MILWAUKEE – Tanner Rainey’s surgically repaired elbow feels strong. He’s made 12 appearances over the last month on a minor league rehab assignment, including back-to-back scoreless innings for Triple-A Rochester in recent days. He’s now more than 13 months removed from Tommy John surgery.

So why haven’t the Nationals activated the reliever off the 60-day injured list and brought him back to the big leagues yet?

“I talked to Tanner, and he’s still working on some things, mechanically,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He’s still going to stay down there, still going to pitch, work on some things.”

When Rainey began his rehab assignment in early August, the thinking was that he’d rejoin the major league bullpen sometime in early-to-mid September. And since the right-hander has crossed just about every pertinent item off his rehab checklist, it would seem the time has come.

But while the results have looked good, Rainey still doesn’t feel like he’s all the way back from the ligament replacement surgery he had in August 2022. His elbow feels great, he insists. But his velocity hasn’t yet returned to the upper 90s he used to throw, and he’s had trouble repeating his mechanics from outing to outing.

MILWAUKEE – A four-game series against the Pirates seemed like it would be just what the Nationals needed. Alas, it wasn’t. After winning Monday’s opener at PNC Park, the Nats dropped three straight, including Thursday’s 2-0 shutout played in record time. So now they have to hope to get back on track against a far more difficult opponent in the National League Central-leading Brewers.

Milwaukee enters with the NL’s best pitching staff (3.82 ERA, 1.185 WHIP). Washington enters having averaged only 3.5 runs on 7.2 hits and 2.6 walks over its last 17 games, during which time the team, unsurprisingly, has gone 4-13.

Somehow, this lineup is going to have to figure out how to string together some quality plate appearances and drive in some runs. That group will do so tonight against veteran left-hander Wade Miley, who is doing the best work of his career deep into his 30s. Over the last three seasons, he’s 21-13 with a 3.32 ERA.

Jake Irvin has surprisingly blossomed into the Nationals’ most consistently effective starter, and he’ll need to keep that up tonight against the Brewers. Over his last 15 starts, the rookie right-hander has a 3.59 ERA. The problem: He hasn’t been rewarded for his efforts, with only a 2-2 record and 11 no-decisions during that lengthy span.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MILWAUKEE BREWERS
Where: American Family Field
Gametime: 8:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 70 degrees, wind 9 mph in from right field

PITTSBURGH – Everyone involved ended up being OK, so they could laugh about it afterwards. But in the moment, it looked serious and scary.

During Jackson Rutledge’s ragged major league debut on Wednesday, the 24-year-old was most concerned about the 10 hits and seven runs he allowed. Little did he know he needed to be wary of friendly fire, too.

In the bottom of the fourth inning after drawing a one-out walk, Ji Hwan Bae took off to steal second base. Drew Millas, catching his good friend Rutledge’s debut, caught the pitch from the right-hander and popped up to attempt to throw Bae out.

Unfortunately, the ball never reached CJ Abrams covering the bag.

Instead, it ricocheted off the 6-foot-8 pitcher’s head as he attempted to duck out of the way and landed in right field, allowing Bae to advance to third.

PITTSBURGH – Josiah Gray’s last start came 11 days ago on Sept. 3 against the Marlins. He gave up three runs while throwing 86 pitches in just four innings at Nationals Park.

The Nationals decided to give their young starter a little bit of a reset while trying to get out of a bad funk he had been in since the start of August. Over his previous six starts, Gray pitched to an 8.49 ERA, which raised his season ERA from 3.27 to 4.13.

The extra rest and adjustments made in the meantime worked for Gray as he had his best outing since July. But a lack of run support – a familiar foe for Gray – couldn’t back up the strong start in a 2-0 loss to the Pirates in front of an announced crowd of 10,728. At 1 hour and 50 minutes, it was the shortest nine-inning game in Nationals history and tied for the fastest nine-inning game in the major leagues this season.

“Early strikes, first-pitch strikes, finish them off with my whole array of pitches," Gray said after the game. "Just getting ahead early worked a lot today and just believing in my stuff. Using the whole part of the plate. So it was a good day.”

“He was good," said manager Davey Martinez. "He attacked the strike zone. His direction was way better today. Overall, he threw the ball really well.”

PITTSBURGH – The Nationals made an early morning roster move before today’s finale against the Pirates: They returned from rehabilitation assignment and reinstated Thaddeus Ward from the 15-day injured list and optioned Joe La Sorsa to Triple-A Rochester.

