As ugly as the opener of today’s doubleheader was, there are some saving graces from the Nationals’ perspective. They’ve now got their ace taking the mound in the nightcap. And thanks to six innings of relief from Jackson Rutledge, Eduardo Salazar and especially Andry Lara after Trevor Williams was knocked out early, they’ve got all of their top bullpen arms fresh and available in search of a win this evening.

All eyes will be on MacKenzie Gore to do his usual thing, and to do it against a tough Tigers lineup that leads the American League in runs scored. Gore, of course, has never been one to back down from a challenge, and he’s coming off an outstanding start in San Diego that nevertheless resulted in a 1-0 loss (his eighth of the season despite his 3.09 ERA).

So the Nationals will need to provide some run support for their No. 1 guy tonight. They face Jack Flaherty, the enigmatic 29-year-old who at times during his career has looked like a true frontline starter and at other times has looked lost. It’s been a rough season for him so far, as evidenced by his 5-9 record and 4.80 ERA. Flaherty’s biggest issue: He has surrendered 16 homers in 84 1/3 innings, seventh-most in the AL. The Nats need to hit the ball in the air against him tonight.

DETROIT TIGERS 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, 85 degrees, wind 5 mph right field to left field

TIGERS
DH Justyn-Henry Malloy
2B Gleyber Torres
LF Jahmai Jones
1B Spencer Torkelson
CF Matt Vierling
RF Wenceel Perez
C Dillon Dingler
SS Javy Báez
3B Zach McKinstry

ARLINGTON, Texas – Gary Sánchez stays in the Orioles lineup tonight after being hit on the finger last night in the eighth inning.

The X-rays must have come back negative because Sánchez is the designated hitter. Jacob Stallings makes his first start with the Orioles.

Jordan Westburg is out of the lineup for a fifth consecutive day due to soreness in his left index finger.

Ramón Laureano is playing right field and batting second. Ryan O’Hearn is the first baseman and cleanup hitter. Coby Mayo is on the bench.

On a busy day, the Orioles also signed infielder/outfielder Jose Barrero to a minor league contract.

Alright, what do you say we give this another shot? And then play another game after that?

Unable to commence this week’s homestand on time due to a vicious line of thunderstorms that rolled through the area Tuesday afternoon and evening, the Nationals now face the prospect of a day-night doubleheader against the Tigers this afternoon and evening. The nightcap will be the previously scheduled 6:45 p.m. game, with MacKenzie Gore starting as planned all along against Jack Flaherty (who was supposed to start Tuesday’s game).

That means today’s 1:05 p.m. game (the rescheduled game, available to anyone who had tickets to Tuesday’s rainout) will now feature Trevor Williams against Detroit left-hander Tyler Holton. Holton is not a starter. He’s an opener, specifically chosen by manager A.J. Hinch to face the top of the Nationals’ lineup in the first inning. So we’ll have to see if CJ Abrams, James Wood and Co. can throw a wrench into those plans and get on the board first.

Williams will be even more rested than he already was, hoping to keep the Tigers’ lineup in check and provide some length. Though the Nats get to carry an extra reliever today, they’ve still got another game to worry about tonight, so Davey Martinez has to be careful not to burn up too many games in the opener.

DETROIT TIGERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 80 degrees, wind 5 mph in from right field

We’re not in California anymore. The Nationals at long last are back home after a nine-game trip west that featured a 4-5 record and a whole lot of beautiful weather days. That’s not the case anymore. It’s disgusting back here in the nation’s capital, with temperatures in the 90s, dew points in the mid-70s and heat indexes well over 100. And now there’s a massive line of storms headed this way, putting tonight’s series opener against the Tigers in serious jeopardy.

We’ll see how that all transpires, but in the meantime let’s assume they play as scheduled. The Nats will look to hold their own against the surprisingly best-in-baseball Tigers. At least they don’t have to face Tarik Skubal, who pitched another gem Sunday night and won’t pitch again until this weekend.

Jack Flaherty is no slouch, though, and the Nationals will need to put together quality at-bats against the 29-year-old, whose bottom-line numbers (5-9, 4.80 ERA) aren’t great but peripherals are much better (1.233 WHIP, 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings).

