CINCINNATI – Hello from Great American Ball Park, where we could be in for a wild weather weekend. There are thunderstorms expected later this afternoon. It probably won’t postpone tonight’s series opener, but it could delay first pitch (which is already at the earlier-than-usual time of 6:10 p.m.). Then it’s supposed to rain all day Saturday and into Sunday. Guess we’ll just deal with that when and if it happens.

The Nationals arrive here fresh off a nice win in Philadelphia last night, salvaging one game from that series. They would love to keep the momentum going, but they face a stiff challenge tonight in burgeoning Reds ace Hunter Greene, owner of a triple-digit fastball.

Mitchell Parker has been pretty good himself on the mound so far this season, though the left-hander is coming off his worst start to date. He’ll need to get back on track and keep the ball in the yard in a ballpark that is known for surrendering plenty of home runs.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at CINCINNATI REDS
Where: Great American Ball Park
Gametime: 6:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Thunderstorms, 72 degrees, wind 7 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
1B Nathaniel Lowe
C Keibert Ruiz
2B Luis García Jr.
DH Josh Bell
RF Dylan Crews
3B José Tena
CF Jacob Young

PHILADELPHIA – Brad Lord had handed over the ball to his manager four times previously as a big league starter, but this one was different. Different, because he was handing the ball to Miguel Cairo, not Davey Martinez. And different, because no matter who he was handing the ball to, he was doing so beyond the fifth inning and with the Nationals leading at the time, leaving the rookie right-hander in line for the win.

“Great job. Way to compete,” Cairo, who was filling in for Martinez while the latter attended his longtime agent’s funeral, said. “You put us in a good spot.”

Lord had to sweat out the final four innings of Thursday night’s game at Citizens Bank Park. But when Kyle Finnegan got Rafael Marchán to line out to end the game, he knew what it meant. His first major league win was now official.

“It’s a huge relief,” Lord said. “I knew right from the get-go, no doubt in my mind that he’s got it. When that last out is made, it’s a huge flood of emotions.”

Lord earned his first win both because of his effective pitching performance, allowing only two runs to a tough Phillies lineup, but also because of the efficiency he displayed to allow him to complete the requisite five innings for the first time.

PHILADELPHIA – The Nationals made a move to bolster their bullpen today, signing Andrew Chafin to a $1 million, major league deal. But the veteran left-hander won’t be joining the team until Friday in Cincinnati, and with Colin Poche designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for him, the Nats were left with a depleted relief corps for tonight’s series finale against the Phillies, one that featured only one lefty.

So it was up to bench coach Miguel Cairo, filling in for Davey Martinez while the manager was away at the funeral of his longtime agent, to figure out how to cobble together the final four innings of a tight ballgame against a tough opponent with limited resources at his disposal.

And when the Nationals found a way to survive, getting four scoreless frames from the trio of Jose A. Ferrer, Jorge López and Kyle Finnegan, they were able to breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy a hard-earned, 4-2 victory at Citizens Bank Park.

“I don’t think there’s anybody in this clubhouse that was worried,” first baseman Nathaniel Lowe said. “It was just a matter of time before the guys get their feet under them. … It’s OK to believe in your teammates and understand they’re all going through something and trying to find a way to be the best version of themselves. Really happy with the result tonight.”

It didn’t come easy. Ferrer allowed one runner he inherited from Brad Lord to score in the sixth but wound up recording six outs to bridge the gap to the back end of the bullpen. López had to face the heart of the Philly lineup and put two guys on base, but survived by inducing a 5-4-3 double play out of Nick Castellanos. Finnegan then overcame a two-out triple by Johan Rojas to notch his 10th save, avenge back-to-back blown save opportunities earlier in the week and ensure Lord would come out of this with his first career win.

PHILADELPHIA – The Nationals made their first significant bullpen change of the season this evening, signing veteran left-hander Andrew Chafin to a major league deal and designating Colin Poche for assignment.

Chafin, 34, has 601 games of big league experience with six different clubs, the first 380 of them with the Diamondbacks. Owner of a 3.42 ERA, 1.275 WHIP and 20 career saves, he had a 3.51 ERA in 62 games with the Tigers and Rangers last season.

Chafin opened this season with Detroit's Triple-A club in Toledo, posting a 2.13 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings before opting out of his minor league contract and becoming a free agent. He's scheduled to join the Nats in Cincinnati on Friday.

Poche made the Opening Day roster out of spring training based on his solid track record with the Rays, but the 31-year-old struggled from the outset and never found a groove despite a number of opportunities. In 13 total appearances, Poche had an 11.42 ERA, issuing 12 walks in only 8 2/3 innings. He also allowed 8-of-12 inherited runners to score.

