The Nationals just finished a brutal stretch. Over the last week-plus, they have been no-hit by Dylan Cease, lost back-to-back games in walk-off fashion, suffered a club-worst 17-0 loss, traded away three of their most productive players and been swept twice. Now they enter the dog days of August.

After sweeping the Marlins on June 16, the Nats were one game under .500. Since then, they've gone 14-24 with only three days off, plus the All-Star break. But with yesterday’s day off, they have an off-day in seven of the remaining nine weeks. That hopefully will help them finish the season strong.

What would also help them to start this 10-game homestand is another strong series against the Brewers, against whom the Nats won two of three in Milwaukee right before the break. Jake Irvin, who starts tonight, took the mound in that final game looking for the sweep, but was charged with seven runs (six earned) in four innings while taking a loss. But the right-hander has been solid to start his second half of the season, allowing only four runs with 12 strikeouts over 12 ⅓ innings against the Reds and Cardinals, with the Nats winning both of those games.

Frankie Montas makes his second start against the Nats in the past two weeks, this time as a member of the Brew Crew. The right-hander was traded from the Reds to the Brewers for two players on Tuesday before the deadline. This will be his first start for Milwaukee after the Nats got to him for seven runs in 4 ⅔ innings in his penultimate start with Cincinnati opening the second half.

Note that tonight’s game is exclusively on Apple TV+ for a national broadcast.

CLEVELAND – The prospect watch has lost another participant. Coby Mayo officially is in the majors.

The Orioles selected Mayo’s contract today from Triple-A Norfolk, filling the one vacancy on the 40-man roster. Livan Soto was optioned as the corresponding move on the active roster, a day after he was recalled and met with the local media.

Mayo was told yesterday to have his passport overnighted, but he didn’t find out officially about his promotion until his removal from last night’s game in Charlotte. He went 4-for-6, came out in the eighth inning and received the news from manager Buck Britton. He boarded a flight this morning to Cleveland.

The move was inevitable for the No. 3 prospect in the system. Mayo, a fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft, was batting .301 with 22 doubles, two triples, 20 home runs, 61 RBIs and a .961 OPS despite missing a month with a rib injury sustained in a collision with a dugout railing.

Injuries pulled Mayo out of the minors. Jorge Mateo has a dislocated left elbow and Jordan Westburg has a fractured right hand, and their absences will extend deep into September. Mayo can play third base, where Westburg made 64 starts this season. He’s another right-handed bat for a team that wanted to correct its imbalance.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Selected the contract of INF Coby Mayo from Triple-A Norfolk. He will wear No. 16 and his first appearance will be his Major League debut.
• Optioned INF Livan Soto to Triple-A Norfolk.

Additionally, LHP Matt Krook has been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.

Everybody in the majors plays roughly the same schedule by season’s end: 81 home games, 81 road games, 52 division games, 64 more intraleague games, 46 interleague games. But the path to get to those eventual totals differs from team to team.

And in the Nationals’ case, there’s been a distinct difference to the 2024 schedule to date: Way more road games than most others.

Wednesday’s series finale in Arizona was the Nats’ 109th game of the season but their 59th road game. No other National League team has played so many games on the road, and only the Yankees (60) have played more in the American League.

The Nationals have been on three separate three-city road trips (San Francisco-Oakland-Los Angeles in April, Boston-Chicago-Philadelphia in May, Colorado-San Diego-Tampa Bay in June). They’ve yet to be rewarded with a homestand of more than two series.

It’s made for an at-times grueling schedule, including the 17-days-in-a-row stretch they had to endure prior to the All-Star break. The good news: It’s finally about to get better.

PHOENIX – In his 16 seasons as Nationals general manager, Mike Rizzo has found himself on both ends of the trade deadline spectrum. He’s been a buyer many times. He’s been a seller with some frequency as well. He’s even had a few quiet Julys when he could stand pat and play out the rest of the season.

But he’s become way too familiar with the selling process the last four years. Every trade deadline deal the Nationals have made since 2021 – and there have been 13 of them in total – has involved the swapping of major league players for prospects.

Suffice it to say, Rizzo would much rather find himself adding than subtracting this time of year.

“It’s more fun, I know that much,” he said. “Way more fun grabbing All-Star players than giving away All-Star players. … This is challenging. This is a tough time for players, and we recognize that. But we think it’s a necessary time. I think this organization, this front office, did a remarkable job.”

