NEW YORK – The Orioles finish their disappointing season this afternoon with Ryan Mountcastle as the designated hitter, possibly in his last game with the team, depending whether they tender him a contract in his last year of arbitration eligibility.

Coby Mayo is at first base. Dylan Beavers is in left field and Tyler O’Neill is in right.

Mayo is slashing .410/.521/.769 (16-for-39) with two doubles, four home runs, six RBIs, seven walks and nine runs scored in 14 games since Sept. 13.

Kyle Bradish makes his sixth start, with seven runs and 18 hits allowed in 28 innings. He’s walked 10, struck out 39 and surrendered two home runs.

The Yankees see Bradish again after he held them to one run and two hits with nine strikeouts in six innings. He owns a 2.90 ERA and 1.419 WHIP in six career starts against New York.

For the last time in 2025, hello from Nationals Park. It hasn’t been a season to remember for the home team, which enters this finale with a 66-95 record (third-worst in the majors). But we know major change is on the way, and hopefully better days to come in 2026.

What’s at stake in Game 162? Nothing, really, from a team standpoint. On an individual level, James Wood looks to continue his great final week (while also hoping to avoid five strikeouts to tie Mark Reynolds’ major league record of 223). Daylen Lile looks for one more triple to break Denard Span’s single-season club record of 11, and to bolster his Rookie of the Year case. CJ Abrams seeks his 20th homer to go with 31 stolen bases.

On the mound, Brad Lord looks to cap a really impressive rookie season in style. The right-hander enters with a 4.12 ERA and has an outside shot at getting that number under 4.00 if he tosses five or more innings of scoreless ball. Jose A. Ferrer won’t be pitching today after appearing each of the last two nights. So if there’s one final save opportunity this season, someone out of the ordinary is going to get the opportunity to convert it.

And, of course, this is Bob Carpenter’s final game behind the mic. No matter the score, the ninth inning will be must-watch TV on MASN2.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 3:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 81 degrees, wind 5 mph in from left field

There was enough action Friday night to fill an entire weekend series, but that was just one of three games scheduled between the Nationals and White Sox this weekend. Emphasis on the word “scheduled” there, because the forecast today is not good at all. Though it’s not really raining here yet, it’s supposed to start coming down at some point this afternoon and not let up through the rest of the day and evening. What does that mean for this game being played today? And if they can’t, would they actually force these two last-place teams to play a doubleheader Sunday? Stay tuned. As soon as we know anything, you’ll know it.

If and when they do play, it’ll be Jake Irvin on the mound looking for one final opportunity to end a rough season on a high note. The right-hander enters with a 5.69 ERA in 32 starts, not to mention 36 homers surrendered. That’s two shy of Josiah Gray’s single-season club record, a mark Irvin surely hopes not to match. He was better last weekend at Citi Field, though, holding the Mets to two runs over 5 1/3 innings. Perhaps he can pick up where he left off against what should be an inferior Chicago lineup.

At the plate, the Nationals will try to pick up where they left off Friday night, especially in the power department. They slugged a season-high six homers (in a losing effort, alas), with three coming off the bat of Luis Garcia Jr. alone. Today, they face former Terrapins right-hander Sean Burke, who enters with a 4.29 ERA and 1.5 homers per nine innings.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX 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: Rain, 71 degrees, wind 8 mph in from center field

WHITE SOX
2B Chase Meidroth
C Kyle Teel
SS Colson Montgomery
3B Miguel Vargas
DH Edgar Quero
LF Brooks Baldwin
1B Lenyn Sosa
RF Dominic Fletcher
CF Derek Hill

NEW YORK – Jackson Holliday and Samuel Basallo return to the lineup tonight, as the Orioles begin their final 2025 series against the Yankees.

Basallo is serving as designated hitter after being hit on the right wrist by a fastball over the weekend. Holliday, leading off as usual, has been nursing a sore knee.

Dylan Beavers is in left field and Tyler O’Neill is in right. Coby Mayo is the first baseman.

Adley Rutschman has a .421 career on-base percentage against the Yankees, second-highest in club history with a minimum 150 plate appearances, per STATS.

Gunnar Henderson needs one more stolen base to become the youngest Oriole to swipe 30 bags in a season.

It’s been a long, often frustrating, season. And at times, it probably felt like the end couldn’t come soon enough. Well, it has come at last. Tonight the Nationals open their final series of 2025. And from a pure baseball standpoint, there’s hardly anything at stake. The fates of the Nats and White Sox have long since been determined.