Chafin will join Jose A. Ferrer as the two left-handers in a Nationals bullpen that enters the day ranked last in the majors with a 7.41 ERA and 1.77 WHIP. The team will be a man down for tonight's game, with only seven available relievers.

PHILADELPHIA – This series has not gone the way the Nationals hoped it would. They nearly pulled off a remarkable rally in Tuesday’s opener, only to fall in the bottom of the ninth. Then they put up little fight Wednesday during a lopsided loss. So now they have to win tonight or else be swept out of town before heading to Cincinnati for the weekend.

Brad Lord gets the start, his fifth in the majors. The rookie right-hander has yet to complete five innings or top 80 pitches. The Nats would really love for him to do both tonight and take some workload off the bullpen. To do that, he’ll have to hold in check a Phillies lineup that we know can hit the ball out of the park. (Especially Kyle Schwarber, who has four homers in five head-to-head matchups already this season.)

Really, though, the Nationals need to score runs, and score them early. They’ve been forced to play catch-up way too much of late. They’re facing a veteran in Taijuan Walker who has an average resume but has found a way to produce a 2.78 ERA through his first five starts this year. The catch: He has only totaled 22 2/3 innings, and didn’t make it past the fourth in either of his last two outings. The Nats would love to get to Walker early, knock him out and then try to feast on a Phillies bullpen that has been quite shaky as well.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Citizens Bank Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 71 degrees, wind 12 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
1B Nathaniel Lowe
C Keibert Ruiz
2B Luis García Jr.
DH Josh Bell
RF Dylan Crews
3B José Tena
CF Jacob Young

PHILADELPHIA – Josh Bell doesn’t need to be told. He knows how much he’s struggling.

The Nationals designated hitter knows his batting average (.137 after an 0-for-4 showing Wednesday night). He knows his average exit velocity (86.4 mph). He knows his numbers with runners in scoring position (5-for-31). And, most importantly, he knows his team’s record (13-18) through the season’s first month.

Bell can’t help but feel responsible for it.

“It’s tough now knowing how good this team is, knowing how good this offense is, and knowing that if I’m hitting .200 at this point, I think we’re over a .500 team,” he said. “I take that personally. I know that I have some work to do. But hopefully I can make up for it here in May.”

Would the Nats have turned at least three of their losses into wins – and thus found themselves over .500 – had Bell been performing better at the plate? It’s debatable that one hitter can make that much difference.

PHILADELPHIA – As their season enters its second month, the Nationals have established an ability to be far more competitive against top competition than they had been the previous three seasons as they embarked on their roster rebuild. They’ve stood toe-to-toe with the Mets, Phillies, Dodgers and Diamondbacks in a manner not seen around here in a while.

But that doesn’t mean they’ve looked competitive against that caliber of competition every night. Sometimes, they’ve still looked like the inferior ballclub, as was the case tonight during a 7-2 drubbing at the hands of the Phillies.

Jake Irvin labored through his worst start of the young season, putting his team in an early hole and allowing runs in four of the six innings he pitched. The lineup didn’t have a rousing rally in it this time, unable to duplicate its impressive feat from Tuesday’s series opener, instead going down quietly against the Philadelphia pitching staff.

“The last week, 10 days, it seems like anybody coming out of the bullpen, we’ve been all over,” designated hitter Josh Bell said. “But they definitely had our number tonight.”

As such, the Nats lost their third straight game, falling to 13-18. They’ll need a win in Thursday’s finale here to avoid a disheartening series sweep before heading to Cincinnati for the weekend.

PHILADELPHIA – It probably took all night and part of this morning for everyone to get over the chaos that was the final couple innings of Tuesday’s 7-6 loss. Truly, that was a bonkers ballgame, in both good and bad ways. The challenge now facing the Nationals: Brush it off and try to come back tonight with a winning effort to avoid what would be a sudden three-game losing streak.

Jake Irvin is a pretty good option to have on the mound for a game like this. The right-hander has been a steady presence so far, having completed at least five innings in each of his six starts, and having reached at least the seventh inning in each of his last three (allowing three total runs in the process). Irvin held the Phillies to two runs over five frames in his season debut, though he struggled last year against them (0-3, 7.59 ERA).

At the plate, the Nats would love to get some early offense going and not have to rely on yet another late rally. They’ll face left-hander Cristopher Sánchez for the first time this season, though they saw him three times in 2024 (and managed only six runs in 20 1/3 innings).

