OK, who’s ready for Round 1 of the 2024 Beltway Series? The Nationals host the Orioles the next two nights and, in a new twist, both teams will be wearing their City Connect uniforms. (I believe this is the first time any visiting team has ever worn those uniforms, but please correct me if I’m wrong about that.)

The Nats are once again sitting exactly at .500, having now alternated between wins and losses over their last eight games. They’re still trying to get over that daunting hump for the first time since July 1, 2021. If they’re going to do it tonight, they’re going to have to find a way to score some runs off Corbin Burnes.

The former Cy Young Award winner with the Brewers has continued his dominant ways in Baltimore, going 3-1 with a 2.61 ERA and 0.919 WHIP through his first seven starts of the season. He has yet to allow more than three runs in any outing.

Then again, Trevor Williams hasn’t given up more than three runs in a start yet, either, making him the Nationals’ most effective starter to date. This is a tough lineup he’s got to face tonight, and you would imagine Davey Martinez’s leash will again be short, with a well rested bullpen (that also now includes Robert Garcia) good to go whenever needed.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain, 76 degrees, wind 6 mph out to left field

The Nationals didn’t get over the .500 hump Saturday, but they still have a shot at another series win this afternoon. (Weather permitting, of course, because the forecast again calls for on-and-off rain pretty much all day.)

It’ll be MacKenzie Gore on the mound, seeking his first win since April 13 despite the fact he’s pitched quite well. The left-hander has given up a total of six runs over his last three starts, but the Nationals have scored a total of five runs in those games, leaving him to take three hard-luck losses in a row. Perhaps Gore’s fortunes will change this afternoon.

The Nats will try to do some damage against an opposing starter for the first time in a week. That opposing starter is Alek Manoah, who finally makes his 2024 debut after a weird stretch to say the least. A Cy Young Award finalist in 2022, Manoah struggled to a 5.87 ERA in 19 starts last season, at which point the Blue Jays sent him to the minors (not Triple-A, but all the way down to the Florida Complex League). He came back this spring hoping to get back on track, then he landed on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder issue. Now he’s finally ready to pitch in the big leagues again, and who knows what to expect from him in this one?

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Rain, 67 degrees, wind 6 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
CF Jacob Young
SS CJ Abrams
2B Luis García Jr.
DH Nick Senzel
LF Jesse Winker
1B Joey Meneses
C Keibert Ruiz
RF Eddie Rosario
3B Trey Lipscomb

May the Fourth be with you!

The Nationals continue celebrating “Star Wars” Weekend today with their second game against the Blue Jays. The first 15,000 fans at today’s game will receive an X-Wing Pilot Kyle Finnegan bobblehead while entering the gates.

Once again, the Nats have an opportunity to get over .500 for the first time since July 1, 2021, thanks to last night’s dramatic comeback victory. A win today and a Mets loss tonight against the Rays would also move the Nats into third place in the National League East.

Jake Irvin makes his seventh start of the season, looking to follow up a strong outing Monday in Miami in which he gave up two runs in six innings. It was Irvin’s team-high third-quality start of the year, all three of which have come over his last four outings. He’ll continue to try to get deep in the game after completing six innings in four of his six starts.

Kevin Gausman starts for the Blue Jays. After finishing third in last year’s American League Cy Young Award voting, the right-hander has struggled to start this season, going 1-3 with a 4.50 ERA and 1.357 WHIP. His strikeout numbers have come down after leading the AL with an 11.5 K/9 rate in 2023 and posting only a 7.4 rate over his first six starts. He has, however, been pitching better of late, beating the Dodgers with seven innings of one-run ball in his last start.

Heston Kjerstad, who was named the International League’s Player of the Month earlier today, is starting in left field tonight for the series opener against the Reds in Cincinnati.

Colton Cowser is on the bench, whether to rest or to heal from slamming his knee into the outfield wall yesterday and being hit on the foot by a pitch. Either way, he's one of the reserves.

Jorge Mateo gets another start at second base after homering yesterday. Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter.

