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Austin Slater is leading off and playing left field tonight and Coby Mayo is at third base against a left-handed opposing starter.
Eloy Jiménez is the designated hitter. Colton Cowser is in center field.
Jackson Holliday stays at second base and is batting ninth.
Dean Kremer has made two career starts against the Nationals and is 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA in 11 2/3 innings.
Kremer has held opponents to a .523 OPS his first time through the order, compared to .817 for the rest of the game.
As a rookie in 2019, Eloy Jiménez hit 31 homers, had an .828 OPS and finished fourth in voting for the American League Rookie of the Year. In the 2023 season he hit 18 longballs.
But this year he has just five in 275 plate appearances. His homer percentage of 1.8 – the percentage of all plate appearances that end in a homer is the lowest of his career. That percentage was 6.2 for him in 2019 and 2020.
The task for the O’s coaches could not be more obvious. Try to get this guy back to lifting the baseball. Even though he is currently hitting the ball hard often and driving some grounders through infields around baseball.
Coming into the Nats series Jiménez was 12-for-24 with the Orioles, but with two doubles and 10 singles. He struck out as a pinch-hitter last night.
O’s skipper Brandon Hyde said the process to try and get Jiménez to drive baseballs is well underway.
BALTIMORE – When the Nationals signed Harold Ramirez to a minor league contract on June 15, then called him up to the majors a week later, the intention was clear: Add a proven big league hitter to a lineup and bench that could use more of them, the kind of bat that could help a team win more games and perhaps even keep itself in a wide-open National League wild card race.
When the Nats designated Ramirez for assignment prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Orioles, the intention was also clear, if dramatically altered from two months prior: It’s time to prioritize young players who may have a future with the organization than older ones who don’t.
It wasn’t so much about Ramirez’s production. The soon-to-be 30-year-old hadn’t been great, but he hadn’t been awful, either. It was about creating a roster spot – and playing time – for Andres Chaparro, a 25-year-old rookie acquired two weeks ago from the Diamondbacks for Dylan Floro who theoretically could figure into the team’s long-term plans.
Chaparro, let’s be clear, is not a top-rated prospect. He was the return for two months of a veteran setup man, not two years of a productive everyday player. But his Triple-A numbers over the last two seasons – a .282/.363/.500 slash line with 51 doubles and 48 homers in 242 games – were hard to ignore.
And given the current state of the Nationals, who are sorely lacking in power, especially from the corner infield positions, it made all the sense in the world to get Chaparro up here now and get an extended look at him.
The home clubhouse at Camden Yards had new lockers for four players who joined the Orioles on the road trip. Among them was left-hander Trevor Rogers, who made his first career start tonight in Baltimore.
Anthony Santander was in his usual spot in the back row and on the field. He’s become a constant. And now he’s a record holder.
Santander tied the game in the third inning with his 36th home run, the most by an Orioles switch-hitter. Ken Singleton had 35 in 1979.
The Orioles went to the World Series that year. Santander is swinging the bat like he’s trying to carry his team deep into the postseason. But he’ll need some cooperation. The offense can’t keep shutting down. More outs are needed from the rotation. More trust must be earned in the bullpen.
Rogers was removed at 78 pitches after James Wood’s leadoff single in the sixth, with four runs and seven hits on his line. Bryan Baker let an inherited runner score and two of his own, and the Orioles lost to the Nationals 9-3 before an announced crowd of 28,058 at Camden Yards.
BALTIMORE – In their season-long search for more offensive punch, the Nationals tonight found plenty of it from one key piece of their long-term plan and one unexpected new piece of the puzzle who might just play his way into the long-term plan if he keeps this up.
Behind the second four-hit night of James Wood’s young career and a record-setting three-double night from Andrés Chaparro in his major league debut, the Nats busted out at the plate during a 9-3 victory over the Orioles.
Facing a Baltimore pitching staff that held them to a grand total of 15 runs in their last nine head-to-head matchups, the Nationals put forth one of their best offensive showings in a while, their highest scoring output against the Orioles since May 22, 2021, when their lineup included Trea Turner, Juan Soto and Ryan Zimmerman.
The names involved tonight can’t come close to comparing to that trio, but given how inexperienced they are, who can say with any certainty what they will become when it’s all said and done?
