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’ fears from last night were realized this morning following CJ Abrams’ MRI on his right hip. The examination revealed the young shortstop has a right hip flexor strain, forcing him to the 10-day injured list.

“After last night, he got an MRI today and it showed a slight strain,” manager Davey Martinez announced to start his pregame media session. “Like I said before, I talked to him today about just, hey, let's get this thing to calm down and give you some time and get it right, so this doesn't become a bigger issue. So in a week and a half, hopefully he'll be ready to go.”

Abrams sat out the first two games against the Dodgers this week with what was originally labeled as right thigh tightness from the final play of Sunday’s win over the Diamondbacks, in which he charged in to field a grounder and threw off-balance to first base. The shortstop clarified the injury was actually in his right hip later in the week.

The 24-year-old was then removed from last night’s win over the Marlins in the fourth inning. He struck out and walked in his only two plate appearances, and stole second base after his free pass in the third. He had to stretch out his arm to stay on the bag, initially re-aggravating his hip injury. Abrams tried to play through it, but in the bottom frame, he fielded a grounder moving to his left and made an off-line throw to first in a similar manner to what he did on Sunday.

In his place, Paul DeJong slid over to play shortstop and Amed Rosario came off the bench to play third base and hit in the leadoff spot.

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.

MIAMI – When Josh Bell returned to the Nationals this offseason, he knew he was being brought in to mainly do one thing: hit for power.

Yes, Bell had played a lot of first base throughout his previous nine years in the major leagues, including the 1 ½ seasons during his first stint in Washington. But the Nats had already acquired Nathaniel Lowe, a Gold Glove Award winner at first base, in December via a trade with the Rangers in exchange for left-handed reliever Robert Garcia.

So it was that Bell would be the everyday designated hitter in manager Davey Martinez’s lineups while also backing up Lowe at first. This allowed Bell to focus on hitting the ball in the air to increase his home run output and slugging percentage.

But that didn’t mean Bell could just let his glovework at first fall to the wayside. He still needed to be able to play defense if, for whatever reason, Lowe wasn’t in the lineup.

Well, his first opportunity to play the field in 2025 came in Friday night’s opener against the Marlins. And it came at the last minute, so Bell had to be ready for it.

MIAMI – After a very successful homestand during which they went 4-2 against two contenders in the Diamondbacks and Dodgers, the Nationals have embarked on their first extended road trip of the season against teams with lower expectations.

The 10-day trip started tonight against the Marlins, who the Nats beat 11 times in 13 games last season. And while this opener started ominously, it resulted in a 7-4 comeback win in front of an announced crowd of 9,094 at an open-roofed loanDepot park.

Before the first pitch was ever thrown, the Nationals scratched Nathaniel Lowe, one of their most productive hitters and key defenders at first base, from the starting lineup because he was feeling under the weather.

“He's sick,” manager Davey Martinez said after the win. “But I talked to him before the game. I said, 'Look, if we have an opportunity to use you to pinch-hit, can you do it?' And he looked at me and said, 'Yeah, I think I can.' And I said, 'Alright, I'll check back with you.'”

In Lowe’s place, Josh Bell moved to first base, James Wood served as the designated hitter and Alex Call was inserted into the lineup in left field.

MIAMI – The Nationals rotation is set for this weekend, with Mitchell Parker, Trevor Williams and MacKenzie Gore lined up to face the Marlins. Then, Jake Irvin will be ready to start Monday’s series opener in Pittsburgh. But by Tuesday, manager Davey Martinez will need a fifth starter.

That fifth spot was reserved for Michael Soroka, the right-hander who signed a one–year, $9 million contract with the Nats over the offseason. But the 27-year-old was placed on the 15-day injured list on April 4 (backdated to April 1) with a right biceps strain after leaving his season debut following his third pitch of the sixth inning in Toronto.

Soroka was charged with five hits, four runs, one walk and three strikeouts in his five-plus innings against the Blue Jays. And although landing on the IL this early in the season is never a good thing, the Nats believed he wouldn’t be down for long.

He played catch on Tuesday back at Nationals Park, and while he felt good, the Nats do have to build him back up before he can be ready to return to game action again.

“He threw the other day. He said he felt good,” Martinez said during his pregame media session ahead of the series opener against the Marlins. “So we just got to build him back up now. So hopefully, we get him back soon.”

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.

OK, we're two weeks into the 2025 season, and already we've seen some dramatic twists and turns from the Nationals. They lost six of their first seven, then they suddenly won four in a row over the Diamondbacks and Dodgers before falling in Wednesday's series finale. They've lost multiple pitchers to injury, seen several members of the lineup get off to great starts and seen their bullpen give up at least one run in all 12 games played to date.

