BALTIMORE – Four days ago, the Nationals pitching staff – specifically the rotation – was a mess. A series of unfortunate events left Davey Martinez scrambling to find somebody to start each night, then a bunch of guys to come out of the bullpen after said starter failed to complete even four innings. It was, to put it mildly, an unsustainable situation.

And then Josiah Gray tossed six scoreless innings Saturday against the Phillies, and Jackson Tetreault tossed seven innings without allowing an earned run Sunday against the Phillies and now here was Erick Fedde walking off the mound at the end of the sixth tonight at Camden Yards with nothing but zeroes on the board.

Just like that, the worst rotation in the majors had authored not only three straight quality starts, but three straight starts without allowing an earned run. And that allowed the back end of Martinez’s bullpen to come into this game fresh and finish off what Fedde started, completing a 3-0 victory over the Orioles to open this two-game portion of the Battle of the Beltways.

"That's pretty impressive," Martinez said. "After everything we've been through, we come out today and the pitchers throw a shutout."

Some opportunistic early offense staked the Nats to a two-run lead, and though they certainly would’ve liked to take advantage of more scoring opportunities to add to that lead, they ultimately didn’t need it. (Though they happily accepted Lane Thomas’ tack-on homer in the top of the ninth.)

BALTIMORE – As the Nationals start this five-game road trip up I-295 at Camden Yards, they’re hoping their offensive explosion from Sunday carries over to tonight’s game against the Orioles.

After averaging just three runs over their previous eight games, the offense jumped all over Phillies pitchers en route to a 9-3 win two days ago to end an 11-games-in-10-days homestand. 

One way manager Davey Martinez is trying to create more runs is moving one of his hottest hitters up in the lineup. For the first time this season, Luis García will bat fifth, his highest spot in the lineup this year.

“He's swinging the bat well, and we're monitoring his swings and his approach,” Martinez said of García during his pregame media session. “Looking for someone, one, to drive in some runs. Two to actually get on base with some of those other guys as well. And he's done that so far.”

That he has. Since joining the Nats on June 1, the left-handed-hitting shortstop has slashed .360/.372/.507 with five doubles, two homers, 10 RBIs, one walk, one hit by pitch and nine runs scored. He has recorded a hit in 15 of his 19 games with the Nationals this season and has reached safely in 16 of the 19. His 27 hits in June rank second in the National League and his .360 average ranks sixth.

BALTIMORE – Hello from Camden Yards, which looks different than the last time the Nationals were here. The left field wall has been pushed way back and up, turning what used to be one of the best hitter’s parks in the majors into one of the best pitcher’s parks (at least on that side of the field).

We’ll see how that impacts the Nats, but certainly Erick Fedde (tonight’s starter) and Patrick Corbin (Wednesday’s starter) won’t be complaining at all. Fedde will try to keep the recent run of quality starts by this rotation going, following in the footsteps of Josiah Gray on Saturday and Jackson Tetreault on Sunday. If he doesn’t, at least the bullpen is fresh following a much-needed off-day.

The lineup will try to pick up where it left off Sunday, when it exploded for nine runs against the Phillies. Juan Soto, Nelson Cruz and Josh Bell will be going up against right-hander Jordan Lyles, who has a 5.10 ERA and has allowed four or more earned runs in fewer than six innings in each of his last three starts.

As expected, the Nats activated Alcides Escobar off the 10-day injured list today. Escobar, out since May 31 with a hamstring strain, will assume a utility infielder spot, with Luis García remaining the everyday shortstop for now.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Where: Camden Yards
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 84 degrees, wind 7 mph out to center field

After fielding questions for several minutes late Sunday afternoon about the Nationals’ 9-3 victory over the Phillies, Davey Martinez was asked how he would sum up the entire 14-games-in-13-days stretch that had finally concluded.

“I can’t wait for the off-day tomorrow,” he said with a smile.

He wasn’t alone. The entire Nationals organization had been counting down the hours to their first day off in two weeks. (The last one came on June 6, in between series in Cincinnati and Miami, if you can remember that far back.)

How’d they do during that 14-game stretch? Not well. They went 3-11, with an eight-game losing streak in there, and were outscored 91-59. They lost Stephen Strasburg to a rib injury and Josiah Gray to a rain delay. They made 21 transactions, bringing three pitchers up to D.C. for the first time: Jackson Tetreault, Reed Garrett and Cory Abbott. They activated Strasburg off the IL and placed him back on the IL. They both recalled and optioned Sam Clay, Joan Adon, Andres Machado and Abbott during that time.

The day off was desperately needed, especially for the pitching staff. Now, though, Martinez has the ability to hit the reset button and align his starters as he prefers.

