Just 15 games into the season and the Orioles are setting a blistering pace for slugging and home runs. The Orioles 2023 HR total is in the top 5 of the American League. Led by Ryan Mountcastle and Adley Rutschman, the birds have been belting it out of the park regularly. And that pace could continue. The Birds will soon be facing several teams that lead the majors in home runs allowed.

While the Orioles have been making news for their home run celebrations, some of the fans have had hundreds and thousands of reasons to express their own excitement. Those excited fans are the Maryland Lottery’s Home Run Riches Contestants of the Game. In their first 15 games the Orioles have hit 22 HRs, winning $19,000 for the Lottery’s Home Run Riches Contestants of the Game. 

And as the home run tally climbs, excitement is building for what will be the Orioles’ 50th home run and a $50,000 payout for one of the lucky fans picked in the Maryland Lottery’s Home Run Riches Contestant of the Game promotion. They could get to 50 before the end of May — so now’s the time to enter! Contestants of the Game are drawn monthly, and the winners for the 28 games in May will be selected on April 25. The deadline to be part of that drawing is 11:59 p.m. on April 24. 

The Maryland Lottery is holding monthly drawings to select Contestants of the Game for each of the Orioles’ 162 regular season games. Each winner receives $500 for being picked, and will be designated as the Contestant of the Game for an upcoming Orioles matchup. They’ll also win an additional $500 for each home run the Orioles hit during their designated game. 

In celebration of the Maryland Lottery’s 50th anniversary, the Lottery will also be giving away a second $50,000 prize in the promotion’s final drawing on Aug. 29. 

The Nationals continue to do enough to keep themselves engaged in close ballgames, right through the final out of the ninth. And they continue to do just enough to keep themselves from emerging victorious by losing the second half of close ballgames.

Whether by bullpen struggle or punchless lineup, the Nats just aren’t delivering in meaningful situations when they have a chance to seize control of a game late. It’s happened several times over the last two-plus weeks, and it happened again this evening during a 6-4 loss to the Guardians that was there for the taking but never captured by the home club.

The Nationals’ 11th loss in their first 15 games followed an all-too-familiar script. They had a brief burst of offense early, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first. Then they let the opposition catch up and then overtake them by the top of the fifth. And then they did very little at the plate themselves the rest of the way, shut down by Cleveland’s bullpen to suffer yet another loss by slim margin.

Four of the Nats’ last six losses have come by only one run. The others were a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Shohei Ohtani on Tuesday night in Anaheim, then this two-run loss that had been a one-run game until Josh Bell produced a big insurance run for the Guardians in the top of the ninth.

The common theme in all of these losses: A lack of execution in the later innings. Entering tonight, the Nationals owned a solid .751 OPS in innings 1-3, a respectable .702 OPS in innings 4-6 but a paltry .486 OPS in innings 7-9.

The Nationals entered the day ranked last in the majors in home runs, last in the National League in slugging percentage. None of their regulars owns an OPS higher than .780, and that belongs to No. 9 batter Victor Robles.

There is, however, one player currently on their bench with better numbers, albeit in an extremely limited sample. Stone Garrett has played in three games to date, during which time he’s gone 7-for-12 with two doubles, a homer, five RBIs and a 1.643 OPS that dwarfs anyone else on the roster.

Which raises the obvious question: Why hasn’t Garrett been in the lineup, or taken even one plate appearance, since Sunday?

The answer, according to Davey Martinez, isn’t as simple as it may seem. There’s the matter of the opponent’s starting pitcher on a given day. There’s the performances of Lane Thomas and Alex Call to date. There’s defensive considerations.

Put that all together, and Garrett finds himself on the bench for the fifth straight game.

After their 6-3 comeback win over the White Sox Friday night, a victory today in the windy city would give the Orioles a series victory over Chicago and a chance to sweep the Sox on Sunday afternoon.

Adley Rutschman’s bases-loaded double on an 0-2 pitch in the seventh inning, turned a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead and the Orioles went on to win to improve to 8-6.

