The formula has become so routine at this point, it almost feels like a cruel joke when it keeps happening.

The Nationals get five good-to-great innings out of their starter, then watch him fade in the sixth inning before handing it over to the bullpen, which proceeds to make an absolute mess of a once-low-scoring ballgame.

But wait, there’s more. Despite facing a suddenly daunting deficit created by their relief corps, the Nats battle back to turn this into a high-scoring nailbiter late. At which point everyone holds his or her breath to see how it will end.

Sometimes that formula has produced dramatic victories, as it did Tuesday afternoon. And sometimes it has produced mind-numbing losses, as it did this afternoon in an 8-6 loss to the Guardians to wrap up a wacky interleague series.

Completing three full, nine-inning games in less than 24 hours, the Nationals wound up losing two of three to Cleveland. They certainly had a chance to duplicate their rousing success from a 10-9 win in the opener of Tuesday’s doubleheader in the finale, but instead they were done in by yet another bullpen disaster and an inability to complete a potentially rousing rally.

The Nationals optioned Eduardo Salazar to Triple-A Rochester this morning, demoting the struggling reliever in order to clear a spot on the active roster for Michael Soroka in advance of his return from the injured list this afternoon.

With Soroka starting the series finale against the Guardians after missing the last five weeks with a right biceps strain, the Nats had to settle on a corresponding roster move among several possibilities. They could have optioned Brad Lord, who held Soroka’s spot in the rotation and performed well, but they chose instead to move the rookie right-hander back to the bullpen. They could have cut ties with another struggling reliever, Lucas Sims, but he’s got a $3 million guaranteed contract and is out of options.

In the end, the club made the simplest move available at this point and demoted Salazar to the minors. The right-hander made the Opening Day roster on the strength of a solid 2024 season and a strong spring training, but the 27-year-old struggled mightily from the get-go.

In 17 appearances, Salazar produced a 9.77 ERA and 2.234 WHIP. He gave up runs in 10 of those outings, including his last five. He also allowed eight of 10 inherited runners to score.

The final straw came during the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader. Entrusted with the top of the eighth and the Nationals trailing 6-1, Salazar issued a leadoff walk to Carlos Santana and eventually allowed him to score on two wild pitches. He then served a home run to Daniel Schneemann, blowing the game open.

It was a long Tuesday at the ballpark, and after a quick cat nap, we’re all right back here this morning for an early matinee. If this game starts on time and is completed in fewer than 3 1/2 hours, the Nationals and Guardians will have completed an entire three-game series in less than 24 hours. That doesn’t happen often.

After splitting the doubleheader, the Nats would love to emerge victorious today and win their second consecutive series against a contending team from Ohio. That would get them back to within two games of the .500 mark, with some positive momentum heading in the right direction before the Cardinals come to town this weekend.

The big story coming in today: The return of Michael Soroka from the injured list. The 27-year-old right-hander made only one start back on March 31 before straining his biceps muscle. It took a little longer than hoped, but he’s back now and hoping to build off his 11-strikeout rehab start for Triple-A Rochester. This Cleveland lineup doesn’t strike out a lot, so that may make for a stiff challenge for Soroka.

The Nationals lineup had a wild Tuesday, scoring 10 runs in the opener, then one run in the nightcap. Consistency is needed, and a strong early showing against Guardians left-hander Logan Allen would sure be helpful. Allen was roughed up by the Red Sox to the tune of seven runs two starts ago, but he bounced back with two earned runs allowed last time out against the Blue Jays.

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 12:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 72 degrees, wind 9 mph left field to right field

For the second time in the last week, Michael Soroka has met the Nationals in D.C. from his minor league rehab assignment. And for the second time in the last week, he doesn't know when or where his next start will take place.

Soroka dominated Friday during his third rehab start while working his way back from a right biceps strain. He struck out 11 hitters over five innings of one-run ball, while reaching his goal of 94 pitches for Triple-A Rochester.

“I felt pretty good,” Soroka said in the Nats clubhouse Monday afternoon. “Everything was coming out pretty good and I can't complain about that. Ultimately, we got to the full pitch count. Yeah, I felt really good.”

