PITTSBURGH – What a Saturday day and night that turned out to be at the ballpark. The Nationals swept their doubleheader against the Pirates, putting together a no-hit bid in the opener and then storming back to score four runs with two outs in the ninth to win the nightcap. It took just about everything out of them to pull that off, especially a bullpen that was pushed to the limit with four guys (Kyle Finnegan, Derek Law, Jacob Barnes, Robert Garcia) each appearing in both games.

So with that in mind, there’s no question what Patrick Corbin’s objective is today: Pitch deep into the game. It doesn’t matter how many runs he gives up, Corbin is going to top 100 pitches for certain, preferably completing at least or even seven innings in the process. And if the Nats find themselves in a position to win at that point, it’ll be up to Davey Martinez to figure out how he wants to manage the late innings.

Some run support would be nice, but the Nationals lineup faces a stiff challenge today. No, they’re not facing Paul Skenes, but don’t sleep on their other rookie right-hander. Jared Jones hasn’t received the same hype as Skenes, but he throws nearly as hard and he’s enjoyed success in his first big league season, striking out more than a batter per inning. Jones did miss more than two months with an injury, but he still reached the seventh inning last time out against the Cubs, so fatigue doesn’t appear to be a concern.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Where: PNC Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 66 degrees, wind 10 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
DH Andrés Chaparro 
2B Luis García Jr.
C Keibert Ruiz
3B José Tena
RF Dylan Crews
1B Joey Gallo
CF Jacob Young

PITTSBURGH – It’s hard to sweep a doubleheader. It’s even harder when your Game 2 starter can’t get out of the fourth inning, you have to ask four relievers who already pitched in Game 1 to come back and do it again five hours later and you have to ask a lineup loaded with inexperienced hitters to mount a ninth-inning rally against Aroldis Chapman.

How remarkable, then, was the Nationals’ 8-6 win over the Pirates tonight? Under the circumstances, perhaps their most remarkable win of the year.

Having already won this afternoon’s opener, the Nats pulled out all the stops to win the nightcap. Davey Martinez had four of his relievers (Derek Law, Jacob Barnes, Robert Garcia, Kyle Finnegan) pitch both ends of the doubleheader. And after watching Barnes and Garcia combine to give up the two runs that put Pittsburgh on top in the bottom of the eighth, Martinez watched his team rally to score four runs off Chapman in the top of the ninth, with Ildemaro Vargas coming off the bench to deliver the biggest hit of them all.

"They didn't give up," Martinez said. "I talk about these guys every day, about them playing hard to the last out. And they did it again today."

Vargas’ two-out, two-run double to right on a 3-2, 99-mph fastball from Chapman left the PNC Park crowd of 18,937 stunned and the visitors’ dugout bursting with joy. The veteran utility man, who was dressed in full uniform at 11 a.m. but never appeared in a game until 9:40 p.m., smiled wide as he coasted into second base after right fielder Connor Joe came up just short of a diving attempt that would have ended the game.

PITTSBURGH – The Nationals got the job done in Game 1 of today’s doubleheader against the Pirates. DJ Herz tossed five no-hit innings before departing with his pitch count at 87. Dylan Crews homered, doubled and drove in two runs. The bullpen hung on, with Kyle Finnegan barely surviving another harrowing ninth inning to close out a 5-3 victory.

Now it’s onto the nightcap, with the Nats hoping for a rare doubleheader sweep behind another rookie left-hander on the mound. Mitchell Parker makes his 26th big league start, and his 25th was perhaps his strangest yet. He struck out eight and walked only one but gave up four runs over six innings, done in by some terrible defense that included an errant pickoff throw of his own. There’s only so much Parker can control, but if he can simply make the few plays he has to make in the field, he’ll help his cause a lot.

