It’s been a long, often frustrating weekend at Nationals Park. And yet, there’s still a chance for the home team to emerge with an encouraging end result.

If the Nationals can win today’s finale of their four-game, wraparound series with the Mets, they’ll have continued their trend of playing .500 baseball over an extended stretch. They would split the series and improve to 17-17 since their 1-6 start to the season. Nothing to complain about there, right?

They’re going to need to do more in the clutch today than they did yesterday, when CJ Abrams drove in all four of their runs across 16 innings of play while the rest of the team went 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position. They won’t be facing Max Scherzer today; it’s left-hander David Peterson, who enters with a 1-5 record and 7.68 ERA.

Speaking of 1-5 records, Patrick Corbin starts for the Nats. That record isn’t entirely indicative of how he’s pitched. Over his last five starts, the lefty has a 3.56 ERA, 1.088 WHIP and 21 strikeouts to only three walks. And yet he’s gone 0-3 in those games, with the Nationals winning his two no-decisions.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 75 degrees, wind 8 mph out to center field

Not that Mason Thompson truly expected to dominate to such a dramatic extent all season, but the Nationals reliever had every reason to believe he was capable of continuing to pitch at a high level all year long after a brilliant April.

In his first 10 appearances of the season, Thompson sported an 0.96 ERA, 0.589 WHIP and a staggering 17-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Then came a three-inning save at Citi Field on April 25, a milestone moment for the Nationals right-hander cause for concern for anyone worried about the health of the 25-year-old’s arm. And sure enough, in six appearances since, Thompson has been roughed up. He’s given up runs in five of those six outings. He’s allowed a whopping 15 batters to reach base in only 3 2/3 innings of work. He’s walked as many batters (four) as he’s struck out.

What happened?

“I’m just not getting the ball where I need to get it right now,” Thompson said Sunday after his latest rough appearance in the Nationals’ 8-2 loss to the Mets. “Just leaving too many pitches over the plate, and they’re taking advantage of it.”

Against all odds, today’s game at Nationals Park began on time, with Trevor Williams getting Brandon Nimmo to fly out on his very first pitch at 4:05 p.m., only a few minutes after a steady rain began to fall from the sky.

The intensity of that rain only increased over the ensuing 38 minutes as the Nats took a 1-0 lead, then as the Mets put two runners on base with one out in the top of the third. At that point, with the infield soaked and outfielders unable to get any kind of solid footing chasing down fly balls, crew chief Paul Emmel finally called for the grounds crew to roll out the tarp, putting the game into a rain delay.

More than two hours later, the rain had stopped, the tarp was pulled and the grounds crew furiously got to work prepping that previously soaked infield. And kept prepping. And kept prepping. Never to the satisfaction of those who had the final say on whether or not to resume the game.

And then, finally, nearly four hours into the delay, the announcement was made: The field could not be made playable again, so the game was suspended, the Nationals still leading 1-0, both starting pitchers having long since run out of time to return.

They’ll now have to resume the game from this point at 12:35 p.m. Sunday, with only tickets from today’s game accepted. They’ll then have to play Sunday’s originally scheduled 1:35 p.m. game, now moved to 4:35 p.m. Fans holding those tickets can only attend the later game.

His stay here this time could be potentially very short and he is not on the active roster, but infielder Joey Ortiz, one of the Orioles' top 100 prospects, is in the clubhouse today. He is on the taxi squad for tonight’s game with Pittsburgh.

Acting manager Fredi González - working as skipper of the Orioles tonight while Brandon Hyde attends the graduation of his daughter Aria from Syracuse University - explained the situation.

González said reserve outfielder Ryan McKenna is dealing with a back issue. The Orioles are hoping he will not need to go on in the injured list, but if that changes, and with a day game on Sunday, Ortiz is here just in case. It's essentially a 24-hour taxi squad role while the O's gather more info on McKenna.

Earlier today, Ortiz said it’s a thrill to be back in the O’s clubhouse in any role.

“Yeah, it’s great," he said. "Everyone is playing well. They’re winning, and it’s definitely something I want to be part of.”

