The worst summer in Nationals history came to a close this afternoon in much the same fashion as far too many ballgames over the last three months played out. A 7-4 loss to the Rays had all the hallmarks of previous losses, from a big hole created by a struggling starting pitcher to a futile attempt by the lineup to make up the big deficit.

In getting swept by Tampa Bay, the Nats saw their losing streak swell to eight games. At no point during the streak have they held a lead at the conclusion of any inning.

The misery extends far past these last eight games, though. The Nationals wrapped up the month of August with a 9-19 record. This after they went 9-15 in July. This after they went 7-19 in June. It’s the first time in club history they’ve failed to win at least 10 games in at least one of the three summer months.

That makes them 25-53 since June 1, a .321 winning percentage that easily ranks as worst in the majors during that extended span and would equate over an entire season to a 52-win pace.

"We were playing good," interim manager Miguel Cairo said, citing a recent 5-3 stretch against the Mets and Phillies. "It's not like they've given up or anything like that. They're battling. They're fighting. Today I told them: (25) more games. You've got to keep fighting. You've got to finish strong."

SAN FRANCISCO – The Orioles may go in a different direction to expand their roster on Monday.

Albert Suárez is confirmed and will join the bullpen, but infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo might have to wait a little longer.

Mateo had three hits yesterday and is 8-for-28 with Triple-A Norfolk since restarting his assignment on Aug. 20.

“Jorgie, we’re still kind of checking boxes on the rehab assignment,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “I think if Jorgie’s feeling great and good, in theory he’d be the guy on the position player side, but I’m not so sure it’s gonna go that way. It may take a couple more days.”

Mateo hasn’t played for the Orioles since June 6 due to left elbow inflammation following an outfield collision with Heston Kjerstad and a left hamstring strain suffered during his first rehab assignment. The Orioles hold a $5.5 million option on his contract for 2026.

SAN FRANCISCO – The Orioles go for the series win this afternoon after prevailing yesterday for the second time in 10 games.

Gunnar Henderson is the designated hitter and Luis Vázquez is the shortstop. Dylan Beavers is in right field and Daniel Johnson starts in left. Ryan Mountcastle is at first base.

Tomoyuki Sugano get the start, his 26^th, to close out the month. The Orioles are 11-16 in August.

Sugano, 35, has 10 victories and is on pace to be the oldest rookie in major league history to lead his team in wins. Jim Turner holds the record with 20 in 1937 at 34 years and 58 days, per STATS.

Samuel Basallo, who’s behind the plate today, is the third-youngest catcher to homer at 21 years and 17 days. The Rangers’ Iván Rodríguez is first at 19 years and 273 days, and the Mets’ Francisco Alvarez is second at 20 years and 319 days.

Andrew Alvarez will make his major league debut Monday afternoon against the Marlins, the 26-year-old left-hander set to be promoted by the Nationals from Triple-A Rochester to take the rotation spot that opened up when MacKenzie Gore landed on the 15-day injured list.

Interim manager Miguel Cairo announced the decision this morning, with Alvarez filling one of two allotted September call-up slots for the Nats. The other, a position player, will be announced prior to Monday’s game.

Alvarez doesn’t rank among the organization’s top 30 prospects, but he has outperformed expectations throughout most of his minor league career. Named the organization’s Pitcher of the Year in 2023 after posting a 2.99 ERA and 1.168 WHIP for Single-A Wilmington and Double-A Harrisburg, he reached Triple-A last season and has spent all of this season with Rochester.

Though his overall 2025 numbers (3-7, 4.10 ERA, 1.350 WHIP in 25 starts) don’t sparkle, Alvarez has stepped up his performance in recent weeks. Over his last six starts, he’s 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings. He last pitched for the Red Wings on Tuesday, which lines him up to start Monday afternoon at Nationals Park on five days’ rest.

“He’s been one of the most consistent pitchers in Triple-A,” Cairo said. “He throws strikes, and that’s something I like. He was Pitcher of the Year, I think, a couple years ago. We want someone that can throw strikes. When you’ve got someone that can throw strikes and keep us in the game, that will be awesome.”

The Nationals have endured three losing streaks of at least seven games this season, which is not typically a sign of a good season. This current losing streak has seen them score a total of 16 runs, only five in their last four games.

So the focus heading into this afternoon’s series finale against the Rays has got to be offense, and how this lineup can somehow find a way to generate something at the plate, especially early on in an attempt to take a lead instead of trying to play from behind yet again.

