About 2 ½ years ago, Cole Henry’s career in professional baseball faced a major setback. After thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in August 2022, the idea of him pitching again came into serious question. And his chances of making the major leagues with the Nationals were slim-to-none.

But the right-hander continued to work his way back, trying to overcome a procedure that had consumed the careers of Stephen Strasburg, Will Harris, Matt Harvey and others.

One thing Henry had going for him was his age. He was only 23 when he had the surgery, so he had more time to recover his body, which hadn’t yet been worn down by numerous professional seasons. That also meant, however, he had a whole career ahead of him that could possibly be taken away before it ever really started.

Henry wouldn’t let it.

After years of rehab and carefully planned pitching schedules, Henry finally got the call to the majors this past weekend and made his big league debut Sunday against the Marlins.

Among the nine Orioles on the injured list, reliever Andrew Kittredge appears to bring the most promising outlook, and that’s as much a statement about the team’s misfortunate as his recovery.

Grayson Rodriguez seemed to be trending in the right direction, with multiple bullpen sessions indicating that he might be getting closer to facing hitters in live batting practice and on a rehab assignment. However, yesterday’s session was nixed because of soreness in his right shoulder that cropped up earlier in the week.

A pause of any length is significant, since it interferes with the ramp up process, and having to restart his progression would be a painful blow. There’s also a worst-case scenario that doesn’t need to be verbalized.

The Orioles need top starter Zach Eflin’s stay on the IL to be relatively brief, but he’s recovering from a lat strain and won’t be ready for reinstatement when eligible on Wednesday. He threw in the outfield for the first time two days ago, so facing hitters isn’t an immediate goal.

“I’m hopeful at this point that his stay on the IL will be measured more in weeks than in months,” said executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias.

The music wasn't louder than usual and the strobe lights didn't shine brighter. The Orioles treated tonight’s game like the 18^th out of 162, with the mood leaning much more toward reserved than raucous.

They can go through their victory routine and maintain their perspective, but they’ve certainly earned the right to celebrate.

After all, they finally won back-to-back games and a series. Never sneeze at the small gains. And never forget that Tomoyuki Sugano was given $13 million to come to the U.S. for a reason.

Gunnar Henderson, Ryan O’Hearn and Heston Kjerstad homered, and Sugano became the first Orioles starter to work into the seventh inning in a 6-2 victory over the Guardians before an announced crowd of 16,201 at Camden Yards.

Sugano allowed two runs and five hits with no walks over seven innings, and the Orioles improved to 8-10. He threw 87 pitches, 55 for strikes, and received a nice ovation as he walked off the mound for the last time.

Any potential timeline for Grayson Rodriguez to get back into the Orioles’ rotation is scrambled again after he experienced another setback.

The hits keep coming without appearing in games.

Rodriguez was supposed to throw a bullpen session today but the club canceled it a few days ago due to soreness in his right shoulder. Rodriguez was sent for an MRI.

This is another major blow for the rotation, which also lost No. 1 starter Zach Eflin to a lat strain. Eflin won’t be ready when he’s eligible to return on Wednesday.

Manager Brandon Hyde shared the Rodriguez news with the media.

PITTSBURGH – If nothing else, the first two weeks of the season offered up an apparently real sign of improvement from the Nationals lineup: Power.

A ballclub that ranked near the bottom of the majors in home runs and slugging the last two seasons was now hitting the ball in the air with authority. Through their first 13 games, the Nats totaled 42 extra-base hits, 18 of them homers.

And then they hit the road and stopped hitting altogether, the latest example coming today in a lifeless 1-0 loss to the Pirates to wrap up a miserable series at PNC Park.

Shut out into the eighth by Andrew Heaney one night after they suffered the same fate against Bailey Falter, the Nationals wasted a quality pitching performance by Trevor Williams and their own beleaguered bullpen, which rose to the challenge for a change and kept the game close.

"Look, I think we're playing great baseball, and we all believe in ourselves and believe that we can take it to the next level," said Williams, whose team is now 7-12 to open the season. "We hold each other accountable, and we hold each other to a higher standard. We're going to keep putting our head down, because the only way through this is through."

The Orioles will try to win their first series tonight and post their first back-to-back victories with Heston Kjerstad and Jackson Holliday staying in the lineup and Cedric Mullins batting leadoff.

Gunnar Henderson moves down to second in the order.

Tyler O’Neill is out of the lineup due to neck stiffness that forced him to be scratched yesterday. Ryan O’Hearn is playing right field.

Jordan Westburg is playing tonight, serving as designated hitter. He’s hitless in his last 20 at-bats.

Adley Rutschman slides down to third in the order.

PITTSBURGH – Major League Baseball has suspended Nationals reliever Jorge López three games "for intentionally throwing at Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates" and manager Davey Martinez one game in the wake of Wednesday night’s incident.

López has appealed his suspension and remains eligible to pitch until a hearing takes place. Managers are not permitted to appeal suspensions, so Martinez will be forced to sit out today’s series finale at PNC Park, with bench coach Miguel Cairo taking over.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh Wednesday night and the Nationals trailing 2-0, López hit Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds with a pitch. He then threw a wayward fastball over McCutchen’s head three pitches later, prompting Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton to come out of the dugout to complain.

That spurred both teams’ benches and bullpens to empty, though nothing close to a punch was ever thrown. Once everything settled down and everyone retreated to their respective sides, the umpiring crew huddled up and decided to eject López, much to the right-hander’s shock.

No warnings were ever issued by the umpires, and Martinez was not ejected from the game.

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

The middle of April is not the time to panic. 

The O's need to string together some wins, and some more complete performances like last night's victory. However, given the O’s slow start to the new campaign, yesterday afternoon was an appropriate time to run some diagnostics. 