Ward went on the IL on July 3 with right shoulder inflammation after appearing in 22 games out of the bullpen in his rookie season, posting a 7.12 ERA with 26 strikeouts. Over two months later, the 26-year-old Rule 5 draft pick was clearly happy to be back in a major league clubhouse.

“Oh yeah, I missed that,” Ward said while receiving a big hug from Ildemaro Vargas before speaking with the media. “It's good to be back. I'm happy I'm back healthy, stronger. I cleaned some things up and I’m excited about what's gonna happen here.”

Ward made six starts while on rehab assignment, posting a 3.52 ERA (nine runs in 23 innings) with 19 strikeouts and six walks between the Florida Complex League, High-A Wilmington and Double-A Harrisburg. He last pitched on Sept. 8 at Altoona (Pirates), tossing five innings with two earned runs, three strikeouts and one walk.

“One of the things I needed to work on in terms of mechanically was kind of shortening up my arm path a little bit,” he said. “I had a tendency to stab down, and that's just not very good. Nobody likes that. So working on cleaning that up, making sure I'm not stabbing and just kind of being smooth through the arm motion. So it's one of the things I cleaned up and I've thrown a lot more strikes, getting ahead more often, kind of figuring out, well not figuring out, but kind of rediscovering who I am as a pitcher.”

PITTSBURGH – The Nationals have a chance to split this four-game series with the Pirates in this afternoon’s finale.

After Patrick Corbin pitched 6 ⅔ strong innings on Monday en route to victory, Joan Adon and Jackson Rutledge combined to pitch 7 ⅔ innings over the last two games, both losses.

So the Nats will turn to Josiah Gray to provide some length on the mound. The right-hander will make his first start in 11 days after the team gave him extra rest to reset after a tough stretch. In his last start on Sept. 3, Gray gave up three runs while throwing 86 pitches in just four innings against the Marlins. That was the latest in a stretch since the beginning of August in which he has pitched to an 8.49 ERA over his last six starts.

We’ll see how he does this afternoon against the Pirates, who he held to one run over six innings with six strikeouts back in April.

Mitch Keller is the first Pirates starter this week that we knew was scheduled to start beforehand, instead of finding out only a couple of hours before first pitch like the previous three games. The right-hander is 11-9 with a 4.23 ERA and 1.282 WHIP in 29 starts. He was one of two Pirates representatives in the All-Star Game, making this a pitching matchup of All-Stars.

PITTSBURGH – Jackson Rutledge seemed antsy when he walked into the Nationals clubhouse at PNC Park this afternoon. A major league debut can do that to a young pitcher.

The former first-round pick arrived in Pittsburgh just before last night’s game against the Pirates. He then spent the rest of the night and all day today anticipating his major league debut.

The nerves and adrenaline probably lingered up until his first pitch, as he was seen walking around the clubhouse pregame greeting his teammates and receiving congratulations. But it was also as if he couldn’t sit still in anticipation.

“Definitely a lot of pacing," Rutledge said of how he spent the day waiting for his debut. "Walking around the hotel just wanting my clock to start, wanting my routine to get going. Once I got here, things kind of went pretty smooth. Got to say hi to all the people, all my teammates and just do the usual routine. From there, it was just like it is any other outing.”

Hopefully, this isn't like any other subsequent outing because that nervous energy carried over into the game as Rutledge was clearly amped up for his first big league start. Erratic and unable to settle down, the seven runs he would allow proved too much for the Nationals to overcome despite a late rally in a 7-6 loss to the Pirates in front of an announced crowd of 9,883.

PITTSBURGH – The excitement continues for the Nationals at PNC Park as they prepare for Jackson Rutledge’s major league debut. The Nats officially recalled the big right-hander from Triple-A Rochester ahead of tonight’s third game of this series against the Pirates.

Rutledge, 24, was the Nationals’ first-round pick at No. 17 overall in the 2019 MLB Draft. Formerly the top prospect in the system, Rutledge is now ranked as the Nats' No. 7 prospect per Baseball America and No. 13 per MLB Pipeline.

In 23 starts this year between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester, Rutledge is 8-4 with a 3.71 ERA and 1.269 WHIP over 119 innings.

