On the heels of a doubleheader sweep that taxed their bullpen, the Nationals made their first performance-based roster move of the season this morning, designating Anthony Banda for assignment and purchasing Andrés Machado’s contract from Triple-A Rochester.

The transaction gives the Nats a fresh arm who can throw multiple innings today if needed in Machado, who threw 26 pitches for the Red Wings on Friday but did not appear in Saturday’s game. The 30-year-old had a 2.92 ERA, 1.216 WHIP and 16 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings to begin his season.

No stranger to the Nationals bullpen, Machado owns a 3.41 ERA and 1.326 WHIP in 91 relief appearances over the last two seasons. He closed out his 2022 campaign with zero earned runs allowed over his final 19 2/3 innings, but the Nats dropped him from their 40-man roster in January because he was out of options and they needed to open a spot for recently signed outfielder Corey Dickerson.

Machado cleared waivers, though, and re-signed with the Nationals on a minor league deal a week later. He performed well in spring training, allowing only two batters to reach base in four Grapefruit League innings sandwiched around his stint pitching for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, but his contract status left him to open the season at Triple-A instead of the majors.

Throughout the process, manager Davey Martinez assured the right-hander he would be back in D.C. sooner rather than later. His time came today with the departure of Banda, who struggled throughout the season’s first month.

You won’t believe this, but it’s raining again here in the nation’s capital. I know, I know. Nobody could’ve predicted that. Actually, everyone predicted it, and that’s why today’s series finale between the Nationals and Pirates is very much up in the air. The problem: This is the Pirates’ only trip here this season, so they have to do everything they can to try to play this game today, lest they make them make another trip here on a common off-day later in the year.

The Nats desperately need a quality start from Josiah Gray after a doubleheader mess Saturday in which Davey Martinez had to burn up most of his bullpen. Gray has been very good, of course, since his first start of the season. He’ll be challenged to hold down this surprisingly potent Pittsburgh lineup, though, today.

The Nats also desperately need some production from a lineup that scored four total runs in 18 innings Saturday (and one of those was Dominic Smith’s garbage-time homer in the bottom of the ninth with his team trailing 16-0). They’ll face a tough right-hander in Johan Oviedo, who enters with a 3.03 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Rain, 61 degrees, wind 7 mph in from right field

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

Facing a one-run deficit in this afternoon’s doubleheader opener, Davey Martinez opted not to use his best relievers, saving them for what he hoped would be a winnable game in the nightcap.

In order for that to happen, though, the Nationals were going to need to get a quality pitching performance from starter Chad Kuhl, not to mention some production from a lineup that failed to capitalize on a host of opportunities earlier in the day.

So when neither of those outcomes materialized, Martinez’s best-laid plans went down the drain. Kyle Finnegan and Mason Thompson could only watch from the bullpen as the Nats slogged their way through a 16-1 trouncing at the hands of the Pirates, by far their most lopsided loss of the season.

A homestand that began with the promise of better baseball following an impressive 4-2 road trip to Minnesota and New York instead has opened with a Friday night rainout, then a doubleheader sweep that leaves the Nationals trying to salvage one game in Sunday’s finale, which could be significantly delayed due to another round of rain.

Not exactly the kind of weekend everyone around here had in mind.

The Nationals had a chance to win the opener of today’s doubleheader but couldn’t take advantage of their scoring opportunities and then watched as their “B” bullpen gave up the lead late. They’ll hope to jump out to a lead in tonight’s second game against the Pirates, giving Davey Martinez reason to turn to his “A” bullpen to close it out.

Chad Kuhl gets the start against his former team. Emotions will be high for the right-hander, but the Nationals need him focused on throwing strikes and avoiding the walks and high pitch count that plagued him in Minnesota one week ago. With Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey and Mason Thompson all fresh, they need only five decent innings from Kuhl to put themselves in position to win.

