PITTSBURGH – Good morning from PNC Park, where the sun is shining and the Nationals and Pirates are set to wrap up their four-game series with an early, 12:35 p.m. matinee. The Nats need to win this one to salvage a split. Having already lost two of three in Miami to begin this road trip, there’s some real pressure to emerge victorious today.

To do that, they’ll have to show more at the plate than they did Wednesday night, when Bailey Falter faced the minimum over seven innings en route to a 6-1 win. They’re facing another left-hander today in Andrew Heaney, who has been solid for the Bucs so far and held the Nationals to one run over seven innings last season when he pitched for the Rangers.

Heaney did not win that game last summer, though, and coincidentally he faces the same opposing starter this afternoon: Trevor Williams, who tossed five scoreless innings that day and earned a hard-fought, 1-0 win. Williams has not looked like the 2024 version of himself yet in 2025. This would be a good day for the veteran right-hander to recapture some of that magic and help pitch his team to a much-needed win before everyone departs for snowy Colorado.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh
Gametime: 12:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 55 degrees, wind 5 mph right field to left field

NATIONALS
RF Alex Call
DH James Wood
3B Amed Rosario
1B Nathaniel Lowe
RF Dylan Crews
2B Luis García Jr.
CF Jacob Young
C Riley Adams
SS Nasim Nuñez

PITTSBURGH – A sleepy game between the Nationals and Pirates, one that saw the two teams combine for one run through six innings before a quiet, four-figure crowd at PNC Park, turned loud in the bottom of the seventh tonight.

Loud because of Jorge López’s inability to throw strikes. Loud because of the unwarranted clearing of benches and bullpens his lack of command caused. Loud because of the surprise ejection of López by an umpiring crew that didn’t seem inclined to do anything until Pirates manager Derek Shelton came out of the dugout to argue.

And, ultimately, loud because of the grand slam Oneil Cruz crushed off Eduardo Salazar to turn a tight, low-scoring affair into a 6-1 rout by Pittsburgh in the latest example of a Washington bullpen implosion.

The particulars might have looked different, but the result was all too familiar for the Nationals, who had already seen their beleaguered relief corps turn two close contests into blowouts on this road trip alone. And it cost them another shot at a late-inning rally that could’ve flipped the game back in their direction. (Though it might have been too much to ask for a rally from a lineup that sent the minimum 24 batters to the plate through eight innings before a too-late rally in the ninth.)

"The key was we couldn't score any runs," manager Davey Martinez said. "We started swinging the bats late in the game, but our bats didn't show up today."

PITTSBURGH – The fastball that struck Paul DeJong in the face Tuesday night fractured his nose, forcing the Nationals infielder to the 10-day injured list.

The Nats formally placed DeJong on the IL this morning and recalled infielder Trey Lipscomb from Triple-A Rochester to take his place.

DeJong was struck by a 93-mph, up-and-in fastball from Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller in the top of the sixth during Tuesday’s 3-0 victory at PNC Park, unable to turn his head away in time. The ball appeared to catch his left cheekbone and then the left side of his nose, leaving a cut below his eye and blood coming out of his nose.

Director of athletic training Paul Lessard and manager Davey Martinez rushed from the dugout to assist DeJong, who fell to the ground. Keller and Pirates catcher Henry Davis crouched down about 10 feet away, clearly upset by what they saw.

DeJong was able to get up to his feet and walk off the field under his own power, though he did struggle to maintain his balance as he went down the dugout steps and headed toward the clubhouse.

PITTSBURGH – DJ Herz had Tommy John surgery today, officially sidelining the Nationals left-hander for the 2025 season after three weeks spent hoping the major elbow procedure would not be necessary.

Herz had his elbow ligament replaced by orthopedist Keith Meister in Dallas, according to manager Davey Martinez. He did not get the additional internal brace procedure some pitchers, including teammate Josiah Gray, have opted for in recent years.

Today’s news came three weeks after Herz landed on the 60-day injured list with a sprained ligament, an ailment he reported after the Nationals initially optioned him to Triple-A Rochester following a disappointing spring in which his velocity was down. The 24-year-old sought opinions from three doctors, hoping one of them would offer him the option to come back via rest and rehab only, but there was consensus on the need for surgery.

“Have hope. Have faith,” Herz wrote on his Instagram account below a photo of him in a hospital bed following today’s surgery. “The only easy day is yesterday. Believe in something you can’t see. Buckle down and keep believing.”

