Game Thread: Orioles at Nats
It's the exhibition finale this afternoon on South Capitol Street, with a parade of relievers scheduled to take the mound for the Nationals
For the first time in 2026 … hello from Nationals Park! After a long and winding road through both coasts of Florida and then a quick stop in Maryland, the exhibition season ends this afternoon right here in Washington, D.C. The Nats are Orioles meet again, with the home club hoping to put forth a bit more inspired performance than it offered up Sunday during an 8-1 loss at Camden Yards.
It’s too late for the Nationals to finish the spring with anything other than the majors’ least-productive offense, but even a moderately productive showing at the plate today would help boost everyone’s confidence heading into Thursday’s season opener in Chicago. We’ll see how the regulars playing today fare against new Baltimore right-hander Shane Baz.
Sunday’s game saw nothing but minor-league pitchers take the mound for the Nats, headlined by Triple-A starter Mitchell Parker. Today’s game will see nothing but potential major-league relievers take the mound. Blake Butera plans to use nine different guys in this bullpen game, one final tune-up for those whose spots on the Opening Day roster are already secure and one last chance for anyone still competing for a job to make his case.
You can watch today’s game on Nationals.TV while anxiously awaiting news about which cable and satellite distributors will actually show regular-season games. (For those who haven’t been following, we’re probably not going to get an official answer about that until Thursday morning, with MLB taking this right down the wire.) You can also listen to Charlie and Dave on the flagship station: 106.7 FM.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: Nationals.TV
Radio: 106.7 FM
Weather: Partly cloudy, 58 degrees, wind 18 mph in from left
ORIOLES
SS Gunnar Henderson
C Samuel Basallo
1B Pete Alonso
RF Tyler O’Neill
CF Colton Cowser
DH Ryan Mountcastle
3B Coby Mayo
2B Blaze Alexander
LF Jeremiah Jackson
RHP Shane Baz
NATIONALS
LF James Wood
2B Nasim Nuñez
SS CJ Abrams
LF Daylen Lile
C Keibert Ruiz
1B Luis García Jr.
3B Jorbit Vivas
DH José Tena
CF Jacob Young
LHP PJ Poulin
OK, two innings down here, featuring a bunch of quick outs on both sides. We've also had some news: The Nationals have optioned outfielder Christian Franklin and reliever Orlando Ribalta to Triple-A. If you've lost track, that leaves 28 healthy players in camp. Two of those are non-roster invitees: Cionel Perez (who is going to make the bullpen and will need to take someone's 40-man roster spot) and Tres Barrera (who is providing catching depth but won't make the team).
That does not, however, mean the remaining 26 players are safe. There's a good chance the Nats continue to look for additions via waivers or trades before Thursday.
Nats drop the exhibition finale, 2-0. They scored 1 run yesterday in Baltimore. They finished the spring with 3.5 runs scored per game (29th out of 30 clubs). The pitching staff, though, only gave up 3.7 runs per game (4th out of 30 clubs).