The problem: The Nats will be facing a left-hander in Ian Seymour who just tossed five scoreless innings of one-hit, eight-strikeout ball against the Guardians in his last start. Seymour, drafted in 2020 out of Virginia Tech, is exactly the type of opposing starter who has given this team fits all year long. He actually throws more changeups (34.9 percent) than fastballs (30.8 percent) and nobody has produced an extra-base hit off that changeup yet this season.

Brad Lord, meanwhile, gets the nod for the Nationals, looking to bounce back from a rare dud, in which the rookie right-hander gave up seven runs in 4 1/3 innings at Yankee Stadium. Over his last two starts, Lord has seen his ERA jump from 3.26 to 3.84.

TAMPA BAY RAYS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 76 degrees, wind 7 mph in from center field

SAN FRANCISCO – Ryan Mountcastle has a tendency, and at times it seems more like a devotion, to keeping it simple.

What he’s trying to do at the plate and with his season, and how he responds to questions about them. The importance of the last five weeks as he approaches his last chance at an arbitration raise – and maybe his last at-bats with the Orioles.

“I think it doesn’t really matter what point in the season it is,” he said. “Every game is important and just going out there and showing what I can do, especially this last month, month and a half.”

That’s fair.

Most of Mountcastle’s starts will come as the designated hitter, with the Orioles wanting to get an extended look at Coby Mayo at first base. That’s the position where Mountcastle earned two Gold Glove nominations.

SAN FRANCISCO – Trevor Rogers looked human on the mound this afternoon, but just for a brief moment.

The Giants’ Willy Adames barreled a fastball and deposited it into the left-center field seats with two outs in the first inning. Rogers spun part way to track it and bent at the waist. Only the third homer hit against him in 14 starts and the first since July 20 in Tampa.

As if it mattered. He calmly went back to work and the Orioles went on a power trip.

Jeremiah Jackson and Ryan Mountcastle homered in the third, Samuel Basallo belted his first in the majors, and the Orioles defeated the Giants 11-1 before an announced crowd of 37,711 at Oracle Park.

The Orioles (61-75) won for only the second time in 10 games. The Giants’ winning streak was snapped at six.

A crowd of 26,148 at Nationals Park spent all afternoon looking for a reason, any reason, to cheer for the home team.

The home team provided few such moments. The only significant crowd reactions for most of the day, if you want to call them that, came when security guards corralled and escorted two fans who ran onto the field in separate incidents during the course of the Nationals’ 4-1 loss to the Rays.

Such disruptions have been incredibly rare in the 18 seasons of the ballpark’s existence. Far less rare: Tepid offensive performances like the one the Nats put on display today during their seventh straight loss.

Though they narrowly avoided getting shut out for the 12th time this season thanks to an eighth-inning run, the Nationals never came close to mounting any kind of serious threat against Tampa Bay’s pitching staff until that point. Through seven innings, they totaled one hit and four walks, nothing else. They never put more than one runner on base in any individual frame, going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position one day after going 0-for-12 in those situations in the series opener.

"It's about preparation," interim manager Miguel Cairo said. "We still have young kids. Young, talented baseball players here. They're learning. But you've got to go out there and execute your plan. The pitchers don't dictate what you're going to swing, first of all. You've got to have a plan. If it's not your pitch, OK, let it go. But if it's in the strike zone, you've got to be ready to hit."

SAN FRANCISCO – The Orioles are expected to add more than two players on Monday when rosters can expand to 28.

Pitcher Tyler Wells and infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo practically are confirmed, and reliever Albert Suárez probably will join the team in San Diego, as well.

Súarez made his fifth appearance on his rehab assignment last night and fourth with Triple-A Norfolk, tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings with a hit and strikeout at Gwinnett.  

“I think he’ll need a couple days after the outing, today and tomorrow, which lines it up for most likely Monday, given that he feels good,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino.

“Two innings, two days. Monday kind of lines up. He’s got to feel good, though.”

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• RHP Matt Bowman has cleared unconditional release waivers and was released.
• RHP Cody Poteet (right shoulder inflammation) was returned from his rehab assignment, reinstated from the 60-day Injured List, and outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 39 players.

SAN FRANCISCO – The Orioles have lost eight of their last nine games, but they have left-hander Trevor Rogers on the mound this afternoon at Oracle Park.

Take the guy with the 1.40 ERA any day.

Rogers has allowed one run in each of his five starts this month totaling 35 innings. He’s struck out 36 batters.