Wood, the top-rated prospect in baseball not long ago, continued to hit the ball extremely hard with three singles and a double that all boasted an exit velocity of at least 99.5 mph. Chaparro, a power-hitting corner infielder stuck at Triple-A the last two seasons but acquired two weeks ago from the Diamondbacks for reliever Dylan Floro, put on the kind of power display the Nats have dreamed of getting all year from their first basemen.
The Orioles lost to the Rays on Sunday 2-1 as they failed to complete a three-game sweep, which would have been their sixth series sweep of the year.
Now the Orioles go from playing an American League East team – and they have had a lot of success within their division this year – to playing a National League East team. And they have a losing record this year versus NL squads.
The Orioles took two of three over the weekend from the Rays to be 8-2 against them in 2024. They are now are 26-13 versus AL East teams.
The Orioles are 14-18 versus NL teams and they lost their past three series against the NL, going 0-3 versus the Cubs and 1-2 each against the Marlins and Padres. The Orioles are 4-6-1 this season in series against the NL clubs.
Tonight the Orioles host the Nationals to start a two-game series and six-game homestand. The Red Sox come to town on Thursday night.
BALTIMORE – As this season transitions from one of early dreams of a surprise run to one that’s still primarily focused on the future, the Nationals decided to make a pair of transactions today that will give them a chance to look at two more young players at the expense of veterans.
The Nats promoted first baseman Andrés Chaparro and reliever Orlando Ribalta from Triple-A Rochester prior to this evening’s series opener against the Orioles and cleared space for both by designating designated hitter Harold Ramírez and reliever Jordan Weems for assignment.
“We want to take a look at some of these young kids,” manager Davey Martinez said. “Both have done really well at Triple-A.”
Indeed, Chaparro and Ribalta have been knocking on the door, performing at a level worthy of consideration. Now each will get an opportunity to make his major league debut.
Acquired just two weeks ago at the trade deadline in a last-minute deal with the Diamondbacks for Dylan Floro, Chaparro went on a tear at the plate in 10 games with Rochester. The 200-pound corner infielder hit four homers with 10 RBIs, a .419 on-base percentage and 1.076 OPS, picking up right where he left off with Arizona’s Triple-A affiliate in Reno, where he batted .332 with 19 homers and 75 RBIs in 95 games.
The off-day enabled the Orioles to freshen their bullpen heading into the Nationals series after left-hander Cionel Pérez worked back-to-back games at Tropicana Field following an earlier stretch in the month of four appearances in five days. Yennier Cano and Seranthony Domínguez weren’t available Sunday after pitching in the previous two games.
Craig Kimbrel and left-hander Gregory Soto are working under different conditions.
Kimbrel has appeared in three games this month, with four days’ rest before Sunday’s outing that resulted in the tie-breaking run scoring against him in the eighth inning. Soto has pitched four times – with his most recent outing on Thursday. He entered in the sixth inning in his first three games with the Orioles and twice surrendered four runs.
Manager Brandon Hyde can’t always avoid using multiple relievers in high-leverage situations. He’s got to find innings that get them back on track but also help the Orioles win.
“We’re going to need both of them, so I’m going to have to find a way,” he said. “Craig had that All-Star first half and when he had a little blip we found a way to kind of get him back rolling again. I’ve tried to do that again here the second half. I thought he threw better in Toronto. That inning looked more like him. The way we were in the ‘pen a couple days ago, wanted to give him that eighth inning and his command just wasn’t very good that day, unfortunately. So hopefully he can rebound from that. But we’re going to need him in the last two months big-time.”
BALTIMORE – Hello from Camden Yards, where the Battle of the Beltways wraps up over the next two nights. The two teams split their two-game series in D.C. back in May, so it’s anybody’s game here this week.
The Nationals are still looking for consistency from their rotation, and that includes Jake Irvin, who gets the ball tonight. The right-hander has put together a couple of quality starts since the All-Star break, but he’s still pitching as well as he did during the season’s first half, and is coming off a game in which he allowed five runs in five innings to the Giants, including three home runs surrendered.
The Nats lineup will actually be facing a familiar foe in Trevor Rogers, the former Marlins left-hander acquired by the Orioles at the trade deadline. Rogers took the loss in each of his two starts against the Nationals earlier this season, but it wasn’t really his fault. He allowed only five runs in 12 innings, but his teammates provided only two runs of support. The Baltimore lineup, suffice it to say, is a bit more productive than the Miami one, so he may not have to worry about support as much tonight.