Davey Martinez has a couple of lineup changes from the opener. Jacob Young gets a rare night off, out of the lineup for the first time since July 31. That opens up center field to Dylan Crews for the first time in his brief major league career. Drew Millas will catch Parker, but Keibert Ruiz is still in there, serving as designated hitter against Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Where: PNC Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 65 degrees, wind 13 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
1B Andrés Chaparro
2B Luis García Jr.
DH Keibert Ruiz
3B José Tena
CF Dylan Crews
RF Joey Gallo
C Drew Millas

PITTSBURGH – There may come a day when DJ Herz is given the opportunity to make history. That day will come once the 23-year-old left-hander has some more experience, has proven he can pitch a bit more efficiently and gives the Nationals sufficient reason to take the reins off him.

That day wasn’t today, not in Herz’s 16th big league start, not with his pitch count too high after five innings to convince Davey Martinez to let his starter go for broke.

So it was that Herz was pulled after five no-hit innings against the Pirates. The Nats bullpen would give up the no-hitter (and the shutout) in the seventh but still finish off a 5-3 victory in the opener of a day-night doubleheader at PNC Park, with Kyle Finnegan averting disaster during another shaky ninth.

Whatever disappointment Herz may have felt in the moment, he’s come to understand why Martinez has been so careful with him in his first major league season. The Nationals’ goal isn’t to make history, it’s to get young starters through the end of September in one piece, setting them up to pitch even more in 2025 and beyond and perhaps someday have the opportunity to make history.

"That day will come," Herz said. "There's no need to rush it."

PITTSBURGH – There are only three weeks left in the Nationals' season. Trevor Williams is determined to make sure he pitches for them again before everyone heads home for the winter.

The right-hander, out since late May with a flexor strain in his elbow, believes he’s on track to do just that. He’s faced live hitters twice in the last week-plus, and he’s now ready to go on what figures to be a brief minor league rehab assignment that would allow him to rejoin the big league rotation to make perhaps a couple of starts at the end of the month.

“It feels good,” Williams said this morning. “We’re where we need to be. I’ll go on a rehab assignment and get back out here as fast as possible, as long as we’re feeling good.”

Williams faced live hitters here at PNC Park on Thursday, and he has emerged from that session with no issues. He’s now set to start for Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday in what will be his first competitive game since May 30.

Williams is scheduled to throw four innings and perhaps build up to 65-70 pitches. Manager Davey Martinez has said the 32-year-old probably needs to get up to 80 pitches before he’s activated off the 60-day injured list, so he may need to make one more rehab start before returning.

PITTSBURGH – And we’re back. After Friday’s rainout – FYI, it didn’t even start raining until about 9 p.m. – the Nationals and Pirates reconvene for what’s going to be a very long Saturday afternoon and evening. It’s a day-night doubleheader, the first game starting at 1:35 p.m., the nightcap starting at 6:40 p.m. as initially planned.

Both of Friday night’s scheduled starters will be on the mound for today’s opener. So it’s DJ Herz, again looking not only to get his outing off to a good start but also to have a strong finish, pitching for the Nats. The rookie left-hander might need to be pushed a bit harder in this one, because Davey Martinez has to make sure he’s still got enough relievers available for the nightcap.

(For what it’s worth, the teams don’t get to call up an extra player for the doubleheader, because rosters are already expanded for September. So it’s a 14-man pitching staff, no changes.)

At the plate, the Nationals will try to get something going against right-hander Luis Ortiz, who didn’t give up a run in either of his previous two outings. Martinez was hopeful Friday night that the return of CJ Abrams to the top of the lineup would help jump-start the offense, believing Abrams could fare well against Ortiz’s fastball. We’ll see how that goes.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Where: PNC Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 65 degrees, wind 10 mph out to center field

PITTSBURGH – Tonight's game between the Nationals and Pirates has been postponed due to a line of storms expected to arrive about an hour after scheduled first pitch and linger throughout the night.

The two teams will now play a split doubleheader Saturday, with the makeup game at 1:35 p.m. followed by the originally scheduled game at 6:40 p.m.