His week began with a freak injury after he slipped in the dugout and banged his knee on the corner of the Nationals bench, sidelining him two days. When he returned, he went 0-for-14 and saw his batting average dip to an unfathomable .216. Along the way, his manager criticized him for not hustling out a double-play grounder.

So when Juan Soto took a mighty swing at the first pitch he saw from Zach Eflin in the bottom of the second Sunday afternoon and proceeded to watch the ball fly 420 feet into the second deck in right field at Nationals Park for a three-run homer, what exactly did it feel like?

“It’s like a flush,” the slugger said. “It’s like you flush your mind, your body, everything. You just feel amazing. Your work is coming through, and you just feel amazing when you see the ball flying like that.”

It was as cathartic a moment as Soto has had on a baseball field in a while. It may or may not have signaled a turning point in his disappointing season – he still wound up 1-for-5 in the Nats’ 8-3 victory over the Phillies – but it certainly energized the 23-year-old and his teammates, who have desperately needed that kind of production from their young leader.

“We need Juan to be Juan,” said Maikel Franco, who also homered during the game. “I know it’s going to come. Everybody gets excited. After that, everybody (got) excited, and they wanted to just continue to play hard and have great at-bats and do well for the team.”

At the end of a brutal homestand that included 11 games in 10 days and left their pitching staff in shambles, the Nationals handed the ball to Jackson Tetreault, held their breath and hoped for the best.

Seven sparkling innings later, they exhaled and exulted, having watched the rookie right-hander author one of their best starts of the season, turning in the kind of pitching performance they desperately needed all week but finally got at the very end to emerge with a cathartic 9-3 victory over the Phillies.

Five days after an inauspicious major league debut, Tetreault put together a dazzling start against a tough lineup to earn his first career win and snap his team’s eight-game losing streak, not to mention a club record 12-game losing streak to the Phillies that extended back to last season.

"It's awesome," the seventh-round pick from the 2017 draft said. "Hopefully many more to come, but to get the first one under the belt is a really good feeling. And to be able to celebrate it with all the guys here was really cool."

Aided by an opportunistic lineup that got home runs from Juan Soto and Maikel Franco, Tetreault became only the third Nationals starter to complete seven innings this season, joining Erick Fedde and Patrick Corbin, who surprisingly did it on back-to-back nights at Coors Field in early May.

Evan Lee could tell something wasn’t right Friday afternoon as he unleashed a string of eight consecutive balls, two of them wild pitches. He just didn’t know it was serious enough to motion to the Nationals dugout for a trainer.

“Just discomfort,” the left-hander said this morning. “And it kind of spiraled out of control.”

That it did. Tasked with pitching multiple innings in the opener of a doubleheader against the Phillies, Lee wound up throwing 33 pitches but only 11 strikes to eight batters. Only one run scored, but the bigger damage was to the left-hander’s arm, which he would eventually learn has a flexor strain.

He only learned that after manager Davey Martinez decided to make a mound visit, bringing director of athletic training Paul Lessard with him. Martinez didn’t know for sure Lee was injured, but he knew something was off.

“Just watching him and watching how he’s doing, I was trying to figure out what was going on,” the manager said. “Because he doesn’t miss the strike zone like that. When I went out there, he was very much like nothing was wrong. And I said: ‘Well, something’s got to be wrong. We want to get you checked out.’ And I’m glad we did.”

After an emotional Saturday at the ballpark, the Nationals have a quick turnaround to today’s series finale, with a rare 12:05 p.m. start time. It’s at long last the end of a 14-games-in-13-days stretch that has been brutal in so many ways, with eight straight losses at the moment. They have to find a way to get through today, then finally enjoy a day off before heading up to Baltimore on Tuesday.

It’s Jackson Tetreault making his second career start this afternoon, looking for better results than he had in his debut earlier in the week when he allowed seven runs in four innings to the Braves. The young right-hander does have some backup help today in the form of Cory Abbott, who was called up from Triple-A Rochester on Friday but has yet to pitch, so he’s good for several innings in relief of Tetreault if needed. The “A” bullpen of Carl Edwards Jr., Kyle Finnegan and Tanner Rainey should all be available, as well, after being held out of Saturday’s extra-inning loss.

What would help more than anything, though, would be a big day at the plate against Phillies right-hander Zach Eflin. Juan Soto and Nelson Cruz simply have to start producing the way they’re supposed to produce. There’s no getting around that. We’ll see if it happens on another unseasonably cool summer afternoon with the wind blowing in.