The AL East standings today

Tampa Bay at 13-1
Toronto at 9-5
Orioles, New York Yankees at 8-6
Boston at 6-8

The Orioles are two games over the .500 mark for the first time this season and have won four of five games. They are 4-3 in road games and are now 5-0 in series-opening games.

CHICAGO – The Orioles received positive news on Kyle Bradish’s rehab start last night at Double-A Bowie.

His right foot felt good.

The rest is just numbers, some more favorable than others.

Bradish threw 82 pitches in five innings, so he’s stretched out. He allowed four runs (three earned) and three hits with one walk, five strikeouts and a home run. All of Akron’s scoring came in the fourth.

The Orioles could activate Bradish from the 15-day injured list on Wednesday and give him the start in D.C.

The Nationals are losing more far more games than they win right now. But those losses all have been close. Four of their last five defeats have come by one run, including Friday night’s 4-3 margin to the Guardians. And the other was a 2-0 loss to Shohei Ohtani.

So they’ll try to reverse that trend this afternoon in the second game of the weekend series, hoping perhaps their lineup can actually sustain something throughout the game instead of settling for a few early runs and then shutting down the rest of the way. They'll face right-hander Zach Plesac, who was roughed up by the Athletics in his season debut but then pitched seven strong innings against the Mariners his next time out. So who knows what to expect today?

Chad Kuhl becomes the final member of the Nats rotation to make his third start of the season. The right-hander gave his team a chance last time out in Colorado, getting through five innings allowing three runs, but then he faded quick in the sixth and wound up with two more runs charged to his name. Given how much the “A” bullpen has been used, particularly Friday night, it’ll be interesting to see if Davey Martinez tries to push Kuhl into the sixth again if the situation arises.

It’s Jackie Robinson Day across all of Major League Baseball, so both teams will be wearing No. 42 jerseys. That can make for some confusion among broadcasters and reporters trying to figure out who’s who, but obviously it’s for good reason.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. CLEVELAND GUARDIANS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 76 degrees, wind 7 mph out to center field

CHICAGO – Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter this afternoon against the White Sox, as the Orioles try to guarantee another series win.

Rutschman ranks second in the American League and third in the majors with a .492 on-base percentage. He’s sixth in the majors with a 1.134 OPS.

Ryan Mountcastle’s 19 RBIs continue to lead the majors.

Gunnar Henderson’s 21 strikeouts are tied for most in the American League, but his 12 walks tie Rutschman for first in the AL.  He’s out of the lineup today.

Kyle Gibson is the first Orioles pitcher in modern franchise history to make three starts in his first three appearances with his new team and win each decision. He has a 3.44 ERA and 1.145 WHIP in 18 1/3 innings.

The Nationals have been looking to get reliever Mason Thompson stretched out to cover multiple innings out of the bullpen since late last summer. The right-hander, who was acquired in the 2021 trade for Daniel Hudson with the Padres, has previous experience as a starter that can translate to a long-relief role.

Between 2016-19 in San Diego’s farm system, Thompson started all but four of his appearances. He made 20 starts out of 22 games for Single-A Fort Wayne in 2018, pitching to a 4.94 ERA, 1.419 WHIP and 9.4 strikeout-per-nine-innings rate.

After the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the 2020 minor league season, Thompson came back in 2021 as a full-time reliever. He went 3-2 with seven saves, a 5.74 ERA, 1.238 WHIP, 8.1 K/9 and 3.00 strikeout-to-walk rate in 23 appearances with Triple-A El Paso. He only allowed one run on four hits in three innings of relief with the Padres.

Later that summer, he was traded to Washington, where he appeared 27 times out of the bullpen. Last year, he went back and forth between the Nationals and Triple-A Rochester, while only starting to go more than three outs in September.

Now the Nats are looking to continue that stretch as a multi-inning arm this season.

BOWIE, Md. - Adley Rutschman was the clutch man again for the Orioles.

