BALTIMORE – The Nationals have not yet closed the gap with the Orioles that has existed for multiple seasons now. One of these teams is headed for its second straight October appearance. The other is spending the next seven weeks identifying which players will be part of a team attempting to win in 2025 and which players will not.

But the gap is shrinking, and the four head-to-head matchups between the two interleague rivals this year underscored that. After getting swept by Baltimore last season and scoring a grand total of one run in the process, the Nats split the Battle of the Beltways this season and actually outscored their opponents by five runs along the way.

Tonight’s finale was right there for the taking, as well, and could’ve given the Nationals their first series victory over the Orioles since 2018. But a lack of offense doomed them on a night when DJ Herz pitched well but took a hard-luck, 4-1 loss at Camden Yards.

Herz allowed just two runs over six strong innings, both runs scoring on one swing in the bottom of the first. His teammates couldn’t match those numbers, though, one night after busting out for nine runs on 15 hits during a lopsided victory.

Tuesday’s big win, coupled with a 3-0 victory back in May in D.C., allowed the Nationals to go 2-2 against Baltimore for the season. And the two losses were highly competitive: a 7-6, 12-inning loss in May, then tonight’s tightly contested affair.

BALTIMORE – Davey Martinez gathered his entire coaching staff together on the Nationals’ off-day and told the group he had an announcement to make: Every one of them was being invited back for the 2025 season.

Prior to Tuesday’s series opener against the Orioles, all of them – pitching coach Jim Hickey, hitting coach Darnell Coles, bench coach Miguel Cairo, first base coach Gerardo Parra, third base coach Ricky Gutierrez, catching and strategy coach Henry Blanco, bullpen coach Ricky Bones, pitching strategist Sean Doolittle and assistant hitting coach Chris Johnson – signed their new contracts. And this afternoon, Martinez made it public, ensuring his full staff not only will return for another season but was made aware long before the current season ends.

“I really wanted to get it done now,” Martinez said. “This way, there’s a little bit of unity, and all the guys know they’ll be back, instead of doing it at the end of the year. I really feel like this is a good corps, and we work really good together. And they’re doing a great job with the kids. For me, it was important to get it done as soon as possible.”

This was a significant departure from the 2023 season, when Martinez (who signed his contract extension in late-August) didn’t make decisions on his coaches until October, making several changes to what had been a tight-knit staff.

With all of the current coaches on one-year deals, speculation had been growing there could be more changes coming this fall, most notably at the hitting coach position. Ultimately, Martinez – with the blessing of general manager Mike Rizzo and Nationals ownership – gave a vote of confidence to everyone, and didn’t make anyone – including the players – have to sweat out the season’s final seven weeks before learning who would be back in 2025.

BALTIMORE – The Nationals have not exactly enjoyed much success against the Orioles in recent years. They entered 2024 having lost 10 of their last 11 to Baltimore, having scored a grand total of one run in four head-to-head games last season. Well, the narrative appears to have flipped at last. The two teams split the series in D.C. back in May. And then the Nats won handily, 9-3, Tuesday night here at Camden Yards. Which means at worst they’ll split the season series, with a shot at winning it for the first time since 2018 if they can win tonight’s finale.

Davey Martinez would love to keep the offense going from 24 hours ago. The Nationals not only scored nine runs, they rapped out 15 hits, 10 of which featured an exit velocity in triple digits. Boy, have they been waiting for something like that. Now, how much of Tuesday’s output was familiarity with Trevor Rogers, and how much was something else? Perhaps we’ll find out tonight when they face Dean Kremer, who enters with a 4.70 ERA but has won each of his two previous career starts against the Nats, including 6 2/3 innings of shutout ball last year.