The veteran right-hander then threw his between-starts bullpen session at Nationals Park yesterday, so the team will wait to see how he responds today before making a final decision on whether or not to return him to the major league rotation.

“He threw the ball really well. He's good,” manager Davey Martinez said. “So we'll see how he feels tomorrow, and we'll make a decision, hopefully tomorrow.”

CINCINNATI – The Nationals haven’t decided the plan for Michael Soroka yet, but they have decided to give Brad Lord at least one more start in the interim.

Lord is listed as Tuesday night’s starter against the Guardians, staying on turn behind Jake Irvin, who will pitch Monday night’s series opener at Nationals Park. The team has Wednesday’s starter listed as “TBA,” with Soroka a possible candidate to return from a five-week stint on the injured list.

Lord replaced Soroka in the rotation when the latter suffered a right biceps strain during his March 31 season debut in Toronto. The rookie, who opened the year in the bullpen, has slowly been building his arm up since then and Thursday night in Philadelphia reached the sixth inning for the first time in the majors.

Lord has allowed only two runs in each of his last three starts and overall has a 4.43 ERA in eight appearances (five of them starts). He’ll now get a chance to make his sixth start, after which the team will need to decide whether to keep him in the rotation, send him back to the bullpen or option him to Triple-A Rochester to keep him on a starter’s schedule in case the team needs him again in the near future.

Soroka was dominant Friday in his third minor league rehab start, striking out 11 batters over five innings of one-run ball, throwing 94 pitches. The 27-year-old, who was signed for $9 million over the winter, appears ready to go, but the Nationals aren’t making any declarations about the plan for him until they see him throw again Monday when the team returns home.

CINCINNATI – Josh Bell is out of the Nationals lineup tonight after tweaking his right groin muscle running out a ground ball during Friday night’s loss to the Reds.

Bell said he hurt himself trying to beat out a seventh-inning grounder to the right side of the infield, walking gingerly back to the dugout after making the out. Davey Martinez sent Amed Rosario out to pinch-hit for him in the top of the ninth.

Though Bell said he feels OK today, Martinez decided not to take a chance on a rainy night at Great American Ball Park.

“He’s better, but he’s a little sore,” the manager said. “So we’ll give him another day. And the weather, not wanting him to go out there in the wet, we’ll keep him down. He’s going to try to hit later, and hopefully he’s available to pinch-hit.”

Bell produced the Nationals’ lone run in their 6-1 loss, connecting for a solo homer in the fifth inning off Cincinnati ace Hunter Greene. The 32-year-old continues to endure through a rough start to his season, owner of a mere .528 OPS despite five home runs.

PHILADELPHIA – The Nationals made their first significant bullpen change of the season this evening, signing veteran left-hander Andrew Chafin to a major league deal and designating Colin Poche for assignment.

Chafin, 34, has 601 games of big league experience with six different clubs, the first 380 of them with the Diamondbacks. Owner of a 3.42 ERA, 1.275 WHIP and 20 career saves, he had a 3.51 ERA in 62 games with the Tigers and Rangers last season.

Chafin opened this season with Detroit's Triple-A club in Toledo, posting a 2.13 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings before opting out of his minor league contract and becoming a free agent. He's scheduled to join the Nats in Cincinnati on Friday.

Poche made the Opening Day roster out of spring training based on his solid track record with the Rays, but the 31-year-old struggled from the outset and never found a groove despite a number of opportunities. In 13 total appearances, Poche had an 11.42 ERA, issuing 12 walks in only 8 2/3 innings. He also allowed 8-of-12 inherited runners to score.

Chafin will join Jose A. Ferrer as the two left-handers in a Nationals bullpen that enters the day ranked last in the majors with a 7.41 ERA and 1.77 WHIP. The team will be a man down for tonight's game, with only seven available relievers.

PHILADELPHIA – Paul DeJong is recovering from surgery Monday to repair a broken nose, plus his sinuses and orbital bone, procedures that collectively are likely to keep the Nationals third baseman out until sometime around the All-Star break.

DeJong, who was hit in the face by a fastball from the Pirates’ Mitch Keller on April 15, had to wait nearly two weeks for swelling around his left eye to go down before the surgery could be performed. He and the Nationals knew all along he would need to have his broken nose repaired, but doctors also decided to work on his damaged sinuses and insert a titanium orbital plate near his eye, according to USA Today.