But there’s still meaning to these games on an individual level, and that certainly applies to Cade Cavalli. The rookie right-hander makes his 10th and final start of the season tonight, hoping to end this already successful mini-campaign on a positive note. Cavalli is coming off a strong outing at Citi Field, shutting out the Mets over five innings. If he can hold the White Sox to zero or one run over five more innings tonight, he’ll get his ERA under 4.00, which would be a nice outcome for him and the organization.

We’ll also see if James Wood can end his roller coaster season on a high note after a really nice couple of games in Atlanta. When last we spoke Sunday, Wood seemed to have a much better chance of finishing with 223 strikeouts than he did of finishing with 30 homers. Well, he hit three bombs at Truist Park and got to 30 with three games to spare. And he didn’t strike out once, which means he’s still eight shy of Mark Reynolds’ major league record with only three games left to play. You sure hope he doesn’t threaten that mark any more.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX 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: Partly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 5 mph in from left field

WHITE SOX
2B Chase Meidroth
DH Kyle Teel
SS Colson Montgomery
3B Miguel Vargas
C Edgar Quero
CF Brooks Baldwin
1B Lenyn Sosa
LF Will Robertson
RF Dominic Fletcher

The final home game for the Orioles in the 2025 season comes with a lineup this afternoon with Dylan Beavers leading off for the second time in the majors.

Samuel Basallo said his right wrist feels much better today and he hopes to play Friday night at Yankee Stadium. Alex Jackson is catching today.

Jeremiah Jackson is in right field and Jorge Mateo is at second base, with Jackson Holliday on the bench. Holliday is dealing with a sore knee.

Gunnar Henderson stole his 29^th base last night and has been successful in his last 15 attempts since Aug. 4.

Colton Cowser, in center field again today, is 14-for-14 in stolen base attempts. He would set a team record.

ATLANTA – The Nationals have lost six straight to the Braves. They’ve already lost the season series to their rivals, trailing 3-9 with one game to go. But a win in this afternoon’s finale would at least end the losing streak on a positive note. Plus, it would give the Nats a better road record than they had in 2024.

Andrew Alvarez has been impressive for most of his first stint in the majors. But he hit his first bump in his last start when he gave up six runs (four earned) in just 3 ⅓ innings against the Mets. The young left-hander will look to finish his season with a strong outing against a tough Braves lineup.

Meanwhile, Bryce Elder is 8-10 with a 5.36 ERA and 1.420 WHIP in 27 starts this season. He’s coming off seven innings of one-run ball and six strikeouts against the Tigers in Detroit. And the right-hander held the Nats to one run over six innings in D.C. back in May.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ATLANTA BRAVES
Where: Truist Park
Gametime: 12:15 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLBN (out-of-market only), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 85 degrees, wind 6 mph in from right field

NATIONALS
DH James Wood
SS CJ Abrams
1B Josh Bell
LF Daylen Lile
RF Dylan Crews
2B Luis García Jr.
C Jorge Alfaro
CF Robert Hassell III
3B Paul DeJong

Catcher Gary Sánchez won’t return to the Orioles this week. His first, and likely only, season with the team ends after 30 games and a .231/.297/.418 line with two doubles, five home runs and 24 RBIs in 101 plate appearances.

The Orioles signed Sánchez to a one-year, $8.5 million contract. He made two stops on the injured list with wrist and knee injuries.

Another change was made to the Orioles bullpen this afternoon. They returned Colin Selby from his rehab assignment and reinstated him from the injured list.

Jose Espada was optioned to the spring training complex.

Selby hasn’t pitched since July 28 because of a hamstring strain. Espada tossed three scoreless innings in his only appearance with the Orioles, and his second in the majors.

ATLANTA – The Nationals and Braves will square off with another pitching rematch from last week in the second game of this three-game set. Brad Lord and Hurston Waldrep will take the mound again as they did in the Wednesday's finale of a four-game series at Nationals Park.

Lord held the Braves to two runs on six hits and one walk and notched four strikeouts over 5 ⅓ innings that day. He departed that game with a 3-0 lead in the sixth, but the bullpen collapsed behind him in the Nats’ eventual 9-4 loss to complete the four-game sweep on their home field. The Nats will hope the rookie right-hander can keep them in the game again and that they can hold onto a lead if they get one.

