LOS ANGELES – What’s that you say? The Nationals have a chance tonight at a three-game winning streak? Why yes, that’s exactly what’s at stake this evening when they face the Dodgers in the second game of this series.

It’s going to take another stellar effort to beat L.A., of course, and that starts with the pitching staff, most notably starter Josiah Gray. After using up five relievers to pull off Monday night’s 4-1 victory – and having now used both Carl Edwards Jr. and Kyle Finnegan on back-to-back days – the Nats need quality and length tonight from Gray, who makes his return to Chavez Ravine.

The former Dodgers prospect made his first two career big league appearances here last summer (prior to the trade) and didn’t fare so well. He also didn’t fare so well when he faced the Dodgers in D.C. earlier this season, giving up seven runs in three innings, with three homers hit off him. Gray feels like he’s been able to shake off those jitters since, and heads into tonight’s start feeling better about the state of things, though he has struggled in two of his last three outings after a fantastic June.

The lineup looks similar to Monday’s arrangement, with Victor Robles batting leadoff again (as Davey Martinez promised). The most notable change, though, is the absence of Nelson Cruz. It’s been a miserable open to the second half for the 42-year-old, who is 0-for-14 with two walks and five strikeouts since the All-Star break. Obviously, he’s a name who has been on the trading block all year, though the way he’s been performing makes you wonder just how much interest there’s going to be in him now.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 10:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB Network (outside D.C. and L.A. markets), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 71 degrees, wind 7 mph out to center field

LOS ANGELES – Dodger Stadium has been the site of more than a few memorable moments in Nationals history, both good ones and bad ones. What do the next three days have in store? Probably nothing as meaningful as the night of Oct. 9, 2019, when the Nats got over the hump and won their first playoff series. But hopefully nothing too devastating, either. We shall see.

Juan Soto, of course, will be the center of attention here, just as he was one week ago when he won the Home Run Derby in this very ballpark. It’ll be interesting to see what the crowd reaction is to the young star. Perhaps some Dodger faithful will be cheering him on, hoping to make a good impression on him?

Soto will be batting third tonight, after batting second Sunday in a 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks. Victor Robles has been bumped up to the leadoff spot for the first time this season, with everyone else getting bumped down a spot from where they were Sunday, including Ehire Adrianza at third base instead of Maikel Franco. Will have to ask if anything unusual is going on there.

Paolo Espino gets the ball for his first start of the second half. It’s an awfully tough challenge, facing a Dodgers lineup that opens up with Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman. Espino’s best hope for success: Keep the walks to a minimum, and keep the ball in the yard.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Dodger Stadium
Gametime: 10:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB Network (outside D.C. and L.A. markets), MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 72 degrees, wind 7 mph out to center field

PHOENIX – The Nationals’ schedule this month has been unrelenting, and it will continue to be that way in the coming days, with series against the Dodgers, Cardinals and Mets next up. That made this weekend’s series with the Diamondbacks a potential ease-in for the Nats. Of course, that’s not how things have worked out so far.

The Nationals have lost the first two games this weekend by a combined 14 runs. Neither has been a particularly competitive or entertaining game. They can only hope today’s finale has a better outcome.

Davey Martinez, ever searching for some lineup that can produce runs in bunches, especially early in games, has moved Juan Soto back up to the No. 2 spot, with Josh Bell and Nelson Cruz behind him. We’ll see if it makes any difference, but it would sure help if César Hernández got on base a couple times to give Soto an opportunity to do some damage against Arizona right-hander Corbin Martin, just recalled from Triple-A Reno.

Erick Fedde gets the ball for the Nats, facing a Diamondbacks lineup that roughed him up back in April to the tune of seven runs (six earned) in only 3 1/3 innings. Fedde did dominate at Chase Field last season, though, tossing seven scoreless innings in one of the best starts of his career.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Where: Chase Field
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

PHOENIX – We’ve got a dandy of a pitching matchup tonight. Er, a dandy of a matchup if you want to go back in time a bit. Way back in October 2012, Madison Bumgarner started Game 2 of the World Series for the Giants, then Aníbal Sánchez started Game 3 for the Tigers. Ten years later, these two wily veterans go head-to-head in a game of far less significance when the Diamondbacks and Nationals resume their weekend series.