“One, I always forget how big he is. He's a big kid,” manager Davey Martinez said with a laugh of his 6-foot-8, 251-pound starter. “But I'm proud of him. He worked really hard to get up here. He did some really good things down in the minor leagues. He started putting them together this year really well, so he's gonna get an opportunity to go out and start today for us. He's got a mix of four good pitches. The big thing with him, I didn't talk too much about anything, but just hey, attacking the strike zone, as I do with all these young kids. Just go try to get strike one on every hitter and just have fun. I'm really looking forward to seeing him pitch.”

Fellow rookie Drew Millas will be behind the plate to catch Rutledge while making just his sixth major league appearance and third start. The two are familiar with each other from coming up in the minor league system together.

PITTSBURGH – It’s been an exciting day for the Nationals so far after they officially announced a multi-year contract extension with longtime general manager Mike Rizzo this morning. The excitement continues tonight with the debut of a top prospect.

Jackson Rutledge will make his major league debut tonight as the starting pitcher for the Nationals. The 2019 first-round pick, who dealt with various injuries to begin his professional career, is 8-4 with a 3.71 ERA and 1.269 WHIP in 119 innings over 23 starts this year between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester, his first time reaching the upper levels of the minor league system.

A former top prospect and currently the Nationals’ No. 7 prospect per Baseball America and No. 13 per MLB Pipeline, the big right-hander will be the 10th player and sixth pitcher to make his major league debut with the Nats this season. He follows Thaddeus Ward, Hobie Harris, Jake Irvin, Jake Alu, Amos Willingham, Jose A. Ferrer, Blake Rutherford, Jacob Young and Drew Millas.

The Nationals have optioned Mason Thompson to Triple-A Rochester to make room for Rutledge on the active roster.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Where: PNC Park
Gametime: 6:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 70 degrees, wind 8 mph out to center field

It took a few more weeks than initially hoped, but the Nationals and Mike Rizzo have finally agreed to a new deal that will keep the longtime general manager in charge of baseball operations into the next stage of the franchise’s rebuild.

The Nats formally announced a multi-year extension with Rizzo this morning, three weeks after they announced a comparable contract with manager Davey Martinez.

Though Rizzo’s deal wasn’t done at the time, he and the club had been in negotiations and believed they were on track to finalizing terms, according to a source familiar with the discussions. Those negotiations wound up taking longer than anticipated, with Martinez's two-year contract finalized first, a rarity in the sport.

"I was always confident it was going to happen," Rizzo said in a video conference with reporters. "It was just something that we never got around to getting the final deal done. As far as the timeline goes, I thought it was important to get Davey done, because the chemistry in the clubhouse, and a lame-duck manager with three months, is not the way you want to go through this thing. ... That had to be done, and I'm glad I got that done, sooner rather than later. I was always confident about my deal."

Rizzo, 62, will be back in his familiar role in 2024, but several other prominent and longtime confidants of his will not. Johnny DiPuglia, who led the team’s international scouting operation since 2009, resigned earlier this month. Kris Kline, who has run the team’s amateur scouting operation since 2009, has been re-assigned to a role as a special assistant to Rizzo who will focus more on professional scouting, a source familiar with the decision confirmed.

PITTSBURGH – The Nationals had not listed their starting pitcher for Wednesday’s game against the Pirates through the first two games of this series. And even though we had a pretty good assumption of who it would be, we now officially know who will take the mound at PNC Park tonight.

Jackson Rutledge will join the Nats to make his major league debut Wednesday, manager Davey Martinez announced after last night’s 5-1 loss.

“Rutledge is gonna start for us tomorrow,” Martinez said Tuesday. “So yeah, we'll get him going. Another young prospect of ours, we get him up here. Biggest thing for him is just go out there, try to have some fun and attack the strike zone.”

Rutledge was scratched from his scheduled start with Triple-A Rochester on Friday with no reason given. Back in D.C. that night, MacKenize Gore gave up four runs on three home runs in four innings against the Dodgers and was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left finger blister the following day, opening up a rotation spot for tonight and likely ending his season. The timing of Rutledge’s scratch was not a coincidence. At least not in how it relates to Gore.

"I think that it’s a coincidence that Rutch is going to take the mound today," said general manager Mike Rizzo during a Zoom meeting with reporters addressing his new multi-year contract extension with the Nats on Wednesday. "I'm happy about that. I'm happy about his progression and his development. I think he's earned the opportunity to pitch in the big leagues. It's gonna be fun to see him pitch a couple of times in the big leagues before this season ends.”

PITTSBURGH – Joan Adon has been a mixed bag of results since he rejoined the Nationals rotation as its sixth man in early August. But the one constant was his results on the road.