Bullpens are an ever-evolving beast, even in good times. Few relievers hold a single role from Opening Day through Game 162, aside from a handful of the most established closers in the sport.

This has already proven the case for the Nationals, who only a few weeks ago seemed to have established a bullpen hierarchy but have since been forced to mix and match on a nightly basis while manager Davey Martinez tries to find the right combination late in close games.

“Honestly, it’s basically right now the matchups we’re looking at more than anything,” Martinez said this afternoon, prior to the Nats’ game against the Mets.

It wasn’t like that not long ago. Martinez had pretty much stuck with a plan that included Mason Thompson setting up Hunter Harvey for the eighth inning and setting up Kyle Finnegan for the ninth inning. But Thompson, after a dominant April, has hit a rough spot since, getting scored upon in four of his last five appearances. Finnegan, meanwhile, hasn’t enjoyed a clean inning since April 27, and he hasn’t pitched at all since blowing a save exactly one week ago in Arizona.

Add in some recent struggles from Carl Edwards Jr., who took the loss Friday night in relief of MacKenzie Gore, and what looked like a real club strength a few weeks ago now looks far less stable.

It’s not exactly a beautiful day for baseball in the nation’s capital. Rain is expected all afternoon, so there’s a reasonable chance the second game of his four-game series between the Nationals and Mets doesn’t start on time. Will it be played at all today? Well, according to my sources (aka the same weather app all of you use), it’s supposed to rain from 2-7 p.m., then clear up after that. So, this late-afternoon game could very well turn into a night game. Stay tuned.

The Nats are looking to bounce back from a tough, one-run loss Friday night in which their starter lasted only four innings. They’ll need more than that from Trevor Williams, who faces his former team for the second time this season. Williams wasn’t great two weeks ago at Citi Field, allowing four runs on nine hits in five innings. The Nationals could sure use a more efficient outing from the right-hander today.

Williams was opposed that night by Joey Lucchesi, and he’ll again be opposed by the Mets left-hander today. The Nats got to Lucchesi for three runs in 5 1/3 innings, with Alex Call homering. Call is batting fifth today, ahead of Dominic Smith, Jeimer Candelario and Stone Garrett (who gets the nod in left field).

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: Rain, 68 degrees, wind 9 mph in from left field

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

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• Optioned LHP Drew Rom to Triple-A Norfolk after yesterday's game.

SAN FRANCISCO – Riley Adams doesn’t find himself in this position very often, greeted by teammates in the dugout after launching a three-run homer, so why wouldn’t the Nationals’ backup catcher crack a wide smile and don the colonial wig that has become this team’s new home run celebration?

“Just to be able to drive in some runs in that situation with two outs and help my team, that’s all that mattered there,” he said following the Nats’ 11-6 thumping of the Giants on Wednesday. “It’s pretty cool to see them, and it’s my first time putting on a wig in a while, so I was happy about that.”

Celebration opportunities are few and far between for Adams, because playing time is few and far between. This was the Nationals’ 37th game of the season, but it was only his sixth game played despite being on the active roster since Opening Day.

Such is life for the No. 2 catcher on a team that recently locked up its No. 1 catcher with an eight-year extension. Adams, though, is fine with the role. As are others on the Nationals bench who understand their job isn’t to get regular at-bats. It’s to be ready and make sure to make the most of the few at-bats they do get.

“I know my role. I’ve known my role from the get-go, from the start of the season,” backup infielder Ildemaro Vargas said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “So I have to be prepared. I work off the field a lot more than most of the guys, because I have to be ready.”

SAN FRANCISCO – CJ Abrams had been in the midst of a sustained run of excellence in the field. He hadn’t committed an error in 12 games. He had converted all 10 chances he had in the field Monday night, including teaming up with Luis García to turn four double plays in the Nationals’ victory over the Giants.

And then came Tuesday night’s game at Oracle Park, in which Abrams struggled on the very first batted ball of the evening and never looked fully comfortable after that.

Abrams was charged with an error when he bounced a low throw to first on Austin Slater’s leadoff grounder to short. One inning later, he bounced another throw to first on Brett Wisely’s chopper up the middle and initially was charged with an error, though the official scorer later changed it to a hit because the ball took a weird hop off second base before Abrams could cleanly field it.