The lineup includes a few changes from the opener. Lane Thomas takes a seat, with Alex Call shifting to right field and Victor Robles returning to the lineup in his familiar center field position. Keibert Ruiz will catch and bat fifth after backup Riley Adams did a nice job in his place this afternoon, collecting two hits and throwing out a would-be basestealer.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. PITTSBURGH PIRATES (Game 2)
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 69 degrees, wind 5 mph right field to left field

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

Had his lineup produced just one more hit among the countless scoring opportunities that presented themselves this afternoon, Davey Martinez might well have turned over the final innings of the Nationals’ doubleheader opener against the Pirates to his "A" bullpen.

Alas, with his team trailing by a lone run, Martinez opted not to use up his best relief arms, saving them instead for the nightcap. It didn’t take long for that one-run deficit to morph into a three-run deficit and ultimately a 6-3 loss.

A game that was tied at two in the sixth turned Pittsburgh’s way when Miguel Andujar launched a two-run homer off Carl Edwards Jr. The Nats would get one run back in the bottom of the inning, but they now needed rookie Thaddeus Ward and others from the "B" bullpen to keep the game close.

That did not happen. Ward did pitch his way out of a self-made jam in the seventh but then was pulled after issuing a leadoff walk to Andujar in the eighth. In came Anthony Banda, who proceeded to turn the rest of the inning into a mess.

Banda, the lone lefty in the Nationals bullpen since Opening Day, didn’t retire either of the left-handed batters he faced, plunking Tucupita Marcano on the hand, then allowing a bunt single to Ji Hwan Bae (denying third baseman Jeimer Candelario a chance to make what looked like an easier play than he had himself).

Upon announcing the postponement of Friday night’s series opener against the Pirates, the Nationals had a decision to make about their pitching plans for Saturday’s doubleheader: Would they just have Patrick Corbin and Chad Kuhl start, or would they call up someone else from Triple-A to make a spot start and serve as their designated 27th man for the twinbill?

The club decided to stick with the two current members of the rotation, call up reliever Jordan Weems from Rochester to take that extra roster spot and wait until later in the homestand to find a spot starter.

“We thought about it,” manager Davey Martinez said when asked about the possibility of using a fill-in starter today. “But Weems is throwing the ball well. We have him for two games, which is kind of nice.”

Weems is off to a good start to his season: In his first nine appearances, he owns a 1.93 ERA and 1.071 WHIP, striking out 13 batters in 9 1/3 innings. The 30-year-old pitched in 32 big league games last season, finishing with a 5.22 ERA but strong 1.185 WHIP, hurt in large part by the seven homers he surrendered in only 39 2/3 innings.

“He’s got good stuff,” Martinez said of the right-hander. “The biggest thing with him is just throwing strike one. When he gets ahead, he’s good. He’s got a good mix of pitches. He’s just got to attack the strike zone, throw strike one.”

DETROIT – What is the exact date and time when it begins to even out?

Rough estimates are accepted and appreciated.

Isn’t that the reminder preached to frustrated hitters who don’t think they’ll ever catch another break? The latest tough out, so cruel at times that it physically hurts, is balanced by soft singles and streaks built on kinder fortune.

Ryan Mountcastle tries to laugh about it. The trademark grin is the most he can muster at this point.

The lucky hits need to catch up.

After a getaway night game in New York, the Nationals arrived back in Washington early Friday morning, then watched it rain pretty much nonstop all day and night. Here’s guessing they weren’t terribly disappointed to learn the opener of their series against the Pirates was postponed nearly four hours before scheduled first pitch.

The downside: The two teams will play a day-night doubleheader today, beginning with the originally scheduled 1:05 p.m. tilt. The Nats decided to keep Patrick Corbin on the mound for this one and hold Chad Kuhl for the 6:05 p.m. nightcap. The Pirates did the opposite, having Rich Hill (Friday night’s scheduled starter) take the opener, with Vince Velasquez pushed to the night game.

