The Nationals needed improvements all across the board to snap their three-game losing streak. Following last night’s 10-0 blowout loss to the Cardinals in the series opener, they needed better pitching and better offense.

Unfortunately, they got neither in their fourth straight loss, this one by a score of 4-2 with frustration mounting on an otherwise lovely 72-degree spring day in the District.

Recently, it had been the sixth inning that has buried the Nationals, with their opponents scoring a combined 18 runs in that frame over the last 11 games. But today, their woes came around much earlier.

After a perfect first inning on 12 pitches, Trevor Williams labored through a 35-pitch second that resulted in the Cardinals jumping out to an early 4-0 lead.

With one out, the right-hander, who was looking to right his own ship, hit a batter and issued a walk. A forceout at second put runners on the corners, but with only one out needed to get out of the inning.

After last night’s postgame roster move of releasing right-hander Lucas Sims, the Nationals have found a replacement in their bullpen.

Zach Brzykcy was recalled this afternoon from Triple-A Rochester for an extended stay in the Nats ‘pen after serving as the 27th man for Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Guardians.

“Great. Obviously, it's good to be back here. But yeah, I'm just trying to do my best to stay here,” the right-hander said in the Nats clubhouse four days after he left to go back to Triple-A. “I feel good. Knee's good, arm's good.”

Brzykcy, an undrafted signee out of Virginia Tech, missed all of the 2023 season after Tommy John surgery. But he bounced back to make his major league debut at the end of last year, proving himself to be a hidden gem in the Nats' farm system.

He entered this year as a candidate to make the bullpen on the Opening Day roster, but an ankle injury set him back. After finally making his season debut with the Red Wings, he pitched to a 2.35 ERA with 14 strikeouts, three walks and a .207 opponents’ batting average in eight appearances.

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Zach Brzykcy from Triple-A Rochester on Saturday and requested unconditional release waivers on right-handed pitcher Lucas Sims on Friday night. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Brzykcy, 25, pitched to a 2.35 ERA (2 ER/7.2 IP) with 14 strikeouts, three walks and a .207 opponents’ batting average in eight Minor League appearances this season. This will be his second stint with the Nationals. He served as the 27^th man for the doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians on May 6. He allowed one earned run on two hits with one strikeout in one inning of relief.

Brzykcy made his Major League debut in 2024 after going undrafted in the 2020 First-Year Player Draft. He recorded a 2.04 ERA with 43 strikeouts and a .130 opponents’ average in 30 games across four Minor League levels before his debut on Sept. 1 vs. Chicago (NL).

Sims, 31, went 1-0 with a 13.86 ERA in 18 appearances out of Washington’s bullpen in 2025.

The Nationals would like nothing more than to shake off Friday night’s blowout loss to the Cardinals with a lopsided victory of their own this afternoon.

Where do they begin? Let’s start on the mound.

After Mitchell Parker’s rough outing, Trevor Williams makes his eighth start of the season. The right-hander is 2-3 with a 5.86 ERA and 1.613 WHIP on the year. He has been charged with five and four earned runs in his last starts, so he will also be looking to right the ship.

The lineup, meanwhile, will look to score their first runs of the series after being shut out for just the second time this season by old friend Erick Fedde, who threw his first career complete game Friday night.

The Nats' bats will try their luck against Andre Pallante, who makes his eighth start of 2025. The 26-year-old right-hander is 2-2 with a 4.75 ERA and 1.528 WHIP. However, he’s a different pitcher on the road: He’s 2-0 with a respectable 3.52 ERA at home, but 0-2 with a 5.66 ERA away from Busch Stadium.

Three-and-a-half weeks later, Paul DeJong’s face still doesn’t look completely normal. His nose is pushed toward the right. The area around his left eye is still slightly swollen. The scars from the surgery he underwent to repair the broken nose, the broken orbital bone and broken orbital floor are still visible. Baseball is still months away, in all likelihood.

DeJong was back at Nationals Park this week, though, for the first time since getting struck in the face by a fastball April 15 in Pittsburgh. And that seemingly simple act, something the infielder used to take for granted, meant everything to him.

“That’s what I was missing the most, just the camaraderie of the daily process that we go through every day,” he said. “So I’m happy to be able to be cleared to do some of my own process now, and kind of gain some momentum that way.”

In the immediate aftermath of his harrowing injury, DeJong wasn’t allowed to do much at all. Doctors had to wait more than a week before they could operate, giving time for some of the swelling to go down. Before and after that procedure, he was stuck at home, aided by his grandfather, who drove up from Florida to live with him while he recovered.