Sánchez makes his second start since coming back from a long-term neck injury. The 38-year-old right-hander had his moments against the Braves but was done in by a late homer off Michael Harris II’s bat, leaving him with a pitching line that included five innings and four runs allowed. We’ll see how he handles tonight’s assignment, knowing there’s probably less pressure on him this time around.

Bumgarner (still only 32, even though it feels like he’s much older than that) owns a 3.89 ERA in 19 starts for Arizona, but that number has slowly risen over the last two months. Over his last 12 starts, the lefty is 3-8 with a 4.77 ERA.

The Nationals are going with a lineup designed to have a better shot facing a left-hander than a right-hander. That means Lane Thomas is in left field (and batting second), with Maikel Franco batting sixth and Ehire Adrianza getting the start at shortstop instead of Luis García.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Where: Chase Field
Gametime: 8:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

PHOENIX – Hello from the Valley of the Sun, where the temperatures have been in the 110s all week. Fortunately, it won’t be anywhere close to that inside Chase Field tonight when the Nationals open the second half of the season against the Diamondbacks.

The All-Star break allowed Davey Martinez to rearrange his rotation however he preferred, and he chose to open up tonight with Patrick Corbin, followed by Aníbal Sánchez on Saturday and Erick Fedde on Sunday. That means the team is using this opportunity to give Josiah Gray an extended break before he presumably pitches next week at the Dodgers, perhaps saving up some of his innings to ensure he’s good to finish the season.

So it’s Corbin tonight facing his former team, though not for the first time. He’s made two previous starts against the Diamondbacks (once in 2019, once earlier this year) and was rocked in each of them to the tune of 14 earned runs in only 7 1/3 innings.

The Nationals go up against right-hander Zac Gallen, with a lineup that includes César Hernández leading off and Keibert Ruiz batting second ahead of Juan Soto, Josh Bell and Nelson Cruz. We’ve seen Martinez tinker with the top two spots in his lineup a lot in recent weeks. Until he finds something that works, he may have to continue to tinker.

The bullpen has a couple new (but actually familiar) faces for this series. Víctor Arano was activated off the injured list, his first appearance on the active roster since he hurt his knee back on June 5. They also recalled Hunter Harvey from Triple-A Rochester, bringing back the hard-throwing right-hander quickly after sending him down before the All-Star break. They were able to do that because he’s replacing an injured teammate: Tyler Clippard, who was placed on the 15-day IL (retroactive to July 19) with a left groin strain.

The Orioles are 92 games into the season and resume it tonight after a brief pause for the All-Star break, the first seven against the top two teams in their division. Twenty of the next 30 played within the American League East.

Bad news in the past. Nothing to celebrate in 2022. But the Orioles are 16-21 versus the East after going 20-56 last year, 24-52 in 2019, 23-53 in 2018.

The 2017 team that remained in contention at the beginning of September finished two games below .500 in the division.

You must go back to the 2016 season to find the Orioles above .500, when they went 40-36. The current division record is more impressive when placed alongside the others.

The Orioles are 12-12 versus three teams in the East. The 4-9 record comes against the Yankees, who arrive tonight after the Astros swept them yesterday in a doubleheader.

The first half of the season comes to a close today, and not a moment too soon for a Nationals club that has sunk to new depths previously thought unreachable. They enter today’s game on a nine-game losing streak (their first since 2008), having also lost nine straight to the Braves over the last month, having lost 15 of their last 16 games overall and owning the majors’ worst record at 30-63. (Oh, and there’s also that little matter about Juan Soto.)

So it’s against that backdrop they’ll try to snap the losing streak and somehow head into the All-Star break on a positive note. But to do that, they’ll need to score a lot more runs than they’ve been scoring, especially early. They’ll have to do that against Spencer Strider, the Atlanta rookie who completely overwhelmed them in a start here last month. So, good luck with that.

And then to add one more challenge to the afternoon, the Nationals are going with a bullpen game today. This is their sixth game in five days, so they were either going to have to call up a fill-in starter from the minors or go with all bullpen arms. They could’ve activated Josh Rogers off the 15-day injured list, but the lefty will be making another rehab start today for Triple-A Rochester. So they’ll have to make do with a bunch of guys out of their bullpen. On the bright side, they don’t have another game to play until Friday at Arizona, so Davey Martinez doesn’t have to worry about holding anyone back.