Trevor Williams, meanwhile, keeps chugging along for the Nats. At this point, you know what you’re going to get from the veteran right-hander. At best, he’s going to keep them in the game for five-ish innings. They just have to hope he keeps Detroit’s lineup to three or fewer runs along the way.

The Nats also made a pregame roster move: Paul DeJong has been activated off the 10-day injured list about 2 1/2 months after getting hit in the face by a fastball. Andrés Chaparro was optioned to Triple-A after he went just 1-for-11 in limited playing time.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Nationals arrived in Southern California way back on July 19, fresh off a walk-off win over the Rockies that finally snapped their losing streak at 11 games. Today, they finally wrap up this nine-game trip through all three major league cities in the region, having lost two of three to both the Dodgers and the Padres and needing a win today against the Angels to avoid the same fate.

The good news: Davey Martinez should have his top bullpen options available to him after not having them Saturday night. So if Mitchell Parker can get the Nats through five or six quality innings, Brad Lord, Jose A. Ferrer and Kyle Finnegan are all raring to go, with Finnegan in particular available for more than one inning given how little he has pitched during this road trip.

The Nats also need to score more than the two runs they scored Saturday, only one of them coming off starter Kyle Hendricks. Today they face right-hander Jack Kochanowicz, who is 3-8 with a 5.49 ERA in 16 starts. The key: He has walked 4.2 batters per nine innings while striking out only 6.5. Patience, patience, patience from a lineup that includes all of the recent regulars with one exception: Drew Millas gets the start behind the plate after Riley Adams caught the majority of five straight games following Keibert Ruiz's head injury.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Where: Angel Stadium
Gametime: 4:07 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 85 degrees, wind 8 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
2B Luis García Jr.
1B Nathanial Lowe
DH Josh Bell
3B Brady House
RF Daylen Lile
C Drew Millas
CF Jacob Young

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Nationals enjoyed their best offensive night in four years to open this series, blasting 15 runs on 19 hits in a slugfest victory over the Angels on Friday night. So, what should we expect tonight?

The way this lineup has operated all season, it feels like they’re more likely to be shut out by Kyle Hendricks than put up big numbers again. Hendricks has long been a master of soft contact, and we know many of the Nats’ regulars struggle with sinkers and changeups down in the zone. They’re going to have to show the kind of patience they haven’t often shown this season to have some success against the crafty veteran.

Michael Soroka, meanwhile, will look to continue what he did last weekend in Los Angeles, and then finish strong. It’s the finishing part that has given the right-hander so much trouble. Soroka’s sixth inning ERA this season is a ridiculous 22.85. His ERA in all other innings is 3.49. Clearly, he has the ability to be good. He just needs to sustain it through the conclusion of his starts.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Where: Angel Stadium
Gametime: 9:38 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 80 degrees, wind 8 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
2B Luis García Jr.
1B Nathaniel Lowe
DH Josh Bell
3B Brady House
RF Daylen Lile
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Hello from the Big A and the final leg of this three-city Southern California swing for the Nationals. They lost two of three in Los Angeles. They lost two of three in San Diego. They really hope not to lose two of three here against an Angels team that is playing good baseball and has reached the .500 mark but just learned today manager Ron Washington will miss the remainder of the season while on medical leave. Bench coach Ray Montgomery takes over managerial duties.

The Nationals were shut out Wednesday by the Padres, so they’ll be looking to bounce back offensively against José Soriano. The right-hander has a good ERA (3.39) but so-so peripherals (1.419 WHIP, 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings, 4.2 walks per nine innings). That final number needs to be implanted in the Nats’ brains. They did not draw one walk during Wednesday’s loss. They have to show more patience tonight.

On the mound, Jake Irvin is coming off a really solid start at Dodger Stadium (two runs, seven strikeouts, zero walks) in 5 1/3 innings. He makes his first career start against the Angels, so this will be the first time he ever faces Mike Trout (and vice versa).

