MIAMI – The Nationals came into this four-game series with the Marlins in search of some offense.

No, this team is not built to hit home runs, with their 26 longballs ranking 21st in the major leagues. They’re built to get on base, use their speed to advance by stealing or taking an extra base on a ball put in play, and then scoring with productive at-bats at the plate.

They have been very good at the first two parts of that formula (they are second in the majors with 48 stolen bases). But not so much with the third (bottom third in runs scored).

They began the weekend with their slash line with runners in scoring position ranking near the bottom of the majors and with their 60 RBIs with RISP last in the National League.

But they have found a good mixture of that formula through the first three games in South Beach, thanks in large part to CJ Abrams, Jesse Winker, Trey Lipscomb and Jacob Young.

MIAMI – The Nationals entered Sunday’s game against the Marlins looking to win their fourth series of their last six, which would be an impressive finish to the season’s first month after they dropped four of their first five.

Very quickly it looked like they would have to wait until Monday night’s finale to wrap up this four-game wrap-around set, as they fell behind 7-0 in the first two innings with Patrick Corbin on the mound.

But the boys battled back rapidly, scoring 10 unanswered runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take the lead and then two more insurance runs late to keep it. And on the ninth anniversary of the infamous “Dan Uggla Game” in Atlanta (when the Nats rallied from a 10-2 deficit to beat the Braves 13-12 thanks to Uggla’s three-run home run in the ninth) the Nationals showed their relentlessness again in a 12-9 victory in front of a stunned announced crowd of 15,894.

“This group, I say all the time, they fight, they play hard and they're just relentless. They really are," manager Davey Martinez said after the epic rally. "They stick together. It's been a fun group so far. They want to win. They really do. They're hungry to win and you can see that. There was no give up. We were down and we kept working good at-bats and hit some big home runs."

The first five runs were manufactured in the fourth against Marlins lefty starter Ryan Weathers, with the usual suspects from yesterday’s offensive outburst leading the way.

MIAMI – After yesterday’s offensive outburst, Davey Martinez is hoping the bats will continue swinging well to get more consistent production moving forward.

One bat he’s hoping to get going in particular is Nick Senzel.

Senzel has been moved up to the No. 2 hole – behind CJ Abrams and in front of Jesse Winker, both lefty hitters – for this afternoon’s game against Marlins left-handed starter Ryan Weathers. Senzel's right-handed bat has recorded hits in four of his last five games, including his third home run of the season last night, and has a career slash line of .285/.333./.463 with a .796 OPS against left-handed pitching.

Martinez hopes moving Senzel up the order will help kickstart his offense.

“He's notorious for hitting left-handed pitching,” the skipper said of Senzel. “So I wanted to break up those lefties a little bit. Winker will hit behind him. It balances out our lineup a little bit more. So I decided to do that today.”

MIAMI – The Nationals find themselves winners of the first two games of this four-game set against the Marlins. With a win today, they’ll be winners of four of their last six series, which would be an impressive stretch as the season’s first month comes to a close next week.

The offense exploded for 11 runs yesterday, the most in a single game this season. How do they follow it up? CJ Abrams, Jesse Winker, Trey Lipscomb and Jacob Young will look to continue creating havoc on the basepaths. Some more contributions from the middle of the order would also be very welcome.

Patrick Corbin makes his sixth start this afternoon. He was roughed up in his first four, but was solid in his previous outing with 5 ⅓ scoreless innings. The veteran lefty will try to keep this Marlins team at bay after not facing them last year with his career 5-7 record, 4.05 ERA and 1.218 WHIP against them.

Ryan Weathers also makes his sixth start for the Fish. The 24-year-old lefty came to Miami from San Diego last year in a trade for Garrett Cooper. He is 2-2 with a 3.16 ERA and 1.403 WHIP to begin the year and 1-1 with a 6.35 ERA and 1.412 WHIP in two career starts against the Nats.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MIAMI MARLINS
Where: loanDepot park
Gametime: 1:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, DC 87.7 (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

MIAMI – It was unfair and unrealistic to think Mitchell Parker would continue his dominant start to his major league career much longer. At some point, major league hitters would catch up to the 24-year-old.

Even the lowly Marlins, who own the second-worst record in the majors, have good big-league hitters in their lineup. And with two starts worth of video on Parker, it wasn’t going to be an easy walk in loanDepot park for the lefty.

