In adding several veteran relievers with late-inning experience this winter and even into the spring, the Nationals hoped they were assembling a bullpen that would give Davey Martinez more viable options for tight ballgames and not force the manager to rely too much on his top arms.

So when the situation arose today in the team’s home opener – tie game in the eighth, Kyle Finnegan and Hunter Harvey having both pitched the previous two days – Martinez entrusted it to Matt Barnes, a 33-year-old former All-Star closer with the Red Sox trying to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2023 with the Marlins.

The ensuing results suggested there’s still some work to be done figuring out who else can be trusted to be part of the so-called "A" bullpen.

Allowing four of the first five batters he faced to reach base, Barnes turned a tie game into a three-run deficit and eventually an 8-4 loss to the Pirates, who are off to a surprising 5-0 start to their season and have left the Nats at 1-3 for the sixth consecutive year.

"It's a long season, and obviously a handful of things haven't started out the way we want to," Barnes said. "But we've got 158 games to go. Hiccups like this are going to happen. You clean them up and work on getting better."

The Nationals’ home opener showcases a lot of new features to the young 2024 season.

As the home schedule on South Capitol Street kicks off, there are new things all around Nationals Park to experience. New concessions. New scoreboard. New lights. And a new lineup in just the fourth game of the year.

The Nationals will take on the first left-handed starting pitcher they've faced this season in the Pirates’ Marco Gonzales, meaning manager Davey Martinez will trot out his first right-handed-heavy lineup of the year.

Left-handed hitters Eddie Rosario, Joey Gallo and Luis García Jr. are on the bench. In their places, Victor Robles is playing center field, Joey Meneses is at first base and Ildemaro Vargas is at second, while rookie Trey Lipscomb stays at third. Catcher Keibert Ruiz is serving as the designated hitter while Riley Adams sets up behind the plate to catch the Nats’ own lefty starter in MacKenzie Gore.

“It wasn't that hard of a decision, it really wasn’t,” Martinez said ahead of this afternoon’s opener against the Pirates. “I want to get everybody in the game and get everybody involved. Keibert, who has swung the bat really well right-handed. Keep Meneses (in the lineup with Ruiz at DH) today. I wanted to get Riley back behind the plate today. Bump Lipscomb up a little bit because he's been swinging the bat well. He's done really well since he's been with us. But I want to get everybody involved. So we got some great options as far as if they make a switch and bring a righty in. We got some lefties on the bench. But I like the way we match up against this lefty today.”

JUPITER, Fla. – The first game of the spring is always a big event, everyone excited to get started and watch real baseball. Now, though, the grind begins.

The Nationals play their first road game this afternoon, making the short 15-minute drive north to Jupiter to face the Marlins. They’ll do so with a very different lineup from Saturday night’s opener.

Joey Meneses is the only returning starter, getting a chance to play first base after serving as designated hitter Saturday. James Wood, who homered off the bench, gets a chance to start in right field. And fellow prospect Trey Lipscomb also starts at second base, a nice opportunity for him to show what he can do. Riley Adams will do the catching after Keibert Ruiz and Drew Millas worked Saturday night.

MacKenzie Gore makes the start for the Nats, hoping to complete his two innings in a much more efficient manner than Patrick Corbin did in the opener. As was the case Saturday, there will be another starter coming out of the bullpen today, with Jake Irvin following Gore and scheduled to pitch two innings himself. Kyle Finnegan and Hunter Harvey are among the relievers on tap.

And another note: Jen Pawol, hoping to become the first female umpire in MLB history, will be calling balls and strikes today after handling the bases Saturday night.

It was a tricky task just days ago: For this week’s “The Hot Stove Show” on MASN All Access, I was struggling to put together a potential Opening Day starting defensive lineup graphic with the Nationals roster as it stood at the time.

Some positions were obvious: Keibert Ruiz was the starting catcher, CJ Abrams at shortstop and Lane Thomas in right field.

Some I could piece together: At the Winter Meetings, general manager Mike Rizzo and skipper Davey Martinez said Joey Meneses was going to play more first base. When Nick Senzel signed, he said he was being brought in to be the everyday third baseman. And until some prospects get more seasoning, no one is immediately pressing Luis García Jr. or Victor Robles for their jobs at second base and center field, respectively. (Yet.)

The starting pitcher came down to Josiah Gray and MacKenzie Gore. I went with Gray as he has tenure with the team and was the more consistent pitcher over the course of last season. It seemed the most logical choice, with the idea that short of an injury, Gore would have to very obviously outperform Gray in camp to get the Opening Day duties instead.

That left the designated hitter, left field and three bench spots open.

PLAYER REVIEW: RILEY ADAMS

Age on Opening Day 2024: 27

How acquired: Traded from Blue Jays for Brad Hand, July 2021

MLB service time: 2 years, 50 days

2023 salary: $728,800

ATLANTA – The symmetry wasn’t lost on Tanner Rainey.