The Orioles have never seen DJ Herz before, because the left-hander made his major league debut several weeks after the two teams met earlier this season. Herz’s last start was disrupted by rain, so it’s hard to evaluate that performance. He was solid in each of his three previous starts, going five innings each time and never allowing more than two runs.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Where: Camden Yards
Gametime: 6:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 84 degrees, wind 6 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
DH Juan Yepez
LF James Wood
1B Andrés Chaparro
2B Luis García Jr.
C Keibert Ruiz
RF Alex Call
3B Ildemaro Vargas
CF Jacob Young

BALTIMORE – When the Nationals signed Harold Ramirez to a minor league contract on June 15, then called him up to the majors a week later, the intention was clear: Add a proven big league hitter to a lineup and bench that could use more of them, the kind of bat that could help a team win more games and perhaps even keep itself in a wide-open National League wild card race.

When the Nats designated Ramirez for assignment prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Orioles, the intention was also clear, if dramatically altered from two months prior: It’s time to prioritize young players who may have a future with the organization than older ones who don’t.

It wasn’t so much about Ramirez’s production. The soon-to-be 30-year-old hadn’t been great, but he hadn’t been awful, either. It was about creating a roster spot – and playing time – for Andres Chaparro, a 25-year-old rookie acquired two weeks ago from the Diamondbacks for Dylan Floro who theoretically could figure into the team’s long-term plans.

Chaparro, let’s be clear, is not a top-rated prospect. He was the return for two months of a veteran setup man, not two years of a productive everyday player. But his Triple-A numbers over the last two seasons – a .282/.363/.500 slash line with 51 doubles and 48 homers in 242 games – were hard to ignore.

And given the current state of the Nationals, who are sorely lacking in power, especially from the corner infield positions, it made all the sense in the world to get Chaparro up here now and get an extended look at him.

BALTIMORE – In their season-long search for more offensive punch, the Nationals tonight found plenty of it from one key piece of their long-term plan and one unexpected new piece of the puzzle who might just play his way into the long-term plan if he keeps this up.

Behind the second four-hit night of James Wood’s young career and a record-setting three-double night from Andrés Chaparro in his major league debut, the Nats busted out at the plate during a 9-3 victory over the Orioles.

Facing a Baltimore pitching staff that held them to a grand total of 15 runs in their last nine head-to-head matchups, the Nationals put forth one of their best offensive showings in a while, their highest scoring output against the Orioles since May 22, 2021, when their lineup included Trea Turner, Juan Soto and Ryan Zimmerman.

The names involved tonight can’t come close to comparing to that trio, but given how inexperienced they are, who can say with any certainty what they will become when it’s all said and done?

Wood, the top-rated prospect in baseball not long ago, continued to hit the ball extremely hard with three singles and a double that all boasted an exit velocity of at least 99.5 mph. Chaparro, a power-hitting corner infielder stuck at Triple-A the last two seasons but acquired two weeks ago from the Diamondbacks for reliever Dylan Floro, put on the kind of power display the Nats have dreamed of getting all year from their first basemen.

BALTIMORE – As this season transitions from one of early dreams of a surprise run to one that’s still primarily focused on the future, the Nationals decided to make a pair of transactions today that will give them a chance to look at two more young players at the expense of veterans.

The Nats promoted first baseman Andrés Chaparro and reliever Orlando Ribalta from Triple-A Rochester prior to this evening’s series opener against the Orioles and cleared space for both by designating designated hitter Harold Ramírez and reliever Jordan Weems for assignment.

“We want to take a look at some of these young kids,” manager Davey Martinez said. “Both have done really well at Triple-A.”

Indeed, Chaparro and Ribalta have been knocking on the door, performing at a level worthy of consideration. Now each will get an opportunity to make his major league debut.

Acquired just two weeks ago at the trade deadline in a last-minute deal with the Diamondbacks for Dylan Floro, Chaparro went on a tear at the plate in 10 games with Rochester. The 200-pound corner infielder hit four homers with 10 RBIs, a .419 on-base percentage and 1.076 OPS, picking up right where he left off with Arizona’s Triple-A affiliate in Reno, where he batted .332 with 19 homers and 75 RBIs in 95 games.