DeJong and his grandfather, Steve Whipple, watched movies together every night. Whipple got DeJong into classic Clint Eastwood movies like “Dirty Harry” and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” DeJong got Whipple into more recent comedies like “The Hangover” and “Beerfest.”

Outfielder Tyler O’Neill was reinstated from the injured list yesterday and Zach Eflin should follow on Sunday to start the final game of the road trip. Reliever Andrew Kittredge made his second rehab appearance on Thursday. Infielder Ramón Urías is trending toward a return perhaps by Tuesday or Wednesday after the latest break in the schedule.

Unable to get on a roll that moves them out of last place, the Orioles are implementing a new tactic this month - subtracting from the IL instead of adding to it.

Can’t hurt to try it.

Fifteen different Orioles have gone on the IL this season, only two fewer than in 2024. That’s the most in the American League and second in the majors to the Dodgers’ 17.

The White Sox and Reds have 15 different players, and the Marlins and Mets have 14.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Entering tonight’s game against the Angels, the Orioles had gone 16 consecutive games without scoring a first-inning run. 

That changed on a 1-0 count to Gunnar Henderson. 

Kyle Hendricks, better known for his days with the Cubs, threw a changeup that caught too much of the plate, and Henderson drove it 400 feet to right field. An early lead became a 4-1 victory, and behind a stellar start from Tomoyuki Sugano, the Orioles got back in the win column.

“He’s got the art of pitching down,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “The way he changes speeds and moves the ball around, super unpredictable, keeps hitters off balance. And we played really good defense behind him tonight. When we needed it, Tomo stepped up for us.”

Thanks to Henderson, Sugano entered the bottom of the first frame with a lead, a luxury they haven’t had often in 2025. The MLB newcomer went 1-2-3, and the O’s were off and running. 

On the heels of back-to-back starts that seemingly were lost in the opening frame, Mitchell Parker took the mound tonight desperate to reverse the trend.

“That first inning is going to be key,” manager Davey Martinez said roughly three hours before first pitch. “We talked a lot this week about not overthinking things, just sticking to his mechanics and staying on top of the baseball and throwing downhill.”

Parker proceeded to walk the game’s first two batters, each of them eventually coming around to score during another laborious first inning that left the Nationals trailing yet again. And because the left-hander couldn’t right his wayward ship, and because Erick Fedde pitched like he hardly ever did in six seasons in D.C., tonight’s 10-0 loss to the Cardinals turned into the team’s most depressing of 2025. One that led to the release of another struggling reliever.

With Parker pitching like Fedde circa 2022, and with Fedde pitching like Doug Fister circa 2014, this game was never in doubt. The Nationals trailed throughout and never threatened to rally against Fedde, who went on to toss the first shutout of his career, the final nail in the coffin.

"This one wasn't good," Martinez said. "I'm sitting here trying to figure out what went on. Mitchell, early on, struggled. Walks. Fell behind. Our offense just couldn't get it going. We came in after a day off. We were playing well. I'm just going to try to really forget about this one."

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Zach Eflin’s return to the big league mound has been grabbing most headlines. For a rotation in search of stability, the veteran right-hander provides just that. 

The rotation, however, hasn’t been the main culprit of the Orioles’ recent woes. That has been Baltimore’s lineup, which has plated more than three runs in just one of their past six games. 

A healthy Tyler O’Neill, and his career OPS just shy of .800, could be the shot in the arm that Baltimore needs. 

The outfielder, activated to the active roster today after missing time with a neck injury, wasn't hitting like himself to begin the 2025 season. O’Neill hit just .215 with a .385 slugging percentage and .668 OPS, all some of the worst numbers of his career. 

That neck injury, as it turns out, had been an issue for O’Neill throughout much of the season and had a big impact on what he was able to do at the plate. 

Outfielder Tyler O’Neill has returned to the Orioles after two games with Triple-A Norfolk on his injury rehab assignment.

O’Neill was reinstated from the IL this afternoon, but the corresponding move didn’t involve another outfielder. The Orioles optioned corner infielder Coby Mayo to Norfolk after yesterday’s game in Minnesota.

The transactions was made official today after O’Neill went 2-for-6 with the Tides. He hasn’t played for the Orioles since April 23 in D.C. because of neck inflammation and is batting .215/.284/.385 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and 10 RBIs in 18 games.

Mayo was recalled on May 3 with infielder Ramón Urías going on the IL due to a right hamstring strain. He singled yesterday but went 1-for-12 with six strikeouts during his most recent stretch with the Orioles, and he’s 5-for-53 with five walks and 28 strikeouts in the majors.

Mayo did some early infield drills yesterday at third base, fielding ground balls and working on the accuracy of his throws to first. He will keep getting starts at the corners with Norfolk, where he slashed .255/.353/.539 with seven doubles, two triples, six home runs and 21 RBIs in 28 games.