After a brief period of rain this afternoon, the skies over PNC Park actually cleared up and looked to remain that way until approximately 7:30 p.m. In theory, this game could have started on time at 6:40 p.m., with officials hoping to get as many innings as possible in before the rain arrived.

But with the storms expected to be strong and last throughout the night, the Pirates decided not to take any chances and announced the postponement about 30 minutes before first pitch.

DJ Herz, who was supposed to pitch tonight, will now start Saturday's 1:35 p.m. game. Mitchell Parker will start the 6:40 p.m. nightcap as planned.

PITTSBURGH – There wasn’t much for the Nationals to get excited about out of Thursday night’s game, a 9-4 loss to the Pirates in the opener of a four-game series. They didn’t get good starting pitching. They didn’t get good relief pitching. They got a couple of big hits in the top of the first, then nothing else the rest of the way.

So the Nats will hope to hit the reset button tonight and get back on track. If the weather cooperates. There is a line of storms approaching from the west, and it’s scheduled to arrive at some point this evening, potentially lasting into Saturday morning. No idea yet if it will prevent this game from starting on time, being disrupted or even being played at all. Stay turned.

Whenever they play, it’ll be DJ Herz on the mound for the Nationals. The rookie left-hander had a string of solid outings disrupted last weekend when the Cubs got to him for four runs in 4 2/3 innings, all of those coming in the top of the fifth. Herz has typically done better in the early innings than the late innings; something to keep an eye on tonight.

Right-hander Luis Ortiz starts for Pittsburgh, and he has been outstanding of late. Ortiz has tossed six scoreless innings each of his last two starts and gave up only one hit to the Guardians last Saturday.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Where: PNC Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Storms arriving, 80 degrees, wind 7 mph out to left field

PITTSBURGH – The ball would have cleared the fence in any major league park, as any 419-foot blast to left-center field should. But if there’s one left-center field gap in baseball that might be big enough to keep such a drive in play, it’s this one at PNC Park, with its “North Side Notch” just to the left of the two bullpens.

So when Andrés Chaparro made contact in the top of the first Thursday night, he didn’t want to assume anything.

"As soon as I hit it, I knew I hit it well," the Nationals first baseman said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. "I knew I made hard contact. I wasn't sure if it was going to go out or not, but luckily it did and I was able to contribute to the scoreboard."

Chaparro’s blast indeed was deep enough – barely – to reach the stands and give the Nats a 3-0 lead they thought would hold up better than it did during what eventually became a 9-4 loss to the Pirates.

And it was merely the latest such blast from the 25-year-old rookie, who continues to make the most of his unexpected playing opportunity and try to convince the Nationals he should be part of their 2025 plans.

PITTSBURGH – The 162-game season is unforgiving. It rewards those who have both the physical and mental fortitude to deal with some adversity along the way and right their ship. It penalizes those who can’t bounce back when things start to go south.

A number of prominent Nationals are experiencing the latter these days, stellar first halves undone by subpar second halves. There are still 21 games left to try to salvage things and end on a positive note. But time is running out for them, and Jake Irvin is very much on that list.

A potential All-Star on Independence Day, the right-hander is now just hoping to get his ERA back under 4.00 by season’s end. His last two starts, each of them undone by one really bad inning, have left him in such an unexpected position.

With six runs allowed overall tonight, five of them in the bottom of the second alone, Irvin turned what the Nationals hoped would be a good series opener against the Pirates into an unsightly, 9-4 loss. Plenty more calamities befell them over the rest of the game, but that ugly second inning loomed largest.

"The big innings stink, and they're going to kill you," Irvin said. "We've lost two games in a row that I've started now because of those innings. We're just trying to do whatever we can to avoid those situations in the future."

PITTSBURGH – Davey Martinez has already tried moving CJ Abrams down in the lineup. Now the Nationals manager is trying to get his slumping shortstop some more rest in an attempt to get his hitting stroke back on track.