BALTIMORE – Hello from Camden Yards, where the Battle of the Beltways wraps up over the next two nights. The two teams split their two-game series in D.C. back in May, so it’s anybody’s game here this week.

The Nationals are still looking for consistency from their rotation, and that includes Jake Irvin, who gets the ball tonight. The right-hander has put together a couple of quality starts since the All-Star break, but he’s still pitching as well as he did during the season’s first half, and is coming off a game in which he allowed five runs in five innings to the Giants, including three home runs surrendered.

The Nats lineup will actually be facing a familiar foe in Trevor Rogers, the former Marlins left-hander acquired by the Orioles at the trade deadline. Rogers took the loss in each of his two starts against the Nationals earlier this season, but it wasn’t really his fault. He allowed only five runs in 12 innings, but his teammates provided only two runs of support. The Baltimore lineup, suffice it to say, is a bit more productive than the Miami one, so he may not have to worry about support as much tonight.

The Nats made a couple of roster moves before tonight's game, selecting the contracts of infielder Andrés Chaparro and right-hander Orlando Ribalta, and designating Harold Ramírez and Jordan Weems for assignment

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Where: Camden Yards
Gametime: 6:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 82 degrees, wind 6 mph in from left field

The Washington Nationals selected the contracts of infielder Andrés Chaparro and right-handed pitcher Orlando Ribalta, and designated Harold Ramírez and Jordan Weems for assignment on Tuesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Chaparro, 25, joins Washington for the first Major League stint of his career after he was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-handed pitcher Dylan Floro on July 30. This season, Chaparro ranks among all full-season Minor Leaguers in hits (1^st, 132), total bases (3rd, 230), RBI (T3^rd, 85), extra-base hits (5^th, 51), OPS (6^th, .977), slugging percentage (8^th, .572), home runs (T8th, 23), runs (T9^th, 76) and batting average (10^th, .328) in 105 games between Triple-A Reno and Rochester. 

The El Vigia, Venezuela, native homered in four-straight games for Rochester from Aug. 7-9, including in both halves of a doubleheader on Aug. 7 at Buffalo (TOR) and his 100^th career Minor League homer on Aug. 9 against the Bisons. In all, Chaparro slashed .286/.419/.657 with a double, four home runs, 10 RBI, eight walks and seven runs scored in 10 games for the Red Wings.

Since the beginning of the 2023 season, Chaparro ranks in all of Minor League Baseball in RBI (T3^rd,174), hits (8^th, 261) and home runs (T8^th, 48).

Originally signed by the New York Yankees as a non-drafted free agent in 2016, Chaparro slashed .263/.350/.459 with 125 doubles, 11 triples, 100 home runs, 394 RBI, 19 stolen bases, 282 walks and 364 runs scored in eight Minor League seasons between the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Nationals organizations.

Anthony Rendon’s long-awaited return to D.C. over the weekend served as a reminder how lucky the Nationals are not to have re-signed one of the stars of the 2019 World Series run, assuming he would’ve experienced the same injuries and drop in production here as he has in Anaheim.

But it also served as a reminder how the Nats have spent the last five years searching in vain for Rendon’s long-term replacement at third base.

A mindboggling 20 different people have played the hot corner for the franchise since 2020. Some (Carter Kieboom, Trey Lipscomb) were supposed to be the future at the position. Some (Jeimer Candelario) were productive stopgaps who were traded at peak value. Some (Starlin Castro, Maikel Franco, Nick Senzel) were unproductive stopgaps who lost all value during their time here. And some (Ildemaro Vargas, Josh Harrison, Asdrubal Cabrera) were and are still quality utilitymen pressed into more regular playing time because of the struggles of others.

What have they all had in common? An inability to seize the job for themselves and ensure the organization no longer needed to find its third baseman of the future.

The Nationals arguably are in no better shape now at third base than they were five years ago. Sure, there’s a highly touted prospect, a former first round pick, waiting to make his major league debut in the near future. But can anyone say with certainty Brady House will be the next Rendon and not the next Kieboom?