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Citizens Bank Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 980 AM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 73 degrees, wind 9 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
2B Amed Rosario
LF James Wood
1B Nathaniel Lowe
DH Josh Bell
RF Dylan Crews
C Keibert Ruiz
3B José Tena
CF Jacob Young

PHILADELPHIA – The Phillies couldn’t touch MacKenzie Gore five weeks ago in their Opening Day encounter, the best start of the lefty’s career. Only one batter reached base against him that afternoon at Nationals Park. Thirteen of the 18 who stepped to the plate returned to the dugout muttering to themselves after striking out.

There’s a bit too much talent in that lineup, though, for lightning to strike twice. And from the outset of Tuesday night’s game, Philadelphia’s hitters made it clear this game against Gore would be different.

With a quick-strike homer from Kyle Schwarber in the first inning and another homer from No. 9 batter Johan Rohas in the third, Gore put the Nationals in a 3-0 hole and looked on the verge of falling apart.

But anyone who has been paying attention this month knows the most significant stride Gore has made isn’t his ability to dominate an opponent. It’s his ability to keep a downward-trending start from slipping away altogether.

So it was that Gore gutted his way through six innings Tuesday, allowing only five baserunners along the way. Schwarber and Rojas hit the two homers. Trea Turner produced three singles all by himself. And nobody else in the Phillies lineup did anything against Gore, who emerged with his fifth quality start in seven outings to begin the season.

PHILADELPHIA – The Nationals established over the weekend their ability to shake off early troubles against a tough division rival, keep the game within striking distance and then win the late innings to emerge on top.

So when they found themselves in a familiar position tonight against the Phillies, it was fair to wonder if they might be able to recapture the magic they just discovered against the Mets.

Guess what? They did with a stunning top-of-the-ninth rally. Only to then let it all slip away with an even more stunning, bottom-of-the-ninth meltdown.

Despite getting a three-run homer from Nathaniel Lowe with two outs and two strikes in the top of the ninth to take their first lead of the night, the Nationals wound up getting walked off by the Phillies 7-6 when Kyle Finnegan gave up two runs in the bottom of the inning, including the game-winner on a wild pitch.

“I feel like I let one get away from us there,” said Finnegan, who was charged with his second straight blown save after opening the season a perfect 9-for-9. “We had a great chance to steal a really important game for us, the first game of the series against a good team. The boys battled the entire game, a late comeback. It’s a game that we should’ve won, and I didn’t do my job tonight.”

PHILADELPHIA – Paul DeJong is recovering from surgery Monday to repair a broken nose, plus his sinuses and orbital bone, procedures that collectively are likely to keep the Nationals third baseman out until sometime around the All-Star break.

DeJong, who was hit in the face by a fastball from the Pirates’ Mitch Keller on April 15, had to wait nearly two weeks for swelling around his left eye to go down before the surgery could be performed. He and the Nationals knew all along he would need to have his broken nose repaired, but doctors also decided to work on his damaged sinuses and insert a titanium orbital plate near his eye, according to USA Today.

The 31-year-old infielder is recovering well at home in Northern Virginia and spoke today with manager Davey Martinez about the incident and his timeline for recovery.

“His spirits were good,” Martinez said. “He came out of it good. Joked around with him for a little bit. Unfortunately, he’s still going to be down for a while. I think they said about a month before he can do any activities. And after that, hopefully we get him back sometime around the All-Star break. But we’ll see. Only time will tell now.”

The Nationals’ biggest concern with DeJong now is more mental than physical. The bones will heal, but psychologically he could face a tough time standing in to face a big league pitcher again, given what happened.

PHILADELPHIA – It may have ended on a sour, ugly note, but the Nationals’ just-completed homestand was still a success in whole. They wound up going 4-3 against the Orioles and Mets, which isn’t bad at all.

Now the Nats begin a six-game road trip through Philadelphia and Cincinnati, hoping for a little more offensive consistency, continued strong starting pitching and some better bullpen work. It all begins tonight with a rematch from Opening Day: MacKenzie Gore vs. Zack Wheeler.

The Phillies won that game, but Gore actually outdueled Wheeler, the former tossing six innings of one-hit ball while striking out 13, the latter still going six innings of one-run, two-hit ball but taking a no-decision. That game was decided in the 10th inning, with Colin Poche charged with four runs in two-thirds of an inning in an unfortunate sign of things to come.