Now, the Nats embark on a 10-game road trip to Miami, Pittsburgh and Colorado, with visions of returning home with a winning record. Bobby Blanco is en route to South Florida as we speak to cover this weekend's series. I'll pick things up Monday against the Pirates. In the meantime, let's take this opportunity to answer your questions about what we've seen so far this season.

As always, submit your questions in the comments section below, then check back throughout the morning for my replies ...

Even as they opened a season of supposed promise a disappointing 1-6, the Nationals felt like that record was not a true reflection of the way they played. Close losses, often decided by one or two key moments late, defined that first week of games. The belief was that the team’s fortunes could easily change with only a few minor improvements.

Fast forward one week, and sure enough the Nats proved they could change their fortunes and turn those close losses into close wins, no matter the opponent. They just completed a 4-2 homestand against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers, winning back-to-back series from the last two National League champions. And the two losses were by a combined three runs.

“We’re a resilient club,” right-hander Jake Irvin said. “We’ve been in every single ballgame. That’s been kind of what we’ve been preaching: Stay in the ballgame. Do what you can to claw back if you’re behind, and keep the lead if you’re ahead. … It’s been really cool to watch everybody click. It was a really good homestand.”

Sure, the Nationals still own a losing record. But had you asked reasonable observers back on Opening Day if they’d be satisfied with a 5-7 start given the stiff competition they were due to face, you’d have probably received a lot of affirmative answers.

A couple of bullpen meltdowns defined a 1-2 opening series with the Phillies. A lack of offense haunted them during a three-game sweep in Toronto. Some gutsy bullpen work made a 2-1 series with the Diamondbacks possible. And a complete, all around performance led to two straight wins over the Dodgers and a shot at a series sweep Wednesday.

They dug themselves into an immediate, four-run hole, then managed to claw their way back and take the lead for a while. That the Nationals even found themselves in this position, setting up the possibility of a series sweep of the Dodgers and a five-game winning streak, was a remarkable turn of events in the season’s second week.

And it would’ve been quite the story had they pulled it off, capping a brilliant homestand with an eye-opening performance against the defending champs.

That’s not the story they ultimately wrote. After reliever Eduardo Salazar gave up the decisive pair of runs in the seventh, the Nats were left with a 6-5 loss and a sour ending to this otherwise uplifting stretch.

It wasn’t a bad loss, not at all considering the manner in which it played out and the opponent they faced. But it had to leave at least a twinge of "what ifs" circulating around the clubhouse, a potentially stunning series sweep instead morphing into a mere series win.

"It's something that motivates us," second baseman Luis García Jr. said, via interpreter Kenny Diaz. "Obviously, it's important to continue playing together, and I felt like we did a good job of that. And against, obviously, a team of that caliber, I think we did a good job battling. It wasn't our day, but we're going to continue playing and battling as a team."

If Jacob Young was going to lose playing time this season, it figured to be in favor of Robert Hassell III, the Nationals prospect who seemed on the cusp of debuting in the big leagues following a great spring. Two weeks in, though, Young has lost playing time. Not because of Hassell, but because of Alex Call.

Call today finds himself in the Nats lineup for the fifth straight game, the seventh time in eight games. The 30-year-old has been torrid at the plate, going 8-for-18 with two doubles, four RBIs and four walks, while also playing solid defense in both right and left fields.

Young, on the other hand, is still trying to find his stroke at the plate. He opened the season 1-for-15 with three walks, though he did return to start Tuesday night and went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored.

Nevertheless, the 25-year-old Gold Glove Award finalist is sitting this afternoon for the fifth time in seven games, turning the daily process of filling out the lineup card a bit more complicated than expected.

“It’s not really complicated, because we still want to work with Jacob on some things, even though he did do better yesterday,” manager Davey Martinez insisted. “We want to get him right. Alex is swinging the bat really, really well, so he’s getting an opportunity to play here a little more. But as I’ve said before, Jacob’s going to be back in there playing center field. He’s going to play a lot of center field.”

The last time the Nationals swept the Dodgers? That would be August 2008, when they won three straight behind the pitching efforts of John Lannan, Tim Redding and Collin Balester. Yeah, it’s been a while.

They’ve got a chance to do the unthinkable this afternoon when they take the field for the series finale, looking to keep up the positive momentum from the last two nights and not only complete a three-game sweep but a five-game winning streak that would leave them with a .500 record heading into a 10-game road trip to Miami, Pittsburgh and Colorado. Who saw that coming five days ago when they were 1-6 and facing this daunting schedule?