He entered the season as the Nationals’ most promising, highest ceiling, young starter. And two months in, MacKenzie Gore was building himself a case for an All-Star selection and the designation of staff ace.

Two-plus months later, the Nats are left wondering what in the world happened to make Gore’s season devolve this much. And what they’re supposed to do about it now.

With another laborious, abbreviated start featuring a lack of command, an inability to put away hitters and one back-breaking hit, Gore was roughed up yet again and left the Nationals in a hole they tried to climb out of but ultimately could not in a 6-4 loss to the Angels.

The left-hander lasted only four innings, giving up five runs (albeit five unearned runs) while letting 11 batters reach base, six via walk. His bullpen only poured more fuel on the fire, the team ultimately issuing 13 total walks during the affair, establishing a club record for a game of any length.

"If one guy walks, or you get a guy in scoring position, you're trying not to give up that hit or that run. You put a lot of pressure on yourself," manager Davey Martinez said. "That's the only thing I can think of. You're forcing yourself to get the ball over the plate. And that's when all the balls start happening. We've got to focus on just getting to the next pitch, and focus on that one batter, not try to get ahead of ourselves." 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde knew that the Rays would use right-hander Drew Rasmussen as an opener tonight and left-hander Tyler Alexander was prepped to follow. He knows that ace Corbin Burnes gives his club a chance to win anytime the four-time All-Star is on the mound.

What couldn’t be predicted was the manner in which the rest of the game played out. How Ramón Urías, the ninth hitter in the lineup, would impact it.

The fifth inning bit Burnes again but he registered his 19^th quality start and the Orioles carried a slim lead into the seventh, where it disappeared on José Caballero’s game-tying home run off Burch Smith. Perhaps a situation fitted for Jacob Webb if he didn’t land on the injured list.

Jackson Holliday, who hit his first left-on-left homer in the majors earlier in the game, drew a leadoff walk against lefty Colin Poche in the eighth, Hyde stuck with Urías rather than going to his bench, and the infielder rewarded him with a two-run homer in the Orioles’ 7-5 win over the Rays before an announced crowd of 23,898 at Tropicana Field.

The Yankees split their doubleheader with the Rangers, leaving the Orioles (70-48) one game ahead in the division race. They’re the first team to 70 wins.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Orioles infielder Jorge Mateo remains with the club on its road trip that concludes today. He’s on the 60-day injured list with a left elbow subluxation.

Mateo hasn’t undergone surgery at this point. He’s got another medical appointment that the club says will determine the plan.

Mateo wears a brace on his arm occasionally and is allowed to remove it.

The Orioles go for another Tropicana Field sweep this afternoon with Coby Mayo making his first start in his home state.

Mayo is 0-for-13 with two walks and eight strikeouts since his promotion.

The Nationals would probably prefer not to play extra innings today. They’ve gone to the 10th three days in a row, and the thought of another long game with an overtaxed bullpen can’t be real appealing at the moment. The good news: They’ve won the last two nights, which means they have a shot at a rare series sweep this morning.

Yes, this morning. Pre-noon baseball in the District of Columbia is no longer confined to July 4. The Nats and Angels today are playing on the relatively new "MLB Sunday Leadoff on Roku" package. That means it’s only available via online streaming, not conventional TV. But it is free, with no special subscription required. Click on this link for instructions, then enjoy the game with a mixed broadcast crew featuring Bob Carpenter on play-by-play alongside Angels analyst Mark Gubicza, with Dan Kolko serving as the on-field reporter.

MacKenzie Gore gets the start for the Nationals, and boy do they need some innings out of him today. Gore has been slightly better each of his last two starts, but he’s still nowhere close to the peak form he displayed earlier this season. This would be a wonderful time for the lefty to make a bigger step in that direction and give his team some sorely needed length.

The Angels have their own pitching issues right now, and today they’re sending rookie Jack Kochanowicz to the mound for only his third career start. The 23-year-old right-hander has given up 12 runs and 14 hits in only seven major league innings to date, suffering blowout losses to both the Mariners and Athletics.