Acquired from the Cubs in July 2023 for Jeimer Candelario, Herz had been one of the pleasant surprises of the 2024 season, posting a 4.19 ERA and 106 strikeouts over 88 2/3 innings while authoring some of the Nats’ most dominant starts of the year.

PITTSBURGH – The Nationals won Tuesday night’s game, 3-0, but it came at a cost. Paul DeJong fractured his nose when he was struck by a pitch in the face, and he’s now on the 10-day injured list, joining CJ Abrams, who was lost over the weekend to a hip pointer strain. The left side of the Nats infield suddenly is quite thin.

They’ll have to hope Nasim Nuñez (4-for-7) continues to play well at shortstop in Abrams’ absence, and they’ll have to hope the trio of Amed Rosario, José Tena and the just-recalled Trey Lipscomb can hold their own at third base with DeJong out for a while. Some more power from James Wood (five homers over his last eight games) wouldn’t hurt, either.

Mitchell Parker will look to pick up where Jake Irvin left off Tuesday night and shut down a Pirates lineup that looked good in Monday’s series opener but overall has been among the least productive units in the league. Parker was outstanding in his first two starts, less so in his last outing against the Marlins (though he technically does have three quality starts to his name so far this year).

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 49 degrees, wind 14 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
RF Alex Call
LF James Wood
C Keibert Ruiz
1B Nathaniel Lowe
DH Josh Bell
3B Amed Rosario
CF Dylan Crews
2B Luis García Jr.
SS Nasim Nuñez

PITTSBURGH – The major league home run leaderboard may not matter much in mid-April, but there’s nothing wrong with taking a glance at the list even at this early stage of the season. Especially when a particularly notable name can be found there: James Wood.

With his monstrous, leadoff blast Tuesday night in the Nationals’ 3-0 win over the Pirates, Wood notched his sixth home run of the young season, his fifth in his last eight games.

That’s good enough for a nine-way tie for second-most in the majors right now. Athletics first baseman Tyler Soderstrom surprisingly leads the way with eight homers. Wood joins a star-studded list with six that includes Corbin Carroll, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Aaron Judge, Kyle Schwarber, Fernando Tatis Jr., Tommy Edman, Wilmer Flores and Mike Trout.

That’s some impressive company for a 22-year-old.

“It’s cool,” Wood said, showing off his usual go-with-the-flow mindset. “But it’s still early and it’s a long season, so you’ve just got to stay consistent. That’s what makes those guys so good.”

PITTSBURGH – Jake Irvin had done everything in his power to win this game for the Nationals and put an end to their three-game losing streak, precisely the kind of performance the situation called for.

Irvin authored seven scoreless innings on a frigid Tuesday night, and doing it on an economical 87 pitches. And now all he could do was watch from the visitors’ dugout at PNC Park like everyone else and hope his teammates could finish off the Pirates.

That’s been anything but a given for the Nats bullpen through the first 16 games of the season. But on this night, the two reliable back-end relievers did their job without breaking a sweat, Jose A. Ferrer and Kyle Finnegan teaming up to complete a 3-0 shutout and ensure Irvin's efforts were properly rewarded.

"We needed that today," manager Davey Martinez said. "He stepped up big-time."

Irvin was more than worthy of his first win of the year. Ferrer was more than worthy of his fourth hold of the year, throwing 14 of his 15 pitches for strikes. And Finnegan was more than worthy of his sixth save in as many attempts, finishing things off with a scoreless ninth to complete a 2-hour, 16-minute ballgame.

PITTSBURGH – One day after lamenting a lack of “intensity” from his beleaguered relief corps, Nationals manager Davey Martinez summoned the entire group to his office for a pump-you-up meeting prior to tonight’s game against the Pirates.

The message of that session?

“I just wanted to let them know it’s early,” Martinez said. “We’ve only played 10 percent of our games. We’ve still got 90 percent of our games left. … I just want them to stay positive, keep their heads up. We’ve got a lot of baseball left.”

Nationals relievers entered the day with a 6.91 ERA and 1.921 WHIP, both worst in the majors by a healthy amount. Each of the last two days, they’ve turned winnable games into blowouts, surrendering a combined seven runs over 5 2/3 innings.

After Monday’s 10-3 loss, Martinez noted there needs to be more intensity shown from some relievers when entering a close game, even if the team is trailing by a couple of runs. Today, he decided to bring the entire group together, offering his own thoughts but also opening the floor for the pitchers themselves to speak up.

