On the heels of an eye-opening, 10-strikeout dismantling of the Mets last week, and in the wake of Josiah Gray’s latest impressive start Sunday afternoon, MacKenzie Gore took the mound at Nationals Park tonight with a good chunk of those in attendance expecting another good start.

When it didn’t happen, it didn’t necessarily shock anyone. But it was disappointing nonetheless, which perhaps is as good an indication as anything how high Gore has set the bar in his first month pitching for this organization.

During a 5-1 loss to the Cubs, Gore lasted only three batters into the fifth inning. He allowed four runs, surrendered seven hits, walked two and threw a whopping 102 pitches.

"You don't expect him to get hit," first baseman Dominic Smith said. "You can't take away anything from (the Cubs). They played well tonight. But I still would take MacKenzie 10 out of 10 times. He knows what he can do. We know what he can do. He's going to make probably 25 more starts. I'm pretty sure he's going to be dialed in for all of those."

Though Smith did his part with three hits, the rest of the Nationals didn’t exactly provide a lot of support for their starter. They managed only six hits off Cubs left-hander Drew Smyly and too often made outs on three or fewer pitches, rarely giving Gore time to catch his breath in the dugout before re-taking the mound.

The Nationals placed Chad Kuhl on the 15-day injured list with an injury to his right foot and recalled Cory Abbott from Triple-A Rochester to take his spot on the active roster and potentially his spot in the rotation.

Kuhl hurt himself during Saturday night’s game while delivering a pitch, stepping into the divot on the mound created by Pirates pitcher Vince Velásquez and causing a shooting pain in his big toe. Manager Davey Martinez and director of athletic training Paul Lessard came out from the dugout to check on him, but Kuhl threw one warm-up pitch and said he was fine to continue.

He wound up being removed in the fourth inning, having thrown 100 pitches while getting roughed up for eight runs on seven hits and four walks in what wound up a 16-1 blowout loss.

“It’s one of those things where I was like: I tore my elbow (in 2018) and finished the inning. I’m not going to let my toe derail the start and have me only go two innings,” he said. “It’s something you just try to fight through. It ended up not working out too great for me anyway, but I did my best to keep getting outs. It’s just unfortunate.”

Kuhl’s toe was still bothering him Sunday, so he was examined by doctors, who diagnosed with him with metatarsalgia (pain in the ball of the foot), leading to this IL stint.

One month into the season, we can pretty much divide Nationals games into two categories: Games started by Josiah Gray and MacKenzie Gore, and games started by everyone else. That doesn’t mean those other games haven’t been interesting, or that the others haven’t pitched well at times. But clearly Gray and Gore starts are the most significant events this team has right now, and most of them have lived up to the hype.

Gray did his part Sunday, allowing one run over six innings to defeat the Pirates. Gore gets his shot tonight when he takes the mound for the series opener against the Cubs. The lefty is coming off a dominant outing in New York in which he struck out 10 and allowed only one run in six innings. Gore faces a new challenge tonight in a Chicago lineup that leads the National League in batting average, on-base percentage and OPS, while ranking second in runs scored.

The Nats lineup will hope to have some success against left-hander Drew Smyly, who nearly made some major history himself two starts ago when he carried a perfect game against the Dodgers into the eighth inning until it was broken up by a little dribbler in front of the mound and Yan Gomes’ inexplicable decision to bowl over his pitcher in pursuit of the ball.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. CHICAGO CUBS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of rain, 58 degrees, wind 13 mph out to center field

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

The Washington Nationals recalled right-handed pitcher Cory Abbott from Triple-A Rochester and placed right-handed pitcher Chad Kuhl on the 15-day Injured List (retroactive to April 30) with right foot metatarsalgia on Monday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Abbott, 27, joins the Nationals for the first time this season after beginning the season with Triple-A Rochester. In his last start on April 28 against St. Paul (MIN), Abbott struck out 12 in 5.2 innings and allowed just one hit and three walks. For his efforts, he was named International League Pitcher of the Week. In five starts for the Red Wings in 2023, Abbott is 1-3 with a 6.46 ERA (17 ER/23.2 IP). Over his last three starts, Abbott has struck out 24 in 13.2 innings.

Abbott was selected off waivers from the San Francisco Giants on May 4, 2022 and was recalled for the first time on June 17. He went on to enjoy five stints with Washington, making nine starts (0-5, 6.00 ERA, 36 SO) and seven relief appearances (2.00 ERA, 9 SO). He held opponents to a .186 average at home and struck out a total of 13 in his final two starts (seven in 5.0 IP vs. Atlanta Sept. 26 and six in 4.0 IP at New York (NL) Oct. 4).

Kuhl, 30, is 0-2 with a 9.41 ERA in five starts with the Nationals in 2023.

It’s either the best or the worst job in baseball, serving as the backup to a No. 1 catcher who plays almost every day. For Riley Adams, it’s reality right now.

With Keibert Ruiz starting as many games behind the plate as any catcher in the majors, Adams is left to watch from the bench. He starts roughly once a week – officially four times in the Nationals’ first 27 games – but has to keep himself physically and mentally ready in case his services are needed at a moment’s notice.

And then he has to actually produce when given the opportunity, no matter how little opportunity he’s had to establish any kind of rhythm.

Given all that, Adams’ performance Saturday afternoon was both notable and impressive. Catching the first half of the Nationals’ doubleheader against the Pirates, he went 2-for-4 with a two-run double while also throwing out a runner trying to steal second off him.

“He did awesome,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He threw the ball down, we got a big out on the stolen base. And he swung the bat well, too. It was awesome. He had a good day.”

Josiah Gray was standing alone in right field around 1 p.m., going through his pregame stretch routine and preparing to enter the bullpen to begin warming up for he expected to be a 1:35 p.m. first pitch at Nationals Park.

And then the rain began falling, and all of a sudden people were huddling up and yelling across the field to others to halt all game prep and head back indoors, the start of the game now delayed.

Gray would return to the Nationals clubhouse and remain there for 2 1/2 hours before finally emerging again to start the routine all over again. Then he made sure the long wait was worth it, authoring another quality start to complete a most impressive opening month to what could be a breakthrough season.

With six innings of one-run ball against the red-hot Pirates, Gray made another statement in an April filled with them. The 25-year-old right-hander, with some much-appreciated run support from his teammates, led the Nats to a 7-2 victory over Pittsburgh to avoid a sweep at the end of a long weekend that featured as much rain as baseball.

"He's been unbelievable, since spring training," manager Davey Martinez said. "His routine, the way he's going about his business, the way he's mapping out the game plan ... that's just a testament to what he wants to do. And right now, he's doing unbelievable."

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.