For whatever reason, his two best outings came in his two starts away from Nationals Park. He took a perfect game into the sixth inning on Aug. 5 in Cincinnati, settling for a quality start of three runs in six frames, and then took a no-hitter into the sixth inning on Aug. 25 in Miami, settling for six shutout innings.

But Adon could not keep that streak going as he got knocked around by the Pirates in an eventual 5-1 loss in front of an announced crowd of 9,222 on a cool night at PNC Park.

As has been the case in previous rough outings, Adon struggled with walks and home runs tonight. Between those two starts in Cincinnati and Miami, he issued no walks and only allowed one homer. In his four other starts (all at home), he surrendered eight walks and two homers.

Adon issued a career-high six walks (one intentional) and a two-run home run to Joshua Palacios on his way to being charged with eight hits and four runs in just four innings plus three batters.

PITTSBURGH – The Nationals got a great start from Patrick Corbin last night to end a long stretch without length from their starter. Is it too much to ask for a second in a row?

Joan Adon will try to provide the Nats with back-to-back quality starts for the first time in a while. Since rejoining the rotation as the sixth man, the right-hander is 2-1 with a 5.59 ERA over six outings. He has tossed two quality starts, each coming in his two road starts in Cincinnati and Miami. Although he struck out six in his last start, he gave up two runs in five innings on 80 pitches.

Offensively, the Nats took the lead first last night for the first time in two weeks, led by CJ Abrams’ first multi-homer game and another homer from Dominic Smith. Again I ask, is it too much to ask for a second in a row?

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Where: PNC Park
Gametime: 6:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of showers, 70 degrees, wind 8 mph out to left-center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
C Keibert Ruiz
DH Joey Meneses
2B Ildemaro Vargas
3B Carter Kieboom
1B Dominic Smith
LF Alex Call
CF Jacob Young

PITTSBURGH – CJ Abrams added another milestone to his budding stardom last night.

With the Nationals needing to shake off a rough 2-7 homestand, Abrams hit two home runs to help lead his team to a 6-2 victory over the Pirates, their first series-opening win in their last five attempts.

Abrams’ two-run shot gave the Nats a 2-0 lead in the third, the first time they’ve scored first in a game since Aug. 29 in Toronto. Then his solo homer in the seventh, his 18th of the season, gave the 22-year-old the first multi-homer game of his young career.

“Just more comfortable up there I'd say,” Abrams said. “Getting my pitch, less antsy, anxious swinging at everything. If I can stay with that approach, I'll be good.”

The Nationals have always believed Abrams would be good. Now, with his power numbers improving, they believe he can be a star.

PITTSBURGH – The Nationals needed length from Patrick Corbin tonight. Entering this series opener against the Pirates, Nats starters had completed six innings only once in their last 12 games. And they had allowed at least one run in the first inning in 10 straight contests.

The veteran southpaw changed both of those narratives with a terrific showing to lead the Nats to a 6-2 victory in front of 10,045 fans at PNC Park.

“He was good," manager Davey Martinez said after the game. "Kept the ball down. Mixed his pitches in, but we talked about that all the time. And I know (pitching coach Jim Hickey) had a conversation after his last outing, just got to keep the ball down. And he was very effective. So we needed a big star from him today and he gave it to us.”

Corbin was on point from the start. He recorded a 1-2-3 first inning on seven pitches to become the first Nats starter to pitch a scoreless first frame since MacKenzie Gore on Aug. 29 in Toronto.

His slider was his most useful pitch, with the Pirates unable to to lay off it out of the zone or make decent contact in it. He induced 19 swings at his slider, 13 of which were whiffs, and got seven of his eight strikeouts with it.

PITTSBURGH – CJ Abrams is back in the Nationals lineup for tonight’s opener against the Pirates after getting the day off for Sunday’s finale against the Dodgers. The young shortstop was given a day to rest after banging his knee on a slide during Saturday night’s win.

The ailment was never believed to be serious and he was even available to pinch-hit if needed yesterday.

“He feels good,” manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame media session at PNC Park. “Yesterday he could have been available to pinch-hit if we needed him. But I kind of wanted to stay away from him, just give him the whole day. I talked to him yesterday, he was hitting in the cage during the game, he said he felt fine. So it's good to get him back in there.”

Abrams has played in 132 of the Nationals’ 143 games so far this year. The 22-year-old was given extra rest last week (thanks in part to the Nats only having two games against the Mets) after telling his manager he felt like he needed a day.

