KANSAS CITY, Mo. – When it came to deciding who he would entrust to record the final outs required to defeat the Royals in a wild ballgame Friday night, Davey Martinez didn’t really have the chance to consider a multitude of options.

Kyle Finnegan wasn’t available after pitching each of the previous two nights. Same for Hunter Harvey. Andres Machado needed a night off after throwing 27 pitches Thursday. Thaddeus Ward also pitched in that game, and the rookie Rule 5 draft pick has yet to appear on back-to-back days this season. Mason Thompson, who threw 12 pitches Thursday, might have been available if absolutely necessary, but Martinez preferred to stay away from him as well.

So that left … who exactly in the Nationals bullpen?

Erasmo Ramirez had already entered in the seventh after Patrick Corbin loaded the bases and proceeded to allow Kansas City to score five runs without recording an out.

Carl Edwards Jr. had to pitch out of the seventh-inning mess Ramirez created, then return to at least start the eighth.

When Orioles executive vice president Mike Elias provided a media update for O’s reporters on Friday, of course, the trade deadline came up. And my question for Elias was are the Orioles well positioned to be aggressive at this deadline if they choose to be?

After all they do seem positioned very well, with the top-ranked farm system in the sport - one which is deep in top 100 prospects and other quality young talent. And a lower payroll creates flexibility to take on some salary should they choose to do that.

“We are definitely preparing all types of scenarios,” said Elias in the O’s dugout pregame Friday. “And they are buy scenarios. I just think the deadline, so much of it that is murky with me, is who the sellers will be? What will other teams try to do? What will the standings look like?

“These extra playoff spots seem to have really changed the landscape and dynamic and the balanced schedule (adds to that). You just see some weird stuff going on in each division compared to one another. So, it is really not clear to me what that is going to look like.

“So we’re just trying to get a clear sense of the type of players that might provide the biggest impact for us, where those players might be coming from. And trying to gauge any likelihood that any of these players might be on the market in some way, shape or form. And then working on the evaluations right now.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Luis García stepped to plate to begin the top of the sixth tonight at Kauffman Stadium, hoping to jumpstart a Nationals lineup that to that point had been shut down by, statistically, the worst pitcher in the major leagues. He promptly doubled to deep left.

Some 19 minutes later, García was back at the plate, batting for the second time in an inning that had now turned into one of the Nats’ best sustained rallies of the season. He promptly doubled down the left field line again, this time driving in two runs.

In becoming the first player in club history to record two doubles in the same inning, then later becoming only the second player in club history to record six hits in a game, García became the focal point of an eight-run rally that propelled the Nationals to what should’ve been an easy victory against a Royals team that owns the second-worst record in the majors.

Instead, the Nats needed every one of the eight runs they scored in the sixth – not to mention the three they added in the eighth – to escape with a wild, 12-10 victory that got way too close for comfort when Erasmo Ramirez imploded in the bottom of the seventh, spoiling what would’ve been a quality start by Patrick Corbin.

"It feels great, especially when my teammates are battling every at-bat," García said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. "We never got down at all, stayed focused and battled every at-bat. It's a great feeling."

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Ten months removed from elbow surgery, Sean Doolittle will begin pitching in competitive games again. For now, that will still be at the minor league level.

Doolittle is scheduled to join the bullpen at High-A Wilmington and make his season debut Saturday, Nationals manager Davey Martinez said. It will be the left-hander’s first actual game appearance since April 19, 2022, when he suffered a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament in a win over the Diamondbacks.

Doolittle spent the next several months attempting to return without surgery, hoping to make it back for the season’s second half. But when the elbow pain returned during bullpen sessions, he opted to go under the knife.

Rather than have the more invasive Tommy John surgery, which would’ve knocked him out for 12 to 18 months, Doolittle decided to go with an internal brace procedure, a relatively new option for pitchers in which the damaged ligament is wrapped and strengthened instead of replaced altogether.