The Nats made a couple of roster moves before tonight's game, selecting the contracts of infielder Andrés Chaparro and right-hander Orlando Ribalta, and designating Harold Ramírez and Jordan Weems for assignment
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Where: Camden Yards
Gametime: 6:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 82 degrees, wind 6 mph in from left field
The Washington Nationals selected the contracts of infielder Andrés Chaparro and right-handed pitcher Orlando Ribalta, and designated Harold Ramírez and Jordan Weems for assignment on Tuesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
Chaparro, 25, joins Washington for the first Major League stint of his career after he was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-handed pitcher Dylan Floro on July 30. This season, Chaparro ranks among all full-season Minor Leaguers in hits (1st, 132), total bases (3rd, 230), RBI (T3rd, 85), extra-base hits (5th, 51), OPS (6th, .977), slugging percentage (8th, .572), home runs (T8th, 23), runs (T9th, 76) and batting average (10th, .328) in 105 games between Triple-A Reno and Rochester.
The El Vigia, Venezuela, native homered in four-straight games for Rochester from Aug. 7-9, including in both halves of a doubleheader on Aug. 7 at Buffalo (TOR) and his 100th career Minor League homer on Aug. 9 against the Bisons. In all, Chaparro slashed .286/.419/.657 with a double, four home runs, 10 RBI, eight walks and seven runs scored in 10 games for the Red Wings.
Since the beginning of the 2023 season, Chaparro ranks in all of Minor League Baseball in RBI (T3rd,174), hits (8th, 261) and home runs (T8th, 48).
Originally signed by the New York Yankees as a non-drafted free agent in 2016, Chaparro slashed .263/.350/.459 with 125 doubles, 11 triples, 100 home runs, 394 RBI, 19 stolen bases, 282 walks and 364 runs scored in eight Minor League seasons between the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Nationals organizations.
Coby Mayo is out of the Orioles lineup for tonight’s series opener against the Nationals at Camden Yards.
Ramón Urías gets the start at third base. Ryan O’Hearn is serving as the designated hitter.
Colton Cowser is in left field, Cedric Mullins is in center and Anthony Santander is in right.
Left-hander Trevor Rogers is making his third start with the Orioles after allowing seven earned runs and eight total in 9 1/3 innings. He’s faced the Nationals twice this season with the Marlins and allowed five runs in 12 innings.
Rogers has made 10 career starts against Washington and posted a 3.35 ERA and 1.283 WHIP in 48 1/3 innings. He’s never allowed more than three earned runs.
James Wood and Jackson Holliday have been dueling all season. Not on the diamond, but in rankings as two of the top prospects in baseball.
In whatever order you put them in as two of the best young players in the sport, Wood and Holliday take center stage as they face off on a major league field over the next two nights for the first time in their promising careers.
Holliday has been the top prospect in the sport for the better part of the last year. The Orioles selected him with the No. 1 overall pick out of high school two years ago. Last year, he claimed the top spot in almost every prospect ranking by playing at four different minor league levels in his first full professional season.
Some expected Holliday to make the Orioles’ Opening Day roster out of spring training. But he started this year at Triple-A and made his major league debut on April 10. Although highly anticipated, he struggled during his first stint in the big leagues.
In 10 games, Holliday went 2-for-34 (.059) with a .170 OPS and 18 strikeouts. He was optioned back to Triple-A on April 26, where he also spent some time on the injured list with left elbow inflammation. He even strictly served as the designated hitter over three weeks when he returned from his injury.
Anthony Rendon’s long-awaited return to D.C. over the weekend served as a reminder how lucky the Nationals are not to have re-signed one of the stars of the 2019 World Series run, assuming he would’ve experienced the same injuries and drop in production here as he has in Anaheim.
But it also served as a reminder how the Nats have spent the last five years searching in vain for Rendon’s long-term replacement at third base.
A mindboggling 20 different people have played the hot corner for the franchise since 2020. Some (Carter Kieboom, Trey Lipscomb) were supposed to be the future at the position. Some (Jeimer Candelario) were productive stopgaps who were traded at peak value. Some (Starlin Castro, Maikel Franco, Nick Senzel) were unproductive stopgaps who lost all value during their time here. And some (Ildemaro Vargas, Josh Harrison, Asdrubal Cabrera) were and are still quality utilitymen pressed into more regular playing time because of the struggles of others.
What have they all had in common? An inability to seize the job for themselves and ensure the organization no longer needed to find its third baseman of the future.
