with the stars perfectly aligned today, they trusted their young right-hander more than ever before.

And thanks to one – and only one – big hit from his teammates, Irvin and the Nats emerged victorious on Independence Day in the nation’s capital.

Irvin completed eight innings for the first time in his career, allowing one hit, one walk and nothing else on a day when the Nationals bullpen was severely depleted and needed everything it could get from the 27-year-old starter. And when Jesse Winker blasted a pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the eighth, they had the only run they needed to pull off an inspired, 1-0 victory over the Mets.

"That was unbelievable, it really was," manager Davey Martinez said. "We definitely needed that."

Held to four singles by New York starter Jose Quintana, the Nationals finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth against reliever Adrian Houser. With a right-hander finally on the mound, Martinez sent Winker up to pinch-hit for Harold Ramírez, then watched the veteran blast a 1-0 curveball to right-center for the day’s first and only run and some long-awaited support for his starting pitcher.

DETROIT – If they wanted to pull off their first six-game winning streak since the final week of the 2019 regular season, the Nationals were going to need not only quality work from Patrick Corbin in an unexpected start. They were going to need not only run production from their lineup. They were also going to need a set of relievers not accustomed to closing out close games to finish the job on a day when the usual suspects weren’t available.

So even though they got quality work for Corbin, and even though they got just enough offense to leave the game tied in the seventh inning, the Nationals did not get the critical last part of today’s required winning formula and emerged with a 7-2 loss to the Tigers.

Seeking a series sweep and the team’s first six-game winning streak in nearly five years, the Nats watched as relievers Derek Law and Robert Garcia combined to allow six runs in 1 1/3 innings, turning a tight game into a lopsided one.

In winning five straight games for the first time since June 2021, the Nationals leaned heavily on their top three late-inning relievers: Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey and Dylan Floro. The domino effect of all that: None figured to be available for today’s series finale, leaving the fate of the game in the hands of others.

"Look, we rely on these guys throughout the whole year, and they've done really well," manager Davey Martinez said. "It just didn't happen today. ... It's just one game. We won the series. We get to home now and start a fresh one."

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.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals are down to their final 96 hours in Florida, which would typically be around the time club officials are paring down the roster and making their final choices for the Opening Day 26-man squad. As they prepare to take the field tonight against the Cardinals, though, they still officially have 45 players in big league camp (39 of them healthy).

And it doesn’t sound like the paring down is coming yet.

“We still haven’t made any final roster decisions, really at anything, except the obvious,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I can tell you CJ’s going to play shortstop.”

So there’s your breaking news for now: CJ Abrams will be the starting shortstop. Try not to express too much shock at that surprise revelation.

“The next few days, we’ve got a lot of decisions to make,” Martinez continued. “These guys have all done really well. They’re making things hard. For me, it’s a good problem to have until the day comes when it’s not so good.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – On the heels of Friday’s doubleheader in Port St. Lucie, the Nationals return home for an early 12:05 p.m. exhibition today against the Cardinals. No rest for the weary.

The good news: The Nats are playing winning baseball right now, for whatever that’s worth. Friday’s 7-3 win over the Mets was their sixth straight, leaving their official Grapefruit League record a strong 12-8.

In a bit of a shakeup from the usual, Davey Martinez is using a bullpen game this afternoon. There were two reasons for this: 1) He’s trying to start lining up his regular starters for the regular season (hopefully we’re going to learn more about that in the next few days) and 2) He wants to give the relievers who are competing for spots in the Opening Day bullpen a chance to face major league hitters, which means they need to pitch the early innings.

One of those relievers in the mix is Derek Law, the veteran right-hander who signed a minor league deal shortly after camp opened. He’ll get the first inning today against St. Louis, so here’s his opportunity to make a statement. Also scheduled to pitch: Dylan Floro, Robert Garcia, Robert Gsellman and Luis Perdomo.

UPDATE: James Wood was scratched from the lineup, replaced in right field by Alex Call. Martinez is expected to provide an explanation postgame.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Spring training stats must be taken with more than a grain of salt. Perhaps a full bucket of salt.

Now, having said that, has anyone out there noticed how well the Nationals have pitched this spring?

Wednesday’s 2-1 exhibition victory over the Marlins was merely the latest example. That came on the heels of a 4-1 victory over the Mets. Combine the pitching totals from those two games and the Nats have surrendered a grand total of two runs on six hits, walking only three while striking out 14.

And this has been going on for 2 1/2 weeks now. Eighteen games into their Grapefruit League schedule, the Nationals rank second in the majors in ERA (3.51), WHIP (1.164) and opponents’ batting average (.224), third in walks per nine innings (3.0), fourth in home runs surrendered per nine innings (0.68) and fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.1).

There’s a lot to like about the way the entire staff has pitched to date, especially a number of guys who are competing for spots on the Opening Day roster.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals have backed off Dylan Floro’s throwing program after he reported shoulder tightness earlier this week, though the veteran reliever insisted it’s nothing serious and he has continued to play catch each day.

Floro, one of only three free agents to sign a major league deal with the Nats this winter, threw a live batting practice session Sunday but said he felt less than 100 percent the following day and reported it to the club’s medical staff.

“I threw live the other day, and I just didn’t recover the same as usual,” the right-hander said. “With it being early, I decided to just slow down, nitpick whatever’s going on. After that, it’s been getting better and better the last couple days. So, good progress right here.”

Floro has dealt with a similar issue in the past, usually during spring training. That experience allowed him to recognize it early this time and gives him some peace of mind moving forward.

“I dealt with it before, so I have an idea what it is,” he said. “What I know compared to where I was in years before, this is a much better situation than that. I know I’ll be fine.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals added another experienced reliever to their spring training mix today, signing right-hander Derek Law to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league camp.

The deal, confirmed by a source familiar with the terms, will become official once Law passes a physical. He’s expected to join the club within the next few days.

Law, 33, owns a 4.08 ERA, 1.438 WHIP and 12 saves in 247 career games with the Giants, Blue Jays, Twins, Tigers and Reds. He spent the entire 2023 season in Cincinnati’s bullpen, going 4-6 with a 3.60 ERA and 1.382 WHIP over 54 games.

A ninth-round pick of the Giants in the 2011 MLB Draft, Law burst onto the scene in 2016, delivering a 2.13 ERA and 0.964 WHIP in 61 games for San Francisco, then making three appearances during the postseason. He quickly regressed after that season and has spent the ensuing years moving from one organization to another.

Law did enjoy success over the last year and a half with the Reds, who somewhat surprisingly didn’t tender him a contract after season’s end, making him a free agent.