PITTSBURGH – The temperature has dropped about 30 degrees since Monday, with a strong wind now blowing in from the west, making the conditions at PNC Park far different than they were for the series opener. Maybe that can be a good thing for the Nationals, because they sure didn’t play well under Monday’s conditions en route to their third straight loss.

They’ll try to get back on track tonight behind Jake Irvin, who makes his fourth start of the season. The right-hander doesn’t have a decision yet, but the Nats have lost all three of his previous outings. He can do his part to put his guys in a better position to win by limiting the damage and going more than five innings this time around. That might also take some pressure off the much beleaguered bullpen, perhaps allowing Davey Martinez to use only his top three guys (Jorge López, Jose A. Ferrer, Kyle Finnegan) at the end.

At the plate, the Nationals will happily face anybody other than Paul Skenes. Not that Mitch Keller is a slouch. The 29-year-old right-hander has been a reliable starter for the Pirates for more than four years now, and he was outstanding last time out against the Cardinals, tossing 7 1/3 scoreless innings on only 96 pitches.

Today, of course, is Jackie Robinson Day across the major leagues. Everybody will be wearing nameless No. 42 jerseys in honor of the 78th anniversary of his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, always a special occasion for all involved.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of showers, 46 degrees, wind 17 mph out to left field

PITTSBURGH – There have been times in club history when the Nationals bullpen garnered too much attention for the wrong reasons.

Think of the first half of the 2017 season, when Dusty Baker went through three different closers before Mike Rizzo finally acquired Sean Doolittle at the trade deadline.

Think of the first half of the 2019 season, when Davey Martinez had no choice but to overwork Doolittle because there were no other reliable arms in the pen, at least until Rizzo acquired Daniel Hudson at the trade deadline.

And think of the disastrous 2021 season, in which a veteran-laden roster still believing it could contend was done in by a variety of calamities, including some July meltdowns by a bullpen anchored by the highly combustible Brad Hand.

It’s easy to look at the current team’s bullpen dilemma and compare it to those previous scenarios. But there’s a distinct difference this time around: The problem isn’t the closer, it’s all the guys pitching in front of him.

PITTSBURGH – They weren’t going to come right out and say it, but the Nationals understood the monumental task staring them in the face this evening.

His name is Paul Skenes, and he’s the most intimidating pitcher on the planet right now. The Nats had managed to avoid the hulking Pirates right-hander during his ballyhooed rookie season. They finally ran into the buzzsaw tonight at PNC Park and learned firsthand what everyone else around baseball already knew.

The Nationals did manage to push across a couple of late runs against Skenes, but that wasn’t nearly enough on a night in which they once again saw their bullpen turn a potentially winnable game into a lopsided defeat, this time by a count of 10-3.

"There's got to be a little more intensity from this bullpen when they come into games to keep it close," a clearly agitated manager Davey Martinez said. "Right now, there's two guys back there, we can't even get to them: (setup man Jose A.) Ferrer and (closer Kyle) Finnegan."

You can't use your setup man and your closer if you're trailing by multiple runs, and that's exactly what has happened during three straight losses for a team that felt great about itself when it opened this 10-game road trip with its fourth straight win.

PITTSBURGH – Nasim Nuñez spent the entire 2024 season in the big leagues. Walking into the Nationals clubhouse this weekend shouldn’t have been a big deal for the 24-year-old infielder.

It is different this time around, though. Nuñez may have been a big leaguer all last season, but he was the 26th player on a 26-man roster, a Rule 5 Draft pick tasked with learning everything he could from the bench, rarely getting a chance to play.

This time, Nuñez could be here to play, summoned from Triple-A Rochester after starting shortstop CJ Abrams landed on the 10-day injured list.

“I told my dad I feel like I never left,” Nuñez said. “I’m very excited, but at the same time I’m very calm. I think the calmness came from last year. And the excitedness is coming from actually coming up here and living out my dream.”

Davey Martinez didn’t play Nuñez over the weekend in Miami, wanting to give him some time to adapt and get comfortable again. But he’s got him in the lineup tonight for the Nats’ series opener against the Pirates, including a matchup with ace Paul Skenes.