Doolittle had that surgery done in July, and at the time hoped it would allow him to be ready for the start of the 2023 season. But his timeline was slowed during spring training, and the Nationals shut him down and had him start the rehab process all over again in late March.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The nicest thing about Major League Baseball’s new schedule this season is that it allows every team from one league to play every team from the other league every year, alternating between a home series one year and a road series the next. For the Nationals, that means road trips to some places they haven’t visited much in the past, and Kansas City is high on that list.

The Nats have played at Kauffman Stadium only twice in club history. In August 2013, they took two of three from the Royals, the lone loss coming when Craig Stammen allowed two runs in the bottom of the eighth. And in May 2016, they also took two of three from the Royals, the lone loss coming thanks to a blown save by Jonathan Papelbon in the bottom of the ninth. Now the Nationals are back here, facing a Kansas City team that would have the worst record in the majors if not for the sham that is the 2023 Oakland Athletics.

Tonight’s pitching matchup is a doozy: Patrick Corbin vs. Jordan Lyles, owners of the two highest ERAs in baseball from 2020-22 (minimum 400 innings pitched). The good news for the Nats: Corbin has turned things around this season, with six quality starts in his last seven outings. Lyles, meanwhile, continues to be one of the worst pitchers in baseball, entering tonight a staggering 0-8 record with a 7.15 ERA. His biggest problem (and it’s certainly something Corbin can relate to): He has surrendered a league-leading 14 homers in 56 2/3 innings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Where: Kauffman Stadium
Gametime: 8:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 74 degrees, wind 12 mph in from right field

NATIONALS
RF Lane Thomas
2B Luis García
DH Joey Meneses
3B Jeimer Candelario
LF Corey Dickerson
C Keibert Ruiz
1B Dominic Smith
CF Alex Call
SS CJ Abrams

The Nationals’ clutch hits have come in bunches. Either they get a lot or none at all.

And their bullpen hasn’t always been clutch. Either its lockdown or shaky.

For the first half of today’s finale against the Padres, it looked like it was going to be one of those games where they would get neither. But then the script flipped in the seventh inning, as the Nats put up five runs to take a 6-5 lead and the relievers kept that way for Kyle Finnegan and Hunter Harvey in the eighth and ninth.

Finnegan made it through his inning clean. But Harvey, seeking his third save of the season, couldn’t close out the victory.

Facing the Padres’ 2-3-4 hitters, Harvey gave up back-to-back singles to Jake Cronenworth and Juan Soto (who finished the day 1-for-1 with four walks). Harvey was able to then strike out the next two batters, but then served up a three-run home run to Rougned Odor on a 99 mph fastball that ended up just inside the right field foul pole.

The Nationals have had a rough go to the start of the season in terms of opposing starting pitchers. They’re facing left-handed starters at a higher rate than usual, which early on led to some inconsistencies in their lineup constructions.

When the Nats face the Padres’ Blake Snell in this afternoon’s series finale, it will be their 19th time in their first 50 games facing an opposing lefty starter. That’s almost a 40 percent rate, unusually high over the first two months of the season, with possibly more on the way.

“Yes,” manager Davey Martinez answered during his pregame media session when asked if this amount of opposing left-handed starters is unusual. “We've seen a lot of lefties. I think we'll get another one too in Kansas City. So yeah, we have seen quite a bit of lefties. But the thing about it is our left-handed hitters are not doing bad against them, it's kind of nice.”

It’s almost ironic that the Nationals have faced this many southpaws to start the year. Over the offseason, the focus was on acquiring a left-handed-hitting corner outfielder and possibly a backup lefty first baseman to fill out the roster. They were able to get both and then some.

Corey Dickerson was the left corner outfielder and Dominic Smith was the starting left-handed first baseman, allowing Joey Meneses to shift to designated hitter full time. Add switch-hitter Jeimer Candelario and the Nats could actually have more lefty bats than righty in their lineup on a given night.

For a team that doesn’t hit for a lot of power but has more than a few fast players in the lineup on a regular basis, the Nationals really haven’t run that much this season.

They rank 25th in the majors in stolen bases. They’re 19th in FanGraphs’ overall team baserunning metric.

The Nats did run more than they usually do Wednesday night against the Padres. And in nearly every instance, it paid off and helped carry them to their 5-3 victory.