The Orioles are now 5-0 this year in series-opening games after posting a come-from-behind 6-3 win over the White Sox in Chicago. Rutschman’s bases-loaded double to left center field in the seventh inning provided Baltimore a 4-3 lead and the O’s bullpen combined for 3 2/3 scoreless after Tyler Wells exited.

Nice start to a road trip and the Orioles, at 8-6. are two games over the .500 mark for the first time. They have won four of five games.

Rutschman now in his career with the bases loaded is 3-for-8 with two doubles and nine RBIs.

“Adley just doing what he's been doing, just getting huge hits for us," said manager Brandon Hyde. "Getting an 0-2 mistake and putting the ball in the gap."

The start of a new series brings the latest injury updates from Nationals manager Davey Martinez.

It’s a new habit he’s starting this season. It’s helpful for him so he doesn’t get caught off-guard when we ask about a hurt player. It’s helpful for us so we don’t forget about a player to ask about.

Corey Dickerson, Sean Doolittle and Carter Kieboom are the headliners, with each making some steps forward in their respective rehabs.

Dickerson, now eligible to come off the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain, is able to do basic baseball activities including hitting and throwing. It’s just running that still is an issue.

“The soreness is diminishing. He's hitting, he's throwing,” Martinez said of Dickerson. “The next step is to get him on the field and start doing some agility stuff and then get him to run. Once he builds to that, the agility stuff is going to be the key. Once he can do that and do it well with no pain, he can start running. So hopefully we get him back.”

The Nationals are back home after a seven-game road trip out west and their first off-day since the day after Opening Day. In fact, starting yesterday, they will have three days off over the next week, with two scheduled surrounding the upcoming two-game Battle of the Beltways against the Orioles.

But first they have three games against the Guardians, who make their first trip to Nats Park with their new name and the franchise’s first trip back since the last series of the 2019 regular season. You know, the one that ended an 8-0 homestand and catapulted the Nats into the postseason en route to a World Series title?

(Speaking of name changes, how about the latest news concerning a big change with the local football team, huh?)

These off-days may allow manager Davey Martinez to tinker with his starting rotation in the near future, giving some of his younger arms extra rest. But for tonight’s opener, he’s sticking with where they left off, which means Trevor Williams will make his third start with his new team.

Williams earned his first win on Saturday in Colorado by pitching 5 ½ innings of two-run ball with four strikeouts against the Rockies. Having spent his entire career thus far in the National League, he only has two career starts against Cleveland. But he has a 0.90 ERA over 10 innings against them, aided mostly by a complete-game shutout in a rain-shortened six-inning game at Progressive Field back in 2018.

WILMINGTON, Del. – James Wood is quiet for his size. At 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds, one would think he would have just as big and loud of a personality.

That could also be assumed given he is the Nationals’ newest top prospect and one of the highest-ranked minor league players in all of baseball.

But that is far from the case for this 20-year-old. Since coming to the Nationals last summer in the blockbuster Juan Soto trade with the Padres, Wood has been nothing but humble, reserved and soft-spoken.

At least in the eyes of the media.

According to his teammates at High-A Wilmington, Wood is one of their leaders while also being one of the funniest guys on the team.

Orioles' pitching allowed 23 runs in the last three games of the Oakland series, but the Baltimore offense was such that they were able to win two of those games by 12-8 and 8-7 scores.

But the Orioles know they are going to need to tighten up the pitching and fast. Somehow they are 7-6 and they did take three of four against Oakland despite the leaky pitching. The starters the last three days combined to allow 15 runs in 12 2/3 innings. And in those games, the bullpen was used for more innings than the starters, needed to cover 14 1/3 innings.

The O’s have already had two streaks of three straight games allowing seven runs or more this year. They didn’t have one such streak in 2022.

O’s starters have thrown five innings or less 10 times in 13 games, including in each of the last three games. That won’t be good enough to stay over .500 over the long haul. But right now the Baltimore offense is making it work and the Orioles have scored seven runs or more six times.