The initial reviews of the Nats’ four deadline moves – Hunter Harvey to the Royals for Cayden Wallace and a draft pick used on Caleb Lomavita; Jesse Winker to the Mets for Tyler Stuart; Lane Thomas to the Guardians for Alex Clemmey, Rafael Ramirez Jr. and Jose Tena; Dylan Floro to the Diamondbacks for Andres Chaparro – have been positive.

PHOENIX – A road trip that began on the heels of a no-hitter, then included an extra-inning win, a 14-run explosion, back-to-back walk-off losses, a 17-run blowout loss and the trades of three popular veterans ended this afternoon with the closest thing the Nationals have had to a normal day in the last week. And even then, there was still some top-of-the-ninth drama just to make sure nobody got too complacent.

After eight relatively sleepy innings at the plate, the Nats came up to bat down three runs in the ninth, got two runs home and loaded the bases with two outs before coming up just short to seal a 5-4 loss to the Diamondbacks.

They nearly pulled off the kind of improbable comeback Arizona pulled off against them Monday night, getting an RBI double from CJ Abrams and then back-to-back walks drawn by Juan Yepez and James Wood to knock closer Paul Sewald from the game. But with the bases loaded and one out, Harold Ramírez struck out against Ryan Thompson. And though Thompson allowed another run to score on a wild pitch, he proceeded to get Riley Adams to bounce out to second to end the game.

"We worked good at-bats. We tried to get the ball in the zone," manager Davey Martinez said of his team's approach in the ninth. "We've got to be conscious of that from the first inning on. When we get the ball in the zone, we hit the ball well."

With a chance to at least emerge from this tumultuous trip with a 3-3 record, the Nationals instead got an improved-but-not-great start from MacKenzie Gore and then a mess of a relief appearance from Jacob Barnes that left them in a 5-1 hole in the sixth.

Liván Soto finally is going to play for the Orioles in his third stint in the organization.

The circumstances, however, are crushing.

Soto will be recalled from Triple-A Norfolk for Thursday night’s series opener in Cleveland as the injury replacement for Jordan Westburg, according to an industry source.

Westburg was hit on the right-hand today by a 95.2 mph fastball from Blue Jays reliever Yerry Rodríguez in the fifth inning. X-rays revealed a fracture.

Westburg circled the bases on Jackson Holliday’s first major league home run, a grand slam onto Eutaw Street in the Orioles’ 10-4 win. Ramón Urías replaced him at third base.

For the Orioles, the high they felt of winning 10-4 today at Camden Yards as Jackson Holliday hit a grand slam to lead the O's past the Blue Jays lasted briefly. The attention immediately turned to Jordan Westburg, who was hit in the hand with a fastball.

A team that has lost pitchers Tyler Wells, John Means and Kyle Bradish for the year and hopes to get Danny Coulombe back late in the year, and recently saw Jorge Mateo also get hurt, lost infielder Westburg. He will miss significant time after getting hit in the right-hand today by a 95 mph fastball in the fifth inning from righty reliever Yerry Rodríguez. He fractured his right hand.

Westburg, who has made starts at second and third, has batted .269 with 25 doubles, five triples, 18 homers, 58 RBIs and a .815 OPS in 101 games.

“All-Star player,” said manager Brandon Hyde, who hopes Westburg can make it back before the end of the regular season. “So, injuries are a part of the game. We have to pick up the pieces for him. We’ve got to play well. He is a huge part of our lineup, our culture, really everything. He’s right in the middle of everything and so we have to have other guys kind of step up in his place and fill the void.”

During the same series when catcher James McCann was hit in the face by a pitch Monday suffering multiple nasal fractures, now the O’s lose Westburg.

On the first full day after the trade deadline, Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias expressed optimism that his roster was “fortified,” his pitching staff improved and that his team has “as good a shot as anybody.”

This morning the O’s began the process of retooling their roster after the flurry of deadline trades for the stretch run and trying to turn a recent small stretch of winning into a larger one.

With three wins in their past four games scoring 29 runs, the O’s took the field amid the Baltimore sunshine today looking for yet another American League East series win.

Ryan Mountcastle’s two-run triple to right in the last of the first got the Orioles off to a good start. They built an early 3-0 lead.

