It was an eventful off-day for the Nationals, who have made a roster move heading into tonight’s series opener against the Dodgers. Riley Adams unfortunately did break the hamate bone in his left wrist on Wednesday night, so he’s on the 10-day injured list and out for the rest of the season. Taking his place on the roster is Luis García, who was recalled from Triple-A Rochester and will get another shot to prove he has made adjustments since his demotion last month.

García is right back in the lineup, batting eighth and starting at second base. Keibert Ruiz is catching, but I would imagine we’re going to see more of Drew Millas down the stretch now that Adams is out. Lane Thomas also is out for the third straight game, his back still not fully healed. Thomas said the other day he expected to return “Friday or Saturday,” so he still has a chance to make good on that.

MacKenzie Gore, meanwhile, returns after going on bereavement leave and will be making his first start in 10 days. The left-hander looked like he needed a breather after that last outing in Toronto, so we’ll see if the extra rest did him any good. It’s not an easy challenge for him, facing a tough Dodgers lineup tonight.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 87 degrees, wind 8 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
DH Joey Meneses
1B Dominic Smith
C Keibert Ruiz
RF Travis Blankenhorn
LF Jake Alu
3B Carter Kieboom
2B Luis García
CF Jacob Young

The Nationals need to win a game. Doesn’t matter how. Doesn’t matter who does it. They just need to win a game for the first time in eight days.

They can get there with a quality pitching performance from Joan Adon, who has offered up a couple of those in five starts since returning to the big leagues last month: once against the Reds, once against the Marlins. This is the first time Adon has faced the Mets this year after two matchups last year in which he allowed seven runs in eight total innings.

The Nats were going to face Carlos Carrasco tonight, but the veteran right-hander is out for the season after a 50-pound barbell fell on his pinky finger and broke it. So instead the Mets send right-hander José Butto to the mound for only his fourth career start. One of those came against the Nationals back on April 25, when he issued six walks in 4 2/3 innings and took the loss.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 92 degrees, wind 5 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
DH Joey Meneses
C Keibert Ruiz
LF Travis Blankenhorn
1B Dominic Smith
3B Carter Kieboom
2B Jake Alu
RF Alex Call
CF Jacob Young

Ryan McKenna is playing center field tonight in the latest Orioles right-handed heavy lineup in Anaheim.

Austin Hays is the cleanup hitter and left fielder. Jordan Westburg is starting at second base. Jorge Mateo is the shortstop.

Aaron Hicks is in right field, with Anthony Santander serving as designated hitter.

Adley Rutchman is back in the leadoff spot and catching.

Gunnar Henderson is too good to sit in any lineup. He’s the third baseman.

The Nationals don’t have to face the Marlins anymore this season, and if that isn’t cause for celebration, what is? Tonight they open a two-game series with the Mets, the last time they’ll face New York this year. A sweep would give the Nats the season series at 7-6; one loss would give it to the Mets (if you care about such things).

This would’ve been MacKenzie Gore’s turn in the rotation, but the Nationals are giving the left-hander time to get himself ready after returning today from bereavement leave. (Joe La Sorsa was optioned to Triple-A Rochester.) So it’s Patrick Corbin on the mound, well rested himself because his last start came Wednesday in Toronto.

The Nats face a very different Mets rotation from the last one they faced, with Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander now due to pitch against each other Wednesday night in a huge showdown between the Rangers and Astros. It’ll be Jose Quintana for New York tonight; the veteran lefty has not faced the Nationals yet during an injury-plagued season.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 92 degrees, wind 6 mph in from center field

NATIONALS
CF Jacob Young
1B Joey Meneses
C Keibert Ruiz
DH Riley Adams
3B Carter Kieboom
SS Ildemaro Vargas
LF Travis Blankenhorn
RF Alex Call
2B Jake Alu

The Orioles begin their series in Anaheim tonight with Adley Rutschman out of the lineup for the second time in six games.