PITTSBURGH – A road trip that looked much more manageable on paper than the recently completed homestand did has not proven to be all that manageable so far. The Nationals lost two of three in Miami over the weekend, and now they open a four-game series in Pittsburgh with a matchup against the best young pitcher in the sport.

Yes, Paul Skenes is on the mound tonight for the Pirates, the first time the phenom right-hander has faced the Nats in his career. Only two members of the Nationals’ current roster have any experience against Skenes, and even that’s minimal: two at-bats by Amed Rosario, one by Josh Bell. Suffice it to say, this is going to be a challenge tonight for the visiting lineup, which includes Nasim Nuñez at shortstop and Dylan Crews (Skenes’ old LSU teammate) in center field.

On the flip side of the equation, nobody with the Pirates has any experience against Brad Lord, because he’s making only his second career start tonight. Lord was solid in his previous outing, tossing three scoreless innings against the mighty Dodgers on 55 pitches. He should be good to build up to maybe 70 or so pitches tonight, and the Nationals would love for that to stretch out over five innings if possible. If not, it turns into another bullpen game, with Jackson Rutledge probably tasked with throwing multiple innings at some point along the way.

Also complicating matters: There’s a chance of storms here right around or shortly after first pitch. You wouldn’t think either team wants to risk burning up its starter, so they might just have to err on the side of caution and delay the start of the game. Stay tuned for updates.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 72 degrees, wind 11 mph right field to left field

MIAMI – It’s become a tradition unlike any other when the Nationals visit Miami. It’s for an unfortunate reason, but it’s still a welcomed sight nonetheless.

For the third year in a row, while recovering from his March 2023 Tommy John surgery, Cade Cavalli made the trek down from West Palm Beach to meet the Nats at loanDepot park.

In the past, Cavalli has met the Nats there to be around the team fresh off his surgery or to throw in front of the major league coaches during his rehab. But this time, instead of showing Davey Martinez and Co. how he has progressed in his recovery, Cavalli was showing them how he’s ramping up for the season.

Cavalli threw a two-inning sim game in West Palm Beach on Tuesday, totaling 35 pitches with his fastball sitting between 94-97 mph. He then threw an “in-between-starts” bullpen session Friday to get ready for his next “outing,” which should be at some point today back at the team’s spring training facility.

“It was great,” Cavalli said of his sim game inside the Nats clubhouse Friday afternoon. “It's always good being able to be back on the mound and pitch. We threw on Wednesday two innings, and then we have another one coming up on Monday. I threw a bullpen today. Arm's responding well, stuff feels good. So very excited.”

MIAMI – On Opening Day, MacKenzie Gore flashed the electric stuff that could make him one of the elite starting pitchers in baseball. Against a tough Phillies lineup, he struck out a career-high and Opening Day club-record 13 batters over six shutout innings.

Outings like that are the ceiling for the 26-year-old left-hander. The plan for him this season is to raise his floor by being more consistent throughout the year.

Today’s outing against the Marlins, unfortunately, epitomized the inconsistency Gore tends to battle.

In an 11-4 loss to the Fish, Gore had an up-and-down start throughout his six innings. Here’s how he fared in each frame in terms of pitches thrown and runs allowed: nine and zero, 25 and one, six and zero, 27 and two, 15 and zero, 23 and one.

That added up to eight hits, four runs, three walks and seven strikeouts on 105 pitches, 64 strikes.

MIAMI – The Nationals made another roster move ahead of Sunday’s finale against the Marlins, placing right-hander Orlando Ribalta on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to April 10) with a right biceps strain and recalling right-hander Cole Henry from Triple-A Rochester.

"It'll be his first time in the major leagues, we're excited about that," manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame media session. “He's a guy that could give us some multiple innings. He threw the ball really well in spring training. So he gets an opportunity to come up here and help us win games out of the bullpen.”

Ribalta, 27, hasn’t pitched in a game since Tuesday, when he threw 58 pitches over three innings in a bullpen-game win over the Dodgers. But after that outing, he told the Nats his arm was feeling tight and he wasn’t recovering as he normally does.

“A couple days ago, he was throwing and he said he just felt tight,” Martinez said. “So I said, 'Hey, just take your time. Keep throwing, see what we got. Go work with the trainers.' He just didn't rebound very well. This is day three or four now, so we just decided to put him on the IL and give him some time.”

The 6-foot-7 reliever had an MRI this morning and will go back to D.C. to start building up strength while the team heads to Pittsburgh. The Nats are hopeful Ribalta can play catch when they get back from this 10-day road trip.