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Where: Angel Stadium
Gametime: 9:38 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 74 degrees, wind 8 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
2B Luis García Jr.
1B Nathaniel Lowe
DH Josh Bell
3B Brady House
RF Daylen Lile
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young

SAN DIEGO – As was the case Sunday in Los Angeles, the Nationals have an opportunity today to win a series against a good opponent. They put themselves in that position by thumping the Padres on Monday night before coming up just short Tuesday night. So it will require a victory this afternoon to win the series and improve to 3-3 on the West Coast trip heading into a much-needed day off before the Southern California jaunt concludes this weekend in Anaheim.

The good news: MacKenzie Gore is on the mound, facing the team that drafted and then traded him. Gore has pitched here each of the last two seasons, so this is nothing special for him. The lefty just wants to go out there and do what he’s doing through the majority of the season’s first half: provide length with minimal damage and a lot of strikeouts. The Padres' lineup is no joke, but he’s plenty motivated to deliver for his team today.

At the plate, the Nationals will try to get to Nick Pivetta the way they did to Ryan Hergert on Tuesday night, while perhaps converting a few more times in clutch situations. (They scored three early runs but went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, missing some golden opportunities to extend their lead.) Pivetta, of course, is the long-ago Nats prospect who was traded to the Phillies for Jonathan Papelbon nearly a decade ago. He’s fashioned a solid career since and has been more than solid so far in his first year with the Padres, entering today 7-2 with a 3.64 ERA and 1.083 WHIP in 15 starts.

One important note to consider as the game plays out: Robert Suarez dropped his appeal of the three-game suspension MLB handed down to him last week for intentionally throwing at the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, once the league reduced the sentence to two games. So the Padres will be without their closer this afternoon, should this game be close come the ninth inning.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SAN DIEGO PADRES
Where: Petco Park
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 71 degrees, wind 10 mph left field to right field

SAN DIEGO – The Nationals showed up Monday night at Petco Park, blasting a couple of home runs and delivering a flurry of clutch hits en route to a 10-6 win over the Padres. They’re 2-2 so far on this West Coast trip, and they’ve had a real chance to win every game, which isn’t too shabby, all things considered. The key now is sustaining that, and they’ll attempt to do it tonight in the second game of their series.

At the plate, the Nats will be facing an unknown opponent in Ryan Bergert. The rookie right-hander, drafted in the sixth round in 2021 out of West Virginia, makes his ninth career appearance, his fifth career start. He’s been pretty good to date in this role, delivering a 2.25 ERA through those four previous starts. He’s reached the sixth inning three times, though he has yet to complete that frame. He features a mid-90s fastball and two breaking balls in the mid-to-high 80s, plus an occasional changeup to left-handed batters.

Trevor Williams returns to his hometown of San Diego, hoping to turn in his third consecutive solid start. The veteran right-hander held both the Marlins and Rockies to two runs over 5 1/3 innings, but he’s facing a much more imposing Padres lineup tonight.

The Nationals have put Keibert Ruiz on the 10-day injured list after he was struck by a foul ball into the dugout last night. The team has recalled Drew Millas from Triple-A Rochester to fill the roster spot.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SAN DIEGO PADRES
Where: Petco Park
Gametime: 9:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 66 degrees, wind 8 mph left field to right field

SAN DIEGO – Hello from beautiful Petco Park, where the Nationals begin the second leg of their three-city trek through Southern California tonight with the opener of a three-game series against the Padres. Though they legitimately played well for most of the weekend series in L.A., they made just enough mistakes at critical moments and wound up losing two of three to the Dodgers. Now they try to flip that script against a very good San Diego club.

It's up to Mitchell Parker to hold the Padres lineup in check. The left-hander was stuck in a pretty good rut there for a while, but he bounced back big-time in his last start (admittedly against the Rockies). In that game, he allowed one run over six innings, striking out eight without issuing a walk. It’s probably too much to ask for that kind of performance tonight against a much better lineup, but it’s not too much to ask Parker to give his team a chance to win.