The 31-year-old infielder is recovering well at home in Northern Virginia and spoke today with manager Davey Martinez about the incident and his timeline for recovery.

“His spirits were good,” Martinez said. “He came out of it good. Joked around with him for a little bit. Unfortunately, he’s still going to be down for a while. I think they said about a month before he can do any activities. And after that, hopefully we get him back sometime around the All-Star break. But we’ll see. Only time will tell now.”

The Nationals’ biggest concern with DeJong now is more mental than physical. The bones will heal, but psychologically he could face a tough time standing in to face a big league pitcher again, given what happened.

Michael Soroka summoned a small group of media members to his locker yesterday afternoon. He knew his presence in the Nationals clubhouse was noteworthy, but he also had other things to do like meet with trainers, manager Davey Martinez and pitching coach Jim Hickey. He wasn’t sure how much time he would be available, so he wanted to give reporters time to ask him some questions.

An always considerate Canadian.

Soroka, who has been on the 15-day injured list since suffering a biceps strain during his March 31 season debut against the Blue Jays in his home country, had just returned to D.C. from his second rehab start with Double-A Harrisburg. His red Senators hat was in his locker where his red Curly W cap would usually reside.

The veteran right-hander, who signed a one–year, $9 million contract over the offseason, completed 4 ⅓ innings with four hits, two runs, one walk and four strikeouts while throwing 78 pitches in his outing Sunday afternoon against the Erie SeaWolves (Tigers). He surrendered a leadoff home run on an unfortunate ball that seemed to get caught in the wind to carry out of the park. But it was still an improvement from his first rehab start in which he gave up two runs in 2 ⅔ innings on Tuesday.

“Better actually. I kind of made some adjustments a little quicker,” Soroka said. “A couple weird things going on, a little wind ball in the first inning, and kind of had to settle in a little bit. And yeah, found a good rhythm and made some good pitches and found some good shapes. I threw a lot of changeups for strikes, got the pitch count up and felt good at the end. So a successful day.”

Riley Adams knows the drill at this point. With Keibert Ruiz healthy and productive, and with plenty of off-days built into the Nationals schedule throughout April, there simply aren’t going to be many playing opportunities for the team’s backup catcher.

Adams today starts for only the fourth time in 28 games to begin the season. Ruiz has started the other 24, the most games played by any catcher in the majors to date.

If you’re looking for someone to complain about the arrangement, you’re not going to get it.

“There’s no awkwardness whatsoever,” Adams said. “We both have jobs to do. We both want to win games. We both want to get our pitchers through games and put zeros on the scoreboard. To me, it doesn’t matter who’s catching. We’re a collective.”

Adams has been through this for more than three seasons now. From 2022-24, he played between 41-48 games, taking between 130-158 plate appearances.

CJ Abrams should be back at Nationals Park on Thursday. Then, it’s just a question of whether the team will activate their All-Star shortstop off the 10-day injured list in time for their series finale against the Orioles or will wait for Friday’s series opener against the Mets.

Abrams, who has a right hip flexor strain, played his second rehab game today for Double-A Harrisburg, completing all nine innings while taking four plate appearances. This after he played six innings in the field Tuesday night and took three plate appearances.

His total offensive stats over these two games: 0-for-4 with two walks, a strikeout and a sacrifice fly.

“I think they were a little scared to pitch to him,” right-hander Michael Soroka, who pitched Tuesday as part of his own rehab assignment with Harrisburg, said with a laugh.

Of far more consequence than Abrams’ production was his ability to play 15 innings in less than 24 hours without any apparent physical issues.

The Nationals can now start counting down the days until CJ Abrams returns to their lineup. But first, the All-Star shortstop needs to prove he’s good to go in a rehab assignment.

Abrams is playing tonight for Double-A Harrisburg, his first game action since aggravating his right hip flexor April 11 in Miami. He’s technically eligible to come off the 10-day injured list now, but the Nats wanted him to get some reps in the minor leagues before activating him.

“I’d like to get him on his feet, get him some at-bats and make sure he’s OK,” manager Davey Martinez said. “The last time he felt it was on the field, so we want to get him out there and let him play shortstop. And if it takes a day or two or three, then we’ll prepare for that. But hopefully he comes out today feeling good and not bothering him.”