There were more shaky throws throughout the game, though, Abrams spared from being charged with any more errors thanks to Dominic Smith’s clean picks at first base.

It all made for a strange evening for the young Nationals shortstop, who just never seemed to be able to make a good, solid throw across the diamond.

SAN FRANCISCO – There were moments tonight when the Nationals seemed to be on Logan Webb. They did, after all, rap out nine hits off the Giants ace and present themselves with a number of golden opportunities in the early innings at Oracle Park.

And then there were moments tonight when it seemed like Webb had the Nats eating out of his hand. Especially when facing the inexperienced bottom of this lineup, which was no match for the right-hander’s assortment of sinkers, changeups and sliders.

In the end, there were more of those frustrating moments than the promising ones for the Nationals, who managed only one run off Webb and were left to suffer a 4-1 loss to San Francisco in the second game of this week’s series by the bay.

Continuing a semi-recurring theme through the season’s first six weeks, the Nats hit a bunch of singles to give themselves a chance. But they could not take advantage of those opportunities, going 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, including 0-for-7 in the game’s first three innings alone.

"We had traffic all day; we couldn't get that big hit," manager Davey Martinez said. "(Webb) got tough. Guys were on base, he threw some really good changeups, mixed in his two-seamer. He got really tough with guys on base."

SAN FRANCISCO – Though they aren’t making any declarations about the long-term plan with Jake Irvin, the Nationals aren’t about to remove the rookie right-hander from the rotation after his dominant performance Monday night.

Irvin, who shut out the Giants over 6 1/3 impressive innings, will at least take his next turn in the rotation, which should come up Sunday against the Mets at Nationals Park.

“As of right now, I would say he’ll get that start again,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I think he’s earned that. And then after that, we’ll see where we’re at.”

Martinez was careful not to pronounce any plans beyond that, but with Chad Kuhl still making his way back from a foot injury, the job appears to be Irvin’s for at least a while longer.

The Nationals’ biggest concern with Irvin may not be his performance but his workload. After missing the 2021 season following Tommy John surgery, he was held to 103 1/3 innings over 24 minor league starts last year.

SAN FRANCISCO – Don’t look now, but the Nationals have won 10 of their last 17. They’re 15-20 overall. They’re one game behind the Phillies, 1 1/2 games behind the Marlins, two games behind the Mets. Sure, it’s still early May, and there’s a whole lot that can still go wrong (or right), but this is unquestionably a better position than almost anyone envisioned this team being in at this moment.

The Nats will look to keep the good vibes rolling tonight in the middle game of this series against the Giants, hoping Patrick Corbin can pick up where he left off last time out. In far and away his best start in a long time, Corbin carried a one-hit shutout into the eighth inning against the Cubs before finally fading. He did so by pounding the strike zone, tunneling his fastball and slider to make them look the same coming out of his hand and keeping the opposing hitters off balance.

The Nationals would love to give Corbin an early lead like they did for Jake Irvin on Monday night. They’ll see what they can do against veteran Giants right-hander Logan Webb, trotting out the same lineup as the series opener with one notable exception: Jake Alu makes his major league debut, batting ninth and starting in left field.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Where: Oracle Park
Gametime: 9:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 57 degrees, wind 16 mph out to center field

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

SAN FRANCISCO – Hits are coming in bunches for Luis García right now. The Nationals will happily take them from their young second baseman.

With a 2-for-5 showing Monday night during the Nats’ 5-1 win over the Giants, García continued a torrid week at the plate. He’s now 10-for-18 on this West Coast road trip, having produced multiple hits in each of the team’s four games to date.

García’s offensive surge has actually been going on longer than that, though. On the morning of April 27, he sported a weak .209/.260/.328 slash line, leaving him with a paltry .589 OPS. In 12 games since, he has slashed a robust .378/.408/.556, raising his season OPS to .739. That actually ranks tops among all active regulars in the Nationals lineup through 35 games.

What changed?