The deadline deals opened the door for Jackson Holliday’s return to this team. He electrified the crowd today when his first major league homer was a grand slam in the last of the fifth. It opened an 8-3 lead and led to a Holliday curtain call. The crowd was on its feet and roaring for Holliday, who went 2-for-34 with the Orioles in 10 April games.

PHOENIX – It’s been an eventful road trip, to say the least. The Nationals went to St. Louis and won a game in extra innings, scored 14 runs while trading Jesse Winker mid-game and lost on a walk-off homer. Then they came to Arizona and traded Lane Thomas before Kyle Finnegan gave up five runs in the bottom of the ninth, then kept Finnegan but traded Dylan Floro before suffering the most lopsided loss in club history. Whew.

And now we finally come to the final game of the trip. Will it be relatively normal, or will some other wild development overtake matters and turn this into another crazy afternoon? If they win, the Nationals somehow would head home 3-3. All things considered, that wouldn’t be bad at all.

They need MacKenzie Gore to be good, though. And that’s something that hasn’t happened in a while. The left-hander hasn’t delivered a quality start since June 14 against the Marlins, and over his last four starts he’s got a 10.80 ERA while totaling only 15 innings. He knows he needs to be better. He’s openly said it. Now it’s time for him to actually do it.

It’s been a bit of an erratic year for Zac Gallen as well, but the Diamondbacks right-hander still enters with a 3.70 ERA and back-to-back wins over the Cubs and Pirates. After getting shut out for the 13th time this season Tuesday night, the reconfigured Nats lineup would love to take an early lead today and take some of the pressure off everyone.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Where: Chase Field
Gametime: 3:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

The Orioles, still a work in progress with their roster after the trade deadline, take the field today with Jackson Holliday back in the lineup as they host Toronto to wrap up the four-game series.

The Orioles (64-44) lead the American League East by 1/2 game over the Yankees and by seven games over the Red Sox after last night's 6-2 win. They have taken two of three in this series, are 22-10 in division games and have scored 29 runs in winning three of the past four games.

The Orioles, now 7-6 the last 13 games, are hoping they are in the beginning stages of an extended stretch of winning as the playoff push is on now post-trade deadline.

The Orioles are 11-13 this month, so they are about to have a losing month for the first time since September of 2022. The nine consecutive winning months were the longest active streak in the majors. 

Today's roster moves included the recall of Holliday from Triple-A. In other moves, lefty Gregory Soto was activated after being acquired yesterday. In corresponding moves, catcher Blake Hunt, who was added to the active roster right before the game last night, and infielder/outfielder Terrin Vavra, who had his contract selected from the Tides yesterday, were optioned to Norfolk (Hunt stayed in Baltimore on the taxi squad).

Trade deadlines are supposed to address questions and deficiencies with the roster for a team in buyer mode. There are always questions, however. The work gets done and explanations are sought. Why do this and that? Is the club actually better than the previous model?

And about those rumors.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias met with the media for about 23 minutes today in the home dugout. He’s pleased with the results, which netted starter Zach Eflin from the Rays for minor league pitcher Jackson Baumeister, infielder Mac Horvath and outfielder Matthew Etzel, reliever Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache from the Phillies for outfielder Austin Hays, starter Trevor Rogers from the Marlins for second baseman Connor Norby – who was optioned to Triple-A this morning – and outfielder Kyle Stowers, outfielder Eloy Jiménez and cash from the White Sox for Triple-A Norfolk left-hander Trey McGough, outfielder Austin Slater, infielder Livan Soto and cash considerations from the Reds for cash considerations, and left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Phillies for Double-A pitching prospect Seth Johnson and High-A Aberdeen pitcher Moisés Chance.

According to a source, there won’t be a player-to-be-named later in the deal with Cincinnati. Straight cash.

“Trade deadline’s always tough,” Elias said. “It’s always bittersweet trading players for other players. It’s not a one-way street. You’re losing talent but you’re getting different talent that’s a different fit and more of a short-term concentration for the needs of the team. We added two starting pitchers that are going right in our rotation, we added two really hard throwers with success in the major leagues for a long time – one from the left side, one from the right side. And we added a couple of right-handed bats which were especially necessary in the outfield with Austin Hays being gone. So I think that the roster is very fortified.

Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday is back with the team today and about to play in a big league game for the first time since April 23. He said he feels more prepared this time around and his arm is fully ready after a bout with right elbow inflammation.

The 20-year-old Holliday went 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts in 10 games in his first time in the bigs.

“Just going to enjoy it,” Holliday said this morning in the Baltimore clubhouse which gets an influx of new talent after the trade deadline. “Enjoy being here and being present. Feel like last time it was all a blur. Just glad to be up here and enjoy every moment with these guys and have fun.

“It was obviously sad to go back down. But got to go down there and make some adjustments and improve a little bit and set myself up for the second time around. Glad to be here.”

Holliday indicated the adjustments he made were minor. He told me he has not eliminated his high leg kick, which some questioned whether that would impact his ability to hit premium velocity. That part didn’t change.

The Orioles recalled Jackson Holliday this morning and he’s starting at second base to close out the series against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards.

Left-hander Gregory Soto was activated and is wearing No. 65. Catcher Blake Hunt and infielder Terrin Vavra were optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Hunt is on the taxi squad.

Also, right-hander Levin Stoudt cleared waivers and was outrighted to Double-A Bowie.

Another slow day for the Orioles.

Holliday took ground balls at second this morning. He’s batting eighth.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Recalled 2B/SS Jackson Holliday from Triple-A Norfolk.
• Activated LHP Gregory Soto. He will wear No. 65.
• Optioned C Blake Hunt to Triple-A Norfolk.
• Optioned INF/OF Terrin Vavra to Triple-A Norfolk.

Additionally, RHP Levi Stoudt has been outrighted to Double-A Bowie. 

PHOENIX – As he sat in his office this afternoon, a frantic and often emotional trade deadline period having finally been completed with four veterans dealt away, Davey Martinez took a deep breath and tried to turn the page.

"It’s over," the Nationals manager said. "Let’s go play baseball."

It was a nice thought, and surely for the 26 remaining players and the coaching staff, the idea of a ballgame to prepare for had to be refreshing. Until that ballgame began and disaster ensued.

Patrick Corbin, one of only two remaining players on the active roster due to become a free agent at season’s end along with reliever Jacob Barnes, took the mound for the 22nd time this season, the 160th time since signing a six-year, $140 million contract in 2019, and proceeded to do something no pitcher in Nationals history had ever done.

During the first three innings of what wound up a 17-0 spanking at the hands of the Diamondbacks, Corbin surrendered 11 runs. It’s not only the most runs he’s allowed in his career, it’s the most runs any pitcher has allowed in club history.

PHOENIX – A week of trade deadline frenzy reached its final hour this evening, the Nationals having previously dealt three key players and now waiting to see if there would be any last-minute takers for their two remaining available relievers.

In the end, they did find a deal they liked for Dylan Floro. They did not find one to their liking for Kyle Finnegan.

Floro was traded to the Diamondbacks for Triple-A corner infielder Andrés Chaparro during the final minutes leading up to the 6 p.m. Eastern deadline, giving the veteran right-hander a chance to move to the other clubhouse at Chase Field and potentially face his former team tonight. Finnegan, on the other hand, stays put and will remain the Nats closer for the remainder of this season while remaining under club control for 2025 as well.

"I'm happy to be a National, and we can put this behind us and focus on winning games," said Finnegan, who for the third straight summer heard his name come up in trade deadline rumors but never was dealt. "I was at peace with whatever happened. But I'm happy to be here."

Having already traded Hunter Harvey to the Royals prior to the All-Star break, then Jesse Winker to the Mets and Lane Thomas to the Guardians over the last three days, the Nationals reached deadline day with only two expected trade candidates in Finnegan and Floro.

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired left-handed pitcher GREGORY SOTO from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for right-handed pitcher SETH JOHNSON and minor league right-handed pitcher MOISÉS CHACE. 

Soto, 29, is 2-4 with a 4.08 ERA (16 ER/35.1 IP) with 36 hits (2 HR), 19 total runs allowed, six hit-by-pitches, 20 walks (2 IBB), and 44 strikeouts in 43 games, all in relief, for the Phillies. His 97.7 mph average fastball velocity ranks in the top four percent of MLB, per Statcast. Soto has made at least 60 appearances each season since the start of 2021 and made the National League All-Star team in 2021 and 2022. He was acquired by Philadelphia, along with infielder Kody Clemens, from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for outfielder Matt Vierling, infielder Nick Maton, and catcher Donny Sands on January 7, 2023. Soto, a native of Haina, Dominican Republic, originally joined the Tigers after signing as an international free agent in December 2012.