In his final start in July, Rogers shut out the Rockies on one hit over seven innings. If he isn’t Most Valuable Oriole, he’s no worse than the runner-up.

Rogers has made three career starts against the Giants and posted a 2.63 ERA and 1.098 WHIP in 13 2/3 innings. He allowed two earned runs and three total in five innings in his only appearance in San Francisco.

Through good times and bad times, MacKenzie Gore has shown an ability to keep himself healthy and on the mound for the better part of three seasons now. But when the left-hander’s arm didn’t feel right in the wake of his last start, he conceded it was finally time to take a break. One he believes will be brief.

The Nationals placed Gore on the 15-day injured list today with left shoulder inflammation, an unexpected announcement but one that might in some way explain the 26-year-old’s struggles since the All-Star break.

Gore said his shoulder didn’t recover the way it normally does after Tuesday’s start at Yankee Stadium, which prompted the club to schedule an MRI.

“You always feel discomfort, especially going into September. It’s just recovering, it wasn’t right,” he said. “So we needed to get it checked out. We made a good decision; we got on it early. I should be alright.”

Gore said “nothing crazy showed up, like a significant injury” on the MRI. The Nationals are simply referring to it as inflammation in his shoulder. Though admitting the IL stint is necessary, the lefty expressed confidence it won’t be a long stint and insisted this won’t end his season.

It is an absolutely spectacular Saturday afternoon in the nation’s capital. I don’t know what we did to deserve this sustained fine weather in late-August, but eternal thanks to whomever is responsible for it. Now, can the home team make it worthwhile for everyone who comes to Nationals Park for this game?

The Nats are mired in a six-game losing streak, one that has featured several frustrating losses, but perhaps none as frustrating as Friday night’s series opener against the Rays. Despite totaling 12 hits and four walks, they scored only one run because they went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Obviously, that won’t cut it in any situation. They have to be better today against right-hander Ryan Pepiot and the Tampa Bay bullpen.

Speaking of people who need to be better, Jake Irvin desperately needs a bounceback performance. It’s too late to salvage this month (0-4, 9.55 ERA) but perhaps the right-hander can at least end it on a high note and head into September feeling better about himself.

And the Nationals need someone in the rotation to step up and finish the season strong, because they just announced their most significant injury in a while: MacKenzie Gore has been placed on the 15-day IL with left shoulder inflammation. We’ll find out more shortly, so please check back for the full article before today’s game, but clearly this is not good news, especially at this late point in the season. Mason Thompson was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take Gore’s roster spot for now.

TAMPA BAY RAYS 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, 76 degrees, wind 6 mph in from left field

The Nationals have placed MacKenzie Gore on the 15-day Injured List (retroactive to 8/27) with left shoulder inflammation and recalled Mason Thompson from Triple-A Rochester.

C.J. Stubbs stood by his new locker in the Nationals clubhouse and greeted his new teammates and team staff. It was his first time in a major league clubhouse, so he had a lot to soak in and many new faces to meet.

The Nationals selected Stubbs’ contract from Triple-A Rochester yesterday to make him the backup catcher. He replaces Drew Millas, who landed on the 10-day injured list after having surgery to stabilize the fracture and repair the joint on his left index finger.

“I was definitely overwhelmed and shocked,” Stubbs said of when he heard the news. “I spent quite a few days in the minor leagues and got to the point where I wasn't sure if it was ever going to happen. And sometimes it doesn't happen the way you think it's going to happen, but however it does, I'm just so happy and humbled to be here.”

A 10th-round selection by the Astros in the 2019 MLB Draft out of the University of Southern California, the now 28-year-old spent the last six seasons in the minor leagues, joining the Nats organization in May 2024 after Houston released him.

While savoring the moment and anticipating his hoped-for major league debut in the coming days, Stubbs reflected on seeing his brother, current Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs, make his own big league debut with the Astros on May 28, 2019 in Houston.

SAN FRANCISCO – The mailbag didn’t empty on my first attempt, so let’s try again.

Here are some leftover questions as we await the second game of the series against the Giants, with a starting time of 4:15 p.m. on the West Coast.

Which prospects recently brought up are you most surprised by with their performance, whether good or bad?
So we’re not counting Jeremiah Jackson, right? You said “prospects.” But he’s definitely a surprise. I didn’t put much stock in his Triple-A numbers. Dylan Beavers is an on-base machine, which isn’t to be confused with Vimael Machín. I just assumed that he’d start slowly like so many others, but he’s worthy of an elevated spot in the lineup – next season after he retains rookie status.

