PITTSBURGH – Donovan Casey was sitting in a meeting with his Rochester Red Wings teammates Thursday afternoon, learning about nutrition, when manager Matt LeCroy told the group someone had just been called up by the Nationals.

Casey, a 26-year-old outfielder, just assumed it was one of the pitchers, probably a reliever. Until the name that came out of LeCroy’s mouth sounded a little too familiar.

“At the time, I was shoveling food in my mouth,” he said. “He says: ‘Donovan Casey, you’re going up.’ And I was like, huh? … It threw me off a little bit. It was a very emotional day. But I’m happy to be here.”

Casey was retelling the story Friday afternoon inside the visitors’ clubhouse at PNC Park, having indeed been the one who got the call-up to the big leagues for the first time, the shock now wearing off. He had spent the previous 24 hours letting his family and friends know the news, packing up his belongings and making his way with his wife from Rochester to Pittsburgh, where a major league uniform awaited him.

“Emotional,” he said of his phone calls to break the news. “Obviously, when I first told my wife I was getting called up, she was like: ‘Really?’ I was like yeah, I’m not messing with you. She was ecstatic. Honestly, she was more excited than I was. She’s been through the whole entire grind with me, all the ups and downs. I love my dad to death, but I had to tell her (first) because she’s been through thick and thin. It was very emotional.”

PITTSBURGH – The Nationals placed Dee Strange-Gordon, who remains in the team’s downtown hotel with an illness, on the injured list today. The club did not specify which IL the utilityman was placed on, nor divulged what his ailment is, which is how they handled situations the last two seasons when a player tested positive for COVID-19.

Asked this afternoon how Strange-Gordon was doing, manager Davey Martinez said only: “I can’t really talk about much, but he’s doing better.”

Martinez added that no other players were unable to report to the clubhouse. Three players were seen this afternoon wearing masks while indoors, a protocol this season for vaccinated team members who have been deemed close contacts to someone who tests positive. Any unvaccinated players who are determined to be close contacts would have to quarantine for five days.

Strange-Gordon initially was announced as part of the Nationals lineup for Thursday’s series opener against the Pirates, though he never did appear at the ballpark. About 30 minutes before first pitch, the club announced he had been scratched for unspecified reasons.

Players on the COVID-19 IL are removed from the 40-man roster, and the Nats moved quickly today to acquire someone else to take Strange-Gordon’s spot, claiming outfielder Joshua Palacios off waivers from the Blue Jays.

PITTSBURGH - Manager Davey Martinez could also use a more consistent performance from his lineup, which on Thursday busted out for three quick runs in the top of the first against Pirates starter J.T. Brubaker and then went mostly silent the rest of the way.

As expected, the Nationals have made a roster move today. Dee Strange-Gordon has been placed on the injured list with an unspecified ailment. As Martinez said Thursday night, he’s back at the hotel with an illness. He has come off the 40-man roster, which is what happens when someone is placed on the COVID-19 IL. (The Nats immediately filled that 40-man roster spot by claiming outfielder Joshua Palacios from the Blue Jays an optioning him to Triple-A Rochester.)

Taking Strange-Gordon’s spot on the big league roster is outfielder Donovan Casey, one of the four prospects acquired from the Dodgers last summer for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. Casey had played in six games for Rochester so far, hitting .250 with two doubles, two triples, a homer and six RBIs.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Where: PNC Park
Gametime: 6:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 66 degrees, wind 13 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
2B César Hernández
RF Juan Soto
DH Nelson Cruz
1B Josh Bell
C Keibert Ruiz
LF Yadiel Hernandez
3B Maikel Franco
CF Lane Thomas
SS Alcides Escobar
RHP Erick Fedde

PITTSBURGH – Victor Robles is the Nationals’ starting center fielder. And he’ll continue to be their starting center fielder. As long the matchups on a particular day work in his favor.

For the third time in eight games to begin the season, the matchup isn’t in Robles’ favor. Pirates starter J.T. Brubaker has a particularly tough slider, so Davey Martinez decided to leave Robles on the bench tonight and instead play Dee Strange-Gordon in center field.

“We look at all his data, and we know Victor struggles against guys with good sliders,” Martinez said. “So tonight I felt like we’re just going to continue to work with him on his swing, get him some extra swings, and then get him back in there tomorrow. We’re looking at all this stuff.”

Robles, who has started five games so far, remains hitless in 15 at-bats. His only two productive plate appearances resulted in a sacrifice bunt and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch that resulted in his lone RBI of the season.