“I changed a little bit; I raised my hands a little bit, and that’s helped,” García said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “But to be honest, I think it’s just the work. Putting in the work to maintain my focus out there every at-bat. I’m going to keep working and keep my focus the same as it’s always out there on every at-bat.”

SAN FRANCISCO – Victor Robles officially went on the 10-day injured list with back spasms today, leaving the Nationals without their starting center fielder and leaving the club with only three true outfielders for now.

Robles hurt himself sliding into second base on a stolen base attempt Saturday night in Arizona. He sat out Sunday’s game, and because it didn’t appear he’d be ready to return in short order the club decided to place him on the IL and bring in another healthy position player.

“He came in today, got treatment, still feeling the same,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I’m sure it’s going to take him a few days before he really feels better, and then we’ll go from there.”

The healthy player added is Jake Alu, the 26-year-old utility man who was promoted from Triple-A Rochester and will be making his major league debut once he steps on the field. Alu, who was batting .247 with four doubles, two homers and 10 RBIs in 21 games for Rochester, is a natural infielder who has been seeing some action in the outfield as he tries to prep himself for a potential career as a versatile bench player in the big leagues.

With only three true outfielders – Stone Garrett, Alex Call, Lane Thomas – on the active roster now, Martinez will have to get creative. Martinez said Call will be the starting center fielder in Robles’ absence, with Thomas remaining in right field. Garrett is starting in left field tonight, but Joey Meneses, Ildemaro Vargas and Alu all could see time there as well until the rest of the roster gets healthy.

SAN FRANCISCO – After a wild weekend in Arizona, what’s in store for the Nationals here in San Francisco? Oracle Park isn’t exactly a home run haven, so they may not want to count on hitting ninth-inning bombs again this week. But with all the room out there in the gaps, this could be a big series for doubles and triples.

Jake Irvin takes the ball for his second career start, having acquitted himself well in his debut against the Cubs. Irvin will need to be a bit more efficient this time around and try to avoid the four walks he issued last time out. He would also do well not to plunk the Giants’ leadoff man on his very first pitch.

The Nationals go up against veteran right-hander Anthony DeSclafani, who has been quite good so far this season. He enters 3-1 with a 2.13 ERA and a ridiculous 30-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in six starts. He tossed eight scoreless innings in Houston last time out, which of course is no small feat.

As Davey Martinez revealed after Sunday’s game, the Nats have made a roster move: Victor Robles officially was placed on the 10-day injured list today with back spasms, with utility man Jake Alu promoted from Triple-A Rochester for the first time in his career. With Robles sidelined, expect to see a lot of Alex Call in center field and Stone Garrett in left field, but we’ll see if Alu or Ildemaro Vargas get any time in the outfield as well.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Where: Oracle Park
Gametime: 9:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 57 degrees, wind 14 mph out to center field

PHOENIX – The message from Bryan Harvey was already on his son’s phone, waiting for him when he arrived back in the Nationals clubhouse following Sunday’s dramatic, 9-8 win over the Diamondbacks.

“He already texted me and said I’m 176 behind him,” Hunter Harvey said with a laugh.

It’s a message Bryan Harvey surely had been waiting to send for years, and one Hunter Harvey had been waiting to receive for years. Though he was originally drafted by the Orioles a decade ago as a starter, injuries derailed the right-hander’s chances of making it to the majors in that role.

Harvey became a full-time reliever in 2019, profiling as an obvious future closer because of his ability to throw a baseball 100 mph. But not until Sunday did he actually find himself on the mound in the ninth inning with his team leading by three or fewer runs.

Harvey found himself in that spot because Kyle Finnegan had blown the save Saturday night, giving up a game-tying homer and then walking in the winning run during his fourth appearance in five days. With Finnegan unavailable Sunday due to that heavy workload, manager Davey Martinez opted to give Harvey the opportunity to notch his first career save, should the situation arise.

PHOENIX – The way it happened Saturday night, with a five-run rally in the top of the ninth wiped out by disaster in the bottom of the ninth, it felt like a soul-crushing development for the Nationals. The kind of loss that sits with a team for days.