In the Oakland series, the Orioles scored 29 runs on 38 hits and hit eight homers. They batted .351 with runners in scoring position (13-37) and got some clutch hits against A’s pitching.

The return of Kyle Bradish to the Orioles rotation becomes more of a reality with tonight’s injury rehab start at Double-A Bowie.

Bradish is expecting to be one-and-done in the minors. Build up his pitch count in a low-pressure environment, make certain that his right foot can withstand the workload, and wait for the roster move.

“I’m very excited,” Bradish said yesterday morning. “Felt like I still haven’t thrown since spring training. Yeah, very excited. Hopefully, it all goes well and be back out there next week.”

The days are favoring Bradish, who’s eligible to return Wednesday night in D.C. He’d be on regular rest. But the Orioles are off Monday and Thursday and could mess a little with the rotation.

Bradish has thrown two full bullpen sessions and one touch-and-feel. He thinks one rehab game is sufficient.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Nationals got to experience their first taste of the international sensation that is Shohei Ohtani pitching (and hitting) tonight. And though they put up an admirable fight against the Angels’ two-way star, they ultimately were rendered helpless against him just as everyone else has this young season.

Ohtani allowed just one hit over seven scoreless innings. He wasn’t necessarily overpowering, issuing five walks and hitting a batter, but he was mostly unhittable en route to a 2-0 victory over a Nats club that just wasn’t up to the stiffest challenge it has faced in its first 12 games of the year.

"I think it's amazing," said Nats starter Josiah Gray, a position player himself only a few years ago in college. "I was talking about it today: I wonder what his routine is. How does he fit in time to throw? How does he fit in time to hit? To see him go out there and sit 97, with a sweeper/slider and hit the ball 110 mph if not harder, it's really impressive. Every time you can sit down and watch a Shohei Ohtani start or watch him hit, it's must-watch TV. Being able to see him today and being able to face him today was an honor."

Gray wasn’t to blame for the loss; the 25-year-old right-hander allowed just two runs on four hits himself over 5 2/3 strong innings, certainly giving his team a chance. But as was the case five days ago in Denver, Gray got zero run support and was handed an undeserved loss, leaving him 0-3 overall despite a respectable 4.32 ERA.

"It stings. It's always going to sting to get an L and have your name attached to it," he said. "But I know I'm going out there, doing my job keeping the team in the game. I'm just making it simpler on myself. I'm seeing the results I want to see."

The Washington Nationals recalled infielder Jeter Downs from Triple-A Rochester and placed infielder/outfielder Ildemaro Vargas on the 10-day Injured List (retroactive to April 10) with a left shoulder strain on Tuesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Downs, 24, joins the Nationals for the first time this season after being claimed off waivers from the Boston Red Sox on Dec. 22, 2022. He entered the 2023 season as one of only three Minor Leaguers with at least 80 doubles, 70 home runs and 100 stolen bases since the start of 2017. Downs was rated as high as the No. 2 prospect in Boston’s Minor League system, according to Baseball America, in 2020 before coming in at No. 3 in 2021 and No. 6 in 2022.

Downs appeared in six games for Triple-A Rochester this season, going 2-for-19 (.105) with two doubles, two walks, one stolen base and one run scored. He played five games at shortstop and one in center field.

The right-handed hitting Downs made his Major League debut on June 22, 2022 vs. Detroit and went on to enjoy two stints with Boston last season. He hit .154 (6-for-39) with one double, one homer, four RBI, one walk and four runs scored in 14 Major League games.

A native of San Andrés, Colombia, Downs was selected in the first round (No. 32 overall) of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft. He graduated from Monsignor Edward Pace (FL) High School in Miami.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Nationals placed Ildemaro Vargas on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder strain and called up infielder Jeter Downs from Triple-A Rochester, a move precipitated in part by Luis García’s continued recovery from a tight hamstring.