Hitting coach Darnell Coles has been working with Robles on mechanical changes to his swing since late in spring training. Coles wants him starting his hands in a better position to allow for quicker movement to the ball. It remains a work in progress, as the results to date show.

PITTSBURGH – It is an absolutely beautiful afternoon here along the banks of the Allegheny River. Could get a little chilly tonight, but the skies are clear and the vista of downtown and the Clemente Bridge beyond PNC Park is as good as it gets.

The Nationals open a four-game weekend series against the Pirates, hoping to keep the positive momentum they generated in Atlanta going. After seven straight with the Mets and Braves to begin the season, they now get eight straight against the Pirates and Diamondbacks. Perhaps an opportunity to make some headway against lesser competition.

Joan Adon makes his second start of the season, his third as a big leaguer. The kid carried a shutout into the fifth inning against New York before fading. We’ll see if his stamina is built up a bit more now and he can complete that second trip through the lineup.

The lineup that will face Pittsburgh right-hander J.T. Brubaker includes Yadiel Hernandez in left field and Dee Strange-Gordon in center. So that means both Lane Thomas and Victor Robles are sitting. Everything else looks normal, including Nelson Cruz back in the lineup for the second straight day, so his groin must be feeling fine.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Where: PNC Park
Gametime: 6:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 60 degrees, wind 12 mph out to left field

ATLANTA – There are more than 5 1/2 months of baseball left to be played in 2022, and there’s still every reason to believe when this season is complete the Braves will be right there among the National League’s best while the rebuilding Nationals are looking up at a number of other clubs.

One series in mid-April does not change the outlook of either team’s chances this year. That doesn’t, however, mean the Nats can’t leave town this evening and fly to Pittsburgh feeling awfully good about themselves for what they just accomplished.

Shaking off a blowout loss Tuesday night, they bounced right back and won today’s finale 3-1, capturing the three-game series against the defending World Series champions and in the process establishing the formula for success they’ll try to mimic as much as possible over these next 5 1/2 months.

“I feel like it’s a confidence boost, right?” reliever Steve Cishek said. “You got a young team, and you take out the defending champs? I mean, their lineup is incredible. We threw the ball really well the first game and today. That’s a huge confidence boost for the young guys.”

The Nationals got a strong outing today from one of their young starters, with Josiah Gray tossing five scoreless innings, allowing only one hit. They got some early offense from an opportunistic lineup that jumped on Braves ace Max Fried. And then Davey Martinez handed over the final four innings to his four best relievers: Kyle Finnegan, Sean Doolittle, Cishek and Tanner Rainey.

ATLANTA – Less than an hour before today’s scheduled first pitch at Truist Park, Nelson Cruz was in shallow left field, stretching, exercising and testing out his tight groin with Nationals executive director of medical services Harvey Sharman. He didn’t know yet if he’d be playing this afternoon or not after sitting out Tuesday night’s game.

Then Cruz walked back to the visitors’ dugout, headed down to the batting tunnel underneath the stands, and some 15 minutes later the Nats put out their lineup. With Cruz batting third and serving as designated hitter.

“He came in, got treatment, said he felt better,” manager Davey Martinez said earlier in his office. “I want to get him in the cage, let him hit, see where we’re at. We haven’t posted a lineup yet because we’re waiting on him.”

Cruz wasn’t able to play Tuesday, telling Martinez before the game he “couldn’t get loose.” The manager immediately told the 41-year-old to get some treatment and see if he could feel well enough to pinch-hit later in the game. Once the Nationals were trailing by double-digits, there was no reason to take a chance, so Cruz never appeared.

He’s back in there today, though, for the sixth time in seven games to begin the season. And in the short time he’s been with the club, he’s established a trusting rapport with his skipper.

ATLANTA – It doesn’t really mean much in the larger scheme, but in your mind, wouldn’t a 3-4 start to this season sound a whole lot better than a 2-5 start? Especially given the competition they’ve faced, if the Nationals emerge one game under .500 from this gantlet, you’d have to consider that a modest success, right?

Well, they have a chance to do just that this afternoon when they seek a series victory over the Braves in a matinee finale. They’ll obviously need to play a much better game than they did Tuesday night, when they were shellacked 16-4. But then again, they won the opener in convincing fashion, 11-2, so anything’s possible.

It’s a stiffer challenge today facing Braves ace Max Fried, though the lefty struggled on opening day, giving up five earned runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings to the Reds. He actually faced the Nationals six times last season, going 3-1 with a 4.08 ERA.

Josiah Gray starts for the Nats, who could certainly use some quality innings from the right-hander. The good news: The entire A bullpen is available, none of them having needed to pitch in either of the first two games of this series.