Cole Irvin hasn’t allowed a run in his last 14 1/3 innings. He stays in the rotation despite Kyle Bradish and John Means leaving the injured list.

Irvin has made three career appearances against the Reds, including one start, and allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings.

The Nationals are back home after a 5-2 road trip that began with a four-game sweep in Miami but ended with only two runs scored in three games in Texas. It was, to be sure, a successful trip. But it wasn’t necessarily a satisfying trip, given the way things went against the Rangers.

But the boys are back home now for the next week, and they’ll continue this long stretch of interleague play with a couple of series against American League East foes. First up are the Blue Jays, who are off to a frustrating start for a club that has visions of playing in October.

Patrick Corbin will be challenged to hold a Toronto lineup that looks intimidating on paper in check. The lefty needs a quality start in the worst way. Though the Nats won his last start in Miami, he dug them into an early 7-0 hole. That’s not exactly a recipe for consistent success.

At the plate, the Nationals have to start putting together more quality at-bats, and it starts with the bats in the middle of their lineup. CJ Abrams, Nick Senzel and Luis García Jr. have been doing a nice job lately, but Joey Meneses, Jesse Winker and Keibert Ruiz are really struggling right now and have to get back on track for this team to score more runs.

Reminder: Tonight’s game is exclusively on Apple TV+, so unfortunately you’ll need a subscription to that streaming service in order to watch. The good news: Apple is offering free two-month trials that you can access by going to apple.co/mlbgift

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Nationals have another chance to win a series this afternoon, another chance to climb over the .500 mark. To do that, they’re probably going to have to score more than one run. It certainly wasn’t enough in Tuesday’s opener. It somehow was enough in Wednesday’s game. The odds of it being enough again today are slim.

If nothing else, Davey Martinez would love to see his hitters work the count more against Nathan Eovaldi, who has issued 17 walks in 36 innings this season. The Nats haven’t drawn a free pass yet in this series. That’s not a sustainable formula for success.

They also have to hope for another strong outing by Mitchell Parker, who has been nothing short of remarkable in the first three starts of his career, allowing a total of three runs in 16 innings. He finally issued his first two walks over the weekend in Miami, and for the first time had to be pulled prior to the fifth inning because of a high pitch count. This will be a good challenge for the rookie left-hander, facing a Rangers lineup that may have been shut out Wednesday night but is still pretty potent.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at TEXAS RANGERS
Where: Globe Life Park
Gametime: 2:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
DH Nick Senzel
2B Luis García Jr.
1B Joey Meneses
LF Jesse Winker
C Keibert Ruiz
RF Eddie Rosario
3B Ildemaro Vargas
CF Jacob Young

Ryan McKenna gets the start in center field this afternoon with the Yankees starting left-hander Carlos Rodón.

Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter for the Orioles and James McCann is behind the plate.

Anthony Santander is starting in right field after beginning last night’s game on the bench. Jorge Mateo is the second baseman, with Jordan Westburg at third.

Colton Cowser stays in left field.

For the Orioles

Kyle Bradish is ready to make his 2024 debut.

The Oriole reinstated Bradish from the 15-day injured list this morning and he’s starting against the Yankees in the series finale at Camden Yards. Bradish was diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow in January, received a platelet-rich plasma injection and worked his way back into the rotation.

Bradish’s injury rehab assignment could have run until mid-May, but the Orioles deemed him ready after one start with Double-A Bowie and two with Triple-A Norfolk.

Yohan Ramírez was designated for assignment after retiring the side in order last night in the ninth inning. He had a 6.00 ERA and 0.833 WHIP in five outings.

The 40-man roster is down to 39 players.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The opener of this interleague series was one to forget. The Nationals had only three baserunners (all via single, two of them never leaving the infield). MacKenzie Gore pitched well, but then the bullpen turned it into a rout by night’s end. A bad day all around.

The Nats will try to shrug that off and get back on track (and get back to .500) tonight, hoping for a lot more offense against left-hander Andrew Heaney than they got against right-hander Jon Gray. They’ve fared worse against lefties than righties this season, but they’ve actually won five of their last seven games against a southpaw starter, so perhaps they’re in line for another strong performance.