ATLANTA BRAVES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms late, 85 degrees, wind 6 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
2B César Hernández
C Keibert Ruiz
RF Juan Soto
1B Josh Bell
SS Luis García
LF Yadiel Hernandez
DH Maikel Franco
3B Ehire Adrianza
CF Victor Robles

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – So here we are, the final game before the All-Star break. The Orioles already have 46 wins, the same amount they reached last season in their 140^th game on Sept. 10. One fewer than their entire 2018 total.

They can do no worse than .500 in the unofficial first half.

Adley Rutschman is catching today. His pinch-hit home run yesterday was the sixth for the Orioles in the last 27 years that tied a game in the eighth inning or later.

It was the third on the road, joining Luis Sardinas on April 18, 2018 in Detroit and Rafael Palmeiro on Sept. 22, 2004 in Boston.

Trey Mancini was the last Orioles rookie to hit a pinch-hit home run, on June 7, 2017 in Pittsburgh.

Will today be the day? Will the Nationals end their dual eight-game losing streaks (one of them overall, one of them against the Braves)? Will they actually be able to play this late-afternoon game as scheduled, given the likelihood of thunderstorms in the area? All we can do is wait and see on all counts.

The challenge, as always, is stiff, because the Nationals simply haven’t been able to get both a quality pitching performance and early run production against the Braves during these last eight games they’ve played against them. They guy they’re facing today, Max Fried, is very good. But the Nats have actually enjoyed some modest success against the lefty: In their last head-to-head encounter, they scored four runs in 5 2/3 innings off him, and that was with Juan Soto out of the lineup.

At the same time, though, the Nationals need a good start from Paolo Espino, who has not been great in recent outings. Over his last three starts, the wily veteran has allowed 10 runs on 17 hits while totaling only 12 innings. That includes a four-inning start Sunday in Atlanta in which he allowed two runs on six hits and was pulled with his pitch count at 65.

ATLANTA BRAVES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Thunderstorms, 82 degrees, wind 6 mph out to left field

NATIONALS
LF Lane Thomas
2B César Hernández
RF Juan Soto
1B Josh Bell
DH Keibert Ruiz
3B Maikel Franco
SS Alcides Escobar
C Tres Barrera
CF Victor Robles

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Orioles will attempt to start a new winning streak this afternoon with Dean Kremer making his last start before the All-Star break.

Kremer has a 2.15 ERA and 1.248 WHIP in seven appearances since returning from the oblique injury he sustained in the visiting bullpen at Tropicana Field in the season’s third game. He’s surrendered only two home runs in 37 2/3 innings.

Kremer hasn’t allowed a run in four of his last five starts. He shut out the Rays over six innings on June 17 in Baltimore.

Today is Kremer’s first appearance in a game in St. Petersburg.

Ramón Urías is starting at second base today. He hit two home runs last night, giving him three in his last three games, and is batting .387/.441/.677 (12-for-31) with 11 RBIs since being reinstated from the injured list.

How do the Nationals end a seven-game losing streak and a seven-game losing streak to the Braves? How do they win for only the second time in their last 15 games and for only the eighth time in 42 games against National League East opponents this season? How about scoring some early runs and playing with a lead for a change?

It hasn’t been happening with any regularity, and it has been a real problem. Even though the rotation has done a decent job and the bullpen has done a very good job this month, the lineup continues to be feeble with runners in scoring position, aside from a few big hits late in games that typically come too little too late.

So perhaps tonight there could be an early barrage of runs off Braves starter Ian Anderson, who enters with a 4.98 ERA and 1.512 WHIP. This is the third time the Nationals have faced the right-hander in the last month. They scored four runs in four innings off him June 13, then were held to two runs in 5 1/3 innings Sunday in Atlanta. Each time, he walked four batters, so patience is key.

Patrick Corbin starts for the Nats, and you know the drill at this point. If he can locate his fastball early and make his slider look like a strike, he’s got a chance to be successful. If he doesn’t, we’ve seen what the results look like.

ATLANTA BRAVES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 84 degrees, wind 6 mph right field to left field

The National League East has been good to the Nationals through much of their history. They won four division titles between 2012-17 and often beat up on their lesser rivals. That is no longer the case, though. The narrative has completely flipped on its head, and right now the last thing the Nats want to be doing is facing a fellow NL East opponent.