The Nationals arguably are in no better shape now at third base than they were five years ago. Sure, there’s a highly touted prospect, a former first round pick, waiting to make his major league debut in the near future. But can anyone say with certainty Brady House will be the next Rendon and not the next Kieboom?
He entered the season as the Nationals’ most promising, highest ceiling, young starter. And two months in, MacKenzie Gore was building himself a case for an All-Star selection and the designation of staff ace.
Two-plus months later, the Nats are left wondering what in the world happened to make Gore’s season devolve this much. And what they’re supposed to do about it now.
With another laborious, abbreviated start featuring a lack of command, an inability to put away hitters and one back-breaking hit, Gore was roughed up yet again and left the Nationals in a hole they tried to climb out of but ultimately could not in a 6-4 loss to the Angels.
The left-hander lasted only four innings, giving up five runs (albeit five unearned runs) while letting 11 batters reach base, six via walk. His bullpen only poured more fuel on the fire, the team ultimately issuing 13 total walks during the affair, establishing a club record for a game of any length.
"If one guy walks, or you get a guy in scoring position, you're trying not to give up that hit or that run. You put a lot of pressure on yourself," manager Davey Martinez said. "That's the only thing I can think of. You're forcing yourself to get the ball over the plate. And that's when all the balls start happening. We've got to focus on just getting to the next pitch, and focus on that one batter, not try to get ahead of ourselves."
The Nationals would probably prefer not to play extra innings today. They’ve gone to the 10th three days in a row, and the thought of another long game with an overtaxed bullpen can’t be real appealing at the moment. The good news: They’ve won the last two nights, which means they have a shot at a rare series sweep this morning.
Yes, this morning. Pre-noon baseball in the District of Columbia is no longer confined to July 4. The Nats and Angels today are playing on the relatively new "MLB Sunday Leadoff on Roku" package. That means it’s only available via online streaming, not conventional TV. But it is free, with no special subscription required. Click on this link for instructions, then enjoy the game with a mixed broadcast crew featuring Bob Carpenter on play-by-play alongside Angels analyst Mark Gubicza, with Dan Kolko serving as the on-field reporter.
MacKenzie Gore gets the start for the Nationals, and boy do they need some innings out of him today. Gore has been slightly better each of his last two starts, but he’s still nowhere close to the peak form he displayed earlier this season. This would be a wonderful time for the lefty to make a bigger step in that direction and give his team some sorely needed length.
The Angels have their own pitching issues right now, and today they’re sending rookie Jack Kochanowicz to the mound for only his third career start. The 23-year-old right-hander has given up 12 runs and 14 hits in only seven major league innings to date, suffering blowout losses to both the Mariners and Athletics.
The Nats are without CJ Abrams for the third straight game, at least in the starting lineup. Abrams did pinch-run in the 10th inning Saturday, but it appears there's still concern about his ability to bat with back spasms. With the team off Monday, he may just be playing it safe and gearing up to return Tuesday in Baltimore.
The Nationals have played their fair share of back-and-forth games this week. They saw six lead changes over their last four games, some of which included late-inning dramatics and extra frames.
And so here they were again having to battle through another one in their second matchup against the Angels. But although they saw an early lead change swing in their favor, they couldn’t keep the score of this one from flip-flopping. In the end, the Nats were able to come back for a 5-4 walk-off win in 10 innings in front of 22,183 fans at Nationals Park thanks to a new face.
After Derek Law kept it a 4-4 game with a scoreless top of the ninth while closer Kyle Finnegan was unavailable due to an increased workload over the past two games, the heart of the Nats order couldn’t provide a walk-off hit just yet.
So to extras we went yet again, the Nats’ third straight extra-inning game. Law returned to the mound and pitched a perfect 10th, stranding the automatic runner at third.
Because CJ Abrams was out of the starting lineup with a stiff upper back, he was available to pinch-run for Keibert Ruiz as the automatic runner. José Tena, an infield prospect from the Lane Thomas trade with the Guardians who was recalled from Triple-A Rochester before the game, stepped up as the first batter in the bottom of the 10th.
The Washington Nationals recalled infielder José Tena from Triple-A Rochester and reinstated right-handed pitcher Jordan Weems from the 15-day Injured List on Saturday. In corresponding moves, the club optioned right-handed pitcher Joan Adon and infielder Trey Lipscomb to Triple-A Rochester. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.