And so it was that Parker ran into his first bit of adversity in his third major league start. But he continued to impress by battling it and grinding through four innings, allowing the Nationals to win their second game in a row against the Marlins. The win was mainly fueled by Jesse Winker’s grand slam, resulting in the Nats' 11-4 rout in front of an announced crowd of 12,695.

“Winker with the big blow," manager Davey Martinez said after the win. "He put us up top and I think the guys kind of loosened up a little bit. We started swinging our bats. ... It was a good day offensively, a good day. So we gotta come back and do it again tomorrow.”

Parker displayed great command in his first two starts by striking out 12 and issuing zero walks, which were an issue for him since he entered the Nats system as a 2020 fifth-round pick. The free passes came back to haunt him in the first inning as he issued the first two of his big league career to help Luis Arraez reach third base.

MIAMI – The Nationals had another new face in their clubhouse at loanDepot park today as Alex Call joined the team from Triple-A Rochester to take the roster spot of the now-injured Joey Gallo.

Gallo landed on the 10-day injured list this afternoon with a left shoulder AC sprain and Call was recalled as another outfielder off the bench.

“Joey's been dealing with a left shoulder. He has an AC joint sprain,” manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame session with the media. “So we just want to get it to calm down a little bit and get him some strength back in there. Alex Call has been playing really well. I thought about just bringing another right-handed bat up, we're really left-handed heavy. So having him will help.”

Gallo, signed to a one-year, $5 million contract this offseason, was brought in to provide some power to a Nats lineup that was last in the National League in home runs last year. But the first baseman/designated hitter/outfielder has struggled to begin the year, slashing .122/.286/.311 with a .597 OPS, five doubles, three homers, five RBIs, 15 walks and a major league-leading 43 strikeouts.

The 30-year-old has struck out 22 times in his last 28 at-bats over his last 10 games.

MIAMI – It took until the eighth inning, but the Nationals finally got the big hit they needed in order to get the series-opening win against the Marlins, a team they have struggled to beat over the past two years.

Now the question is: Can they build upon Joey Meneses’ clutch two-run hit and build an earlier lead today?

They will try to do so against Edward Cabrera, who is off to a 1-0 start with a 3.27 ERA and 1.455 WHIP in 11 innings over two starts. The right-hander has also struck out 17 batters while only issuing four walks. The 26-year-old is 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA and 1.048 WHIP in four starts against the Nats, including 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA and 1.000 WHIP in his lone start against them last year.

If the offense can’t get going, it will be up to Mitchell Parker to keep the Nats in the game. The young lefty has been outstanding over his first two starts, going 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA, 0.583 WHIP, 12 strikeouts and no walks.

To the bats’ credit: Parker has been staked to early leads in each of his two starts.

MIAMI – Almost exactly a year ago, Cade Cavalli walked into the visiting clubhouse at loanDepot Park and was reunited with his Nationals teammates for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery that ended his 2023 season in spring training.

At that time, he was in street clothes, having just made the trip down from the team’s facility in West Palm Beach where he had begun his lengthy rehab, and quickly changed into his Nats gear to be a part of the team again with a wide smile across his face.

On Friday, Cavalli made the same walk into the Nats clubhouse, only this time he was already in his Nats workout gear, which was covered in sweat from his latest bullpen session. And he still had that same wide smile across his face (although this time with a little more facial hair).

“It's been great. I'm extremely grateful to be where I'm at in the process,” Cavalli said of his rehabilitation in front of his locker with a No. 9 jersey hanging inside. “Just fully healthy and feeling very close to normal. And we got lives (live BP) on Monday for the first time, so I'm really looking forward to that. It'll be fun seeing batters.”

Cavalli, the Nats’ first-round pick in 2020 from the University of Oklahoma, has been throwing 60-pitch bullpen sessions and was scheduled to throw 75 in his latest one before facing live hitters for the first time. His fastball has been consistently hitting 96 mph, which is what it was averaging pre-injury in his one and only major league start to date on Aug. 26, 2022.

MIAMI – You wouldn’t know the Nationals arrived at loanDepot park riding a three-game losing streak and their biggest offensive slump of the young season. They were upbeat and looking positive, especially with rehabbing Cade Cavalli joining them from West Palm Beach.