At the plate, the Nationals will try to score early against Padres starter Stephen Kolek, who pitched out of the bullpen last year but has become a full-time starter this year. It’s been kind of all-or-nothing for the right-hander. In four of his nine starts, he’s posted a zero. In the other five, he’s surrendered at least three runs.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SAN DIEGO PADRES
Where: Petco Park
Gametime: 9:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly clear, 65 degrees, wind 7 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
2B Luis García Jr.
1B Nathaniel Lowe
DH Josh Bell
3B Brady House
RF Daylen Lile
C Keibert Ruiz
CF Jacob Young

NEW YORK – Orioles reliever Yennier Cano struck out the side yesterday in the seventh inning and was optioned after the game. Overall production and limited bullpen flexibility doomed the 2023 All-Star.

Reliever Yaramil Hiraldo was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. He’s using Cano’s locker at Yankee Stadium.

Cano has a 4.73 ERA and 1.388 WHIP in 32 games. He was scored upon once in nine appearances this month, but the Rays tallied four runs against him in two-thirds of an inning. He had a streak of nine scoreless outings out of 10 prior to the implosion.

“It starts, ultimately, with the amount of innings we’ve had to cover here recently with the bullpen,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “We need a fresh arm. You have a limited amount of bullpen guys who have options, so there’s really just a couple to choose from. You start to look at the big picture, right? The whole season for players, too, and where maybe a guy can take a break and go down and maybe work on something and get back to what they were.

“I know yesterday looks great where Cano comes in, probably has one of his best outings of the year for us. I think you’ve got to be very careful with the recency bias and just understand that we have to look at the last three, four months, last year. And understand that Yenni Cano has been good at times. He’s been up and down. I think everyone can admit that. And I think this could be a really good opportunity for Yenni to go down right now and kind of make the small adjustment, whatever needs to be made in order to get back to being Yenni Cano.”

LOS ANGELES – The Nationals didn’t play poorly Friday night, but they needed to play just a little bit better if they wanted to beat the Dodgers. So that made the 6-5 loss in the series opener both encouraging and discouraging. They pretty much stood toe to toe with the defending champs but ultimately weren’t as good as the competition and lost a close ballgame in the process.

They’ll hope for better results tonight in game two of the weekend series. They’re facing a very different opposing starter from Clayton Kershaw in Dustin May, who of course is right-handed but also throws much harder than Kershaw. Batters are hitting a measly .081 against his four-seam fastball, which averages 95.1 mph. He also throws a ton of sweepers, against which opponents are batting only .219. The Nationals lineup needs to be smart tonight in pitch selection and swing decisions, to say the least.

Jake Irvin, meanwhile, needs to avoid his first-inning troubles (10.80 ERA) and find a way to start his night with a zero on the scoreboard before getting into a groove. Maybe the most extreme example of that issue came in April when Irvin gave up four runs before recording an out to these same Dodgers but then didn’t give up anything else the rest of his outing. Get through that first frame unscathed, and the right-hander could be in good position for a big night.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 10:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 69 degrees, wind 5 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
2B Luis García Jr.
1B Nathaniel Lowe
3B Brady House
DH Josh Bell
RF Daylen Lile
C Keibert Ruiz
CF Jacob Young

LOS ANGELES – The Nationals took a much-needed happy flight west Thursday night after finally snapping their 11-game losing streak with a walk-off, 11-inning win over the Rockies, courtesy James Wood. And they won’t board another plane for 10 more days, when they fly home at the end of a three-city, nine-game trip played entirely within Southern California. The trip ends in Anaheim, with a stop in San Diego prior to that. And it kicks off tonight at Dodger Stadium with the first of three against the defending World Series champs.

We’ll got a doozy of a pitching matchup for the series opener: MacKenzie Gore vs. Clayton Kershaw. Gore has already toppled the Dodgers this season, allowing two runs over six innings in a 6-4 win back in early April. The lefty has another opportunity tonight to state his All-Star case against an All-Star lineup. Knowing him, he’s plenty fired up for this one.

Kershaw makes only his seventh start of the season after opening the year on the injured list. He’s still quite good, with a 3.25 ERA and 1.301 WHIP at age 37. This is the first time the future Hall of Famer has faced the Nationals since 2021, so he’ll be going up against a very different lineup than he remembers.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 10:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 69 degrees, wind 5 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
2B Ames Rosario
LF James Wood
DH Andrés Chaparro
1B Nathaniel Lowe
3B Brady House
RF Alex Call
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young

NEW YORK – The Orioles are going with their right-handed lineup tonight to open their series against the Yankees, which puts Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Ryan O’Hearn and Cedric Mullins on the bench.