Tena, 23, was one of three players acquired from the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for Lane Thomas on July 29. He joins the Nationals after hitting .287 with 21 doubles, two triples, 18 home runs, 68 RBI, 34 walks, 15 stolen bases and 60 runs scored in 100 games between Triple-A Columbus and Triple-A Rochester. In 10 games with the Red Wings, five of his seven hits went for extra bases (4 2B, HR). Tena has appeared at shortstop (62 G), second base (18 G), third base (17 G) and designated hitter (2 G) this season.
At the time of the trade, Tena (tey-NAH), led Cleveland’s Minor League system with 110 hits and ranked in home runs (2nd, 17), RBI (3rd, 63), extra-base hits (4th, 36), batting average (4th, .298), slugging percentage (6th, .493) and OPS (6th, .846). He is a career .284/.338/.441 hitter with 113 doubles, 22 triples, 58 home runs, 283 RBI, 156 walks, 65 stolen bases and 310 runs scored in 530 games across six Minor League seasons. Tena earned a Rawlings Minor League Gold Glove in 2021 with High-A Lake County.
Tena made his Major League debut on Aug. 5, 2023 and has appeared in 21 games for the Guardians across two seasons (2023-24). He is 7-for-35 (.200) with two doubles, three RBI, three walks and two runs scored along the way. This marks his second Major League stint of the season, having appeared in three games from June 28 to July 3.
Weems, 31, returns to the active roster after being placed on the Injured List on July 26 with shin splints. He is 1-1 with a 6.59 ERA in 40 games out of Washington’s bullpen this season.
As we get closer to the end of the season, it’s that time of year when the Nationals will bring up some new players to give them an extended chance at the major league level to evaluate for 2025.
Today is one of those days where a new, young player is getting his shot.
Before tonight’s game against the Angels, the Nats recalled infielder José Tena from Triple-A Rochester 12 days after he was acquired as one of the three players included in the Lane Thomas trade with the Guardians.
The 23-year-old native of the Dominican Republic entered the Nats system with some big-league experience, hitting .200 with a .520 OPS in 21 games with Cleveland over the last two seasons. But he went straight to Rochester only to force his way back to the bigs.
In 10 games with the Red Wings, five of Tena’s seven hits went for extra bases with four doubles and a home run.
The Nationals are coming off a rough couple of days in which they sat through multiple rain delays with a dramatic comeback only to fall in the 10th inning to the Giants on Thursday then a rare extra-inning win against the Angels on Friday. Last night’s 3-2 win was just the Nats’ fourth in 12 games that have gone to extras, but at least they are no longer tied with the miserable White Sox for last in the majors in such affairs.
Now they turn their attention to tonight’s game. A victory against the Halos on Saturday would give the Nats their second series win in their last three and put them in position for a sweep tomorrow morning. (No, I don’t know why they are keeping tonight’s game as a 6:45 p.m. start before tomorrow’s 11:35 a.m. start nationally on Roku.)
Mitchell Parker was charged with two unearned runs over 6 ⅓ innings last night. A similar outing from Patrick Corbin would be much appreciated tonight, especially with the state of the Nats bullpen up in the air. Yes, Corbin leads the majors with 12 losses this season. And yes, he gave up four early runs in his last outing against the Giants.
But he actually battled back to complete six innings on Monday to give his team a chance. Since the offense only scored one run on the night, Corbin is still left in search of his 100th career win.
The Nats offense would love to get to an early lead against Griffin Canning, who is 4-10 with a 5.10 ERA and 1.414 WHIP in 23 starts this season. With Corbin on the mound and closer Kyle Finnegan likely not available after throwing a combined 57 pitches over the last two nights, the more runs the better off the Angels right-hander.
Upon reaching the dugout steps following a 1-2-3 top of the ninth, Kyle Finnegan caught Davey Martinez’s eye and told his manager he wanted to return to the mound for the top of the 10th.
To which the Nationals manager replied: “Well, I want to win right here and not send you back out. But if we have to, yeah.”
Much to Martinez’s chagrin, the Nats did not win Friday night’s game in the bottom of the ninth, so he did ultimately have to send his closer back out there for a second inning of work, one day after he’d thrown 28 pitches during a disastrous outing that resulted in three runs crossing the plate.
This time, Finnegan posted a zero, stranding the go-ahead runner at third base and giving his teammates another opportunity to walk-off the Angels. Which is exactly what they did, thanks to Alex Call’s game-winning hit in the bottom of the 10th.
“I’m happy they had trust in me to go back out there and try to strand that leadoff runner on base,” he said.