The Nats have been getting plenty of offense during this stretch, especially early in games, and they’ll try to do the same today against Los Angeles right-hander Landon Knack. They’ve got CJ Abrams back in the lineup after a two-day absence. Keibert Ruiz, meanwhile, starts his 11th game behind the plate, having sat only once so far this season. And Alex Call makes his fifth straight start (seventh of eight), forcing the issue with his hot bat and forcing Jacob Young back to the bench.

Jake Irvin gets the nod for the series finale. The right-hander wasn’t pleased with his last outing (four runs over five innings against the Diamondbacks), so he’ll be motivated to at minimum provide more length this afternoon. If he can’t, at least the Nationals bullpen is in better shape. Jose A. Ferrer, Jorge López and Kyle Finnegan should all be available today if the game is close late.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS 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: Sunny, 54 degrees, wind 7 mph out to left field

Orlando Ribalta couldn’t believe his good luck. He had just gotten Austin Barnes to pop up a bunt right back to the mound, and all the Nationals reliever had to do was catch it for the easy out.

And then the ball somehow fell to the ground. At which point Ribalta realized this might actually work out better for him, because now he had an easy double play, with the Dodgers’ Andy Pages stuck in no-man’s land off first base.

Tuesday night’s four-man umpiring crew thought otherwise, ultimately huddling up and determining Ribalta intentionally dropped the routine popup, thus negating the second out made on the play and sending Pages back to first base unscathed.

Davey Martinez was livid, nearly getting himself thrown out of the game by crew chief Chris Guccione. Ribalta was more embarrassed than upset.

“The call is whatever they called. You can’t fight against it,” he said. “But I didn’t do it on purpose. I just couldn’t catch it.”

He had already hit 11 home runs in the big leagues, more than a few of them jaw-dropping in nature whether because of exit velocity or distance traveled. D.C. already knows what James Wood is, and what he can be.

Perhaps tonight, thanks to a jaw-dropping performance against the most-watched ballclub in the world, any portion of the baseball community that didn’t already know learned what everyone here had long since come to accept: This kid is special.

With two titanic home runs, not to mention an infield single and a bases-loaded walk for good measure, the 22-year-old outfielder drove in five runs to carry the Nationals to a convincing 8-2 victory over the Dodgers to clinch a series win over the defending World Series champions.

A Nats team that lost six of seven to begin the season has now won four in a row against top competition and remarkably will have a chance to sweep L.A. on Wednesday afternoon before embarking on a 10-game road trip to Miami, Pittsburgh and Colorado.

"I just think it kind of proves we're really not far," Wood said. "Even when we were losing games, we weren't off by much. Being able to put these games together, I think it just proves that."

CJ Abrams is out of the Nationals lineup a second straight day with an upper right leg ailment, but the shortstop expressed confidence he’ll be back “very soon.”

Abrams didn’t play Monday night’s series opener against the Dodgers, with manager Davey Martinez revealing his shortstop had complained of thigh tightness stemming from the final play of Sunday’s win over the Diamondbacks, in which he charged in to field a grounder and then threw off-balance to first base.

Abrams today referred to his ailment as “kind of a hip flexor thing,” saying it’s not a problem with his thigh. He didn’t seem concerned about it forcing him to miss anything more than a few days.

“It wasn’t anything specific. I just kind of felt it after (the last play Sunday),” he said. “Just took a couple days off, and I should be back out there soon.”

Abrams did take ground balls this afternoon and was planning to take batting practice in the cage prior to this evening’s game. There’s a chance he could come off the bench if needed, but it sounds more likely he returns to the lineup for Wednesday’s series finale or Friday’s series opener in Miami.

Who would’ve thought three days ago the Nationals would find themselves on a three-game winning streak, against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers no less? And yet here we are, with the team having already clinched at least a .500 homestand against two of the best teams in the league, and now a chance to clinch a winning week with one more victory tonight or Wednesday.

After going all-in to win Monday’s opener, Davey Martinez has no choice but to take a different approach tonight. That starts with the guy starting the game: Brad Lord. After three relief appearances to begin his career, the 25-year-old right-hander now makes his first career start, essentially taking the injured Michael Soroka’s place.

Because he hasn’t been stretched out, Lord is probably good for only 45-50 pitches. Which means Jackson Rutledge will probably come out of the bullpen, either directly behind him or later on in the game, to provide multiple innings himself. And if the Nationals are in a position to win the game late, there’s no way Kyle Finnegan is pitching for a fourth straight day. So who gets the ninth? Jose A. Ferrer? Jorge López? Martinez would love to be in a position to find out.