The Angels are starting three left-handers, and Austin Hays moves into the leadoff spot tonight. Gunnar Henderson is playing third base and batting cleanup.

Jordan Westburg is playing second base and batting fifth. Jorge Mateo is the shortstop.

Aaron Hicks is in right field, and Anthony Santander is the designated hitter.

Rookie Grayson Rodriguez has allowed 11 runs in his last seven starts over 42 2/3 innings. He faced the Angels on May 15, before his reset, and allowed eight runs and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings. Shohei Ohtani and Chad Wallach homered in the fourth.

Here’s some good news for you on this Sunday morning: This is the last time the Nationals will face the Marlins this season. Here’s some bad news: They’ve got to face Sandy Alcantara in today’s series finale, trying to avoid a four-game sweep and trying to avoid falling to 2-11 against Miami this year.

Alcantara isn’t having a Cy Young season; he’s 6-12 with a 4.23 ERA. And the Nats did hit him around the only time they faced him this year, scoring five runs on 10 hits back on June 16. They’ve got a very different lineup right now, though, with several young players who have never faced the electric right-hander before. We’ll see how they fare against him.

Josiah Gray gets the start for the Nationals, and this is an important one for him, no matter the opponent. Gray lasted only two innings in Toronto on Monday night, pulled after throwing a whopping 63 pitches. He has not been the same guy he was in the first half of the season, and he’s suddenly in danger of seeing all the good things he did earlier get lost in the shuffle with a rough finish. A bounceback performance today against a Miami team he held to one earned run over seven innings back in June would be wonderful.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MIAMI MARLINS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 91 degrees, wind 7 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
DH Keibert Ruiz
LF Travis Blankenhorn
2B Jake Alu
3B Ildemaro Vargas
1B Dominic Smith
C Drew Millas
CF Jacob Young

Ryan Mountcastle is out of the Orioles lineup again tonight in Arizona. He was scratched last night due to an illness.

Gunnar Henderson, who went 2-for-4 last night with two runs scored, stays at shortstop. Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter.

Ryan O’Hearn is the first baseman and Ramón Urías is playing third base. Adam Frazier is the second baseman.

Henderson is batting .330 or better when he’s ahead or even in the count, but .172 when behind.

Anthony Santander is slugging .809 against fastballs since the start of August after slugging .276 against them in July.

One bad week isn’t going to undo everything positive the Nationals have done over the previous six weeks. But you’d sure rather not let this losing streak linger much longer, right? They’ve dropped three in a row, not to mention five of their last six, for the first time since the first week of July.

They’ll try to reverse that trend this afternoon against a Marlins team that continues to beat them with far more regularity than anyone around here would prefer. Aside from a solid couple of days in Miami last weekend, the Nats have been abysmal against their division foes: 2-9 this season, 6-24 over the last two seasons.

A lineup that has struggled but did manage three solo homers Friday night will be facing veteran Johnny Cueto, whose season has twice been disrupted by stints on the injured list, once for biceps tendinitis and most recently for a viral infection. What the crafty 37-year-old, who was roughed up in his last four starts before getting sick, has left in the tank is anyone’s guess.

Trevor Williams gets the start for the Nationals, hoping to build off back-to-back strong outings against the Phillies and these same Marlins. He allowed only two runs and went seven innings Sunday in Miami, taking a tough-luck 2-1 loss. After using six of his seven relievers during Friday’s 11-inning loss, Davey Martinez could certainly use a comparable start today from Williams.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MIAMI MARLINS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 84 degrees, wind 7 mph out to left field

As well as they played for a good six weeks, the Nationals are kind of slipping a bit of late. They’ve lost four of their last five games, and a big part of the problem has been a lack of offense. The Nats have scored only 10 runs over those five games, totaling 30 hits, only six of those for extra bases. More, obviously, is needed.