As he stood at his locker at Truist Park, a member of the Nationals’ active roster for the first time in 14 months, the right-hander couldn’t help but think about the fact he was in this exact same location the last time he was a member of the active roster, before he tore his elbow ligament, before he required Tommy John surgery.

When manager Davey Martinez told him earlier this week he was going to come off the 60-day injured list and make his long-awaited return for the final series of the season, Rainey thought about the full-circle nature of his story.

“I kind of had a feeling,” he said. “I had spoken to Davey, and he told me that it was possibly for this trip, which is kind of weird. This was my last outing last year, as well. In July, I threw two innings here and that was the last outing. To return here, it’s a little weird.”

Weird, but joyous as well. It’s been a long road back for Rainey, who hasn’t pitched in a major league game since those two scoreless innings against the Braves on July 10, 2022. Three days later, he went on the IL. A few weeks after that, he had surgery to replace the torn elbow ligament.

It was a slow afternoon in the Nationals clubhouse as they prepared to welcome the division champion Braves for a four-game series, the last home series of the season.

Per usual, manager Davey Martinez provided some injury updates to begin his pregame press conference ahead of a series opener.

Riley Adams, whose season was ended by a fractured left hamate bone, had successful surgery last week and already is on a good path toward recovery.

“Riley Adams still has his stitches in. He's getting them out,” Martinez said. “He's gonna recover fine. He's already itching (to get back). He's working his hand a little bit, so he's doing well.”

Travis Blankenhorn’s season seems to be over as well. Although he was placed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday, retroactive back to Sept. 16, he received an injection to treat his plantar fasciitis that will keep him “out for a while,” per Martinez.

PITTSBURGH – CJ Abrams is back in the Nationals lineup for tonight’s opener against the Pirates after getting the day off for Sunday’s finale against the Dodgers. The young shortstop was given a day to rest after banging his knee on a slide during Saturday night’s win.

The ailment was never believed to be serious and he was even available to pinch-hit if needed yesterday.

“He feels good,” manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame media session at PNC Park. “Yesterday he could have been available to pinch-hit if we needed him. But I kind of wanted to stay away from him, just give him the whole day. I talked to him yesterday, he was hitting in the cage during the game, he said he felt fine. So it's good to get him back in there.”

Abrams has played in 132 of the Nationals’ 143 games so far this year. The 22-year-old was given extra rest last week (thanks in part to the Nats only having two games against the Mets) after telling his manager he felt like he needed a day.

Since moving to the leadoff spot full-time on July 7, Abrams has usually been backed by Lane Thomas in the No. 2 hole. The 1-2 punch atop the lineup has paced the Nationals' offense ever since, with Abrams slashing .271/.331/.444/.774 with six doubles, two triples, nine home runs, 28 runs, 20 RBIs and 14 walks and Thomas slashing .244/.298/.444/.742 with nine doubles, one triple, 10 homers, 34 runs, 29 RBIs and 12 walks over that stretch.

Riley Adams wasn’t overly concerned in the moment when he fouled off a pitch Wednesday night and felt something wrong with his left wrist. That’s not uncommon. Then he tried to take a practice swing.

“I went to grab the bat again, and it certainly felt more painful than I’ve experienced before,” the Nationals catcher said. “That’s when I was thinking something was up.”

Sure enough, Adams learned Thursday he had fractured the hamate bone in his wrist, an injury that will require surgery Monday and will end his season 3 1/2 weeks before he wanted. The Nats placed him on the 10-day injured list today and recalled second baseman Luis García from Triple-A Rochester to take his roster spot.

It’s a tough, and abrupt, end to a promising season for Adams. The 27-year-old finished with 159 plate appearances over 48 games as Keibert Ruiz’s backup behind the plate, hitting .273 with 13 doubles, two triples, four homers, 21 RBIs and an .807 OPS.

Hamate fractures, while frustrating, typically heal in six to eight weeks. That affords Adams plenty of time to recover and begin his offseason training program with no ill effects, though hitters have been known to need more time to see their power return once back playing on a daily basis.

He had already reached base earlier in the game and immediately swiped second. So when CJ Abrams singled home the tying run in the bottom of the seventh Wednesday night, was there ever any question what he would do next?

“I get on base, and I’m trying to take that extra 90 every time I can,” the Nationals shortstop said. “Get in scoring position for my teammates, help the team win.”

Abrams’ baserunning wasn’t really the difference in the Nats’ 3-2 win over the Mets. His RBI single in the seventh was. As was Jacob Young’s walk-off single in the ninth, with Abrams watching from the on-deck circle and ready to take a crack at it himself if his rookie teammate hadn’t delivered.

But it was a milestone night for Abrams on the bases nonetheless, because he reached the 40-steal mark for the first time in his career and joined an exclusive list of Nationals who have ever done that.