“We want to play our game,” manager Davey Martinez said. “If a chance arises to do some things, we’re going to try to push the envelope a little bit and do it. These guys are all ready for it. As soon as they get on first base, they’re looking at me: ‘I’m ready, I’m ready!’ Under some circumstances, we can. And today was one of those where we could push the envelope a little bit.”

The Nationals had two stolen bases in the game, one by Luis Garcia, one by CJ Abrams. But that doesn’t tell the full story. Abrams’ seventh-inning steal actually turned into a two-baser when San Diego catcher Brett Sullivan’s throw wound up in shallow center field.

While MacKenzie Gore’s laborious start Tuesday night – three runs, seven hits, four walks, 103 pitches in 4 2/3 innings – put the Nationals in a rough position, the young lefty wasn’t the pitcher of record in a 7-4 loss to the Padres. That distinction went to Erasmo Ramírez, who was charged with four runs in one-plus innings of relief, a ragged outing by the veteran right-hander to say the least.

Ramírez, such a bright spot in 2022, continues to struggle in 2023. He now owns a 5.18 ERA and 1.397 WHIP in 19 appearances. Opponents are batting .300 off him.

“It’s tough as a pitcher, no matter what, starting or relieving, every time you go to the mound you just want to do the best you can,” said the 33-year-old, who finished with a 2.92 ERA and 1.077 WHIP in 60 games last season. “And when things don’t come out right, you know you have to try to forget it and move on, execute better and work on stuff.”

Ramírez has struggled, to be sure. But the fact he was even pitching in that particular situation Tuesday night says more about the current state of the Nationals bullpen as a whole. In short, it’s not in a great state at the moment.

When Gore’s pitch count crossed into triple-digit territory, manager Davey Martinez decided to pull his starter with two on and two out in the fifth. He summoned Andrés Machado, who did a nice job to strike out pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter and prevent either inherited runner to score.

When Juan Soto takes the field at Nationals Park tonight in a Padres uniform, it will still sting for any number of people who still have a hard time fathoming the 24-year-old slugger wearing anything other than a curly W on his head.

It might, however, sting a little less if MacKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams do their part to lift the home team to victory, reminding all those suffering souls why Soto was traded in the first place and why the Nationals could emerge from the wreckage in a better place when it’s all said and done.

This isn’t Soto’s first trip back to D.C. That already happened last August, only 10 days after he was dealt to San Diego along with Josh Bell for six players, five of them promising young prospects. The emotions were still raw at that time, and the image of perhaps the greatest player in Nats history coming up to bat against them was tough for everyone to take.

The passage of time eases some of the pain. But perhaps even more than that, the emergence of the first two of the prospects acquired in the trade at the big league level helps make it far more tolerable. No, neither Gore nor Abrams has come close yet to matching Soto’s status. But each has offered up enough this season to make you believe stardom is on the horizon.

Gore, in particular, has stood out. Unable to make his Nationals debut last season because he was still recovering from an elbow injury in August and September, he’s now nine starts into his Nats career. And the results, while erratic, have been overwhelmingly positive in the big picture.

Lane Thomas knows his reputation. He’s been a streaky hitter ever since arriving in Washington at the 2021 trade deadline.

It really became noticeable last season, one that saw Thomas finish with a .705 OPS but only after experiencing the following month-by-month roller coaster: .496, .661, .864, .587, .775, .724. So the Nationals right fielder vowed to try to be more consistent this year, recognizing the importance of avoiding the long streaks (good or bad) that had come to define him.

And how has he done with that? Well, the .629 OPS he posted in April followed by the .944 mark he has delivered so far in May suggests he’s on his way to another roller-coaster season.

Unless Thomas can capture what he’s done this month and sustain something like it throughout the summer and into the fall. Which, of course, is easier said than done.

“I feel like I’m trying to be a little more consistent this year,” he said. “That’s something I wanted to focus on: What got me into a streak? I felt like I was a little streaky. I’d get a few hits one series last year, and then no hits. I’m just trying to be more consistent in approach and with at-bats late in games. Hopefully that’s paying off a little bit and I can keep doing it.”