Abrams is not in the Nats’ lineup for tonight’s series opener against the Pirates, the third time that’s been the case in the team’s last 12 games. Rookie Nasim Nunez instead is starting against left-hander Bailey Falter.

It’s an unfamiliar situation for Abrams, but it has become harsh reality for the 23-year-old All-Star after two months of diminished production.

“We all know that he’s struggling a little bit,” Martinez said. “And against a lefty, I’ll give him a day off, let Nasim play. We’re trying to get him going again. I know he’s been struggling lately. So just another day. We got in pretty late (from Miami). Give him a day off his feet. He’ll be ready to go later on.”

Abrams’ two-month decline has been steep. He sported a .282/.353/.506 slash line on July 7, only a few days after he was named an All-Star for the first time in his career. In 46 games since, he’s slashing .163/.231/.270, with only five doubles, four homers and nine walks while striking out 46 times.

PITTSBURGH – It would be hard to find a more striking difference in ballpark vistas than the one the Nationals just saw in Miami and the one they’ll see the next four days at PNC Park. And the weather here looks great, as well, aside from a chance of rain Friday night into Saturday morning.

The Nats arrive in Pittsburgh after splitting their two-game series with the Marlins, a series that absolutely was there for the taking if they had simply converted in the ninth or 10th innings when they had the chance. Oh well, maybe it was too much to expect a season sweep of a division opponent.

The Nationals haven’t seen the Pirates since way back in early April, the first homestand of the season. A lot has changed for both teams since then, perhaps most notably the promotions of the top two picks in last summer’s draft, the former LSU teammates. Dylan Crews will get plenty of action this weekend, but unfortunately Paul Skenes will not. The Pirates, looking to keep Skenes in the rotation through season’s end, are going to a six-man rotation, so he won’t start again until Monday.

So tonight it’s Jake Irvin for the Nats and Bailey Falter for the Pirates. Irvin needs to bounce back from his bizarre start against the Cubs, when he was torched for seven runs in the top of the second but didn’t give up anything else the rest of his outing. This is an important month for Irvin, who is trying to make sure his outstanding first half doesn’t become an afterthought. He’s facing a Pittsburgh lineup that was no-hit by Shota Imanaga and two Cubs relievers Wednesday night at Wrigley Field.

Falter faced the Nats four times over the last two seasons as a member of the Phillies, and was quite successful, going 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA. The left-hander has been pretty mediocre for the Pirates this year, and he enters this one having allowed four or more runs in three of his last four starts.

The Nationals are getting their most durable reliever back for the season’s final month.

Derek Law, the workhorse setup man who landed on the injured list two weeks ago with a flexor strain in his right elbow, was activated Monday and will be available for tonight’s series opener in Miami.

Law was confident all along his IL stint would be short, and indeed he was back throwing within a week of being shut down. He threw 20 pitches to live hitters Saturday and pronounced himself ready to return. The Nats acquiesced, activating him without first requiring a minor league rehab stint.

Even with the time missed, Law still leads all National League relievers with 75 2/3 innings pitched. If he returns to his normal work rate, he would become the Nationals’ first reliever to reach 90 innings pitched since Tyler Clippard in 2010. And if he can throw 17 2/3 innings in the season’s final 25 games, he will eclipse Saul Rivera’s club record of 93 relief innings pitched in 2007.

Needing to clear a spot on the active roster for Law, the Nats optioned right-hander Orlando Ribalta to Triple-A Rochester following Sunday’s game. The rookie has struggled in four big league appearances over the last several weeks, allowing five runs and 10 hits in only 3 1/3 innings.

As he stood before a locker with his nameplate, a Nationals jersey with his name on it, inside a big league clubhouse for the first time, Zach Brzykcy was asked what he would’ve thought if someone predicted this outcome for him four years ago when he was a junior at Virginia Tech.

“I would’ve laughed at them,” he said. “Like, no way is this going to happen.”