The return of Lane Thomas to the lineup after missing Thursday’s game with a tight back would help, though he’s been slumping himself. Perhaps newly promoted outfielder Travis Blankenhorn, called up from Triple-A Rochester this afternoon, will provide a spark and some power.

Jake Irvin gets the start for the Nationals, and he quietly has become their most consistently effective starter. Over his last 13 outings, the rookie right-hander has a 3.64 ERA. And he’s allowed two or fewer runs in seven of those starts, often completing six innings. Another such performance tonight against the Marlins would be great.

The Nats have another arm in their bullpen as well, with Amos Willingham recalled from Triple-A as the roster expands to 28 active players. Reliever Rico Garcia, who had been on the 15-day injured list, was released to clear a 40-man spot for Blankenhorn.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. MIAMI MARLINS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 76 degrees, wind 6 mph out to left field

After a successful 5-4 road trip, the Nationals have returned home to begin a nine-game homestand, starting with four games this weekend against the Marlins.

A team they have struggled to beat since the start of last season, the Nationals finally won a series against the Fish, taking two of three against their division rivals in Miami last weekend. While the Nats have been winning over the last two months (29-19 in their last 47 games), the Marlins have been falling down the standings by dipping below .500 for the first time since May with a loss to the Rays last night.

Joan Adon will get his second start against the Marlins in less than a week. He impressed Friday by completing six shutout innings with no walks and three hits while earning just his third major league win. The young right-hander will try to reverse his fortunes at home tonight: He has a 10.29 ERA over two starts at Nationals Park compared to a 2.25 ERA in his two road starts.

Braxton Garrett will also get his second chance at the Nationals in less than a week, as he was Adon’s opposition last week in Miami. The left-hander turned in a quality start with three runs over six innings, but that was enough to charge him with the loss. He tossed six innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts here back in June.

There was a pregame roster move to report: The Nationals placed MacKenzie Gore on the bereavement list and recalled Joe La Sorsa to the active roster. Gore was possibly in line to start Sunday if the Nats decided to give Josiah Gray extra rest after his bullpen session tomorrow. If not Gore nor Gray for Sunday, they could use a bullpen game instead, especially with rosters expanding to 28 players tomorrow.

TORONTO – It’s a dreary Wednesday here north of the border, so the roof at Rogers Centre will probably be closed for the first time this series as the Nationals and Blue Jays face off one more time. A win today for the Nats would incredibly make it six consecutive series won, eight of their last nine.

And if it’s a matinee series finale, that means Patrick Corbin is pitching, a product of the six-man rotation that has been used for several weeks now. Not that Corbin has been bothered by it. Quite the contrary, he’s been quite good this month, going 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA, the Nats winning three of his four starts. And the left-hander continues to pitch well against American League foes, going 4-0 with a 1.73 ERA against the Mariners, Rangers, Red Sox and Yankees this summer.

After getting a pair of big home runs Tuesday night from Carter Kieboom and Keibert Ruiz, the Nationals will try to keep the offense going today against Chris Bassitt, the former Athletics and Mets right-hander who enters 12-7 with a 4.00 ERA, having surrendered five homers over his last 24 2/3 innings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Where: Rogers Centre
Gametime: 3:07 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
1B Joey Meneses
DH Keibert Ruiz
3B Carter Kieboom
LF Jake Alu
3B Ildemaro Vargas
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young

The Orioles can exceed last year’s win total of 83 with a victory today over the White Sox, in a game that concludes their homestand. They also can register their ninth sweep.

Adley Rutschman is on the bench this afternoon. Gunnar Henderson is leading off and playing third base.

Adam Frazier is in left field, with Austin Hays also working in a reserve role. Jordan Westburg is the second baseman.

Kyle Gibson is seeking his team-leading 14^th win, which also would be a career high. He has 14 quality starts, and he worked eight innings against the Blue Jays in his last outing.

Yoán Moncada is 8-for-22 with three doubles against Gibson. Tim Anderson is 7-for-22 with a double and home run.

