Looking ahead and glancing back

Mike Wright remains in place as the long reliever for tonight's game against the Nationals that concludes the lopsided home-and-home series. If Ubaldo Jimenez is done early, Wright figures to get the call in his latest return to the Orioles.

Wright needs the positive results at Triple-A Norfolk to accompany him back to the majors.

"I think he was working a lot on his fastball command," said catcher Francisco Pena. "He did a pretty good job when he was done there. He threw the ball real well. He had a real good slider going on and he was going after hitters. I think he went down there to work on the stuff he needed to work on and hopefully get that opportunity again up here."

Pena senses that Wright's confidence is back, as well.

"Yeah, especially when he went out there and performed the way that he did," Pena said. "He threw the ball real well and I think that it helped him a lot."

You already know Jimenez's numbers against the Nats and in D.C. because I've written them multiple times the past few days, but just in case:

Jimenez is 6-1 with a 2.32 ERA in eight career starts against the Nationals and 4-0 with a 0.92 ERA in four starts in D.C. Never forget it.

Jayson Werth is 4-for-11 with a triple and home run off Jimenez, and Ben Revere is 4-for-12 with a double and triple.

Max Scherzer takes the mound tonight for the Nationals with a 0.960 WHIP and 217 strikeouts that lead the majors. However, he's 2-1 with a 4.26 ERA and 1.066 WHIP in four starts this month after going 4-1 with a 1.96 ERA and 0.726 WHIP in June and 2-1 with a 1.32 ERA and 0.882 WHIP in July.

Scherzer, who's holding right-handed batters to a .161 average, is 4-2 with a 3.81 ERA in eight career starts versus the Orioles. He limited them to two runs and four hits over 8 2/3 innings on July 12, 2015 at Camden Yards, but Manny Machado hit a two-run homer off him in the seventh inning on Sept. 23 at Nationals Park to give the Orioles a 4-3 win.

That game may be remembered more for Jonathan Papelbon's ejection after drilling Machado, who dared to hit his 30th home run of the season.

Machado is only 1-for-15 against Scherzer. Adam Jones is 11-for-25 with two doubles and three home runs, Matt Wieters is 7-for-23, Chris Davis is 8-for-21 with a double and home run, Steve Pearce is 3-for-9 with a home run, J.J. Hardy is 6-for-32 with two doubles and two home runs and Mark Trumbo is 0-for-8 with six strikeouts.

So much happened in last night's game that it's easy to forget details, but rookie left-hander Donnie Hart came up big again versus Bryce Harper, striking him out with the count full to end the seventh and preserve a 5-3 lead.

How's that for a manager's trust?

"It was good," Hart said. "As a competitor, this is a situation that you wanted to be in, I was kind of hoping and wishing that the phone rings and he calls my name."

Harper is 0-for-2 against Hart, including the comebacker at Camden Yards that caught Daniel Murphy straying too far from second base. Did seeing Harper previously make it any easier last night?

"No, that's your job," he said. "You don't really think about if it's going to be easier or harder or all that kind of stuff. You still have to go out there and execute pitches. I was able to do that when I needed to."

Hart never could have imagined at Double-A Bowie that he'd be pitching in these situations.

"No, no. Honestly, no," he said.

"It was a lot of hard work and learning involved in it. I was fortunate enough to have some good leaders and instructors along the way to help me do what I'm doing right now."

The kid is making quite an impression inside the clubhouse.

"Donnie, he's not scared. Nobody in this clubhouse is scared on the mound," Wieters said.

"He has confidence in his breaking ball. He threw a couple that probably didn't come out as good as he wanted to. He still knew that he was going to make the pitch when he wanted to."

Same with another rookie, Mychal Givens, who inherited a second-and-third, no-out mess in the sixth and didn't allow a run. He struck out Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman and retired Wilson Ramos on a popup.

"Big, that was a big inning," Wieters said. "It was 5-3 at that point. To be able to kind of get to the seventh, get to the eighth. It was second and third. You hope to get back to the dugout giving up one. For him to get us back in there without giving up any was pretty good."

It was imperative as the Orioles move forward without Darren O'Day, who remains on the disabled list with a strained right rotator cuff.

Said manager Buck Showalter: "Donnie and Mychal have stepped up in a time of need with Darren out."