Something to look out for in what could be Lord’s last start of the season: If he can complete 5 ⅔ shutout innings, he would become just the second Nationals rookie pitcher to complete 120 innings with an ERA less than 4.00, joining John Lannan in 2008 (3.91).

Meanwhile, Waldrep was charged with three runs on five hits last week. But he did strike out eight over his five innings, so the Nats will look to be more patient against the right-hander and get him in the zone tonight.

The Nats also made some pregame roster moves. They placed MacKenzie Gore (right ankle impingement) and Mason Thompson (right biceps tendinitis, retroactive to Sept. 20) on the 15-day injured list, ending both their seasons. They recalled right-handers Julian Fernandez and Orlando Ribalta to take their roster spots.

ATLANTA – The Nationals’ last road trip of the 2025 season got off to an exciting start, when they won two of three against the Mets over the weekend in Queens to knock their division rivals out of a playoff spot. This final away series doesn’t carry as much importance – as both the Nats and Braves are out of the postseason hunt – but it may be a meaningful chance at revenge for the visitors after Atlanta swept a four-games-in-three-days series in D.C. last week.

This series will start with a rematch from last week of an intriguing pitching matchup between two left-handed All-Stars on the bump. When MacKenzie Gore and Chris Sale faced off in the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader at Nats Park, the two starting southpaws dominated their respective opposing lineups.

Gore held the Braves scoreless with two hits, three walks and five strikeouts over 5 ⅓ innings, while Sale shut out the Nats over eight innings with three hits, no walks and nine strikeouts. But in the end, neither had a say in the final score as the Braves put up five runs in the 10th inning for a 5-0 victory.

How will this rematch shape out?

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ATLANTA BRAVES
Where: Truist Park
Gametime: 7:15 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLBN (out-of-market only), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 82 degrees, wind 6 mph in from left field

And we’re back! The Nationals will try to put this afternoon’s 6-3 loss to the Braves behind them and earn a split in this doubleheader with a victory tonight.

To do that, though, they’ll have to fare much better against another left-handed Atlanta starting pitcher. José Suarez held the Nats to two runs on five hits and two walks with nine strikeouts over seven innings earlier today. The task only gets harder against Chris Sale in the nightcap.

Sale has followed up his 2024 National League Cy Young Award with another stellar campaign, posting a 5-5 record, 2.52 ERA, 1.121 WHIP and 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings over 18 starts in his ninth All-Star season. He missed time between mid-June and late August with a fractured rib cage, but he has a 2.55 ERA over his three starts since returning from the injured list.

The Nats will counter with their own All-Star southpaw starter: MacKenzie Gore. In his return from the IL with left shoulder inflammation, Gore held the Marlins to two runs over five solid innings in a tough-luck loss last week. This will be his first start of the season against the Braves.

You’ll notice Miguel Cairo’s lineup for the second game looks very different from the usual. CJ Abrams and James Wood (who struck out four times in the first game to have 209 on the season) are on the bench, while Nasim Nuñez plays shortstop and hits leadoff (yes, leadoff!) and Dylan Crews gets bumped up to the No. 2 spot.

The Orioles close out their four-game series against the Yankees this afternoon with Kyle Bradish making his fifth start. He’s allowed six runs and 16 hits in 22 innings, with eight walks, 30 strikeouts and only two home runs.

Bradish hasn’t faced the Yankees since May 2, 2024, his first outing after leaving the injured list. He allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings. The previous start against them was on July 6, 2023 in the Bronx, when he tossed six scoreless innings. He also faced them on the road May 23, 2023, when he allowed four runs in five innings.

Bradish’s final start in 2022 came against the Yankees, again on the road, where he allowed an unearned run over five innings. The second matchup at Camden Yards occurred in his fourth major league start on May 16, 2022, when he surrendered four runs and eight hits in 4 1/3.

Aaron Judge, who hit his 49^th home run last night, is 0-for-5 with three walks and two strikeouts against Bradish.

Per STATS: Bradish has a first-pitch strike percentage of 73.2 against right-handed hitters this season, compared to 57.8 versus left-handers.

NEW YORK – Has everybody caught their breath since the end of Saturday’s game? Whew, what a finish for the Nationals, who blew a three-run lead in the eighth and ninth, only to win it in the 11th on Daylen Lile’s inside-the-park home run. Just like that, the Nats had perhaps their signature win of the season while the Mets saw their lead in the National League Wild Card race drop to one game over the Reds, two games over the Diamondbacks.