Abrams is slated to play six innings at shortstop tonight and take at least three at-bats, with the possibility of more if he feels up for more. The Nationals would love to have him back in their lineup before the end of this week’s series against the Orioles, but they won’t rush it if he doesn’t look ready.

Nasim Nuñez has excelled in the field in Abrams’ place, to nobody’s surprise. But the 24-year-old infielder doesn’t provide nearly the offensive punch as the man ahead of him on the depth chart. In seven games since taking over as the everyday shortstop, Nunez is batting .182 (4-for-22) with three walks and two stolen bases.

DENVER – The Nationals arrived in Colorado a battered and bruised team. There are 11 players currently on the injured list, four of them having been sidelined since the season began.

The good news: They’re finally getting closer to bringing guys back to the active roster instead of losing them.

CJ Abrams and Michael Soroka, in particular, are making good progress in their respective recoveries.

Abrams, out since April 12 with a right hip flexor strain, has stayed with the team on this road trip and has been rehabbing with his teammates. The All-Star shortstop has begun hitting and continues to take grounders, though there are still a few steps remaining for him.

Abrams is eligible to come off the 10-day IL for Tuesday’s homestand opener against the Orioles. There appears to be a chance he’ll be ready for that series.

PITTSBURGH – DJ Herz had Tommy John surgery today, officially sidelining the Nationals left-hander for the 2025 season after three weeks spent hoping the major elbow procedure would not be necessary.

Herz had his elbow ligament replaced by orthopedist Keith Meister in Dallas, according to manager Davey Martinez. He did not get the additional internal brace procedure some pitchers, including teammate Josiah Gray, have opted for in recent years.

Today’s news came three weeks after Herz landed on the 60-day injured list with a sprained ligament, an ailment he reported after the Nationals initially optioned him to Triple-A Rochester following a disappointing spring in which his velocity was down. The 24-year-old sought opinions from three doctors, hoping one of them would offer him the option to come back via rest and rehab only, but there was consensus on the need for surgery.

“Have hope. Have faith,” Herz wrote on his Instagram account below a photo of him in a hospital bed following today’s surgery. “The only easy day is yesterday. Believe in something you can’t see. Buckle down and keep believing.”

Acquired from the Cubs in July 2023 for Jeimer Candelario, Herz had been one of the pleasant surprises of the 2024 season, posting a 4.19 ERA and 106 strikeouts over 88 2/3 innings while authoring some of the Nats’ most dominant starts of the year.

PITTSBURGH – One day after lamenting a lack of “intensity” from his beleaguered relief corps, Nationals manager Davey Martinez summoned the entire group to his office for a pump-you-up meeting prior to tonight’s game against the Pirates.

The message of that session?

“I just wanted to let them know it’s early,” Martinez said. “We’ve only played 10 percent of our games. We’ve still got 90 percent of our games left. … I just want them to stay positive, keep their heads up. We’ve got a lot of baseball left.”

Nationals relievers entered the day with a 6.91 ERA and 1.921 WHIP, both worst in the majors by a healthy amount. Each of the last two days, they’ve turned winnable games into blowouts, surrendering a combined seven runs over 5 2/3 innings.

After Monday’s 10-3 loss, Martinez noted there needs to be more intensity shown from some relievers when entering a close game, even if the team is trailing by a couple of runs. Today, he decided to bring the entire group together, offering his own thoughts but also opening the floor for the pitchers themselves to speak up.

MIAMI – The Nationals rotation is set for this weekend, with Mitchell Parker, Trevor Williams and MacKenzie Gore lined up to face the Marlins. Then, Jake Irvin will be ready to start Monday’s series opener in Pittsburgh. But by Tuesday, manager Davey Martinez will need a fifth starter.

That fifth spot was reserved for Michael Soroka, the right-hander who signed a one–year, $9 million contract with the Nats over the offseason. But the 27-year-old was placed on the 15-day injured list on April 4 (backdated to April 1) with a right biceps strain after leaving his season debut following his third pitch of the sixth inning in Toronto.