MIAMI – The Nationals can still leave South Beach with a series win over the Marlins. Hopefully, they’ll get a complete team effort today to close it out.

MacKenzie Gore will lead the charge on the mound. The left-hander is 1-1 with a 2.65 ERA, 1.059 WHIP and a league-leading 13.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Gore held a tough Dodgers lineup to just two runs with seven strikeouts over six innings in his last start. He’s set up to have another good day today, coming in with a 2-1 record, 2.22 ERA, 0.781 WHIP and 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings in four career starts against the Marlins.

The Nationals offense will look to stay hot against Cal Quantrill. The right-hander is 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA and 1.444 WHIP over two starts to begin his first year with the Marlins. But after giving up six runs in four innings against the Mets, he shut out the Braves over five frames in his last start. The seven-year veteran is 0-1 with a 4.24 ERA and 1.177 WHIP in four starts against the Nats.

Davey Martinez should have all of his high-leverage relievers available today to shut the door late if needed.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MIAMI MARLINS
Where: loanDepot park
Gametime: 1:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 7 mph in from left field

MIAMI – Even though Trevor Williams only made 13 starts last year due to a right flexor muscle strain, he pitched well enough to earn a new two-year, $14 million contract from the Nationals over the offseason.

When he was on the mound in 2024, the right-hander was effective, going 6-1 with a 2.03 ERA. The key was simple: Induce weak contact, limit the damage to singles and keep the ball in the yard while facing the order twice. By doing that for roughly five innings, he gave the Nats a good chance to win every five days.

Now back healthy this year, the plan remains the same. Through his first two starts of 2025, Williams stuck with that attack plan. But today against the Marlins, he couldn’t quite keep it together for five innings en route to a 7-6 loss in front of an announced crowd of 18,469 at loanDepot park.

The afternoon was moving along quickly for the 32-year-old. Through the first two innings, he only gave up a solo home run to Matt Mervis leading off the second while throwing a scant 18 pitches.

But he started off the second by giving up three straight singles (the last being a bunt) to load the bases and a sacrifice fly to Kyle Stowers. Williams then reloaded the bases with a walk and allowed another run to score on a wild pitch to give the Marlins a 3-0 lead.

MIAMI – The Nationals have embarked on their first extended road trip of the season after only playing one series away from the friendly confines of Nats Park. That series resulted in a three-game sweep at the hands of the Blue Jays in Toronto, so the Nats will be looking for better results over the next 10 days in Miami, Pittsburgh and Colorado.

First up: A weekend series in The 305. The Nats dominated the Marlins last season, winning 11 of their 13 matchups. They also won five of the six games played here at loanDepot park, with the lone loss coming in the last game in walk-off fashion.

Mitchell Parker makes his third start of the young season looking to improve his winnings streak. The left-hander is 2-0 so far with a 0.73 ERA and 1.216 WHIP. He went 1-0 with a 1.10 ERA and 1.041 WHIP in three starts against the Fish last year.

The Marlins activated Edward Cabrera off the 15-day injured list to make his first start of the season. The right-hander was dealing with a blister on his right middle finger and could be on a limited pitch count tonight. He’s 2-3 with a 4.02 ERA and 0.957 WHIP in six career starts against the Nats, including 0-2 with a 4.35 ERA and 0.774 WHIP in starts against Washington in 2024.

The roof is open here at loanDepot park, so weather may actually play a factor in this National League East matchup in South Beach.

MIAMI – After a wild, come-from-behind victory to start the series, the Nationals will be looking to jump ahead early in this afternoon’s contest against the Marlins.

In order to do so, they have a tough challenge ahead of them in Miami ace Sandy Alcantara. The former Cy Young Award winner has made two starts this season after missing all of 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The right-hander has gone 1-0 with a 3.72 ERA, 0.931 WHIP and 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings over 9 ⅔ frames to start his 2025 campaign.

In 15 career starts against the Nats, Alcantara is 7-6 with a 3.42 ERA and 1.202 WHIP.

The Nationals will counter with Trevor Williams making his third start of the year. The right-hander is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA and 1.700 WHIP while completing five innings in each of his previous two starts.

Williams is 1-4 with a 4.95 ERA and 1.331 WHIP in 14 career appearances, nine starts, against the team that drafted him back in 2013. But he held the Marlins to one run over five strong innings in his lone start against them last year.