Cade Cavalli returns to the mound tonight, an encouraging development for the rehabbing right-hander and the Nationals, who were holding their breath after he departed his last start with fatigue.

Ten days after throwing only 37 pitches in two innings for Triple-A Rochester, Cavalli is back starting for the Red Wings tonight against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Nats believe the brief layoff won’t disrupt his overall rehab program.

“We’re going to let him go, see how far he can go,” manager Davey Martinez said. “There’s no limitations. He just had 10 days off. I know he threw two bullpens in between then, but we’ll see how he does today. We’re going to let him go, and see how far he can go.”

Cavalli, ostensibly in the final stages of rehab from his March 2023 Tommy John surgery, made three rehab starts in April, dominating at Single-A Fredericksburg and Double-A Harrisburg to the tune of nine scoreless innings. He then moved up to Triple-A for an April 29 start and gave up three runs over two innings, leaving the game early complaining of fatigue.

The Nationals decided to have Cavalli skip his next start and instead throw a couple of bullpen sessions in the interim. They found no cause for concern injury-wise and are confident the 2020 first-round pick will pick up right where he left off and wrap up his rehab stint as planned in the coming weeks.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves: 

• Reinstated OF Tyler O’Neill (neck inflammation) from the 10-day Injured List.
• Optioned INF Coby Mayo to Triple-A Norfolk after yesterday’s game.
• LHP Walter Pennington cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.

After a much-needed day off, the Nationals are back in action with a weekend series against the Cardinals, looking to take two of three and ensure at least a .500 homestand. And they’ll be facing an old friend in tonight’s opener.

Erick Fedde gets the start for St. Louis, his first appearance at Nationals Park since Sept. 30, 2022, when he took a 5-1 loss to the Phillies. The former Nats first-round pick went off to South Korea the following year and resurrected his career, earning a two-year contract with the White Sox, who promptly traded him to the Cardinals last summer. Fedde has made seven starts so far this season, two of them blowups involving six or more runs allowed, but four of them quality starts.

Mitchell Parker is coming off back-to-back rough starts himself and needs to get back on track tonight. The left-hander has issued nine walks over his last nine innings, and that’s been the obvious source of his struggles. He got a couple extra days of rest since last Friday’s outing in Cincinnati. Hopefully he used it well and has more command of the strike zone tonight.

An important reminder: Tonight’s game is only on Apple TV+. It’ll be Rich Waltz, Ryan Spilborghs and Tricia Whitaker with the call.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: Apple TV+
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 62 degrees, wind 12 mph in from left field

MINNEAPOLIS – The scene keeps playing out with only a few small changes.

Players sit at their lockers, staring at their phones or in space. Others walk through the clubhouse to or from the showers. Meals are consumed mostly in silence. The televisions are turned off and there’s no music. Media waits out its targeted interview subjects, trying to stay out of the way.

There are no signs of panic or distress, but the joy of playing baseball is masked and muted. The Orioles have lost five games in a row, their longest stretch since June 21-25 and July 9-13, 2024. The last six-game skid happened from May 13-18, 2022.

Five veterans sat in chairs and formed a circle yesterday with plates of food in their laps – Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano, Cedric Mullins, Zach Eflin and Kyle Gibson. They could have touched on a variety of topics – there’s a lot going on in the world – but the plight of the Orioles probably was the predominant subject.

Why this is happening to them and how to fix it. With no easy answers or it would have ceased instead of sending the team spiraling into last place, 10 games below .500 and losers of 12 of the last 16. They need to lead, being among the most equipped on the 26-man roster.

Kyle Finnegan remembers career save No. 1. How could he forget?

On July 29, 2021, the Nationals played a seven-inning doubleheader against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, necessitated by a COVID outbreak among the team’s coaching staff the previous day. The trade deadline was 24 hours away, and Mike Rizzo was working nonstop making six deals involving eight players.

Finnegan was directly impacted by this. Before that day’s game, Rizzo traded Brad Hand to the Blue Jays for Riley Adams. Later that day, he dealt Daniel Hudson to the Padres for Mason Thompson and Jordy Barley. Which is why Finnegan found himself pitching the final inning of a 3-1 victory, capped by strikeouts of Alec Bohm and Odúbel Herrera to secure the first save of his career.

“I always joke that I went to bed the sixth-inning guy and woke up the closer that day,” he said this week. “It was a big change.”

Finnegan didn’t become the Nationals’ full-time closer right away. He and Tanner Rainey alternated through the rest of 2021 and throughout 2022 before he finally took over in 2023.