Jordan Westburg is leading off and playing second base. Ramón Urías is the third baseman and cleanup hitter. Luis Vázquez is the shortstop.

Coby Mayo gets back into the lineup at first base. Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter.

Henderson has a 13-game hitting streak, one short of his career high. He’s batting .396 with seven RBIs and nine runs scored during the streak.

Rutschman has registered a .317 career batting average against the Yankees, the third highest among active players after José Ramírez’s .332 and Jose Iglesias’ .329 in a minimum 150 plate appearances.

What more can be said at this point? After now having lost the season series to the lowly Rockies, the Nationals must win this afternoon to avoid a four-game sweep in their home ballpark at the hands of the major leagues’ worst team. A victory would also keep them from a winless homestand and finally end this 11-game losing streak before it ties a club record.

Trevor Williams will look to continue the solid effort the starting rotation has put forth. He is 3-8 with a 5.71 ERA and 1.428 WHIP through 14 starts. But the right-hander has been charged with two earned runs or less in three of his last four outings, posting a more respectable 4.05 ERA over that stretch.

The Nats' offense will, yet again, try to break out of this prolonged funk against an opposing starter with a high ERA. Chase Dollander is 2-7 with a 6.57 ERA and 1.539 WHIP over his first 11 major league starts. The rookie right-hander, who was the No. 9 overall pick out of the University of Tennessee in 2023, has seen some better results as of late, being charged with three earned runs or less in four of his last five starts. But he hasn’t pitched deep into games, completing just 22 ⅔ innings and getting past the fifth only twice over that stretch.

The Nationals got to Dollander to the tune of nine runs (six earned) on nine hits and four home runs back in April at Coors Field. Maybe this rookie is just who they need to see again to turn things around.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. COLORADO ROCKIES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly sunny, 89 degrees, wind 13 mph out to center field

Coby Mayo is getting his first start at George M. Steinbrenner Field tonight and Adley Rutschman is on the bench for the third game of the series against the Rays.

Jordan Westburg is playing third base and batting second. Ramón Laureano is the cleanup hitter.

Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter and Colton Cowser is in left field. Cedric Mullins is batting ninth.

Cowser has hit three home runs in 11 games since returning from the 60-day injured list.

The Orioles have won 12 of their last 17 games since May 30, and the .706 winning percentage is tied with the Astros for best in the majors.

The sun came up today. Well, not really because we continue to experience disgusting weather here in the D.C. region, with clouds, rain and humidity that makes it feel like South Florida instead of the Mid-Atlantic. But regardless, the Nationals are playing another game tonight, another opportunity to try to end their losing streak, which has now reached 10 games.

As always, it boils down to getting the game off to a positive start. They need to score some runs off Germán Márquez, who like Antonio Senzatela last night enters with a bloated ERA but unlike Senzatela did not face the Nats earlier this season. So we’ll see how they fare against the Rockies right-hander.

And it boils down to Mitchell Parker getting through a clean top of the first and then giving his team a chance. Parker did not do that last time out against the Marlins, giving up a run in the first, another in the second and then four in third. He simply can’t dig his teammates into a hole tonight, not the way things are going around here.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. COLORADO ROCKIES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Thunderstorms, 83 degrees, wind 8 mph out to center field

ROCKIES
DH Tyler Freeman
2B Kyle Farmer
LF Jordan Beck
1B Michael Toglia
CF Brenton Doyle
3B Orlando Arcia
RF Sam Hilliard
SS Ryan Ritter
C Braxton Fulford

It’s a big day for the Nationals, who will see their latest top prospect make his major league debut. Sadly, the arrival of Brady House comes with the team as a whole reeling, having just been swept over the weekend by the Marlins, their worst losing streak in two years now up to eight games. House should not be considered the savior. No prospect should, but he in particular isn’t supposed to be the kind of player who changes the entire fortunes of a lineup.