But when it came time to play the opener of this four-game, wrap-around series against the Marlins, the Nats had some business to take care of offensively.

Coming into tonight and through the first seven innings, the Nats had really struggled with runners in scoring position, going a combined 4-for-25 with 26 runners left on base and four total runs scored over their last 34 innings.

But the big hit finally came tonight in the eighth, thanks to Joey Meneses, to help deliver a 3-1 victory over the Marlins in front of an announced crowd of 10,201.

"Just try to relax and go up to the at-bat focused," Meneses said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez, of his game-winning hit. "Trying to look for a good pitch that I know I can take a good swing at.”

MIAMI – The Nationals are looking to turn the page after getting swept at home this week by the Dodgers. They arrived in Miami for four games against the Marlins as their usual up-beat bunch.

The Nats had more reasons to be happy upon arriving at loanDepot park than their three-game losing streak might suggest, as they got encouraging news about some their injured players.

Victor Robles, on the 10-day injured list since April 4 with a left hamstring strain, is nearing a minor league rehab assignment and should be ready to head out sometime next week.

“He sprinted up to about 90 percent yesterday,” manager Davey Martinez said before tonight’s series opener. “He's running the bases and did some defensive work, so he's getting close. Hopefully by the end of this weekend or next week, we can get him out on rehab assignment.”

Robles was hitless in four games to start the year, but did post a .600 on-base percentage by drawing three walks in five plate appearances while also stealing two bases and scoring two runs. This comes on the heels of a 2023 campaign in which he was limited to just 36 games by injuries.

MIAMI – If that Nationals homestand felt short, it’s because it was. They returned from a nine-game West Coast road trip for less than a week – with two off-days and only six games at Nats Park in between – before hitting the road again for South Beach.

And if the Nationals want to make a significant stride forward this season and build upon their 71-91 record from last year, beating the Marlins would be a good place to start. Over the past two seasons, the Nats are 6-26 against the Fish, including an abysmal 2-11 last year. Those two wins did come, though, in this building, where the Nats are 4-11 since 2022.

Trevor Williams will look to get the Nats off to a good start with his fifth outing of the year. Surprisingly, the veteran right-hander has been the best starter in the rotation to begin the season, with a 2-0 record, 2.91 ERA and 0.969 WHIP through his first four starts. But he did struggle last year against the team that drafted him, going 0-3 with a 7.59 ERA and 1.641 WHIP in four starts against the Marlins. That includes going 0-2 with a 3.46 ERA and 1.000 WHIP in two outings in Miami.

Meanwhile, the Marlins were supposed to start former Nationals farmhand Jesús Luzardo, but the young lefty was scratched this morning after experiencing discomfort in his elbow yesterday. The home side will instead throw a bullpen game, with 26-year-old right-hander Anthony Maldonado making his major league debut and first start in the bigs. Used almost exclusively as a reliever since the Marlins drafted him with their 11th-round pick in 2019, Maldonado is 3-0 with a 2.31 ERA and 0.771 WHIP in eight relief appearances with Triple-A Jacksonville.

And for the first time since I’ve been coming to loanDepot park, the roof is open for tonight’s game! It’s a beautiful night in Miami, but there are strong winds coming in from left field.

It’s easy to look at the Nationals’ offensive woes right now and lament their lack of power. This is a team that has hit only 21 home runs in 24 games, the fifth-lowest total in the majors.

Davey Martinez would love more homers from this team, no doubt. But he also knows this lineup wasn’t built with home runs in mind. What the Nats manager really wants, more than anything else, are any hits that score runs, whether singles, doubles, triples or homers. Or even a non-hit that still scores a run.

“We had a chance today to score a run, just by moving a guy over (and) the next guy hit a fly ball,” Martinez said following Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Dodgers. “Those are the little things that matter. If we do that, it’s a tie game right now. We have to get back to that.”

Indeed, the Nationals, for all their issues, have consistently given themselves a chance to win games this month by putting runners in scoring position. They just haven’t consistently shown an ability to get those runners home.

Consider Thursday’s loss, when they went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Or Tuesday’s loss, when they went 3-for-9 but drove in only one run in the process.

It wasn’t his best, nor his most overpowering performance. Most of the afternoon, to be honest, felt like an uphill climb for MacKenzie Gore, with long at-bats, high pitch counts and traffic on the bases.