TORONTO – The Nationals have won five series in a row. They had also won three series openers in a row before dropping Monday night’s game to the Blue Jays. And they haven’t lost three games in a row since early July, when they were swept in a four-game series by the Reds and then lost the following day to the Rangers before embarking on this current 27-17 run.

So this has surprisingly become unfamiliar territory for the Nats, looking to bounce back and recapture control of a series. They’ll attempt to do that tonight, looking to take an early lead on José Berríos and then get a quality start out of MacKenzie Gore.

Gore was not good in his last outing, surrendering a pair of homers (including a grand slam) to Aaron Judge at Yankee Stadium and departing after 80 pitches in four innings. He was hurt by his defense that night, but he didn’t pick up his teammates when he had the chance. And he expects more of himself.

Though they needed to use four relievers to cover six innings Monday, the Nationals bullpen should be in decent shape if Gore can go at least five innings, preferably six. Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey and Mason Thompson are all fresh, with Finnegan having not pitched since Saturday and Harvey having been off since Friday. 

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Where: Rogers Centre
Gametime: 7:07 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 69 degrees, wind 8 mph out to center field

Ryan O’Hearn is in right field again tonight, as the Orioles continue their series against the White Sox.

Gunnar Henderson is the shortstop and Adam Frazier is playing second base. Jordan Westburg stays on the bench.

Austin Hays returns to left field.

Anthony Santander, serving as designated hitter, is the first Orioles switch-hitter with at least 25 home runs in consecutive seasons since Eddie Murray in 1987-88.

Henderson is one stolen base shy of becoming the first rookie in team history and 20th in major league history with at least 20 doubles, five triples, 20 homers and 10 steals in a season.

TORONTO – Hello from Rogers Centre, up here north of the border. The Nationals are making their first trip to Canada since 2018, having technically played road games against the Blue Jays in both 2020 and 2021 even though both series were played at alternate sites due to COVID travel restrictions (2020 at Nationals Park, 2021 in Dunedin, Fla.).

This is the final leg of a four-city trip for the Nats that began eight long days ago in Williamsport, Pa., then continued to New York and Miami. They’ve gone 5-2 so far, so even if they got swept here they’d still head home with a .500 record. Not that anyone wants that to be the outcome.

You would think the Nationals will need to score a few more runs than they did in Miami, because Toronto’s lineup is more potent. The Nats have Keibert Ruiz back in the lineup, batting cleanup and catching for the first time since Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. They’ve also got three catchers on the roster for the first time this season, officially promoting Drew Millas from Triple-A Rochester.

Josiah Gray gets the start, hoping for similar success to that he had at Yankee Stadium (one run, one hit) while being a bit more efficient (five walks). Gray will need to avoid hard contact, because the ball flies here at Rogers Centre.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Where: Rogers Centre
Gametime: 7:07 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 68 degrees, wind 3 mph out to left field

MIAMI – Remember that time earlier this year when the Nationals were searching for their first series sweep in over two years to break the longest major league streak without one?

Well, here they are now in search of their fourth series sweep since the All-Star break. Oh, and have we mentioned the fact that the Nats are only four games behind these Marlins in the National League East and only seven games back from a Wild Card spot?

Trevor Williams will lead the charge as he looks to follow up one of his best starts of the season. He pitched six shutout innings of two-hit ball against the Phillies in Sunday’s Little League Classic. He’s 0-1 with a 6.97 ERA and 1.548 WHIP in two starts against the Marlins this year, including giving up three runs with five strikeouts over six innings in a start here in May.

Right-hander JT Chargois will start a bullpen game for the Fish. He’s 1-0 with a 3.56 ERA and 1.154 WHIP in 32 appearances this year. After pitching a scoreless ninth inning Friday, he has four shutout outings against the Nats in his career.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MIAMI MARLINS
Where: loanDepot Park
Gametime: 1:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

MIAMI – The Nationals finally got the monkey that is the Marlins off their backs last night. The 7-4 victory was their first against the Fish this year, and first in Miami since last season.