The Nationals would love to provide Gore with a bit more run support this time, which in turn would allow Davey Martinez to use his best relievers late and perhaps pull off another win.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Citizens Bank Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 78 degrees, wind 16 mph out to center field

Michael Soroka summoned a small group of media members to his locker yesterday afternoon. He knew his presence in the Nationals clubhouse was noteworthy, but he also had other things to do like meet with trainers, manager Davey Martinez and pitching coach Jim Hickey. He wasn’t sure how much time he would be available, so he wanted to give reporters time to ask him some questions.

An always considerate Canadian.

Soroka, who has been on the 15-day injured list since suffering a biceps strain during his March 31 season debut against the Blue Jays in his home country, had just returned to D.C. from his second rehab start with Double-A Harrisburg. His red Senators hat was in his locker where his red Curly W cap would usually reside.

The veteran right-hander, who signed a one–year, $9 million contract over the offseason, completed 4 ⅓ innings with four hits, two runs, one walk and four strikeouts while throwing 78 pitches in his outing Sunday afternoon against the Erie SeaWolves (Tigers). He surrendered a leadoff home run on an unfortunate ball that seemed to get caught in the wind to carry out of the park. But it was still an improvement from his first rehab start in which he gave up two runs in 2 ⅔ innings on Tuesday.

“Better actually. I kind of made some adjustments a little quicker,” Soroka said. “A couple weird things going on, a little wind ball in the first inning, and kind of had to settle in a little bit. And yeah, found a good rhythm and made some good pitches and found some good shapes. I threw a lot of changeups for strikes, got the pitch count up and felt good at the end. So a successful day.”

Already possessing an impressive 9-6 record at home against high-quality opponents, the Nationals entered today’s finale against the Mets looking to put the cherry on top of an encouraging homestand.

With two dramatic, come-from-behind wins over the weekend, they had already secured at least a split of this four-game, wraparound series. But one more win, ideally without needing late-inning rallies, would give them three victories in four games against the team with the best record in baseball.

Unfortunately, the Nats fell behind again. And unlike Friday and Sunday, there were no theatrics in this 19-5 blowout loss to the Mets in front of an announced crowd of 14,011 on a sunny afternoon in the District.

“It was a good game til it wasn't,” manager Davey Martinez said after the loss. “The bullpen came in and had a rough day today. But we had our chances early offensively. Just once again, as I always say, when we chase, nothing good comes out of it. So we got to stop chasing, especially with guys on base. We gotta get good pitches to hit. When we do that, we're pretty good.”

The Nationals' offense, which combined to score 13 runs and collect 29 hits over the first three games, once again had no issues creating scoring chances. But the bats looked more like the ones that were shut out 2-0 on Saturday instead of the ones that put up hard-fought rallies Friday and Sunday.

The Nationals are looking to win three of four games against the Mets, the hottest team in baseball. To do so in Monday’s late afternoon finale of this four-game wraparound series, manager Davey Martinez is trotting all four of his outfielders into the starting lineup.

James Wood will serve as the designated hitter against Mets starter Griffin Canning. Alex Call takes over left field while Jacob Young and Dylan Crews remain in center and right, respectively.

Wood has now been in the Nats’ starting lineup for all 29 games to start the season. But this will only be the fourth time he’ll serve as the DH, which has been a part of the team’s plans to keep the big outfielder fresh and healthy after he dealt with left quad tendinitis during spring training.

“As we know in spring training, he had a little (quad) issue. So every now and then, I want to try to get him a DH day,” Martinez said of Wood during his pregame media session. “I think he's played in every game this year. But I talked to him, and he loves to play. But I think in order to keep him healthy and keep him going, DHing him one day and keeping him off his feet is good.”

Wood has slashed .257/.361/.543 with a .904 OPS, a team-leading eight home runs and 10 RBIs. And while he has -1 Defensive Runs Saved, per FanGraphs, in left field, that is already a major improvement from the -7 he posted last year.

After two dramatic come-from-behind victories over the weekend, the Nationals are now in position to win three out of four games against the Mets, who entered this series with the best record in the majors while riding a seven-game winning streak.

On a picture-perfect afternoon in the District, the offense will look to score enough runs early so late-inning rallies won’t be necessary. To do that, they’ll have to get to right-hander Griffin Canning, who enters his sixth start of the season with a 3-1 record, 3.12 ERA and 1.385 WHIP, before getting another crack at the New York bullpen that can’t seem to hold these bats in check.