This may have been one of the most important starts of the young left-hander’s career, though. Because on a day when he wasn’t at his best, he still found a way to surrender minimal damage to one of the toughest lineups in baseball. And was given the chance to extend himself beyond the limits the Nationals normally impose on him.

That Gore’s gutsy start still came during a loss – 2-1 to the Dodgers – stings in the moment. Unable to mount any kind of sustained offensive attack the last three days, the Nats wound up getting swept by Los Angeles, putting a real damper on the positive momentum they created in winning three of their previous four series.

"We're playing well," manager Davey Martinez said. "We're playing good defense. It's not easy to hold that team over there to just two runs. We've just got to hit."

The Nationals scored a grand total of four runs in these three games, delivering a grand total of only four hits with runners in scoring position the entire series. And because of that, they wasted a really strong outing today by their young lefty.

Keibert Ruiz is back on the Nationals’ active roster, and back in the starting lineup for the first time in more than two weeks.

Ruiz, who was sidelined with a bad case of influenza, was activated off the 10-day injured list this afternoon and immediately placed in the lineup for the team’s series finale against the Dodgers. He’ll catch and bat fifth.

To make room for Ruiz on the active roster, the Nats optioned Drew Millas back to Triple-A Rochester. Millas wound up catching only one of the eight games the team played while Ruiz was on the IL, with Riley Adams starting the other seven.

Ruiz initially tried to fight through his illness, remaining on the roster for nearly a week but unable to play. The Nationals finally placed him on the IL when his condition hadn’t improved enough, and after he had lost 18-to-20 pounds.

Ruiz felt better enough to go on a short rehab assignment this week with Double-A Harrisburg. He caught both Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon, going 1-for-9 and even stealing a base. As encouraging as that was, the team is still somewhat concerned about his ability to put weight back on while dealing with the demands of catching in the big leagues.

The Nationals need a win today to avoid a series sweep, a dilemma they’ve faced only once previously this season (against the Phillies). All things considered, it’s a sign of progress that they’ve mostly found themselves in a position to win series, and often have. But avoiding the sweep today against the Dodgers would be nice, especially with the pitcher they’re sending to the mound.

MacKenzie Gore vs. the L.A. lineup is a marquee matchup. If nothing else, it’s a real good challenge for the young left-hander, who was great two starts ago in Oakland but struggled last time out against the Astros. Knowing the competitor he is, Gore should be plenty motivated to get himself back on track this afternoon.

The Nationals face a brand-new face in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the other Japanese sensation on their roster who merely signed the biggest contract ever given a major league pitcher before ever throwing a pitch in the major leagues. The 25-year-old right-hander (12 years, $325 million) has been great at times, not so much at others through the first five starts of his career. He features mostly a three-pitch (fastball, curveball, splitter) with an occasional cutter thrown in there for good measure.

The Nats have Keibert Ruiz back on the roster and in the lineup. After two rehab games with Double-A Harrisburg, Ruiz has been activated off the 10-day injured list and will be behind the plate this afternoon. Drew Millas was optioned back to Triple-A Rochester.

Most notable quirk of today’s lineup: Trey Lipscomb is not starting, something you wouldn’t think we’ll see much now that he’s back in the big leagues. It’s Joey Meneses at first base, with Jesse Winker serving as DH and Eddie Rosario in left field for the series finale.

When the Nationals recalled Trey Lipscomb on Wednesday, and when Davey Martinez then put him at first base in his first game back in the big leagues, the eyebrow raises could be seen throughout the ballpark and fandom. After making such an effort to have the rookie focus on second base, then third base, now they’re really going to put him at first base for the foreseeable future?

Lipscomb, of course, shrugs it all off.

“The whole new position thing, that’s kind of what I’ve been doing my whole career,” he said. “Wherever they need me, just put me out there and I’m going to do my thing. First base. Third base. Honestly, wherever.”

For the uninitiated, Lipscomb was supposed to play shortstop in college. But his Tennessee roster was so loaded, he wound up settling in at third base by his senior year in 2022, the Nats then using their third-round draft pick on him.

Once in the minors, Lipscomb again found himself moving around the diamond. Though he won the Gold Glove Award for all minor leaguers at third base last season, he actually ended the year at Double-A Harrisburg playing second base because of the presence of 2021 first-round pick Brady House at third.