Luis García’s day off Saturday was somewhat significant, though hardly big news. But when García’s name again wasn’t in the Nationals’ lineup for today’s series finale against the Tigers, it raised eyebrows.

Is the Nats second baseman hurt? Is he being benched for lack of performance?

“No,” manager Davey Martinez said this morning. “I had a conversation with him. This is just kind of a reset for him.”

García certainly merited a break after starting 21 consecutive games and appearing in 33 straight games since missing four days with a tight hamstring early last month.

More than that, Martinez noticed the 23-year-old showing signs of pressing in recent days. García was 1-for-11 with five strikeouts over his last three games. He also committed his first error of the season during Friday night’s loss, a costly mistake that prolonged the top of the third inning for starter Jake Irvin, who wound up not even completing the inning.

TORONTO – The Orioles got a weekend’s worth of solid outings from their starting rotation and right-hander Dean Kremer joined the party today at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. But with a couple of key relievers not expected to pitch today, could the O’s bullpen hold a late lead without Yennier Cano and Felix Bautista?

They took a 2-1 lead to the last of the seventh, and after many missed chances earlier, Toronto did tie it up as reliever Mychal Givens made his season debut. He issued a leadoff walk and a bloop single followed. He would minimize the damage, but with one down, Matt Chapman's sac fly tied the game 2-2.

This game would go extra innings for the second day in a row in this series and the 2023 Orioles pulled out another one. With one amazing half inning. 

Each team scored in the tenth and then the Orioles plated five runs in the top of the 11th to record an impressive 8-3 win and a series sweep. They won on a day they could not use their entire bullpen and on a day they could not hold two one-run leads. 

The Orioles (31-16) recorded their first three-game sweep at Toronto since doing that April 22-24, 2005.

Much as major league managers wish it wasn’t so, the path to victory on any given day isn’t always going to be a straight one. The Nationals made life easy on Davey Martinez during Saturday’s low-drama win over the Tigers, getting a quality start from Patrick Corbin and clutch hits from the lineup to take the lead, allowing the skipper to use his traditional bullpen alignment late to close it out.

This afternoon did not afford Martinez such luxuries. Though the Nationals stormed out of the gates to take a five-run lead and ultimately rapped out 18 hits, they still needed several escape acts from their top relievers – some of them in unfamiliar roles – to emerge with a 6-4 win over Detroit.

In order to capture this weekend series, the Nats not only needed home runs from backups Riley Adams and Ildemaro Vargas, plus another four-hit game from Jeimer Candelario against his former team. They needed Josiah Gray to gut his way through five innings of one-run ball despite six walks. And then they needed Kyle Finnegan (owner of nine saves) to pitch out of a jam in the sixth and return for the seventh, ultimately setting up Carl Edwards Jr. and Hunter Harvey to close out perhaps the weirdest win of the season.

"It was definitely weird," Martinez said. "We did some things just to get out of some jams."

Edward, Harvey and Finnegan each pitched Saturday, in that order, with Finnegan earning his ninth save of the season in a 5-2 victory. Not 24 hours later, Martinez was summoning Finnegan out of the bullpen to clean up a sixth-inning jam created by Andres Machado, then asking him to return for the seventh as well.

TORONTO – The Orioles six-game AL East road trip is off to a great start. They have posted 6-2 and 6-5 wins in 10 innings at Toronto and they can sweep this series this afternoon at Rogers Centre.

In the 2018 season, the Orioles went 0-10 at Rogers Centre and that was not even against a winning Toronto team. While the Orioles went 47-115 that year, Toronto was 73-89.

This has just been a tough place for the Orioles to win over the years and today Baltimore (30-16) begins to play five games ahead of Toronto (25-21) in the standings.

The O’s win Saturday was another comeback win as Ryan O’Hearn’s three-run homer in the eighth tied the game at 5-5 and Félix Bautista fanned five over the last two innings to get the win. Baltimore starter Grayson Rodriguez allowed two runs and four hits over five innings. And O’s starters have allowed nine hits and three runs in 12 innings this series. The O’s offense has scored 12 runs, hitting five homers this weekend.

The Orioles did not pick up their 30^th win until Game 68 last year on June 19 when the club was 30-38.