Unfortunately, they’re about to open a four-game series with the Braves. The same Braves team that just swept them at Truist Park last weekend. The same Braves team that swept them last month at Nationals Park. The same Braves team that along with its NL East counterparts has gone a collective 33-7 against the Nationals this season.

Who are the Nats sending to the mound tonight in hopes of reversing that trend? That would be Aníbal Sánchez, the 38-year-old right-hander making his first major league start in two years. It’s been a long road back for Sánchez, who struggled in 2020, sat out 2021 and then signed a minor league deal with the Nationals this spring, only to spend the next 3 1/2 months on the injured list with a cervical nerve impingement. What can be expected of him tonight against a tough Atlanta lineup? Probably best to set the expectation bar low.

Kyle Wright gets the start for the Braves, his second straight against the Nats. Five days ago, he held them to three runs on eight hits while pitching into the eighth inning. He did surrender two home runs in that game: one to Juan Soto, the other to Yadiel Hernandez.

ATLANTA BRAVES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 83 degrees, wind 5 mph out to center field

It’s time for more baseball. After dropping the opener of their day-night doubleheader to the Mariners, the Nationals are back at it this evening with the makeup for Tuesday night’s rained out game.

Erick Fedde gets the start on the heels of one of his worst outings of the year. Pitching Friday night in Atlanta, he was roughed up for eight runs in three-plus innings. The issue, as it has been so often, was an inability to put away hitters. During one stretch in the second inning, Fedde got ahead in the count 0-2 to five consecutive hitters but didn’t retire any of them. He’s got to find a way to take advantage of those advantageous situations.

The Mariners, meanwhile, have right-handed reliever Erik Swanson opening tonight’s game but then intend to hand the ball to a familiar face after that: Tommy Milone. Yes, the same lefty who made his major league debut for the Nats in 2011 (and homered!) and then returned to pitch for them for a brief while in 2018. The 35-year-old has been all over the place during his career, but he’s still getting the job done, entering tonight’s expected “bulk relief” outing with a 3.60 ERA in four relief appearances.

In case you missed the news, the Nationals also brought back a familiar face to their own bullpen, calling up Tyler Clippard from Triple-A Rochester. That move, though, comes at the expense of Tanner Rainey, who has been placed on the 60-day injured list with a sprained elbow ligament.

SEATTLE MARINERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 88 degrees, wind 6 mph out to center field

CHICAGO – The Orioles are trying tonight to rise above the .500 mark for the first time since April 8, 2021.

They remain in last place in the American League East, but everyone is noticing them.

The teams above them can’t help it. The Orioles are two games behind the Blue Jays for fourth place, three behind the third-place Red Sox and 3 ½ behind the second-place Rays.

The Orioles are Rays meet in a three-game series that begins Friday night at Tropicana Field.

The Jays fired manager Charlie Montoyo earlier today.

Let’s give this another try, shall we?

After their interleague series opener was rained out Tuesday night, the Nationals and Mariners are now set to play two today. The postponed game will be made up at 6:05 p.m., but first is the originally scheduled 12:05 p.m. matinee.

Both managers stuck with their Tuesday night starters for today’s opener. So it’s Josiah Gray for the Nats, trying to pick up where he left off seven days ago in Philadelphia when he struck out a career-high 11 batters. And it’s Chris Flexen for the Mariners, trying for his ninth consecutive start allowing three or fewer runs.

Davey Martinez’s lineup Tuesday had Luis García in the leadoff spot for the second straight game. García may not necessarily profile as a top-of-the-order hitter over the course of his career, but for now it makes sense to have him get the extra at-bats instead of the struggling César Hernández or Lane Thomas.

SEATTLE MARINERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 12:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 85 degrees, wind 7 mph out to right field

CHICAGO – The Orioles designated left-hander Kirk McCarty for assignment today to make room for pitcher Louis Head on the 40-man roster.

Head was claimed off waivers this morning from the Marlins. The Orioles optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk.

Head has been on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement. He made a rehab appearance in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.

McCarty made one start with Norfolk and allowed three runs in four innings after the Orioles selected him off waivers from the Guardians on July 6.

Austin Hays returns to the lineup and is playing right field tonight after sitting out Sunday’s game with a sore right wrist. Anthony Santander is in left.