Reminder: Today’s game is only available on the Peacock streaming service. It’ll be Jason Benetti (who once called Triple-A games for the Nationals in Syracuse) with the play-by-play, joined by Kevin Frandsen and Ruben Amaro Jr. on the broadcast.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 12:05 p.m. EDT
TV: Peacock
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 72 degrees, wind 16 mph left field to right field

The tears already had been welling up in his eyes before Ryan Zimmerman stepped to the microphone to deliver his speech to an adoring crowd at Nationals Park this afternoon. From the in-person tributes from 10 former teammates, to the taped tributes from a host of others, to a surprise video narrated by family members including his mother Cheryl, to the official unveiling of his name and No. 11 all alone on the façade of the third deck along the first-base line, Zimmerman had already run through the full gamut of emotions.

“This is by far the most nervous I’ve ever felt on this field,” he said as he began his remarks.

There would be plenty more tears and moments where Zimmerman needed to compose himself during a lengthy, but heartfelt, speech in which he made a point to thank everyone who made his career possible, from his childhood in Virginia Beach to his college days in Charlottesville to his big league debut in Atlanta to his final game in D.C. last fall.

“We all pretend to be this person when you’re little,” he said during a press conference prior to the ceremony. “But nobody ever believes it’s going to happen.”

He may never have believed it, but let’s be honest: From the moment he was drafted in June 2005, plenty of others around the Nationals did. For better or worse, he was preordained for greatness as the first star of the franchise. That he actually lived up to the billing is all the more impressive.

It’s going to be a special day at Nationals Park. If you’re coming to the game, get here early. If you’re not coming to the game, MASN will carry the entire Ryan Zimmerman jersey retirement ceremony, beginning at 3 p.m.

We’ll have plenty on that ceremony as the day plays out. As for the game … well, the Nationals are trying to snap a seven-game losing streak overall, an 11-game losing streak to the Phillies and a 12-game losing streak to National League East opponents. So, they could really use a curly W today.

They’ll have Josiah Gray on the mound for the first time in 10 days after his last start was scratched due to a long rain delay. He probably gives them their best chance for a long start all week, and they could certainly use one this afternoon, given the fact both Carl Edwards Jr. and Kyle Finnegan pitched both ends of Friday’s doubleheader, and Tanner Rainey warmed up in the opener and then pitched in the nightcap.

After facing a couple lefties on Friday, the Nationals will go up against veteran right-hander Aaron Nola, who enters with a league-leading 0.894 WHIP and 9.1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. So the challenge is real for a Nats lineup that has been awfully inconsistent.

Update: The Nationals placed left-hander Evan Lee on the 15-day injured list with a flexor strain, one day after he departed a game following a string of eight straight balls (two of them wild pitches). Davey Martinez considered that diagnosis "about as good as it could've been" and said he should be back within a few weeks. Andres Machado, who had been optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Friday, was immediately recalled to take Lee's spot in the bullpen.

A weekend of nostalgia commenced Friday night when Ryan Zimmerman was joined by four ex-teammates (Jayson Werth, Adam LaRoche, Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa) atop the visitors’ dugout for a Q&A with Nationals fans who hung on the group’s every word and probably wished that event could just keep going on the rest of the evening instead of the actual game that began at 7:05 p.m.

It’s tough to be a Nats fan in 2022, and it’s probably going to continue to be tough to be a fan of this team for a while longer. So it may take more of this kind of nostalgia to bring a smile to everyone’s face.

Before today’s game, the Nationals will officially retire Zimmerman’s No. 11 jersey, the first such player in club history to receive that honor, though certainly not the last. You’ve got to assume No. 31 will stand alongside it a few more years down the road, perhaps No. 37 and/or No. 22 as well, depending on how things go.

It’s one of the few major milestones this franchise hasn’t experienced since arriving in town 17 years ago. There have been no-hitters and division clinchers, an All-Star Game and a World Series. Now there’s a retired number to unveil on the façade of the upper deck along the first base line.

And nobody else in team history would’ve sufficed to be the first.

This weekend is about Ryan Zimmerman, no doubt. As the Nationals get ready to retire his No. 11 tomorrow, all eyes are on Mr. National, the first player in the team's history to be so honored.

Former teammates Jayson Werth, Adam LaRoche, Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa lined the top of the visitor’s dugout for a pregame Q&A session hosted by MASN’s own Bob Carpenter in front of a gathering of season ticket holders before Zimmerman himself showed up for the later portion.

The real celebration is tomorrow, but it was a nice way to kick off the special weekend.

Then there was a baseball game to be played, with the Nationals looking to avoid the doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Phillies and snap a six-game losing streak in the process. They weren’t able to do so, losing 8-7 in 10 innings in front of 24,785 people in attendance for an unbelievably whacky nightcap.