Since moving to the leadoff spot full-time on July 7, Abrams has usually been backed by Lane Thomas in the No. 2 hole. The 1-2 punch atop the lineup has paced the Nationals' offense ever since, with Abrams slashing .271/.331/.444/.774 with six doubles, two triples, nine home runs, 28 runs, 20 RBIs and 14 walks and Thomas slashing .244/.298/.444/.742 with nine doubles, one triple, 10 homers, 34 runs, 29 RBIs and 12 walks over that stretch.

PITTSBURGH – Hello from PNC Park, where this reporter is making his first trip to this beautiful ballpark! I’ve heard a lot of great things about this stadium and it certainly lives up to the hype.

After a 2-7 homestand, the Nationals will try to reverse their fortunes as they embark on their penultimate road trip of the season. The Nats have played well on the road recently, going 6-4 over their last 10 games away from Nationals Park.

Patrick Corbin will look to become the Nats’ first 10-game winner since 2019, when he, Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer and Aníbal Sánchez all won double-digit starts. Oh, how times have changed since Corbin won 14 games in his first year with the Nats, now the owner of a 9-13 record and 5.23 ERA this season.

Corbin gave up three runs over 5 ⅓ innings while taking the loss in the first game of a doubleheader against the Pirates on April 29. But he’s 2-1 with a 2.31 ERA in six career starts at PNC Park.

The Nats dropped two of three to the Pirates that weekend in April, getting outscored 24-11.

Joe La Sorsa’s relief appearance Sunday wasn’t particularly memorable. It didn’t make a difference in the outcome of the game (a 7-3 loss by the Nationals against the Dodgers). It included no defining moment, no critical out recorded and no damaging hit surrendered.

But when it came time to dissect what happened on another long, rain-delayed day at the ballpark, Davey Martinez went out of his way to mention the rookie left-hander’s seemingly innocuous relief appearance.

“I give a lot of credit to Joe,” the Nationals manager said. “That was awesome. It saved our bullpen, big-time.”

Having used up pretty much every other reliever on his roster the previous two nights, Martinez’s options for Sunday’s game were thin. And when starter Trevor Williams lasted only 4 1/3 innings, the situation looked all the more dire.

Martinez went to Mason Thompson first, the right-hander facing two batters in the fifth before the game went into a 58-minute delay, then returning after that to finish the inning and return to face two batters to open the sixth. Next up was La Sorsa, who entered with a runner in scoring position but stranded him there with three quick outs.

They played a ballgame at Nationals Park this afternoon, the 143rd game of this 162-game season. For the third straight day, it included a rain delay. And for the second time this weekend, it included a loss to the Dodgers.

The finale of a long, drawn-out series ended with a dud, Trevor Williams digging the Nationals into yet another early hole en route to a 7-3 loss that never really felt within reach even though it technically was.

Those who were here for the entire weekend were treated to a grand total of 9 hours, 26 minutes of actual baseball, plus 6 hours, 42 minutes of delays. Outside of a few fun moments late Saturday night in the Nats’ 11-inning win, most of it was tough to experience in person.

The Dodgers, unsurprisingly, proved themselves to be the superior team, well on their way to a 10th division title in 11 years. The Nationals, after an uplifting stretch for much of July and August, have now lost 10 of 13 with three weeks to go in the season, two of them to be spent on the road, one of them to be spent back here.

"The long games, the extra innings ... this weekend was a grind," manager Davey Martinez said. "We didn't score many runs today, but I saw some really good things."

The Nationals will give Josiah Gray three extra days of rest before he makes his next start, hoping the time off gives the struggling right-hander a chance to catch his breath and still finish a once-promising season strong.

Gray has totaled only six innings in his last two starts, allowing seven total runs while walking eight batters and throwing 149 pitches in the process. His next turn in the rotation would have come Monday in the Nats’ series opener at the Pirates, but he now will wait until Thursday’s finale at PNC Park to take the mound.

That start will be 11 days removed from his previous outing, so this will be the equivalent of having an entire turn skipped in the rotation.

“As we all know, he’s our All-Star,” manager Davey Martinez said. “And while he’s been struggling a little bit of late, I just want to give him a little break.”

Gray was named an All-Star for the first time in his career, back when he sported a 3.00 ERA through his first 13 starts of the season. But in 14 starts since, his ERA has been a hefty 5.30, and over 69 2/3 innings he has issued 38 walks while serving up 11 homers.