Speaking of strong performances, Trevor Williams has had a bunch of them to begin his season. The veteran has completed at least five innings in each of his five starts to date, and he’s never allowed more than three runs in any of them. (He’s only allowed one run in three of the starts.) We keep wondering if the magic dust is going to fade at some point, and perhaps it will. But if he can keep this up a bit longer, maybe you do have to start believing it’s legit.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at TEXAS RANGERS
Where: Globe Life Park
Gametime: 8:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
DH Nick Senzel
LF Jesse Winker
1B Joey Meneses
2B Ildemaro Vargas
RF Alex Call
3B Trey Lipscomb
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young

Heston Kjerstad is starting in right field and batting eighth tonight, his second time in the lineup since the Orioles recalled him.

Colton Cowser moves up to fifth. Ramón Urías is starting at third base.

Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter. Anthony Santander begins the game on the bench.

Santander’s nine doubles are tied for first in the American League, but he’s batting .213/.289/.426 in 28 games.

Adley Rutschman will try to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. He’s batting .388/.400/.592 (19-for-49) with one double, three home runs, 11 RBIs, a walk and five runs scored during his streak.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Hello from Globe Life Park, home of the defending World Series champions. The Nationals come to town flying high after a four-game sweep of the Marlins, but the challenge over the next three days will be markedly more significant. If they can pull off another win tonight, though, it’ll be notable for a couple of reasons: 1) The Nats would own a winning record at any point in the season for the first time since July 1, 2021, and 2) They would finish April with a winning record for the first time since 2017 (when Dusty Baker was manager).

The Nationals have been getting excellent starting pitching through this run, so they’ll hope that continues tonight with MacKenzie Gore. Though he didn’t have his best stuff last week, Gore impressively held the Dodgers to only one run in six innings. He should enter this start with confidence.

At the plate, the Nats will try to keep the pressure on by not only getting on base but advancing once they’re on. We saw how effective they could be running over the weekend in Miami. Look for more of the same tonight against Texas starter Jon Gray and catcher Jonah Heim, who has thrown out only 3-of-18 base stealers so far this year.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at TEXAS RANGERS
Where: Globe Life Park
Gametime: 8:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF Jesse Winker
1B Joey Meneses
2B Luis García Jr.
C Keibert Ruiz
DH Nick Senzel
RF Eddie Rosario
3B Trey Lipscomb
CF Jacob Young

The Orioles reinstated left-hander Cionel Pérez from the 15-day injured list today and optioned reliever Dillon Tate to Triple-A Norfolk.

Pérez pitched twice with Norfolk on his injury rehab assignment. He faced two batters on March 30 at Camden Yards, strained his oblique muscle and walked off the field.

Tate made 11 appearances and allowed four earned runs (five total) in 12 2/3 innings. He replaced Craig Kimbrel yesterday in the ninth inning.

Kimbrel avoided the IL and is day-to-day with tightness in his upper back. Manager Brandon Hyde said Kimbrel is feeling better.

Kyle Bradish and John Means are here and ready to be reinstated later this week. Bradish could start Thursday afternoon.

MIAMI – The Nationals have an opportunity for a four-game sweep tonight. It would be their first four-game sweep since Sept. 23-26, 2019 against the Phillies, which was actually a five-game sweep due to a doubleheader on Sept. 24. Washington's only other four-game sweep of the Marlins was Sept. 18-21, 2014 here in Miami.

A win tonight would also give the Nats at .500 record for the first time since starting the year 1-1 in Cincinnati.

If their offense continues producing like it has over the first three games, they’ll have a good chance.

The Nats have outscored the Marlins 26-14 over the first three games, thanks to 11 runs on Saturday and 12 runs yesterday. CJ Abrams, Jesse Winker, Trey Lipscomb and Jacob Young have led the way by collectively going 22-for-49 (.449) with 16 runs scored, 11 RBIs, five walks and five stolen bases over the weekend.