The series concludes this afternoon, with Jake Irvin on the mound hoping to right his ship and come up with a quality start in this big game. The right-hander hasn’t actually delivered a quality start in nearly two months, not since his July 27 gem in his hometown of Minneapolis. As always, the two keys for Irvin are getting through the first inning with a zero on the board and keeping the ball in the yard. He has surrendered 35 homers, most in the majors and three shy of Josiah Gray’s single-season club record.

The Mets are going with a bit of an unconventional pitching plan in this one. Veteran left-hander Sean Manaea will make the start and go as far as he can. He’ll then be replaced by veteran right-hander Clay Holmes, who in theory could go the rest of the way and give the entire bullpen the day off. We’ll see if that plan actually works or not. The Nationals actually did a good job each of the last two nights making a rookie Mets starter work and preventing him from pitching deep into the game. Can they take a similar approach with Manaea and Holmes and have success?

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 1:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 71 degrees, wind 9 mph in from right field

NATIONALS
DH James Wood
RF Dylan Crews
1B Josh Bell
LF Daylen Lile
2B Paul DeJong
C Jorge Alfaro
3B Brady House
SS Nasim Nuñez
CF Jacob Young

NEW YORK – Game one of this weekend series didn’t go so well for the Nationals, who took an early 4-1 lead over the Mets but ultimately lost 12-6 behind poor pitching and poor defense. New York, in the process, maintained its two-game lead over the victorious Reds for the final wild card berth in the National League with eight games to go.

They’ll be back at it this afternoon, with another matchup of rookie pitchers on the mound.

Cade Cavalli makes his ninth start, his first against the Mets. The right-hander has allowed three or fewer in six of his first eight outings, an encouraging development overall. Because he’s been held to five innings for the most part, though, Cavalli’s ERA is a bit inflated at 4.76. He also has struck out only three total batters over his last two starts, low by his standards. We’ll see how he fares in this one against a Mets lineup that ranks second in the NL in homers and eighth in strikeouts.

Nolan McLean is yet another New York rookie who has burst onto the scene over the last month, opening his career 4-1 with a 1.19 ERA. The 2023 draft pick has reached the sixth inning in each of his previous six starts, averaging nearly seven strikeouts per outing. He has a deep arsenal that features a mid-90s sinker and a mid-80s sweeper. The Nats did a nice job Friday night of figuring out fellow rookie Brandon Sproat as the game progressed. Perhaps they can do the same against McLean.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 75 degrees, wind 8 mph in from right field

NEW YORK – Hello from Citi Field, where tonight the Nationals open their final road trip of the season with the opener of a big weekend series against the Mets. Big for the Mets, that is. New York is clinging to a two-game lead over the Diamondbacks and Reds for the final Wild Card berth in the National League. These games mean a lot to the locals. The Nats, who just got swept by a Braves team playing for nothing, perhaps will be inspired playing in front of a big crowd and a team fighting for its postseason life.

We’ve got a matchup of rookie pitchers tonight. And not just rookies, but extremely inexperienced rookies. Andrew Alvarez makes his fourth career start for the Nationals. Brandon Sproat makes his third career start for the Mets.

Alvarez (1-0, 1.15 ERA) has been outstanding so far, but the left-hander faces probably his toughest challenge yet in Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and the rest of the Mets. Alvarez has managed to surrender only seven hits in 15 2/3 innings to date, and only two of those hits have gone for extra bases (one double, one homer). Can he somehow keep that going tonight?

Sproat, a second-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of Florida, was OK in his major league debut against the Reds (three runs in six innings), then great in his next start against the Rangers (six scoreless innings). The right-hander throws a 95-96 mph fastball, but has a deep repertoire of five pitches that he has already thrown at least 12 percent of the time each, so the Nats' hitters need to be ready for anything.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 7:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 80 degrees, wind 6 mph in from left field

It was a miserable Tuesday at Nationals Park, in more ways than one. There was a day-night doubleheader. There was a two-hour rain delay before they could start the nightcap. There were extra innings in that nightcap. And, ultimately, the Nationals lost both games to the Braves, leaving them in danger of a four-game sweep if they lose today’s series finale as well.

But it’s a new day, so who knows what might transpire when these teams meet again at 4:05 p.m. (weather permitting, yet again)?