Offensively, the Nats have done a lot more during this homestand than they did during the season’s first week, especially early in games. They will look to do the same tonight against the Dodgers’ own fill-in starter. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski was called up from Triple-A to replace the injured Blake Snell, who was supposed to take the mound tonight but is dealing with a shoulder ailment. Wrobleski is Los Angeles’ 11th-ranked prospect and made six big league starts last year, going 1-2 with a 5.70 ERA. He threw 76 pitches over 5 2/3 scoreless innings in his lone outing for Oklahoma City to begin the season, so he is stretched out to make a full start if he pitches well.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS 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: Clear, 45 degrees, wind 17 mph left field to right field

James Wood hasn’t been a big leaguer long, but he’s been a big leaguer long enough to have some experience with big situations at the plate.

And what has the Nationals’ 22-year-old budding star learned from those experiences?

“I feel like if I go up there trying to create a big moment, I’ll get myself into trouble,” he said. “I just try and keep the same approach.”

Wood’s general laid-back persona certainly helps, but it’s another thing to actually put it into practice during a critical moment in a ballgame. What he did Monday night was further evidence he can handle the pressure just fine.

The situation: Bottom of the seventh, Nats already leading the Dodgers 3-2, one out and a runner on second. On the mound: Veteran left-hander Anthony Banda, himself briefly a member of the Nationals bullpen in April 2023, having since reestablished himself as a member of Los Angeles’ championship bullpen.

What did the Nationals need to do to defeat the defending World Series champs tonight and extend their own winning streak to three games?

They needed six strong innings from MacKenzie Gore. They needed early offense to take a lead. They needed late offense to provide some cushion for a thin bullpen. They needed that thin bullpen to get the job done on a night when most of the big names weren’t available.

Oh, and they also needed to hold down the Dodgers’ vaunted lineup enough to make sure Shohei Ohtani’s otherworldly exploits wouldn’t cost them.

And wouldn’t you know, they pulled it off, combining all of those elements during a 6-4 victory that stands as their best of the young season.

"That felt like a playoff game," said closer Kyle Finnegan, who was right in the middle of it all at the end. "To play against a team like the Dodgers, their resume speaks for itself. To play with them and compete all the way to the last out, it says a lot of things about our team and our grit. We can play with anybody in the league."

CJ Abrams has his first day off of the young season, not because of a bad matchup or a planned respite, but because of a tight thigh muscle.

Nationals manager Davey Martinez said the shortstop felt his right thigh tighten up while making the final play of Sunday’s 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks. Abrams charged in to field Randal Grichuk’s broken-bat grounder in the top of the ninth, then threw on the run to first, nearly pulling Nathaniel Lowe off the bag.

“He feels a little bit better today,” Martinez said. “I just wanted to give him a day, to make sure this doesn’t become a big issue.”

Asked what level of concern he has about Abrams, Martinez replied: “Right now, none. Hopefully it could’ve just been a cramp. But I want to make sure that’s just what it is.”

Abrams not only had started all nine previous games this season, but had played every inning to date. Martinez’s choice of replacement may come as a bit of a surprise: Paul DeJong.

The Nationals beat the Diamondbacks on Saturday. Then they beat them again on Sunday. You know what that’s called? A winning streak! Now, can they keep it going against the defending World Series champions and their star-studded roster?

Yes, the Dodgers are in town the next three nights, so get ready for a whole lot of blue and a whole lot of Japanese media following Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. Word is, there won’t be an empty seat in the press box during this series. Giddy-up.

It’s a great test tonight for MacKenzie Gore, who gets the ball for the series opener. The Nats ace was brilliant on Opening Day against the Phillies, then labored but minimized the damage against the Blue Jays. He last faced the Dodgers nearly a year ago, right here in D.C., and he was very good in that one: six innings of one-run ball. The key tonight: Efficiency. With all of their top relievers pitching much of the weekend, the bullpen could be thin for this game. Gore needs to get deep in the game.

The Nationals lineup finally did a good job jumping out to early leads against Arizona, and they’ll try to keep that up tonight against Dustin May. The oft-injured right-hander missed all of 2024 but is healthy again and tossed five innings of one-hit ball in his season debut against the Braves.

CJ Abrams sits tonight with tightness in his right thigh, while Paul DeJong moves to shortstop and José Tena starts at third base. James Wood slides up to the leadoff spot in Abrams' place.