The Nats are without CJ Abrams for the third straight game, at least in the starting lineup. Abrams did pinch-run in the 10th inning Saturday, but it appears there's still concern about his ability to bat with back spasms. With the team off Monday, he may just be playing it safe and gearing up to return Tuesday in Baltimore.

The Nationals have played their fair share of back-and-forth games this week. They saw six lead changes over their last four games, some of which included late-inning dramatics and extra frames.

And so here they were again having to battle through another one in their second matchup against the Angels. But although they saw an early lead change swing in their favor, they couldn’t keep the score of this one from flip-flopping. In the end, the Nats were able to come back for a 5-4 walk-off win in 10 innings in front of 22,183 fans at Nationals Park thanks to a new face.

After Derek Law kept it a 4-4 game with a scoreless top of the ninth while closer Kyle Finnegan was unavailable due to an increased workload over the past two games, the heart of the Nats order couldn’t provide a walk-off hit just yet.

So to extras we went yet again, the Nats’ third straight extra-inning game. Law returned to the mound and pitched a perfect 10th, stranding the automatic runner at third.

Because CJ Abrams was out of the starting lineup with a stiff upper back, he was available to pinch-run for Keibert Ruiz as the automatic runner. José Tena, an infield prospect from the Lane Thomas trade with the Guardians who was recalled from Triple-A Rochester before the game, stepped up as the first batter in the bottom of the 10th.

After right-hander Zach Eflin pitched the Orioles past the Rays with a 4-1 win Friday night, the O's will look for another victory tonight. If they get it they will have another American League East series win.

Colton Cowser led off Friday's affair with his 18th homer in the first. Cowser has homered in back-to-back games and he's hit four longballs his last 11 games. Cedric Mullins hit the O's second solo shot of the night, his 12th in the sixth inning. 

The Orioles are 7-1 this season against the Rays and 5-0 at the Trop where they have outscored the Tampa 29-8. Baltimore is 15-5 its last 20 games against Tampa Bay and 24-13 in the last 37.

The O's are now 25-12 versus AL East opponents and 13-5 in AL East road games.

The Orioles send ace righty Corbin Burnes (12-4, 2.63 ERA) to the mound tonight in Game 2 of this three-game series.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Grayson Rodriguez will be shut down for at least 10 days and undergo more imaging on his right shoulder in about three weeks after receiving the diagnosis of a strain that executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias described today as “pretty mild.”

Elias met with local media in the visiting dugout at Tropicana Field and provided an update on Rodriguez, who’s the No. 2 starter in the rotation with a 13-4 record, 3.86 ERA and 1.243 WHIP in 20 games.

Rodriguez was scratched from Tuesday night’s start in Toronto after experiencing discomfort in his right lat/teres while warming in the outfield. Albert Suárez replaced him and tossed five scoreless innings.

The immediate concern centered on the possibility of a similar absence to 2022 with Triple-A Norfolk. Rodriguez missed three months with a lat/teres strain, ruining the Orioles’ plans to promote him.

His current injury isn’t as serious and he’s expected back in the rotation by late September. The discomfort is centered more in the region of the teres major muscle but also involves his lat.

The Washington Nationals recalled infielder José Tena from Triple-A Rochester and reinstated right-handed pitcher Jordan Weems from the 15-day Injured List on Saturday. In corresponding moves, the club optioned right-handed pitcher Joan Adon and infielder Trey Lipscomb to Triple-A Rochester. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.

Tena, 23, was one of three players acquired from the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for Lane Thomas on July 29. He joins the Nationals after hitting .287 with 21 doubles, two triples, 18 home runs, 68 RBI, 34 walks, 15 stolen bases and 60 runs scored in 100 games between Triple-A Columbus and Triple-A Rochester. In 10 games with the Red Wings, five of his seven hits went for extra bases (4 2B, HR). Tena has appeared at shortstop (62 G), second base (18 G), third base (17 G) and designated hitter (2 G) this season.