MINNEAPOLIS – Dean Kremer deserved much better and wasn’t asking for it. Baseball can be a fickle and frustrating game. He knows it. Just keep going after hitters and accept the outcome.

Kremer completed seven innings again today and held the Twins to two runs, exiting with the score tied and the Orioles having left runners on base in each of the first six frames. He retired 10 of the last 12 and 18 of 21, and hoped that the worst part of the day would be a no-decision.

He couldn’t enjoy a team victory. He had to dress and eat inside another quiet clubhouse.

Brooks Lee drove in two runs with a two-out double off Gregory Soto in the bottom of the eighth inning and he scored on Ty France’s single to give the Twins a 5-2 win and complete the sweep at Target Field.

The Orioles had 10 hits for the second day in a row and stranded nine runners, their failings with men in scoring position littering the scoresheet. Trevor Larnach finally made them pay with a game-tying home run off Kremer in the sixth inning. The slightest of margins was erased with one swing, and Kremer spun around to wait for a new ball without watching the old on land.

MINNEAPOLIS – The Orioles have designated Matt Bowman for assignment this morning and recalled Colin Selby from Triple-A Norfolk to put a fresher arm in the bullpen.

Bowman tossed a scoreless inning last night but allowed runs in five of his last eight appearances. His ERA grew from 1.98 to 5.19 since April 27.

The Orioles outrighted Bowman on Opening Day but selected his contract after Albert Suárez went on the injured list March 30. He can reject another outright assignment and become a free agent.

The 40-man roster holds 39 players.

Selby has allowed two runs and three hits with four strikeouts in two innings with the Orioles this season. He has a 6.14 ERA in seven games with Norfolk, striking out 11 batters in 7 1/3 innings.

MINNEAPOLIS – Orioles starter Tomoyuki Sugano was playing catch in left field yesterday during early batting practice when a Twins player hit a line drive at him. Sugano reacted late, stumbled and fell as interpreter Yuto Sakurai – standing in front of him - leaped and deflected the ball.

Sugano stayed on the ground laughing before finally getting back on his feet to resume his long tossing.

This is proof that the Orioles can avoid some injuries, and their sense of humor remains intact. The losses haven’t broken them. They’re in a good headspace. They just need to get on the right side of the score.

A heavy mailbag can lead to pulls and strains, so let’s lighten the load. You ask and I answer, creating the latest sequel to the beloved 2008 original.

My editing consisted of changing “last night” to “Tuesday night” in a question. I tossed and turned over it, which is OK in bed, but it impacted my driving.

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired right-handed pitcher LUIS F. CASTILLO from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for cash considerations. He has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.

Castillo, 30, has a 7.71 ERA (6 ER/7.0 IP) with 12 hits, seven total runs, and seven walks with five strikeouts in two major league starts for the Mariners this season. He’s also made four starts for Triple-A Tacoma, going 0-1 with a 5.02 ERA (8 ER/14.1 IP). Castillo opened the year in Triple-A before having his contract selected on April 4. He was optioned back to Tacoma on April 10, and was designated for assignment yesterday.

Castillo made his MLB debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2022, working 3.2 scoreless innings in three games. He spent the last two seasons in Japan, pitching for the Orix Buffaloes in 2024 and Chiba Lotte Marines in 2023. In two years in Nippon Professional Baseball, Castillo went 6-8 with a 3.01 ERA (48 ER/143.1 IP) with 21 walks and 108 strikeouts in 27 games (24 starts). He also made 10 appearances (nine starts) for the farm teams. He originally signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks as an international free agent on February 16, 2012, out of Fantino, Dominican Republic.

To make room on the 40-man roster, left-handed pitcher WALTER PENNINGTON has been designated for assignment. The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.

Would you believe we are already 38 games into the 2025 season? This weekend, the Nationals will pass the one-quarter mark, which is usually enough time to start drawing some conclusions about the quality (or lack thereof) of a ballclub.

What have we learned about the Nats to this point? Well, the rotation has been solid, at times excellent. The lineup has been inconsistent, but at times quite productive. And the bullpen has been ... well, the bullpen is the No. 1 reason the team has a 17-21 record as opposed to flip-flopping that mark.

It's been a grueling schedule of late, with 16 consecutive game days on the original calendar. (One of those, of course, was rained out, necessitating Tuesday's doubleheader.) The Nationals will happily enjoy their true day off now, though, before returning this weekend to host the Cardinals.

There are no days off around here, however. So let's spend this one answering your questions about the season to date. As always, submit your questions in the comments section below, then check back for my replies throughout the morning. (And if you're unable to view the comments, try clicking on the little cookie logo on the bottom left of your screen and enabling cookies. That usually does the trick!) ...