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