That’s what Annie Klaff and I tried to do on this week’s episode of “The Bird’s Nest.” You can find the full episode here: https://masn.me/qd2u9frr. 

We won't blame you for hoping that this particular podcast has a short shelf life. 

As you may have guessed, here were the main two topics of conversation. 

The Orioles have come up short on victories early in the season, but they aren’t running low on reasons why and theories on how to turn it around.

Having nine players on the injured list, including top two starters Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez, outfielder Colton Cowser and relievers Albert Suárez and Andrew Kittredge, set up the club to begin slowly. The depth took a hit, especially with pitchers Trevor Rogers and Chayce McDermott also on the IL.

The rotation posted a 5.54 ERA that ranked last in the majors before Dean Kremer held the Guardians to one run in 5 1/3 innings, and 79 2/3 innings from the unit were tied with Cleveland for 29^th. Bullpen usage is tricky with Félix Bautista unable to work back-to-back days or go multiple innings, and with left-hander Cionel Pérez carrying a 14.21 ERA and 3.158 WHIP in six appearances. The offense sputters. The defense breaks down randomly, offering the best and worst last night.

The problems don’t go ignored.

“We’re talking about it every day and trying to figure out how we can help these guys, give them confidence. Be honest about how we’re playing. Nobody’s hiding from it,” manager Brandon Hyde said before a 9-1 win.

The Orioles needed an effective start out of their rotation. They needed a big swing that might deaden their slump. Perhaps they could regain some authority and quiet a few critics.

Dean Kremer spun 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball tonight and Jackson Holliday marked his return to the lineup with a grand slam. They filled the order.

Heston Kjerstad made a clutch grab to strand two runners, Ramón Laureano and Ryan O'Hearn homered, and the Orioles defeated the Guardians 9-1 before an announced crowd of 13,964 at Camden Yards. The record improved to 7-10 with their fourth win in 12 games and they get another chance to claim their first series.

A four-run eighth, which included O'Hearn's long ball and Kjerstad's two-run single, put the game out of reach. Ramón Urías had a 398-foot sacrifice fly.

Holliday was hitless in his last 17 at-bats and didn’t play last night. He batted with one out in the second inning after Cedric Mullins walked, Ryan Mountcastle singled and Urías walked to load the bases.

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."

The Orioles have scratched Tyler O’Neill from tonight’s lineup due to neck discomfort.

Ramón Laureano comes off the bench to play left field and Heston Kjerstad moves to right. Ryan Mountcastle rises to fifth in the order.

O’Neill is batting .265/.339/.490 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and eight RBIs in 14 games. He played right last night and doubled a runner off second base.

Gunnar Henderson SS
Adley Rutschman C
Ryan O’Hearn DH
Cedric Mullins CF
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Heston Kjerstad RF
Ramón Urías 3B
Jackson Holliday 2B
Ramón Laureano LF

Orioles pitcher Zach Eflin, who started on Opening Day in Toronto, threw in the outfield today for the first time since going on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain.

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

The Orioles will try to win tonight for only the fourth time in 12 games and to keep alive their chance to claim their first series.

Jackson Holliday and Heston Kjerstad have returned to the lineup. Kjerstad is in left field and batting sixth. Holliday is at second base and batting eighth ahead of third baseman Ramón Urías.

Jordan Westburg takes a seat. He’s hitless in his last 20 at-bats to lower his average to .196 with a .631 OPS.

Cedric Mullins is batting cleanup. Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter.

Dean Kremer has an 8.16 ERA and 1.674 WHIP in three starts. He’s gone 5 1/3, 4 1/3 and 4 2/3 innings.

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.

The Washington Nationals recalled infielder Trey Lipscomb from Triple-A Rochester and placed infielder Paul DeJong on the 10-day Injured List with a fractured nose on Wednesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Lipscomb, 24, joins the Nationals for the first time this season after he hit .295 (13-for-44) with a double, a home run, seven RBI, seven walks, two stolen bases and five runs scored in 13 games with Triple-A Rochester. Over his last 10 games, he went 10-for-33 (.303) with a double, a home run, five RBI, five walks, a stolen base and two runs scored. Lipscomb joins Washington on a hot streak, going 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI on Tuesday.

Lipscomb enjoyed five Major League stints last season, ultimately playing in 61 games for Washington at three different positions: third base (55 games), first base (5 games) and second base (2 games). Despite his limited action, he ended the season tied for 10th among National League rookies (14th in the NL overall) with 11 stolen bases, and became the fourth Nationals rookie to steal home and the second to record three stolen bases in a game on April 8 at San Francisco. In all, he hit .200 with three doubles, a home run, 10 RBI, 16 walks and 20 runs scored during his 2024 Major League campaign.

DeJong, 31, hit .204 with four doubles, two RBI, two stolen bases, two walks and three runs scored in 16 games this season.

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.”

Gunnar Henderson batted cleanup last night, relinquishing the leadoff spot to Jordan Westburg in a right-handed heavy order. Cedric Mullins stayed in center field, but Jorge Mateo played second base instead of Jackson Holliday. Ramón Urías, batting .343 with a .410 on-base percentage, sat on the bench.

A decision also was made to withhold Heston Kjerstad against Guardians left-hander Logan Allen and put right-handed hitting Ramón Laureano in left field.

The Orioles played their 16^th game and used a 15^th different lineup. They could blow past the 144 last season.

The evolution of settling on a lineup has carried the process well beyond a manager sitting in his office with the card, a pencil and a hunch. Analytics are a major factor, of course. Where haven’t they infiltrated the sport? And it’s become more of a group effort.

“I am not involved with lineups,” executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said yesterday.