That Brzykcy did find himself at Nationals Park on Sunday was a remarkable story. Undrafted out of college. Owner of a 5.20 ERA in his first professional season. Sidelined for his entire third pro season following Tommy John surgery. And now a big league reliever, officially promoted from Triple-A Rochester as one of the Nats’ two September call-ups.

“Speechless,” the 25-year-old right-hander said of his reaction to learning the news Saturday from Rochester manager Matt LeCroy. “I’m kind of a quiet guy, so I didn’t even know what to think. I internalized it, and I was just mind blown. I’ve been working for this since I was 4 to be here, and I’m here. It’s just surreal. There’s no words to describe the feeling.”

Brzykcy (pronounced “BRICK-see”) might seem an unlikely addition to the Nationals bullpen, but he earned his way here. He was a casualty of the COVID pandemic, both because his junior season at Virginia Tech ended in mid-March with only nine appearances and because Major League Baseball reduced the 2020 Draft to a mere five rounds.

If managers preach to their teams they can’t give the opposition more than 27 outs, what do they say about giving them 32 outs?

Truth be told, it probably never comes up, because how often does a team make five defensive gaffes in one nine-inning game? At the major league level, nonetheless.

What, then, will Davey Martinez have to say to his players after today’s 14-1 dismantling by the Cubs, one that was defined not by the hits the Nationals gave up or failed to produce themselves but by the five misplays they made in the field during their least aesthetically pleasing game of the season?

"We're going to pound the same message: We've got to catch the baseball," the manager said in one of the more animated postgame sessions of his seven-year tenure here. "It was awful today. I can't say nothing about it. Our defense was not there. I thought (Mitchell Parker) threw the ball really well. We've got to play defense behind him. You can't drive in runs and let in three or four more runs. You've got to catch the baseball. Defense is a big part of the game. I say that all the time. We've got to catch the ball."

Martinez has had to confront these questions before, but usually as it pertains to one or maybe two plays during the course of a game. Five? This was unprecedented, leaving him to answer how he planned to deliver the aforementioned message to his players.

Darren Baker didn’t need an alarm to wake himself up this morning. He didn’t need a GPS to find his way to Nationals Park. And when he entered the clubhouse, he didn’t need to introduce himself to many people.

If ever a rookie felt at home on his first day in the major leagues, this was it.

“I think it does feel comfortable, especially this one,” he said. “I knew how to get here. I didn’t have to put it into my phone or anything. So I felt comfortable just showing up.”

Baker, who along with reliever Zach Brzykcy was promoted from Triple-A Rochester this morning as the Nationals’ two allotted September call-ups with rosters expanding to 28, has been a familiar face around Nationals Park since 2016. And he’s been a familiar face around big league ballparks and clubhouse since 2002.

Such is life when you’re Dusty Baker’s son. With a famous father who spent most of the last two decades managing in San Francisco, Chicago, Cincinnati, Washington and Houston, Darren Baker has been immersed in the baseball world his whole life. Fans first knew about him in the 2002 World Series, when as a 3-year-old Giants batboy he memorably had to be scooped up J.T. Snow before getting run over on a play at the plate.

It’s September, which means there are only four weeks to go in the season and rosters now expand from 26 to 28. For the Nationals, that means the major league debuts of infielder Darren Baker and reliever Zach Brzykcy, who both are being called up from Triple-A Rochester today and joining the active roster. There may not be much playing opportunity for Baker, who plays second base and a little bit of outfield, but Brzykcy (pronounced BRICK-see) should get a good look out of the bullpen the rest of the way.

As for today’s game, the Nats need a win to avoid what would be a very frustrating sweep. Each of the last two games were there for the taking, but they couldn’t avoid one big inning on the mound and then couldn’t deliver one more clutch hit in the ninth inning. They’ll hope to get out to a lead today and then maintain it, perhaps even get the ball to Kyle Finnegan.