Funny how quickly the narrative of a baseball season can twist and turn. Not 48 hours ago, the Nationals were flying high, having won three of their last four series, including back-to-back triumphs over the Dodgers and Astros. They were getting excellent starting pitching and coming through with clutch hits, offering fans real reason for late-April optimism.

Since then? They’ve lost two straight to the Dodgers behind poor starting pitching and at times a complete lack of offense. They also lost their starting right fielder to a knee injury that, while not as bad as it could’ve been, nonetheless will sideline him for some time.

Suffice it to say, the vibe surrounding the Nats isn’t quite what it was a few days ago.

Tonight’s 11-2 thumping at the hands of the Dodgers represented a new low. With Jake Irvin in trouble from the get-go, the home team faced an uphill climb. And with Lane Thomas now on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left knee ligament, an already inconsistent lineup had little chance of keeping up with the opposition.

"The best thing about today," manager Davey Martinez said, "is we have tomorrow to go 1-0."

Lane Thomas was placed on the 10-day injured list today with a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee, but the Nationals outfielder was encouraged by that diagnosis, which is not as severe as it could have been and doesn’t require surgery.

“I definitely think it could’ve been a lot worse,” Thomas said this afternoon, standing at his locker with his knee wrapped, not needing to use crutches to walk. “It wasn’t anything too crazy. They haven’t really given me a time frame yet, but hopefully sooner rather than later.”

Thomas hurt himself while sliding into second base in the bottom of the fifth Tuesday night against the Dodgers, his trailing leg getting twisted in awkward fashion as he tried to pop up following a successful steal attempt. He initially had trouble staying up on his feet, crumpling to the ground as Los Angeles second baseman Mookie Betts spotted him.

After a consultation with manager Davey Martinez and director of athletic training Paul Lessard, Thomas stayed in the game. But two innings later, Eddie Rosario replaced him in right field and he returned to the clubhouse as team officials scheduled an MRI for this morning.

“The initial pain was pretty intense, but it went away kind of quick,” Thomas said. “I feel like I’ve had a pretty high pain tolerance in the past, so I wasn’t sure. I had broken a wrist (in 2019) and didn’t realize it. Sometimes those things, with your adrenaline, you don’t really know what’s going on until a few hours after when you settle down.”

Tuesday night’s loss was a costly one for the Nationals, who not only lost the game but lost their starting right fielder for the foreseeable future. The MRI on Lane Thomas’ left knee showed an MCL sprain, and he has been placed on the 10-day injured list. We’ll hope to learn more shortly about the timetable for his return.

Rather than promote another outfielder to replace Thomas, the Nats decided to recall Trey Lipscomb only nine days after they sent him down once Nick Senzel was healthy. We hope to soon find out about the plan now for Lipscomb and others in the daily lineup, but it’s interesting to note Lipscomb will start at first base tonight with Joey Gallo in right field.

Meanwhile, Jake Irvin gets a chance to beat the Dodgers for the second time in a week. The right-hander was brilliant out west, but it’s always a challenge to face the same team twice in a row, all the more so when that team includes the likes of Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 88.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 69 degrees, wind 12 mph in from left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF Jesse Winker
DH Joey Meneses
2B Luis García Jr.
RF Joey Gallo
C Riley Adams
CF Eddie Rosario
3B Nick Senzel
1B Trey Lipscomb

The Nationals won’t know for sure the severity of Lane Thomas’ left knee injury until they get results of an MRI scheduled for this morning. But they were concerned enough Tuesday night to already be making contingency plans. And if there’s reason to believe Thomas is going to miss significant time, the temptation to summon one of the organization’s top prospects is going to be strong.

Thomas hurt himself on an awkward slide into second base in the bottom of the fifth. Though he was safe on the steal attempt – he’s now 11-for-12 on the season – his trailing leg caught twisted around as he popped up and left him writhing in pain.

After a consultation with manager Davey Martinez and director of athletic training Paul Lessard, Thomas tested his leg with some light jogging behind second base. He looked well enough to convince Lessard and Martinez he could stay in the game, but Martinez was worried all along it might not last.

“Once he got to the outfield (the following inning), I told Paul to keep an eye on him,” the manager said. “He might get stiff.”

Sure enough, by the time the top of the seventh arrived, Eddie Rosario took over in right field, with Thomas headed back to the clubhouse for treatment.