Nelson Cruz is back in the starting lineup after being scratched from last night's game with groin tightness. The slugger is batting third as the designated hitter.

ATLANTA – On an otherwise dreadful Tuesday night for the Nationals, Juan Soto reminded everyone why every at-bat he takes, no matter the score at the time, remains must-see TV.

In the top of the sixth, with his team well on its way to a 16-4 drubbing at the hands of the Braves, Soto stepped to the plate against rookie right-hander Bryce Elder and proceeded to launch a baseball 451 feet to right-center field, nearly reaching the top of the stands at Truist Park.

The home run not only was majestic. It was historic, the 100th homer of Soto’s young career.

ATLANTA – It’s two starts during the first week of a season that opened on the heels of a condensed spring training. Nobody’s about to draw any definitive conclusions about someone just yet based on such a small sample under these circumstances.

But on the heels of a bad 2020 season, then an even worse 2021 season, the fact this question already has to be raised is beyond discouraging: What do the Nationals do with Patrick Corbin?

The question already is being asked because Corbin faded in the fourth and fifth innings on opening night against the Mets, then was absolutely ransacked by the Braves tonight during a 16-4 beatdown that included every manner of embarrassment for the visitors (aside from Juan Soto mashing a baseball 451 feet to right-center for the 100th home run of his career).

Getting shut down by an opposing starter making his major league debut? Check.

Watching middle relievers take what still could’ve been a competitive game and turn it into a rout? Check.

ATLANTA – Not that there was any reason to question it following Monday night’s performance, but Josh Rogers will remain in the Nationals rotation for the time being, lined up to make another start this weekend in Pittsburgh.

Summoned from Triple-A Rochester to take the No. 5 spot in the Nats rotation after Aníbal Sánchez came down with a neck injury prior to opening day, Rogers put together the best outing by any of the club’s starters to date, holding the Braves to one run on two hits over 5 1/3 innings and setting the tone for what became an 11-2 blowout victory.

Sánchez, who was placed on the 10-day injured list with a cervical nerve impingement, won’t be eligible to return until April 18. So that leaves the Nationals needing someone to take his next turn through the rotation, which should be Saturday night against the Pirates.

“I don’t think (Sánchez) will be ready at all for his next start,” manager Davey Martinez said. “As of right now, Josh will start in his place.”

Sánchez, who is traveling with the team on this road trip, began some simulated throwing today and could be back throwing a ball as soon as Wednesday. There’s no timetable yet for his return, but the 38-year-old will need to build his arm back up once he’s cleared.

ATLANTA – If you had to venture a guess which of these two teams’ pitching staffs is on the ropes entering tonight’s game, how many of you would just assume it’s the Nationals? Well, you’d be wrong. The Nats got a strong start Monday night from Josh Rogers and didn’t have to use up their A bullpen. The Braves, meanwhile, had to use up both of their potential candidates to start tonight’s game in long relief during the 11-2 blowout: Spencer Strider and Tucker Davidson.

That means Atlanta didn’t have anyone on the current staff to start tonight. So the club has called up Bryce Elder from Triple-A Gwinnett to make his major league debut. Elder, 22, was the Braves’ fifth-round pick in the 2020 draft (the same one in which the Nationals selected Cade Cavalli in the first round). It’s a fast track to the big leagues for the right-hander, but he went 11-5 with a 2.75 ERA and 155 strikeouts in 137 2/3 innings across three minor league affiliates last year.

The Nationals, on the other hand, have opening day starter Patrick Corbin back on the mound for his second outing of the season. Corbin looked quite good for three innings against the Mets on Thursday before faltering in the fourth and fifth. You’d hope he can keep up the stamina a little longer tonight, though he’s facing a Braves lineup that did plenty of damage against him last season: Corbin lost all three of his head-to-head starts with an unsightly 8.44 ERA.

As promised, Davey Martinez has Victor Robles back in the lineup after the center fielder got Monday’s series opener off. Lane Thomas, though, is on the bench despite a solid night at the plate, leaving left field open for Yadiel Hernandez, who has swung a good bat so far himself. And Lucius Fox, one of Sunday’s heroes, is back in the lineup at shortstop in place of Alcides Escobar (who is 1-for-15 with an unsightly seven strikeouts).

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ATLANTA BRAVES
Where: Truist Park
Gametime: 7:20 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 80 degrees, wind 9 mph in from right field

ATLANTA – Davey Martinez’s phone rang Monday morning. It was Mark Lerner calling. Calling to tell the manager of the Nationals he and his family are beginning to explore the possibility of bringing on new investors to own the franchise or potentially even sell it altogether.