Soroka was charged with five hits, four runs, one walk and three strikeouts in his five-plus innings against the Blue Jays. And although landing on the IL this early in the season is never a good thing, the Nats believed he wouldn’t be down for long.

He played catch on Tuesday back at Nationals Park, and while he felt good, the Nats do have to build him back up before he can be ready to return to game action again.

“He threw the other day. He said he felt good,” Martinez said during his pregame media session ahead of the series opener against the Marlins. “So we just got to build him back up now. So hopefully, we get him back soon.”

CJ Abrams is out of the Nationals lineup a second straight day with an upper right leg ailment, but the shortstop expressed confidence he’ll be back “very soon.”

Abrams didn’t play Monday night’s series opener against the Dodgers, with manager Davey Martinez revealing his shortstop had complained of thigh tightness stemming from the final play of Sunday’s win over the Diamondbacks, in which he charged in to field a grounder and then threw off-balance to first base.

Abrams today referred to his ailment as “kind of a hip flexor thing,” saying it’s not a problem with his thigh. He didn’t seem concerned about it forcing him to miss anything more than a few days.

“It wasn’t anything specific. I just kind of felt it after (the last play Sunday),” he said. “Just took a couple days off, and I should be back out there soon.”

Abrams did take ground balls this afternoon and was planning to take batting practice in the cage prior to this evening’s game. There’s a chance he could come off the bench if needed, but it sounds more likely he returns to the lineup for Wednesday’s series finale or Friday’s series opener in Miami.

The Nationals will wait a couple of days before deciding who will take Michael Soroka’s place in the rotation, with Brad Lord a distinct option if the rookie isn’t needed out of the bullpen before then.

Soroka was supposed to start Sunday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks but was placed on the 15-day injured list today (backdated to April 1) with a right biceps strain. The 27-year-old made his debut Monday night in Toronto but had to be pulled three pitches into the sixth inning when his biceps muscle cramped while delivering a slider.

Soroka was cautiously optimistic at the time the injury wasn’t serious and that he’d be able to take his next turn in the rotation. The one caveat: He needed to be able to throw off a mound first before knowing he would be good to go.

That bullpen session never happened. According to manager Davey Martinez, Soroka played catch Wednesday in Toronto and reported afterward he still felt a twinge of discomfort in his upper arm.

“He said he just barely could feel it,” Martinez said. “But when a pitcher says he can barely feel it in his arm, I don’t like it. I think the best thing is to get it to calm down a little bit and get him ready to come back out again.”

The Nationals have placed Michael Soroka on the 15-day injured list with a right biceps strain, throwing a wrench into the team’s rotation plans just one week into the season.

Jackson Rutledge was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take Soroka’s roster spot, but the 2019 first-round pick has made the full-time conversion to reliever, so he won’t be joining the big league rotation.

Soroka, signed this winter to a one-year, $9 million contract, made his club debut Monday night in Toronto, allowing four runs over five-plus innings. He felt fine physically until his 83rd pitch the game, a spiked slider in the bottom of the sixth, after which he looked toward the dugout and began clenching his fist.

Soroka told manager Davey Martinez and director of athletic training Paul Lessard his right biceps muscle had cramped on that pitch, and he was taken out of the game. Afterward, he expressed optimism the injury wasn’t any more serious than that and was hopeful he could still make his next turn in the rotation.

Soroka did admit he would need to throw off a mound before knowing for sure he was good to go. He played catch prior to Wednesday’s series finale against the Blue Jays and would have been on track to throw a bullpen session either Thursday (an off-day for the team) or today. The Nationals had listed him as their starter for Sunday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks.

There’s only so much you can take away from the first six games of a new year. But dang it, we will try.

The Nationals’ first week of the 2025 season hasn’t gone totally according to plan. Their 1-5 record doesn’t look good on paper. But digging a little deeper, you start to see some positives they can hold their hats on.

Here are some observations from the Nats’ first week of play …

KEIBERT RUIZ IS HOT
Ruiz’s struggles in 2024 are well known. After he missed a lot of time early in the season with the flu and lost almost 20 pounds, he never fully recovered. He finished the year with a .229 average, .619 OPS, 13 home runs and 57 RBIs in 127 games last year, producing just 0.6 bWAR.

This year, he looks to be in much better shape and it’s paying off.