That foursome will try to continue creating “havoc” on the basepaths against Marlins starter Trevor Rogers. The left-hander is 0-3 with a 4.10 ERA and ​​1.519 WHIP over his first five outings to start the season after he was limited to just four starts last year with bicep and shoulder issues. He’s 3-2 with a 3.22 ERA and 1.349 WHIP in eight career starts against the Nats.

MIAMI – The Nationals find themselves winners of the first two games of this four-game set against the Marlins. With a win today, they’ll be winners of four of their last six series, which would be an impressive stretch as the season’s first month comes to a close next week.

The offense exploded for 11 runs yesterday, the most in a single game this season. How do they follow it up? CJ Abrams, Jesse Winker, Trey Lipscomb and Jacob Young will look to continue creating havoc on the basepaths. Some more contributions from the middle of the order would also be very welcome.

Patrick Corbin makes his sixth start this afternoon. He was roughed up in his first four, but was solid in his previous outing with 5 ⅓ scoreless innings. The veteran lefty will try to keep this Marlins team at bay after not facing them last year with his career 5-7 record, 4.05 ERA and 1.218 WHIP against them.

Ryan Weathers also makes his sixth start for the Fish. The 24-year-old lefty came to Miami from San Diego last year in a trade for Garrett Cooper. He is 2-2 with a 3.16 ERA and 1.403 WHIP to begin the year and 1-1 with a 6.35 ERA and 1.412 WHIP in two career starts against the Nats.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MIAMI MARLINS
Where: loanDepot park
Gametime: 1:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

MIAMI – It took until the eighth inning, but the Nationals finally got the big hit they needed in order to get the series-opening win against the Marlins, a team they have struggled to beat over the past two years.

Now the question is: Can they build upon Joey Meneses’ clutch two-run hit and build an earlier lead today?

They will try to do so against Edward Cabrera, who is off to a 1-0 start with a 3.27 ERA and 1.455 WHIP in 11 innings over two starts. The right-hander has also struck out 17 batters while only issuing four walks. The 26-year-old is 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA and 1.048 WHIP in four starts against the Nats, including 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA and 1.000 WHIP in his lone start against them last year.

If the offense can’t get going, it will be up to Mitchell Parker to keep the Nats in the game. The young lefty has been outstanding over his first two starts, going 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA, 0.583 WHIP, 12 strikeouts and no walks.

To the bats’ credit: Parker has been staked to early leads in each of his two starts.

MIAMI – If that Nationals homestand felt short, it’s because it was. They returned from a nine-game West Coast road trip for less than a week – with two off-days and only six games at Nats Park in between – before hitting the road again for South Beach.

And if the Nationals want to make a significant stride forward this season and build upon their 71-91 record from last year, beating the Marlins would be a good place to start. Over the past two seasons, the Nats are 6-26 against the Fish, including an abysmal 2-11 last year. Those two wins did come, though, in this building, where the Nats are 4-11 since 2022.

Trevor Williams will look to get the Nats off to a good start with his fifth outing of the year. Surprisingly, the veteran right-hander has been the best starter in the rotation to begin the season, with a 2-0 record, 2.91 ERA and 0.969 WHIP through his first four starts. But he did struggle last year against the team that drafted him, going 0-3 with a 7.59 ERA and 1.641 WHIP in four starts against the Marlins. That includes going 0-2 with a 3.46 ERA and 1.000 WHIP in two outings in Miami.

Meanwhile, the Marlins were supposed to start former Nationals farmhand Jesús Luzardo, but the young lefty was scratched this morning after experiencing discomfort in his elbow yesterday. The home side will instead throw a bullpen game, with 26-year-old right-hander Anthony Maldonado making his major league debut and first start in the bigs. Used almost exclusively as a reliever since the Marlins drafted him with their 11th-round pick in 2019, Maldonado is 3-0 with a 2.31 ERA and 0.771 WHIP in eight relief appearances with Triple-A Jacksonville.

And for the first time since I’ve been coming to loanDepot park, the roof is open for tonight’s game! It’s a beautiful night in Miami, but there are strong winds coming in from left field.