Mitchell Parker gets the start, and he had an erratic August. He allowed one or fewer earned runs in six or more innings in three of his starts. But he was torched for nine runs in Philadelphia, and lasted only four innings (despite giving up only two runs) last time out against the Yankees.

The Nationals will be facing left-hander Jordan Wicks, who returns from a long stint on the injured list after having an oblique strain.

To clear space on the 40-man roster for Baker, the Nats transferred Trevor Williams to the 60-day IL. That doesn't change the right-hander's timetime for potentially returning before season's end.

There unquestionably is more young talent on the Nationals roster right now than there has been in years, and that alone is reason for more optimism than this franchise has offered in years.

Talent alone, of course, doesn’t win ballgames. Execution is required, especially in the moments that matter the most. And for some talented young players, that second part takes time to develop. If it ever does.

Today’s 5-3 loss to the Cubs was a game that was there for the taking. Alas, it slipped away from the home team because of a bad ending to a great start by DJ Herz, two more outs made on the bases at a time when the Nats needed baserunners, a particularly bad error by a rookie catcher and another inspiring but ultimately unsuccessful ninth-inning rally.

Put it all together, and you get a second straight narrow loss to Chicago, even if there have been several positive developments the last 24 hours by key young players.

"These things are worked on. It's just, the game speeds up," manager Davey Martinez said. "To me, we did make some mistakes today. But the big thing is, yesterday, one inning we gave it up. Today, one inning we gave it up. They’re going to have to learn how to get through these innings and limit the damage. That’s the big thing. The other things will clean up with time. ... Right now, we’re just making small mistakes. And as they play a little more, and play more and play more, they’ll start learning those mistakes become big mistakes in games like this."

Derek Law appears ready to return from his brief stint on the injured list. Trevor Williams needs some more time but took a big step in his return from the IL today.

Law and Williams each faced live hitters this afternoon prior to the Nationals’ game against the Cubs, the first time each right-hander had done that since going on the 15-day IL with flexor strains in their elbows.

Law, out since Aug. 17, threw 20 pitches over one simulated inning against teammates Ildemaro Vargas and Nasim Nuñez. He said everything felt strong and that he believes his two-week layoff helped give his arm and body a rare chance to rest after a workhorse season. (His 75 2/3 innings pitched lead all major league relievers.)

“Think about it. This is like the first time your body’s getting a full amount of time off,” Law said, citing advice he got from pitching strategist Sean Doolittle. “It’s almost like you’re in spring training again, instead of the grind of the season, where you’re trying to manipulate your body to throw how it should be throwing.

“I was definitely throwing different ways to try to get around the elbow (before going on the IL). So it’s nice to feel free, I guess.”

Friday night was a wild one for the Nationals, who saw Jake Irvin give up seven runs to the Cubs in the top of the second, then Irvin and a parade of relievers give up nothing the rest of the way, then the lineup rally to score three runs in the ninth and put the winning run on base with two outs and Dylan Crews at the plate … only to watch him strike out to end the game. Enough drama for you?

So, what does today’s game have in store? There’s an obvious storyline to watch: DJ Herz facing the Cubs. The rookie left-hander came up through Chicago’s system before he was dealt to the Nats last summer for Jeimer Candelario, and now he gets to face his former team for the first time. Herz has been solid this month, with a 2.22 ERA and 1.192 WHIP, though he’s averaging fewer than five innings per start.

Davey Martinez again has a lineup with Dylan Crews and James Wood at the top and CJ Abrams not near the top. Abrams does move up one spot today, from seventh to sixth, against Cubs right-hander Javier Assad. But clearly his drop down the order Friday night wasn’t simply a matchup situation against a left-hander. This is going to remain this way a while longer until Abrams gets himself back on track.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs CHICAGO CUBS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 86 degrees, wind 8 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
RF Dylan Crews
LF James Wood
2B Luis García Jr.
DH Andrés Chaparro
3B José Tena
SS CJ Abrams
1B Joey Gallo
C Drew Millas
CF Jacob Young