It’s Brad Lord on the mound for the Nats, looking to finish out his rookie season strong after a little blip recently. Lord gave up seven runs in back-to-back starts against the Yankees and Rays, which made his ERA spike from 3.84 to 4.34. But he was much better his last two times out against the Cubs and Pirates, allowing a total of four runs in 11 2/3 innings, which has brought his ERA down to 4.21. He faced the Braves three times this season, all in May, but all as a reliever. So they’ll be seeing a different version of the right-hander this afternoon.

Offensively, the Nationals desperately need to get something going at the plate early against Hurston Waldrep after getting worked by Spencer Strider, José Suarez and Chris Sale in the first three games of the series. Waldrep, 23, is making only his 10th career start, but his major league debut actually came last summer at Nationals Park. How did the home team do that afternoon? They scored seven runs in the fourth inning off Waldrep, with the big blow being a three-run homer by Keibert Ruiz (who, alas, is not playing today).

ATLANTA BRAVES 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: Chance of rain, 66 degrees, wind 10 mph in from center field

CHICAGO – The Orioles will go for their eighth sweep this afternoon as they wrap up their series against the White Sox.

Tyler Wells makes his third start after allowing three runs in 11 2/3 innings. He’s faced the White Sox twice in his career and surrendered five earned runs (six total) in 7 1/3 innings.

Jorge Mateo is in center field today and batting ninth. Jordan Westburg bats second and starts at third base.

Tyler O’Neill is the designated hitter. Jeremiah Jackson moves down to fifth in the order and is in right field.

Alex Jackson is catching. Samuel Basallo goes to the bench.

Let’s play two! That’s right, the Nationals will have not one, but two chances to get back into this series against the rival Braves in today’s split doubleheader. This 1:05 p.m. game is a makeup from a rainout on May 21, which technically gave Washington a two-game series sweep over Atlanta.

After last night’s 11-3 drubbing, the Nats will look to put together better at-bats against a slew of Braves relievers, starting with opener José Suarez. The 27-year-old left-hander has spent most of this season with Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate after making three major league relief appearances over the season’s first 12 games. He was charged with three runs (two earned) and seven walks with five strikeouts across 7 ⅓ innings.

The Nats typically don’t fare well when the opposition commits to a bullpen game, so it will be in their best interest to get to Suarez early and often.

Meanwhile, Jake Irivn will start the afternoon game for Miguel Cairo’s squad. The right-hander has been the losing pitcher of record in each of his last five starts and hasn’t won a game since his gem in his hometown of Minneapolis on July 27. The Nats have lost seven of the eight games he has started since. But he did toss a quality start against the Braves in Atlanta back on May 12.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ATLANTA BRAVES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLBN (out-of-market only), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain, 70 degrees, wind 13 mph in from right field

We’ve reached the final two weeks of the season, with only four series remaining on the Nationals’ schedule. And while they will face an interleague opponent (the White Sox) to wrap up 2025, before that they’ve got three straight series against fellow National League East opponents, two of them against the Braves.

And this first series vs. Atlanta is a four-games-in-three-days series, with a day-night doubleheader on the docket Tuesday. First up, though, is tonight’s 6:45 p.m. opener. It’ll be Mitchell Parker on the mound, hoping to pick up where he left off in Miami last week when he allowed just two runs over 7 2/3 innings in his best start in weeks. The left-hander was OK in two back-to-back starts against the Braves back in May, allowing seven runs over 10 innings but emerging with a win in one of the games and a no-decision in the other.

Spencer Strider was Parker’s opponent for the May 20 meeting between these teams, and the Nationals jumped all over him for three runs in the first and another in the second. Strider was making only his second start off the injured list at the time. And while it’s been a rocky road for the hard-throwing right-hander, he has been better of late, posting a 3.00 ERA over his last three outings.

ATLANTA BRAVES 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, 77 degrees, wind 9 mph in from right field

BRAVES
LF Jurickson Profar
1B Matt Olson
RF Ronald Acuña Jr.
2B Ozzie Albies
SS Ha-Seong Kim
C Drake Baldwin
DH Marcell Ozuna
CF Michael Harris II
3B Nacho Alvarez Jr.

Jeremiah Jackson is the cleanup hitter today for the first time with the Orioles, who try to avoid a sweep this afternoon in Toronto.

Jackson is starting at third base. He’s hit in every spot in the lineup except third.

Dylan Beavers is in right field and batting second again. Samuel Basallo is the designated hitter and batting fifth.

Coby Mayo moves up to sixth after homering yesterday and producing his first multi-hit game since Aug. 6.

The Orioles lost yesterday for the 10th time when leading through seven innings and the third when ahead entering the ninth.