Let’s fast-forward to the extra frame. Kyle Schwarber was the automatic runner at second base for the Phillies. Steve Cishek walked Rhys Hoskins to put a second runner on base. A 3-1 groundout by Nick Castellanos moved the runners into scoring position for J.T. Realmuto.

If you thought this week was long already, Friday’s games aren’t even over yet. Let’s play two!

After this afternoon’s 5-3 loss to the Phillies, in which Joan Adon covered five innings on 97 pitches and Evan Lee covered one inning on 31 pitches, the Nationals will need a total team effort to snap this six-game losing streak. The pitching hasn’t been great and the offense came into today averaging 2.6 runs per game this week.

Paolo Espino gets the assignment for the nightcap, trying to provide the home team with as much length as possible as well as the Nats' first quality start since June 5. The right-hander is 0-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 1.022 WHIP in 21 appearances this season. He’s making his second straight start after giving up just one run and four hits with two strikes over 3 ⅔ innings against the Brewers. He threw 53 pitches on Sunday, so he’ll be pushed beyond that tonight.

The Phillies are calling up 25-year-old Bailey Falter from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start tonight. In six major league appearances this season, the left-hander is 0-2 with a 4.20 ERA and 1.467 WHIP. In his two starts, he is 0-1 with a 3.52 ERA and 1.565 WHIP. Falter has been fantastic at Triple-A, however, pitching to a 1.54 ERA and 0.686 WHIP in five starts with Lehigh Valley.

Tonight officially kicks off Ryan Zimmerman Weekend here at Nationals Park. Gates open for all fans around 6 p.m. There are on-field and social media Q&A sessions with former players at 6 p.m. and an on-field Q&A session with Zimmerman at 6:20 p.m. Plus, the first 25,000 fans age 21+ will receive a Ryan Zimmerman Employee No. 11 T-shirt.

The Nationals’ pitching woes have been front and center all week, and for good reason. Between injuries, a long rain delay and a bunch of ineffective starts, it has been a massive daily chore for Davey Martinez to simply squeeze nine innings from his staff, let along nine quality innings.

But let’s not discount the lineup’s role during the Nats’ current losing streak, which extended to six games this afternoon with a 5-3 loss to the Phillies in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.

The Nationals have scored an average of 2.7 runs during these last six games, making the games when the pitching staff has at least given them a chance unwinnable.

Such was the case on a scorching Friday afternoon on South Capitol Street, when fill-in starter Joan Adon was far from great but churned out five innings and gave his teammates an opportunity to emerge victorious, if only they could produce at the plate.

They could not. The Nats got an RBI double from Lane Thomas in the third, a two-run homer from Josh Bell in the sixth, and nothing more against Phillies starter Ranger Suárez and three relievers (including former closer Brad Hand, who pitched the ninth for the save).

Needing a fresh arm to help get them through today’s day-night doubleheader, the Nationals recalled right-hander Cory Abbott from Triple-A and optioned reliever Andres Machado to Rochester.

Abbott was today’s scheduled starter for Rochester in Scranton, so he’s available for length should the Nats need it either in relief of Game 1 starter Joan Adon or nightcap starter Paolo Espino.

“The biggest thing was bringing up a guy who could give us multiple innings if need be,” manager Davey Martinez said.

Abbott, 26, has big-league experience, pitching seven games last season for the Cubs, allowing 13 earned runs on 20 hits and 11 walks over 17 1/3 innings. The Giants acquired him in April, then the Nationals claimed him off waivers in May and sent him to Triple-A to pitch as both a starter and reliever.

In six games spanning 13 innings for Rochester, Abbott allowed 13 runs on 17 hits, walking nine but striking out 18.

It’s going to be a long, hot day of baseball at Nationals Park, where the Nats and Phillies are scheduled to play a doubleheader. First game at 1:05 p.m., then the nightcap at 7:05 p.m.

Obviously, the Nationals need some length from their starter after a brutal week for the rotation. Joan Adon gets the ball, only 10 days after he was sent down to Triple-A Rochester with a 1-10 record and 6.95 ERA. This will likely be a one-and-done start for the rookie, who is the designated 27th man for the doubleheader, but he can help his cause with a solid outing this afternoon against a tough Phillies lineup.