“To say the least, I was shocked,” Martinez said.

Who had even stopped to consider the Lerner family, which purchased the franchise from Major League Baseball in 2006, might have any interest in selling it to someone else? Nobody in the organization had ever so much as suggested the possibility over the last 16 years.

The Lerners are from Washington, born and bred. They won out on an intense bidding contest to purchase the former Montreal Expos in large part because of their local connections and family business structure, two qualities that particularly stood out to former MLB commissioner Bud Selig.

How, then, did we get here all of a sudden?

ATLANTA – Six nights ago, the Nationals packed up all their belongings in West Palm Beach, Fla., and took their bus to the airport, ready to head north for opening day in D.C. One player remained in the complex at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches: Josh Rogers, who only a short while earlier learned he hadn’t made the club and now needed to get to Toledo to join Triple-A Rochester’s roster.

The demotion caught Rogers, and plenty of others around the organization, by surprise. Rogers himself was admittedly mad about the decision. But manager Davey Martinez told the left-hander he’d be the first starter called up if one was needed, so he needed to make sure he was ready to go at a moment’s notice.

“I think I would be lying if I said I wasn’t mad or down,” Rogers said. “I’m competitive and wanted to make the team, just like everybody else. It is what it is. Just take it and go to Triple-A and just do what I do and have a good attitude and turn the page. I was mad for 12 hours, then wake up the next day and it’s all about the process, and it’s part of it.”

How fitting was it, then, when only six nights later Rogers walked off the mound at Truist Park with one out in the bottom of the sixth, having just completed the best start by a member of the Nationals rotation to date, helping lead his team to an 11-2 rout of the Braves on the night they gave out replica World Series rings to a sellout crowd of 42,263.

Summoned from Rochester to replace the injured Aníbal Sánchez, Rogers didn’t sulk over his brief demotion. Instead he showed up to the park this afternoon full of his usual energy, then took the mound and rocked and rolled his way through 5 1/3 innings of two-hit ball against one of the toughest lineups in the league.

ATLANTA – Despite an at-times ragged performance this spring, Aníbal Sánchez made the Nationals’ opening day rotation. The club even put the 38-year-old, who signed a minor league deal right as camp was opening, on the 40-man roster.

Five days later, Sánchez is on the 10-day injured list before ever taking the mound for the Nats.

Unable to overcome the stiff neck that had been bothering him since he came north with his teammates on the charter flight from West Palm Beach last week, Sánchez couldn’t heal in time to start the season’s fifth game. So the Nationals today placed him on the IL with a cervical nerve impingement in his neck and recalled Josh Rogers from Triple-A Rochester to start tonight’s game against the Braves.

“It’s still bothering him a little bit, but it’s getting better every day,” manager Davey Martinez said. “With that being said, I saw him today and he’s still moving very gingerly. But he does say he feels better. He’s going to get treatment. Knowing Aníbal, he’s itching to get back out there and start throwing. But we want to make sure he’s healthy before he even attempts to start throwing.”

Martinez didn’t offer up a timetable for Sánchez’s return, but if it drags on at all, he may need to take extra time to build his arm back up after he reached the 90-pitch mark in his final spring outing before opening day.

ATLANTA – Hello from Truist Park here in unincorporated Cobb County, home of the 2021 World Series champions. The Nationals have arrived for their first road trip of the season, with three games coming up against the Braves before they head to Pittsburgh for four games this weekend.

They’ll open this series with Josh Rogers on the mound, not Aníbal Sánchez. Sánchez was officially placed on the 10-day injured list today with a cervical nerve impingement in his neck. We’ll find out shortly how severe that is and how long he might be out. Rogers, meanwhile, makes his season debut after getting optioned to Triple-A Rochester on the final day of spring training but never actually pitching for the Red Wings. It’s a tough assignment for the lefty, who is facing a very good Braves lineup.

The Nationals lineup includes Lane Thomas in center field for the first time this season, with Victor Robles on the bench for the second time in five games. Yadiel Hernandez, who has made solid contact and sparked Sunday’s game-winning rally with a leadoff single in the bottom of the eighth, gets the start in left field.

All of those guys will be going up against Atlanta No. 5 starter Huascar Ynoa, who you may best remember as one of the two opposing pitchers to hit a grand slam off the Nats last year. Good times.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ATLANTA BRAVES
Where: Truist Park
Gametime: 7:20 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 66 degrees, wind 8 mph in from right field