Now they can focus on playing ball and winning a series.

Jake Irvin will look to make it three straight strong starts when he takes the hill this afternoon for the 20th outing of his rookie season. He’s allowed just two runs in 12 ⅔ innings over his last two starts against the Athletics and Phillies. At 3-5 with a 4.47 ERA and 1.397 WHIP on the year, the right-hander held the Marlins to one run in five innings during a home start on June 17.

Electric right-hander Eury Pérez makes his 15th start of his rookie season, where he has gone 5-4 with a 2.91 ERA and 1.074 WHIP. He pitched six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts his last time out against the Dodgers, and held the Nationals to one run over five innings with six strikeouts in his second career start in May.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MIAMI MARLINS
Where: loanDepot Park
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

James McCann is catching tonight and Ryan McKenna is in center field for the start of a three-game series against the Rockies.

Anthony Santander, with three home runs in two nights, is in right field. Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter.

Jordan Westburg is playing second base.

Opponents are batting .163 against Cole Irvin this month in five appearances.

The Orioles need two victories to clinch their first back-to-back .500 or better seasons since 2015-16.

MIAMI – Hello from outside downtown Miami, where the Nationals continue their inconvenient road trip up and down the North American East Coast. After starting north to Williamsport and New York, they headed to South Beach before going back north of the border to Toronto.

Rack up those miles.

The Nats have been playing great ball lately, winning nine of their last 12 games. But now they return to a place where they haven’t won a whole lot to face a team they have yet to beat this season. The Nats are 0-6 against the Marlins this year, including going 0-3 here in May. They are 4-21 against the Fish dating back to last year and are 2-10 at loanDepot Park since the beginning of last season.

Joan Adon will make his fourth start since rejoining the Nats rotation. He’s 1-0 with a 7.62 ERA and 1.154 WHIP over his last three. Amazingly though, the Nationals have won all three of those starts despite some rough performances over his last two. Adon is 0-2 with a 10.57 ERA and 1.826 WHIP in two career starts against the Marlins, both of which have come in Miami.

Left-hander Braxton Garrett starts for the home squad. He’s 7-4 with a 3.94 ERA and 1.172 in 25 games (24 starts) this season. The 26-year-old has been pitching well lately to the tune of a 2.57 ERA over his last five starts. Garrett gave up just one and four hits over six innings while striking out eight in a win over the Nats in D.C. back in June.

NEW YORK – After a difficult Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, the Nationals are right back here for their series finale, hoping there’s at least some encouraging news about Stone Garrett and focused on trying to win the rubber game of the series.

Garrett was officially placed on the 10-day injured list with a fractured left fibula, so the Nationals replaced him on the active roster with infielder Jeter Downs, who was recalled from Triple-A Rochester only three days after he was sent down to allow Carter Kieboom to remain here in the big leagues. That does leave them with only three true outfielders (Lane Thomas, Alex Call, Blake Rutherford) but Ildemaro Vargas, Jake Alu, Michael Chavis and even Downs can play out there if needed.

The Nats need to do more at the plate than they’ve done so far this week. Since that four-run outburst in the first inning in Williamsport on Sunday night, they’ve scored a total of three runs, each of those via solo homers. Some more sustained offense would be a big help, especially on a day when the Yankees are throwing a bullpen game, with right-hander Michael King set to pitch first.

Patrick Corbin gets the start for the Nationals, facing another American League team. He’s been notably better in interleague games this season, going 6-3 with a 4.03 ERA. And he’s been great in his last three such starts, going 3-0 with an 0.90 ERA against the Mariners, Rangers and Red Sox. It’ll be fascinating to see if that trend continues today against what had been an awfully weak Yankees lineup before Wednesday night’s nine-run explosion.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK YANKEES
Where: Yankee Stadium
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain, 71 degrees, wind 9 mph out to left field