After struggling against ace Zack Wheeler on Friday night, the Nats get a chance against left-hander Ranger Suárez today. That means Lane Thomas is back at the top of the lineup, in front of César Hernández and Juan Soto. Riley Adams gets the nod behind the plate, with Keibert Ruiz scheduled to catch the nightcap.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 94 degrees, wind 14 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
LF Lane Thomas
2B César Hernández
RF Juan Soto
DH Nelson Cruz
1B Josh Bell
3B Maikel Franco
SS Luis García
C Riley Adams
CF Victor Robles

The longest, toughest homestand that would never end continues today with a day-night doubleheader, a byproduct of the opening week of games that was lost when Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association couldn’t finalize their new collective bargaining agreement in time to start the season as scheduled.

The Nationals actually won the first two games of this 11-game homestand, beating the Brewers behind some offensive firepower. But since then they’ve lost five in a row, including Thursday night’s blowout loss to the Phillies.

So that leaves four more games over the next three days, with two on tap today. First up is Joan Adon vs. Ranger Suárez at 1:05 p.m. Then comes Paolo Espino vs. Bailey Falter at 7:05 p.m.

What kind of shape is the Nationals pitching staff in at this point? It’s not great. That’s what happens when your starters combine for only 19 2/3 innings during this five-game losing streak. Yes, on average they’ve been getting fewer than four innings from their starters during this stretch.

Given all that, manager Davey Martinez suggested after Thursday night’s loss the team might need to bring in another fresh arm before today’s game. Adon will serve as the 27th man for the doubleheader, so any other roster additions would have to be accompanied by roster reductions.

That the Nationals are losing games at this rate, though disappointing and frustrating, is not necessarily surprising. This week – with eight games in seven days against the red-hot Braves and Phillies – always loomed as a potential landmine for an overmatched home ballclub.

What is so striking about recent events here is not that the Nats are losing so much, but that they’re losing by so much. Tonight’s 10-1 trouncing at the hands of the Phillies should be an outlier, a rare lopsided game. Instead, it is the absolute norm for this team.

Over their last 17 games, a stretch that began May 30 in New York, the Nationals have trailed at some point by five or more runs a staggering 11 times. They’ve trailed by seven or more runs seven times. And with tonight added to the list, they’ve now trailed by nine or more runs four times.

They’re not just playing bad baseball. They’re playing uncompetitive baseball, facing deficits too large to contemplate overcoming before even reaching the fifth inning many nights.

"You usually try to stay mentally tough and locked in, no matter what the circumstance, if you fall behind early," second baseman Cesár Hernández said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. "We have had a few games, but we have the talent to fight and get back in the games. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to lately. But the talent is on the field."

Needing to get through the final leg of a brutal 14-games-in-13-days stretch, the Nationals have decided to recall Joan Adon from Triple-A Rochester and start the right-hander in the opener of Friday’s doubleheader against the Phillies.

Paolo Espino will start the nightcap, making left-hander Evan Lee available to pitch out of the bullpen whenever needed.

The choice of Adon may come as a surprise to those who just saw the Nationals demote the rookie eight days ago after he went 1-10 with a 6.95 ERA in 12 starts to begin the season, but the club was in a dire enough situation to necessitate his recall.

With 18 scheduled innings on tap Friday, the Nats were reluctant to use a pair of starters (Espino and Lee) who haven’t been extended yet to throw more than five innings at best. Adon, who reached the sixth inning in three of his starts, is good to throw at least 90 pitches, taking some pressure off the bullpen for the doubleheader.

“Adon’s been stretched out, so we’re going to pitch him in Game 1,” said manager Davey Martinez, adding that Adon will be the designated 27th man for the doubleheader, suggesting he’ll be sent back to Rochester after the game.

The National League East has not been kind to the Nationals so far in 2022. At this point, they’ve gone an atrocious 5-20 against division foes this season, including nine straight losses to the Mets, Marlins and Braves. And tonight they face a red-hot Phillies club for the first time in the opener of a rare five-game series on South Capitol Street.

Having just been beaten up by the Braves, the Nats must now try to find a way to contain an explosive Phillies lineup that ranks second in the NL in homers and third in OPS. It’s imperative that Patrick Corbin keep the ball in the yard tonight, and he has actually been better at that this year, with only nine homers surrendered in 13 starts (after giving up a club record 37 in 31 starts last year).

Above all else, Corbin needs to provide innings. Like Erick Fedde on Wednesday night, Corbin will be throwing 100-110 pitches no matter what. It’s only a question of how many innings he can stretch those pitches into in advance of Friday’s day-night doubleheader.

Juan Soto returns to the lineup tonight after missing the last two games with bruised right knee.

Zack Wheeler, who since signing with the Phillies in 2020 has developed into one of the most consistently effective starters in the league, gets the ball tonight. The Nationals actually had some success against him last season, though, beating him three times in six starts while scoring 18 runs in 36 2/3 innings.