On the heels of a rough road trip against division contenders, the Nationals return home this week, with another four-game series against the Braves looming before the All-Star break. Before that, though, comes a quick two-game interleague series with the Mariners. It’s the first time these two franchises have met since 2017, only the sixth head-to-head series ever between them. (The Nats will return the favor with a two-game trip to Seattle next month.)

The Mariners, unfortunately, are as hot as any team in baseball right now, riding an eight-game winning streak into this series. They’ve done with excellent pitching, including from tonight’s starter: Chris Flexen, who hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his last eight starts. The right-hander shut out the Padres over 6 2/3 innings in his last start July 4, which means he’s had plenty of rest entering tonight’s outing.

Josiah Gray was great in his last start, striking out a career-high 11 in a 3-2 win at the Phillies six days ago. The right-hander will look to pick up where he left off tonight against a Mariners lineup that ranks 11th in the American League in runs and batting average, though seventh in homers and second in walks.

All of this, of course, is contingent upon the weather. The forecast isn’t great, with strong storms expected throughout the region late this afternoon and this evening. Given that this is only a two-game series, with a 12:05 p.m. start Wednesday, you’d think they won’t be so quick to postpone tonight. But as always, we’ll see what Mother Nature (and MLB) has in store.

SEATTLE MARINERS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Thunderstorms, 84 degrees, wind 8 mph out to right field

ATLANTA – The Nationals need a win today to salvage this three-game series against the Braves and end this mostly miserable road trip on a high note.

Paolo Espino will lead them on the mound as he makes his sixth consecutive start. The right-hander hasn’t posted similar numbers as a starter to those he did when he was strictly a reliever. In 20 appearances out of the bullpen, he had a 2.03 ERA over a mainly low-leverage 26 ⅔ innings. Since he joined the rotation on June 12, Espino is 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA in 22 innings over five starts. He gave up three runs in one inning of relief against the Braves in his second outing of the season on April 12.

For the offense, Ian Anderson may present the best opportunity to do some damage off a Braves starter. The right-hander is 7-5 with a 5.09 ERA over his first 16 starts of the season. He gave up four runs on six hits and four walks in four innings plus three batters against the Nats on June 13. He has a 9.82 ERA in just 11 innings over his last three starts.

César Hernández is on the bench and not in his usual leadoff spot, with Luis García batting first instead. Manager Davey Martinez also has Juan Soto and Josh Bell swapping places in today's batting order.

All-Stars will be announced later today, so we’ll see soon who will be the Nationals’ representative in the Midsummer Classic.

The Orioles selected the contract of reliever Rico Garcia this morning and optioned left-hander Bruce Zimmermann to Triple-A Norfolk.

Zimmermann threw a scoreless relief inning yesterday.

Reliever Travis Lakins Sr. was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room for Garcia on the 40-man roster.

Also, reliever Marcos Diplán cleared outright waivers and was assigned to Norfolk.

Garcia, who’s wearing No. 63, has made two appearances with the Orioles as a replacement player in Toronto and allowed one run in three innings.

ATLANTA – It’s a new day and the Nationals will be looking to get past last night’s disaster, which saw them lose 10-2 in the series opener with a 75-minute rain delay and another position player pitching.

They’ll turn to Patrick Corbin to set the tone for them on the mound this afternoon. Although the overall numbers still aren’t great (4-10 record and 5.68 ERA in 17 starts), the veteran lefty has been very impressive over his last two starts, pitching to a 1.20 ERA with 16 strikeouts and three walks over a combined 15 innings. He did, however, give up six runs in just 2 ⅔ innings here at Truist Park in his second start of the season. Here’s hoping things have changed since the last time Corbin faced the Braves.

After mustering only Juan Soto’s two-run home run off Charlie Morton last night, the Nats offense hopes to be more productive against Kyle Wright, who has been one of the more consistent starters in the league. The 26-year-old right-hander is 9-4 with a 2.91 ERA over 16 starts this season, and he should be plenty fresh after only pitching four innings and throwing 71 pitches (both season lows) in his last start against the Cardinals. (Manager Brian Snitker removed him as a precaution after the Braves jumped out to a 6-0 lead.) 

Wright hasn’t faced the Nats since 2020, but is 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA in four career appearances (two starts) against Washington.

The weather here is once again not great for baseball. The light rain falling is supposed to clear around the scheduled 4:10 p.m. first pitch, but then it’s supposed to storm all night starting around 6-7 p.m.. They may be able to start this game. Whether or not they finish is a different story.