At the time of the trade, Tena (tey-NAH), led Cleveland’s Minor League system with 110 hits and ranked in home runs (2nd, 17), RBI (3rd, 63), extra-base hits (4th, 36), batting average (4th, .298), slugging percentage (6th, .493) and OPS (6th, .846). He is a career .284/.338/.441 hitter with 113 doubles, 22 triples, 58 home runs, 283 RBI, 156 walks, 65 stolen bases and 310 runs scored in 530 games across six Minor League seasons. Tena earned a Rawlings Minor League Gold Glove in 2021 with High-A Lake County.

Tena made his Major League debut on Aug. 5, 2023 and has appeared in 21 games for the Guardians across two seasons (2023-24). He is 7-for-35 (.200) with two doubles, three RBI, three walks and two runs scored along the way. This marks his second Major League stint of the season, having appeared in three games from June 28 to July 3.

Weems, 31, returns to the active roster after being placed on the Injured List on July 26 with shin splints. He is 1-1 with a 6.59 ERA in 40 games out of Washington’s bullpen this season.

As we get closer to the end of the season, it’s that time of year when the Nationals will bring up some new players to give them an extended chance at the major league level to evaluate for 2025.

Today is one of those days where a new, young player is getting his shot.

Before tonight’s game against the Angels, the Nats recalled infielder José Tena from Triple-A Rochester 12 days after he was acquired as one of the three players included in the Lane Thomas trade with the Guardians.

The 23-year-old native of the Dominican Republic entered the Nats system with some big-league experience, hitting .200 with a .520 OPS in 21 games with Cleveland over the last two seasons. But he went straight to Rochester only to force his way back to the bigs.

In 10 games with the Red Wings, five of Tena’s seven hits went for extra bases with four doubles and a home run.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Coby Mayo is out of the Orioles’ lineup again tonight for the third consecutive game.

Austin Slater is in right field. Jackson Holliday moves down to eighth in the order.

Anthony Santander is the designated hitter. Colton Cowser, who had some wrist soreness last night, remains in left field and atop the order.

Corbin Burnes has made 23 starts and gone 12-4 with a 2.63 ERA and 1.058 WHIP in 143 2/3 innings. He has 18 quality starts but allowed a season-high five runs (four earned) in five innings in his most recent outing in Cleveland.

Burnes made his first career start against the Rays on June 10 at Tropicana Field and allowed two unearned runs in seven innings.

The Nationals are coming off a rough couple of days in which they sat through multiple rain delays with a dramatic comeback only to fall in the 10th inning to the Giants on Thursday then a rare extra-inning win against the Angels on Friday. Last night’s 3-2 win was just the Nats’ fourth in 12 games that have gone to extras, but at least they are no longer tied with the miserable White Sox for last in the majors in such affairs.

Now they turn their attention to tonight’s game. A victory against the Halos on Saturday would give the Nats their second series win in their last three and put them in position for a sweep tomorrow morning. (No, I don’t know why they are keeping tonight’s game as a 6:45 p.m. start before tomorrow’s 11:35 a.m. start nationally on Roku.)

Mitchell Parker was charged with two unearned runs over 6 ⅓ innings last night. A similar outing from Patrick Corbin would be much appreciated tonight, especially with the state of the Nats bullpen up in the air. Yes, Corbin leads the majors with 12 losses this season. And yes, he gave up four early runs in his last outing against the Giants.

But he actually battled back to complete six innings on Monday to give his team a chance. Since the offense only scored one run on the night, Corbin is still left in search of his 100th career win.

The Nats offense would love to get to an early lead against Griffin Canning, who is 4-10 with a 5.10 ERA and 1.414 WHIP in 23 starts this season. With Corbin on the mound and closer Kyle Finnegan likely not available after throwing a combined 57 pitches over the last two nights, the more runs the better off the Angels right-hander.