Or perhaps Trevor Williams and the Nats’ improving bullpen can shut down this Mets lineup one more time, negating the need for an offensive explosion. Williams is 1-2 with a 5.11 ERA and 1.581 WHIP in six starts so far this year. The right-hander is 3-2 with a 3.83 ERA and 1.441 WHIP in eight career starts against his former team, but did not face them last year.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB Network (out-of-market only), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 74 degrees, wind 6 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
DH James Wood
2B Luis García Jr.
1B Nathaniel Lowe
C Keibert Ruiz
RF Dylan Crews
3B José Tena
LF Alex Call
CF Jacob Young

As much as the spotlight shone on the position players whose late offensive exploits helped the Nationals turn a six-run deficit into a thrilling, one-run win over the Mets on Sunday, Davey Martinez went out of his way early in his postgame press conference to praise his starting pitcher who departed with his team trailing 7-1.

“Look, say what you want with the first inning with Mitchell,” Martinez said. “If he doesn’t do what he does, I don’t even know how we’re going to put that together. Him going out there and giving us five innings like that was awesome.”

Mitchell Parker dug the Nationals into a massive hole with a disastrous first inning. He also quietly set the stage for all the drama that came later by not letting that disastrous first inning turn into anything worse.

During the course of a 43-pitch opening frame, Parker issued four walks, surrendered three singles and two sacrifice flies while letting the Mets score five runs. It was by far the worst inning by a Nats starting pitcher this season, and it left the team facing a monstrous, uphill climb.

Parker, who entered the day with a sparkling 1.39 ERA, clearly looked off as he tried to locate his pitches. Pretty much everything he threw landed far too high, or sometimes far too inside on right-handed batters.

It’s never been a question of effort. No matter how many games under .500 they were the last three seasons, the Nationals always showed an ability to get themselves back in games that felt lost. They always seemed to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth, giving their perpetually optimistic manager reason to be “proud of the boys for battling.”

At some point, though, those moral victories had to turn into actual victories. Battling back wasn’t going to be good enough forever. The Nats needed to prove they could get over the hump and finish the job.

So when they found a way to do it this weekend, not just once but twice against a division rival that happened to dominate them a year ago, there was a different feeling of satisfaction inside the home clubhouse on South Capitol Street.

“We’ve always been able to fight,” catcher Riley Adams said. “We’ve always been able to scratch and claw like that. We have great guys in the clubhouse, and everyone’s pulling for each other in these moments. It’s cool to see it pay off.”

Oh, did it pay off this weekend. Two days after storming back in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Mets in Friday’s series opener, the Nationals did it again this afternoon. In even more impressive fashion. Down six runs in the seventh inning, they stormed back to tie and ultimately beat the National League East leaders, 8-7, in dramatic, walk-off fashion.

Riley Adams knows the drill at this point. With Keibert Ruiz healthy and productive, and with plenty of off-days built into the Nationals schedule throughout April, there simply aren’t going to be many playing opportunities for the team’s backup catcher.

Adams today starts for only the fourth time in 28 games to begin the season. Ruiz has started the other 24, the most games played by any catcher in the majors to date.

If you’re looking for someone to complain about the arrangement, you’re not going to get it.

“There’s no awkwardness whatsoever,” Adams said. “We both have jobs to do. We both want to win games. We both want to get our pitchers through games and put zeros on the scoreboard. To me, it doesn’t matter who’s catching. We’re a collective.”

Adams has been through this for more than three seasons now. From 2022-24, he played between 41-48 games, taking between 130-158 plate appearances.

It seems that runs will be at a premium throughout this four-game series, given how good the Mets pitching staff has been as a whole and how good the Nationals rotation has been to date. We saw it in Friday night’s opener, aside from the eighth and ninth innings. And we certainly saw it Saturday in New York’s 2-0 victory, in which Francisco Alvarez’s early home run represented the entirety of the offensive output in the game.

On paper, today’s game looks like another pitchers’ duel. Mitchell Parker has quietly been one of the best starters in the majors to date, with a 3-1 record, 1.39 ERA and (get this) a 1.6 bWAR that leads all major league pitchers. The left-hander has been consistent, he’s provided length and he has kept damage to an absolute minimum. It would be a huge boost for the Nationals if he can continue that trend today.

Tylor Megill, meanwhile, has been outstanding in his own right, the owner of a 1.09 ERA through five starts. That number is maybe a bit misleading, because the right-hander has allowed four unearned runs to go along with three earned runs so far. But he’s still been very good, striking out more than a batter per inning. The Nats have got to find a way to hit the ball in the air against him, especially their left-handed bats, in an attempt to take advantage of the strong wind that’s blowing out to right field today.

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 65 degrees, wind 18 mph left field to right field

METS
SS Francisco Lindor
RF Juan Soto
1B Pete Alonso
3B Mark Vientos
DH Starling Marte
LF Brandon Nimmo
C Luis Torrens
2B Luisangel Acuña
CF Tyrone Taylor