Corbin has delivered back-to-back quality starts, going six innings each time and allowing two earned runs (four total) to the Guardians and then three earned runs to the Twins. The left-hander has hardly been spectacular, but he’s at least giving his team a chance, which is all they can reasonably ask of him at this point.

Hill, meanwhile, remains an ageless wonder. The 43-year-old lefty sports a 2.12 ERA over his last three starts, continuing a stunning trend by the Pirates' unheralded rotation. That staff has delivered 14 quality starts over the last 16 games, and one of the starts that didn’t meet the qualification was Hill’s last outing, in which he allowed only one run over five innings. If you’re wondering how in the world Pittsburgh has stormed out to a National League-best 18-8 record, that’s how.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. PITTSBURGH PIRATES (Game 1)
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 66 degrees, wind 4 mph in from center field

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• Added LHP DL Hall from Triple-A Norfolk to serve as the 27^th man for today’s doubleheader.

Gunnar and Adley. Adley and Gunnar. Two of the Orioles top young talents, both Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson were taken in the 2019 MLB Draft. In fact, they were the first two selections made by the then new regime of executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias.

Rutschman was taken with the No. 1 overall selection out of Oregon State University and Henderson was taken No. 42 overall out of John T. Morgan Academy in Selma, Alabama. Rutschman was the more experienced and polished player as a college draft pick and it took Gunnar a bit longer to gain that polish.

But both have already been ranked as the No. 1 prospect in baseball by Baseball America and the two are among the biggest reasons the Orioles have the No. 1 ranked farm in the sport right now and a big league team that is off to a great start.

And as written here yesterday, the Orioles have gotten off to a strong offensive start this year scoring 5.28 runs per game. A big reason for that is improved plate discipline stats which have the Orioles among the top teams in baseball in walks, pitches per plate appearance and OBP.

Rutschman entered Friday’s games batting .287/.405/.436/.841 in 25 games. He ranked first in the American League with 20 walks heading into Friday’s play. He ranked tied for fifth in the AL in OBP and 21^st in the league in pitches per plate appearance.

Tonight’s series opener between the Nationals and Pirates has been postponed due to heavy rain that has been falling in the D.C. area all day and promises to continue through the entire evening.

The game will be made up Saturday as part of a day-night doubleheader, with the originally scheduled 1:05 p.m. game remaining as planned and a 6:05 p.m. game serving as the makeup for tonight’s postponement.

Separate tickets and parking passes are required for Saturday’s games. Fans who hold tickets for tonight’s rained-out game can use them for Saturday’s 6:05 p.m. game or exchange them at the Nationals Park box office for tickets to a future game (subject to availability). Exchanges must occur prior to June 8.

The Nationals will stick with Patrick Corbin as their starter for Saturday’s first game. Chad Kuhl, tonight’s scheduled starter, will pitch the nightcap, with Josiah Gray still in line to start Sunday’s 1:35 p.m. finale.

If there are no more postponements between now and then, the Nats will probably need to call up someone from their minor league system to start one of the remaining games in this homestand against the Cubs, lest they opt to have either Corbin or Kuhl pitch on short rest.

DETROIT – The words have been uttered multiple times now by multiple people in the Orioles organization.

Manager Brandon Hyde floated them into the chilly Detroit air yesterday afternoon while seated in the visiting dugout, explaining why the Orioles optioned Terrin Vavra and brought up infield prospect Joey Ortiz. A promotion that wasn’t telegraphed. Whose purpose wasn’t immediately known.

“We’re trying to win games,” Hyde said.

Let’s make that perfectly clear.

Player development remains a priority and the Orioles get a kick out of being first in farm system rankings, but they don’t intend to punt the playoffs. They want a wild card berth, at the very least. The games in April matter as much as August and September.

NEW YORK – The Nationals have always built their roster around strong starting pitching.

They’ve shown that in the past with rotations headlined by Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. And they’re showing it now by acquiring two young starting pitchers in the blockbuster trades they’ve made in each of the last two summers: Josiah Gray and MacKenzie Gore.