That said, House should provide a much-needed offensive boost at a position of great need. Nats third basemen have combined for only two homers this season (both by Amed Rosario). House hit 13 of them in 65 games at Triple-A Rochester. Even if the 22-year-old is half as good as that, it’ll still be an improvement for the team at large.

House should have a favorable matchup tonight in his debut. The Rockies were supposed to start veteran Kyle Freeland, but he was placed on the injured list, so it’ll be rookie left-hander Carson Palmquist making his sixth career start. Palmquist, 24, is 0-4 with a 7.77 ERA and 1.818 WHIP in the previous five starts. The Nationals absolutely need to do damage tonight against him, and right from the get-go.

Jake Irvin, meanwhile, needs to be at his best after three straight less-than-stellar starts in which he allowed 13 runs and 23 hits over 15 innings to the Diamondbacks, Cubs and Mets. Irvin was excellent when he pitched at Coors Field back in April, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out nine over 6 1/3 innings.

By the way, here’s the full list of transactions before today’s game: House and outfielder Daylen Lile were promoted from Triple-A, with infielder José Tena and outfielder Robert Hassell III optioned to Rochester. And in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for House, the Nationals designated Juan Yepez for assignment, the first baseman/DH having produced only a .575 OPS at Triple-A this season.

The Nationals are not in a good place right now, suffice it to say. They’ve lost seven in a row, including two straight to the Marlins. They’re a season-low 10 games under .500. And after Saturday’s game, manager Davey Martinez got testy when asked about his coaching staff, offering an impassioned defense of those guys that may or may not have gone over well within the clubhouse.

A win today wouldn’t solve everything, but it would sure help. The Nats have lost four of five to Miami this season, and the notion of getting swept in this series was almost unfathomable a couple days ago.

MacKenzie Gore will need to be on point, which he has been more often than not so far this year. Martinez will lean on his ace and let him go deep in this game before ideally handing it over to a couple of back-end relievers.

But really the story today is the Nationals lineup. Can it not only produce, but can it produce early and often and not leave itself scrambling to rally in the late innings? They’re facing a flamethrower in Eury Perez, who is making only his second start of the season, only his second big league start since 2023, having just recovered fully from his April 2024 Tommy John surgery. Who knows what exactly to expect against the right-hander, but the Nats had better hope they do some damage against him.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MIAMI MARLINS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain late, 69 degrees, wind 7 mph in from right field

Friday night was about as miserable as it gets for the Nationals. They fell into a big hole early, then sat through a long rain delay, then tried to mount a furious late rally, only to come up short and suffer an 11-9 loss to the Marlins that ended around 12:30 a.m. And now, only 12 1/2 hours later, they’re right back out there for the second game of the series, with a rare 1:05 p.m. Saturday start (the result of the originally scheduled 4:05 p.m. game getting bumped up to account for all the traffic that will be pouring into the city later this evening for the military parade).

Suffice it to say, the Nats need today to go much better than Friday night did, in every possible way. They need a better pitching performance from Trevor Williams than they got from Mitchell Parker. They need early offense against Cade Gibson and the rest of the Marlins relievers who will be cobbling together a bullpen game today. They need more of a lockdown relief performance than they got Friday night, when Jackson Rutledge and Jose A. Ferrer combined to give up five runs. And they need the weather to cooperate, because there’s an increasing chance of more rain as the day and evening progress. Is it too much to ask for all of those things to come together in glorious harmony?

The Nationals made a roster move this morning involving their bullpen: Andrew Chafin has been placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to June 11) with a right hamstring strain and have recalled right-hander Ryan Loutos from Triple-A Rochester. Loutos, who was just claimed off waivers from the Dodgers, has five games of big league experience with Los Angeles and St. Louis. He made only one appearance for Rochester before his call-up, allowing a run on two hits in one inning of relief Thursday.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MIAMI MARLINS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain, 81 degrees, wind 4 mph in from left field

MARLINS
RF Jesús Sánchez
C Agustín Ramírez
DH Liam Hicks
SS Otto Lopez
LF Kyle Stowers
1B Eric Wagaman
CF Dane Myers
3B Connor Norby
2B Javier Sanoja