With García unable to start at second base for the fourth straight day and Vargas’ non-throwing shoulder still sore after he jammed it making a diving catch in García’s place Sunday, the Nationals were thin on healthy infielders. Michael Chavis is starting for the second straight night at second base, and CJ Abrams remains at shortstop, but there were no other healthy backups for either.

So the Nationals promoted Downs today, flying the 24-year-old in from Rochester to ensure they had insurance in case anything happens to Abrams or Chavis tonight.

“Jeter can do multiple things for us,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He can play the outfield, some infield. But he can play shortstop, that’s the most important thing. If something happens to CJ, he can go out there and play some short. He’s a good addition to what we’re trying to do here.”

Downs, the onetime top prospect of the Dodgers and Red Sox who was claimed off waivers by the Nationals over the winter, impressed club officials with his work ethic this spring but was sent to Triple-A to begin the season and get regular at-bats rather than sit on the bench in the majors. He went just 2-for-19 at Rochester, so his promotion isn’t exactly based on performance but rather necessity.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Eleven games into the season, we have a pretty good idea what the 2023 Nationals are and what they are not.

They are not going to beat you with home runs. They are not going to trot out a dominant starting pitcher on most nights.

They are, however, going to put the ball in play and probably rack up a good number of singles and the occasional double. They are going to try to manufacture runs in any way possible. And they are going to hope their bullpen can hang on to finish things off.

It may be a narrow path to victory, but it is possible. And when it comes together like it did tonight in a 6-4 victory over the Angels, it actually makes for quite entertaining baseball.

"It's so much fun," first baseman Dominic Smith said. "I feel like that's how we can build a winning culture. That's something that's going to be our team identity. We'll probably have a couple guys in this lineup who will hit 20 home runs, but for the most part, we're going to have to manufacture runs. And this is the way we're going to have to do it."

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Michael Chavis made the Nationals’ Opening Day roster because of his positional versatility, the club wanted to make sure it had another player on its bench who could handle multiple infield positions if needed.

Chavis’ presence is coming in handy tonight, because with both Luis García an Ildemaro Vargas banged up, the 27-year-old is getting the start at second base for the Nats’ series opener against the Angels.

García, who is dealing with tightness in his right hamstring, went through early running drills to test his leg out. He didn’t appear to have any problems, but he also didn’t appear to be running at 100 percent. He’s not in the lineup for the third straight day, though he did participate in batting practice.

Vargas, who jammed his left shoulder making a diving play at second base during the first inning Sunday in Colorado, was able to finish out the game but admitted he was sore and was having trouble reaching for throws. He was set to meet with doctors this afternoon before learning about his availability for the game.

“I got real nervous,” Vargas said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “I’ve never felt anything like that on my shoulder. In the moment, I grabbed it and kind of tugged on it. I don’t know if I adjusted it or not, but I gave it a good tug. Today, it’s just stiff.”

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Hello from “The Big A,” where the Nationals will see how they stack up the next three days with the star-studded Angels. With Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani and Anthony Rendon batting 2-3-4 for the locals, it’s going to be a real challenge. But at least they don’t have to worry about Ohtani pitching until Tuesday.

Patrick Corbin will be tasked with keeping that lineup in check tonight in the series opener. The left-hander still seeks his first quality start of the season. The Nationals obviously would love to get six innings and three or fewer runs out of him tonight.

A Nats lineup that totaled only 17 runs through its first seven games came to life the last three days in Colorado, totaling 23 runs. The question now: Will that carry over into this series, or was that merely a product of Coors Field? They’ll face yet another left-hander tonight in Jose Suarez, remarkably the seventh southpaw they’ve gone up against in their first 11 games.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Where: Angel Stadium
Gametime: 9:38 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 67 degrees, wind 7 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
LF Alex Call
RF Lane Thomas
3B Jeimer Candelario
DH Joey Meneses
1B Dominic Smith
C Keibert Ruiz
2B Michael Chavis
CF Victor Robles
SS CJ Abrams