That does not, however, appear to be the character of this particular team. Because when presented with an opportunity to do the exact same thing this afternoon at Chase Field, the Nationals once again stormed back, getting a titanic, three-run homer from Joey Meneses in the top of the ninth to take the lead.

And this time, they turned to Hunter Harvey to close out a scintillating, 9-8 victory over the Diamondbacks.

"These guys have got a bunch of heart," manager Davey Martinez said. "They're playing together. They feel like they're never out of it, and today's another good example. They fought back and put up some big numbers again."

Taking over for Kyle Finnegan as closer, at least for the day, Harvey pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to secure the win and the long-awaited first save of his injury-plagued career.

PHOENIX – The Nationals don’t have either Victor Robles or Jeimer Candelario in their lineup for today’s series finale against the Diamondbacks, the former dealing with a stiff back that knocked him out of Saturday night’s game, the latter still recovering from the bout of dehydration that landed him in the hospital Friday night.

Robles hurt himself sliding into second base on a stolen base attempt in the third inning Saturday, though he remained in the game until the following inning when Alex Call stepped in to pinch-hit for him.

Manager Davey Martinez didn’t want to take a chance putting Robles right back in the lineup today, not wanting to let a back issue get any worse for a player who runs as much as the speedy center fielder does.

“It’s definitely going to be a little bit of a concern, because of the way he plays the game,” Martinez said. “He came in here, he got treatment, he’s going to get some more treatment. We’ll keep an eye on him, and hopefully it gets better. And if it doesn’t, we’ll have to think about something else, maybe another day. I’ll talk to the trainers throughout the day and see how he’s doing.”

Candelario began to feel poor late during Friday’s game, then felt “weird” while he was showering after the game. He was treated by paramedics and was taken to a local hospital for overnight evaluation, but doctors ruled anything more serious than dehydration.

PHOENIX – The Nationals once again find themselves needing to win a series finale to avoid a three-game sweep. This is the fifth time already this season it’s happened, but the good news is they’re 3-1 in such matchups, having beaten the Braves, Guardians and Pirates. Only the ridiculously hot Rays managed to pull off a three-game sweep against them.

So they’ll try to make it 4-1 this afternoon when they face the Diamondbacks one last time at Chase Field, this time with the roof closed. The dry air has been good for a power-starved lineup: Luis García, Keibert Ruiz and Lane Thomas have all homered in this series. Unfortunately, Arizona also has hit three homers, including Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s game-tying blast to lead off the bottom of the ninth Saturday night.

We’ll have to see if Kyle Finnegan is used as closer again today, should the situation present itself. Davey Martinez certainly has an easy out if he wants to sit Finnegan, citing the four games in five days he has pitched. Would he instead go to Hunter Harvey, who has had two days off after pitching back-to-back-to-back days, for his first career save? Stay tuned.

Trevor Williams gets the start, and the right-hander will be looking to pick up right where he left off Tuesday night when he tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings against the Cubs at Nationals Park. He’s opposed by Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson, who in six starts this season owns a 6.39 ERA and 1.516 WHIP.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Where: Chase Field
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Roof closed

PHOENIX – A lot happened during Saturday night’s game, a wild 8-7 loss to the Diamondbacks. The Nationals got nine strikeouts from MacKenzie Gore in six innings. They pulled off a five-run rally in the top of the ninth, four of those runs scoring with two outs. They gave it back in the bottom of the ninth when Kyle Finnegan retired only one of the six batters he faced.

There were other developments of note, as well. And those shouldn’t be ignored as you process everything that took place in this highly eventful ballgame …

* Keibert Ruiz snapped out of his slump in a big way.

The young catcher insisted Friday night he wouldn’t hang his head after striking out three times and seeing his slump extend to 0-for-16. He made good on that promise Saturday, delivering a two-run double in the fourth and then a towering homer to lead off the ninth.

These were important swings for Ruiz. Not simply because of the results, but because of the authority with which he connected for those hits. His double carried an exit velocity of 106.4 mph. His homer was actually a bit lower, at 104.7 mph. He even made loud contact on a second-inning groundout to short, a ball that left his bat at 99.7 mph.