Johnson, 25, went 0-6 with a 2.63 ERA (19 ER/65.0 IP) with 51 hits (5 HR), 24 total runs, 35 walks, and 61 strikeouts in 18 games, all starts, with Double-A Bowie this season. At the time of the move, he was ranked as the No. 8 Orioles prospect and No. 3 O’s pitching prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He was acquired by the Orioles from the Tampa Bay Rays as part of a three-team, five-player trade with the Houston Astros that included infielder/outfielder Trey Mancini on August 1, 2022. Johnson was originally selected by Tampa Bay in the Competitive Balance A Round (40^th overall) of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Campbell University (NC).

Chace, 21, held a 2-2 record with a 3.46 ERA (20 ER/52.0 IP) with 37 hits (5 HR), 22 total runs, six hit-by-pitches, 30 walks, and 76 strikeouts in 17 games (9 GS) with High-A Aberdeen this season. A native of La Guaira, Venezuela, Chace was signed by the Orioles on July 2, 2019, as a minor league free agent.

Soto has not yet reported.

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired outfielder ELOY JIMÉNEZ and cash considerations from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for minor league left-handed pitcher TREY McGOUGH. 

Jiménez (pronounced eh-LOY he-MEN-ehz), 27, is slashing .240/.297/.345 (55-for-229) with nine doubles, five home runs, 18 runs scored, 16 RBI, 18 walks (1 IBB), one hit-by-pitch, and three stolen bases in 65 games for the White Sox this season. All but one of his starts have been as the designated hitter, with his lone game in the outfield coming on May 19. He’s batting .304/.360/.370 (14-for-46) with three doubles against left-handed pitching this year. Jiménez won a Silver Slugger in 2020 and finished fourth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2019. He was acquired by Chicago-AL along with Dylan Cease and two others from Chicago-NL in exchange for José Quintana on July 13, 2017. Jiménez was originally signed by the Cubs as an international free agent on August 1, 2013, out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He signed a six-year contract with the White Sox before making his MLB debut in March 2019. That contract includes club options in 2025 and 2026.

McGough, 26, is 2-0 with a 1.99 ERA (12 ER/54.1 IP) with 33 hits (2 HR), 14 total runs, one hit-by-pitch, 21 walks, and 55 strikeouts in 28 games, all relief appearances, between Triple-A Norfolk and Double-A Bowie this year. He was taken by the Orioles in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft from the Pittsburgh Pirates on December 7, 2022. McGough was originally selected by Pittsburgh in the 24^th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Mount St. Mary’s University (PA).

Jiménez has not yet reported.

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired outfielder AUSTIN SLATER, infielder LIVAN SOTO, and cash considerations from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later.

Slater, 31, is batting .185/.308/.222 (20-for-108) with one double, one home run, 14 runs scored, 12 RBI, 18 walks, and three hit-by-pitches in 51 games (29 starts) between the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds this season. He was acquired by Cincinnati from San Francisco on July 7. Since the start of 2021, Slater has made 206 appearances off the bench, 41 more than any other player in the big leagues during that time. Slater was originally selected by the Giants in the eighth round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of The Bolles School (FL).

Soto, 24, went 0-for-3 in one start for the Reds on June 26, 2024, his lone MLB appearance this season. He had been designated for assignment by Cincinnati earlier today. Soto was claimed by Baltimore on February 8 and was in camp with the Orioles until being designated for assignment on February 16, again claimed by the club on April 11, and then claimed by the Reds on April 19 after being designated for assignment by Baltimore on April 16. He’s appeared in 23 career MLB games, with 18 of them as a member of the Los Angeles Angels in 2022. Soto was originally signed by the Atlanta Braves as an international free agent out of Valencia, Venezuela in July 2016.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Orioles transferred infielder/outfielder JORGE MATEO to the 60-day Injured List (left elbow subluxation) and designated left-handed pitcher MATT KROOK for assignment. Slater has not yet reported and Soto has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.