Should Ryan Mountcastle change positions, since first base is crowded with Samuel Basallo on the roster?
Mountcastle already has played four since the Orioles drafted him – shortstop, third base, left field and first base. I don’t think there are plans to put him in the five-timers club and give him a special jacket. He’s also a two-time Gold Glove finalist at first. He’s fine. The bigger question is whether the Orioles give him another raise in arbitration in his final year before free agency, and if so, how they work the lineups with Basallo, Adley Rutschman and Coby Mayo.

Do you have any preferences for any of the rumored expansion cities? Guess one has to be on the West Coast?
Not sure I’m caught up on the rumors. Salt Lake City and Nashville? I saw the USA Today report last month that those cities are targeted. Bring back Montreal so I can finally make a trip. The Expos had the undisputed worst ballpark in the majors and every beat writer circled those dates on the calendar. Had nothing to do with Olympic Stadium. It was all about the city, which, as the backup on the beat, I never got to experience. Delmarva would be ideal because I could stay with my mom.

SAN FRANCISCO – Dean Kremer had the Giants beating the ball into the ground tonight in the first inning.

That’s usually good.

Six of the first seven batters reached base after the Orioles took an early lead. The Giants kept finding holes in the infield and kept forcing Kremer to throw pitches until his count reached 39.

He would have been excused for also throwing a fit.

Bad luck led to bad results and harder contact, and the Orioles began their West Coast trip with a sloppy 15-8 loss before an announced sellout crowd of 40,043 at Oracle Park.

The Nationals could have made a significant decision ahead of Friday night’s series opener against the Rays. With Thursday’s off-day, they could have chosen to skip Mitchell Parker’s spot in the rotation while keeping the other four starters on normal rest, allowing the struggling left-hander to work on some things with some extra time before his next start.

Instead, they chose to keep him in his spot, with interim manager Miguel Cairo saying before the game Parker needs to pitch.

So he did pitch, and in fact he pitched very well, albeit in a 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay.

“It was nice to see him pitch like competing," Cairo said of Parker. "He was throwing strikes. He was attacking the hitters. … It was nice to see him come back and be who he can be. And it was really good to see that.”

Parker entered tonight with a 12.00 ERA and 1.952 WHIP over his five August starts, with the Nats winless in all of those outings. But he at least kept his team in the game by turning in his first quality start since July 19 against the Padres.

SAN FRANCISCO – The six-man rotation will be complete next week with Tyler Wells’ reinstatement from the injured list.

Wells will start in San Diego in his first major league appearance since April 12, 2024. He underwent elbow ligament reconstructive surgery two months later and just completed his rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk.

Because he pitched on Wednesday, Wells won’t be available to the Orioles during their series in San Francisco. He could start Monday or wait until Tuesday with extra rest.

The Orioles will finalize their starters by Sunday.

“Which day, I don’t know,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “You guys can probably do the math, take a look and have a good estimate. But it will be one of those three games.”

The Nationals officially placed Drew Millas on the 10-day injured list with a fractured and dislocated left index finger (retroactive to Aug. 28) and selected the contract of catcher C.J. Stubbs from Triple-A Rochester this afternoon. Millas underwent successful surgery today to stabilize the fracture and repair the joint on his finger.

“I feel bad for him. It was sad,” said interim manager Miguel Cairo during his pregame media session ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Rays. “He was doing so good and he's one of the future of the team, catcher. And he was doing good hitting and catching and everything. So the surgery went well today. Hopefully we'll get to see him tomorrow, over here. He's gonna come in. But everything went well. They did some stuff with the fracture, but everything went well today.”

Millas hurt his finger when he was called for catcher’s interference in the third inning Wednesday during an Austin Wells at-bat, when the Yankees catcher’s bat made contact with the Nats backstop’s catching hand while swinging at a 97 mph fastball from Cade Cavalli. Following surgery, Millas is expected to be done for the rest of the season, but ready for spring training next year.

He finishes the season hitting .306 with five doubles, a triple, seven RBIs, two stolen bases and four walks in 18 games. The 27-year-old threw out 2-of-8 would-be basestealers.

To replace him, the Nationals chose Stubbs over Francisco Mejía and Brady Lindsly at Rochester. The 28-year-old catcher signed a minor league deal with the Nationals after the Astros released him in May 2024. He hit .161 with a .602 OPS, three doubles, a triple, a homer and five RBIs in 24 games with the Red Wings this year following a promotion from Double-A Harrisburg.