The Nationals need a win today to avoid a series sweep, a dilemma they’ve faced only once previously this season (against the Phillies). All things considered, it’s a sign of progress that they’ve mostly found themselves in a position to win series, and often have. But avoiding the sweep today against the Dodgers would be nice, especially with the pitcher they’re sending to the mound.

MacKenzie Gore vs. the L.A. lineup is a marquee matchup. If nothing else, it’s a real good challenge for the young left-hander, who was great two starts ago in Oakland but struggled last time out against the Astros. Knowing the competitor he is, Gore should be plenty motivated to get himself back on track this afternoon.

The Nationals face a brand-new face in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the other Japanese sensation on their roster who merely signed the biggest contract ever given a major league pitcher before ever throwing a pitch in the major leagues. The 25-year-old right-hander (12 years, $325 million) has been great at times, not so much at others through the first five starts of his career. He features mostly a three-pitch (fastball, curveball, splitter) with an occasional cutter thrown in there for good measure.

The Nats have Keibert Ruiz back on the roster and in the lineup. After two rehab games with Double-A Harrisburg, Ruiz has been activated off the 10-day injured list and will be behind the plate this afternoon. Drew Millas was optioned back to Triple-A Rochester.

Most notable quirk of today’s lineup: Trey Lipscomb is not starting, something you wouldn’t think we’ll see much now that he’s back in the big leagues. It’s Joey Meneses at first base, with Jesse Winker serving as DH and Eddie Rosario in left field for the series finale.

Tuesday night’s loss was a costly one for the Nationals, who not only lost the game but lost their starting right fielder for the foreseeable future. The MRI on Lane Thomas’ left knee showed an MCL sprain, and he has been placed on the 10-day injured list. We’ll hope to learn more shortly about the timetable for his return.

Rather than promote another outfielder to replace Thomas, the Nats decided to recall Trey Lipscomb only nine days after they sent him down once Nick Senzel was healthy. We hope to soon find out about the plan now for Lipscomb and others in the daily lineup, but it’s interesting to note Lipscomb will start at first base tonight with Joey Gallo in right field.

Meanwhile, Jake Irvin gets a chance to beat the Dodgers for the second time in a week. The right-hander was brilliant out west, but it’s always a challenge to face the same team twice in a row, all the more so when that team includes the likes of Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 69 degrees, wind 12 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF Jesse Winker
DH Joey Meneses
2B Luis García Jr.
RF Joey Gallo
C Riley Adams
CF Eddie Rosario
3B Nick Senzel
1B Trey Lipscomb

With the Angels starting left-hander Tyler Anderson in today’s rubber match in Anaheim, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde posted a lineup that doesn’t included Heston Kjerstad or Jackson Holliday.

Kjerstad went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in last night’s 7-4 loss. Holliday was 1-for-4 with a run scored and two strikeouts.

Jorge Mateo is playing second base. Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter with James McCann behind the plate.

Rutschman was 3-for-5 last night and raised his average to .323 with a .785 OPS.

Ryan Mountcastle is starting at first base after delivering a pinch-hit single last night. He replaced Ryan O’Hearn, who had a two-run double and walked twice.

The circus has come to town. For the uninitiated, that’s Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who bring with them as much media as you’ll find for a postseason series. Seriously, the press box here is packed.

The Nationals will have to cope with that, not that they’re likely to care much. They did, after all, just take two of three at Dodger Stadium last week, not to mention three of their last four series, right?

To keep it going, though, they’re going to need something resembling a quality start from Patrick Corbin. And as we know, that’s been quite the challenge. The left-hander enters 0-3 with an 8.06 ERA in four starts, and Los Angeles got him for five runs and nine hits in 6 1/3 innings last week out west.

The Nats lineup will try to score first again, something that group suddenly has become adept at. CJ Abrams and Co. face veteran lefty James Paxton, who has yet to surrender more than three runs in his three starts this year.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 980 AM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 70 degrees, wind 12 mph out to left field