The Nationals ended a four-game losing streak Saturday with a solid, 5-2 victory over the Tigers. They’d love to make it two in a row today and take the weekend series in the process.

The Nats have Josiah Gray on the mound, and that usually means they’re going to have an excellent chance of winning. The right-hander really has become their most reliable starter, having allowed three or fewer runs in each of his eight starts since his rough season opener and two or fewer runs in all but one of those starts. He’s also completed seven innings each of the last two times he’s pitched, further evidence of his growth since last year.

The Nationals have faced a bunch of lefties recently, and they get another one today in Detroit’s Joey Wentz. The 25-year-old impressed as a rookie last season, posting a 3.03 ERA and 1.102 WHIP in the first seven starts of his career. He’s been far less successful so far this season, with a 6.38 ERA and 1.445 WHIP through eight starts. Strangely enough, Wentz’s strikeout and walk rates have remained almost the same. The biggest difference from last year: He’s giving up a lot more hits, especially home runs (seven in only 36 2/3 innings).

Davey Martinez is going with a different look in his lineup this afternoon. Stone Garrett will bat cleanup against the lefty, and Riley Adams is giving Keibert Ruiz a well-deserved day off. But the most notable difference is that both CJ Abrams and Luis García are on the bench (García for the second straight day). So it’s Ildemaro Vargas and Michael Chavis up the middle of the infield.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. DETROIT TIGERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 74 degrees, wind 11 mph in from left field

TORONTO - The Orioles are getting a reinforcement today for their heavily-used bullpen as right-hander Mychal Givens has been activated as the Orioles try to sweep Toronto today at Rogers Centre. Givens has not pitched in an O's game since March 16 in spring training.

But today he comes off the 15-day injured list - he's been out with left knee inflammation. To make roster room lefty Cole Irvin was optioned back to Triple-A Norfolk. Recalled Tuesday from the Tides, Irvin pitched just once since his return to the club and that was in yesterday's 6-5 Orioles win in 10 innings. 

He faced two batters in the seventh inning, allowing an inherited run on an RBI single to Alejandro Kirk and he got a popout to the infield from Matt Chapman. He threw just seven pitches.

With Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista having pitched in both games of this series and very likely not available today, the O's are short in the bullpen today and enter Givens to provide a lift.

Orginailly drafted by the Orioles as a high school shortstop out of Tampa, Fla. in the second round in 2009, he was later converted to pitcher. The O's traded him on Aug. 30, 2020 to Colorado in a deal that brought the club Terrin Vavra, Tyler Nevin and a player to be named later that became minor league outfielder Mishael Deson.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

- Reinstated RHP Mychal Givens from the 15-day Injured List (left knee inflammation).

- Optioned LHP Cole Irvin to Triple-A Norfolk.

The Orioles finish their series in Toronto this afternoon, enjoy an off-day in New York before playing three games at Yankee Stadium, and don’t return home until Friday, when infielder Ramón Urías hopes to be reinstated from the injured list with the Rangers in town.

Scouts will be watching. Never too early to file reports that could spur a trade or at least initiate talks. And the group will grow in the coming months,

A veteran scout who’s familiar with the Orioles said recently that the infield defense without Urías “is not the same.”

Further evidence that Urías’ value can’t be overstated.

Perhaps a silver lining to losing a Gold Glove winner is the regular starts that Gunnar Henderson is receiving at third base.

The Washington Nationals reinstated right-handed pitcher Chad Kuhl from the 15-day Injured List and optioned right-handed pitcher Hobie Harris to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Kuhl, 30, returns after being placed on the Injured List on May 1 with right foot metatarsalgia. Prior to being placed on the Injured List, he appeared in five games, going 0-2 with a 9.41 ERA. 

For his career, Kuhl is 31-43 with a 4.92 ERA in 132 games (116 starts) across seven Major League seasons with Washington (2023), Colorado (2022) and Pittsburgh (2016-21). He’s made 16 appearances out of the bullpen in his career, going 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA.

Harris, 29, posted a 5.40 ERA in 15 games out of the bullpen in his first Major League season.