This week’s series in New York showed the potential in what Gray and Gore can bring as frontline starters: the right-hander pitched six shutout innings with nine strikeouts on Tuesday and the left-hander pitched six innings of one-run ball with 10 strikeouts on Wednesday.

But behind every great pitching performance is also an often overlooked great catching performance. And the Nationals have committed to that position for the long-term as well.

Keibert Ruiz, included with Gray in the 2021 trade with the Dodgers for Scherzer and Trea Turner, signed an eight-year, $50 million extension during spring training, an agreement that can reach 10 years and $76 million if both club options are selected.

DETROIT – Joey Ortiz watched a four-seam fastball go past him for a strike in his first major league at-bat, swung at a cutter and experienced his first moment of frustration and disbelief.

The Show can deliver low blows.

Tigers outfielder Akil Baddoo sprinted into left-center and made a spectacular diving catch, crashing to the ground and shattering Ortiz’s hopes of a quick hit.

Ortiz made a right turn toward the visiting dugout, grabbed his glove and shifted his focus to playing second base. There would be other swings for the kid – on pitches thrown to him and in moods.

At the plate again with two runners in scoring position and two outs in the fifth, Ortiz sent a bouncer over first baseman Spencer Torkelson’s head for his first hit and RBIs.

When Boston lefty Chris Sale, one of MLB’s all-time best strikeout pitchers, failed to strike out even one Oriole earlier this week, maybe he was indeed tipping some pitches. But maybe something else was at work. Maybe a team and organization that for years lagged in plate discipline skills was just showing everyone, including Sale, their big improvement in this area.

Improvement that for some Orioles really was enhanced and escalated in their time on the O’s farm and they now put those skills to use in the big league lineup.

Outfielder Austin Hays preferred to credit the Baltimore hitters for gains they have made in this area after that win over Boston on Monday.

“That was a prime example of us showing up, building a plan, training, and then one through nine executing the plan all the way through. And I felt like he was in a groove early and we got to that fourth inning and just continued to battle. Fouled off tough pitches. A one through nine relentless mindset of just all buying in," said Hays.

On the stat sheet, the Orioles have gone from a team not good in plate discipline stats, to one of baseball’s best. In pitches per plate appearance they ranked 24^th last year. But as their latest road trip was set to begin Thursday, they were second in MLB at 4.05. The Orioles’ 97 walks was tied for first in the American League. Their team OBP of .336 ranked fourth.

NEW YORK – It might have been too much to ask for the Nationals’ first three-game sweep since June 2021 and first three-game sweep on the road since August 2019.

After dominating performances in the first two games at Citi Field, going home with just a series win should be satisfactory for the last-place Nats. But, man, did they put up a fight for the sweep.

After a dramatic comeback to take the lead in the top of the eighth, the Nats bullpen had a rare meltdown in the bottom half of the inning, as they couldn’t complete the sweep with a 9-8 loss to the Mets in front of 20,726 stunned fans in Queens.

With an 8-7 lead thanks to CJ Abrams’ first career grand slam, Mason Thompson, who has been one of the best relievers in baseball but who also threw 28 pitches over three innings here two nights ago, entered the bottom of the eighth to try to get it to the ninth.

Thompson surrendered a leadoff single to Brandon Nimmo, who then stole second base. Starling Marte moved him up to third with a flyout to center and then back-to-back RBIs from Francisco Lindor on a double and Pete Alonso on a single brought home the tying and go-ahead runs.

The Orioles’ longest road trip of the year – three cities and covering 10 games – begins tonight when they start a four-game series in Detroit.

The Orioles (16-8) have the second-best record in the American League East and in the league as well. Tampa Bay (20-5, .800) leads the division by 3 ½ games over the Orioles, who would be in first place in both the AL Central and AL West. The Orioles hold the fourth-best record in the majors behind the Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates (18-8, .692) and Atlanta Braves (17-8, .680).

The Orioles are 7-4 on the road, winning three of four road series. They went 1-2 at Boston, 2-1 at Texas, 2-1 at Chicago versus the White Sox and 2-0 at Washington.

The Orioles loss on Tuesday against Boston was their only loss since April 12. They have won eight of their past nine games, 10 of 12 and 12 of the last 15. The Orioles swept three from the Tigers last weekend in Baltimore by scores of 2-1, 5-1 and 2-1. So they outscored Detroit 9-3 in that series, allowing three runs and 14 hits over 28 innings with 12 walks and 35 strikeouts.

Detroit has won the season series against the Orioles the last five years it has been played.

NEW YORK – Here we go again: For the second straight series, the Nationals have put themselves in position to earn their first three-game sweep since June 14-16, 2021, when they took three straight at home against the Pirates. It’s also the second straight series they’ll have this opportunity on the road, this time at Citi Field against the Mets, who entered this series only a half-game out of first place in the National League East. The Nats last swept a three-game road series Aug. 23-25, 2019 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Trevor Williams will look to become the fourth straight Nats starting pitcher to turn in a quality start and fifth in the last six games. He’ll also be doing so while taking the mound at Citi Field for the first time since signing a two-year, $13 million contract with the Nats this offseason.

Williams is off to a strong start with his new team. He’s a respectable 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA and 1.078 WHIP over his first four starts, completing at least five innings each time out and allowing no more than three runs per start.

The Nationals offense will be tasked with facing their first left-hander of this series in Joey Lucchesi. The 29-year-old made his first major league start since recovering from Tommy John surgery last year on Friday in San Francisco, completing seven shutout innings and allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out nine in a win over the Giants.

Victor Robles is the only Nationals regular to have faced Lucchesi ahead of tonight, going 4-for-8 with a solo home run. Meanwhile, Dominic Smith gets a day off and Stone Garrett will DH against Lucchesi, moving Joey Meneses to first base. And Luis García takes tonight off, but it’s Michael Chavis playing second base instead of Jeter Downs.

NEW YORK – The Nationals had one noticeable player missing from the clubhouse before tonight’s series finale against the Mets. Ildemaro Vargas, on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder strain since April 11, left the team to start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester.

“He went out this morning, though they, unfortunately, had a day game today,” manager Davey Martinez said of his backup utility infielder. “So he's got to start playing tomorrow.”

Vargas jammed his shoulder while making a diving play earlier this month in Colorado. He had recently been able to most of the usual baseball activities, but Martinez had said it still bothered the switch-hitter when swinging right-handed.

When he arrives at Rochester, Vargas will get most of his reps at shortstop while also getting at-bats from both sides of the plate.

“Yeah, he's got to go out there,” Martinez said. “I want him to play some shortstop. I want to see him field. He's definitely got to swing the bat. Hopefully, he can swing both left-handed and right-handed. But we'll see how he does and we'll see how long it's gonna take for him to go out and come back. There's no timetable yet, but hopefully it's only a few days.”

DETROIT – Facing three left-handed starters in a four-game series against the Tigers prompted the Orioles to recall infield prospect Joey Ortiz from Triple-A Norfolk.

It wasn’t the only reason, but matchups were the primary motivation to add Ortiz’s right-handed bat and option Terrin Vavra.

“He’s off to a really nice start in Norfolk, and we wanted to get a little more right-handed, especially for this series,” manager Brandon Hyde said this afternoon in the visiting dugout at Comerica Park.

“He can play multiple spots for us in the infield. We’re really comfortable with him defensively, and his first day here he’s in there. We’re excited to watch him make his debut.”

Ortiz is playing second base, with Jorge Mateo at shortstop. Gunnar Henderson is on the bench against left-hander Joey Wentz, and he’s able to play despite the scrapes on his right hand after diving for a line drive yesterday.