Only Trea Turner (who stole 46 bases in 2017, then 43 in 2018) and Alfonso Soriano (41 in 2006) have stolen more bases in a single season for the Nats than Abrams, who still has 22 more games to go and a real shot at establishing a new club record.

TORONTO – Some assorted news and notes coming out of the finale of the Nationals’ four-city, 10-game road trip …

* Carter Kieboom was called up from Triple-A Rochester the day the trip began, way back on Aug. 20 in Williamsport, Pa. He didn’t appear in that game but was in the lineup the following night at Yankee Stadium and homered on the first pitch he saw in the majors in nearly two years.

Kieboom would go on to start seven of the remaining nine games of the trip, sitting once in New York and once in Toronto. He would hit two more homers and finish 7-for-26 with a double, three homers, five RBIs and six strikeouts.

In five of those games, though, Kieboom was pulled either in the eighth or ninth inning for defense. Davey Martinez, wanting to give his team its best chance at closing out wins, has had Ildemaro Vargas finish games at third base, a move that notably paid off Tuesday night when Vargas made a tough play on a slow bouncer with the bases loaded.

Martinez is prioritizing defense, but he also has been protecting Kieboom, who missed all of 2022 following Tommy John surgery and then missed more time this season with shoulder trouble stemming from his rehab from the major elbow procedure. That will probably remain the case for the time being, which Kieboom understands, even though he insists his arm feels strong now.

MIAMI – The Nationals just so happened to be heading back to Miami after the news broke. They were wrapping up their series against the Yankees in New York and about to board a flight to South Beach when it was reported that Stephen Strasburg was planning to retire.

Then ironically enough, the baseball gods had them at loanDepot Park the next, the site of what is now Strasburg’s last major league start.

And as Riley Adams prepared to take the field behind the plate against the Marlins, he recalled when he did the same thing on June 9, 2022, in this very ballpark to catch Strasburg.

“It was actually here that his start was,” Adams said. “So yeah, it's obviously a little bittersweet knowing that that was the last start. I've only known Stras for a little bit since I've been here. He certainly means a lot and hearing all the stories from the team in 2019 and the magical run, he played a huge part in that I think, too, growing up as a San Diego kid, you always knew Stras, you always knew how good he was. To see the career he's had, to see everything, it's really special. I kind of wish I wasn't the last guy to have caught him in a game. But I was happy at least I got to catch him in a start. But I certainly wish that wasn't the last one.”

Strasburg gave up seven runs on eight hits, a home run, two walks and a hit batter with five strikeouts over 4 ⅔ innings. The results of his 83 pitches, 53 strikes, wasn’t necessarily all that important. It was more the fact that, at the time, the often-injured ace seemed to come out of the game healthy.

MIAMI – For the fourth straight game and fifth in the Nationals’ last six, Riley Adams will start behind the plate in Sunday’s finale against the Marlins.

As they go for a sweep of their division rival, the Nats continue to monitor Keibert Ruiz’s health after he took a foul tip off his face mask Wednesday in New York. Adams replaced him to catch the eighth inning, so this is actually his sixth straight game getting behind the dish in some capacity.

Ruiz was scratched from Thursday’s lineup because he felt lightheaded. He felt fine enough to be the designated hitter Friday night in Miami, but hasn’t been in the lineup since. Manager Davey Martinez said yesterday Ruiz spent most of Saturday morning at the dentist and was given some more time to recover.

“After talking to the medical staff last night, we just wanted to give him another day today and make sure that he's totally good so he could come back and get ready to go,” Martinez said during his pregame media session Sunday. “Riley Adams has been playing well. We just want to give him another day and make sure he's well and rested and ready to go tomorrow.”

The Nationals expect Ruiz, who has been in the clubhouse all weekend in his normal upbeat mood, to play in Monday’s opener in Toronto. The catcher is taking some new medication, which should take full effect in his system by tomorrow’s game against the Blue Jays.

NEW YORK – There haven’t been many days in the last two years when the Nationals could compare themselves to the Mets and feel better about their own situation than their division counterparts. And there may not be many more days in the near future when that will be the case.

But on this day, July 29, 2023, it was impossible for the guys in the visitors’ dugout at Citi Field to look across the way and believe the grass was any greener over there.

Hours after watching the Mets consummate a haphazard deal that will send Max Scherzer (and a boatload of money) to the Rangers for Ronald Acuña Jr.’s younger brother, the Nationals proceeded to beat up on their hosts and the fans who waited out yet another rain delay, pouring salt in their wounds during an 11-6 thumping.

Make no mistake, the Mets are still ahead of the Nationals in the NL East by 5 1/2 games. And they are going to be motivated to go all-in on trying to win the World Series title that has eluded them since 1986 once again next year. But forgive anybody wearing a curly W cap tonight for feeling even a twinge of schadenfreude given the events of the last 48 hours.

"You're always surprised when, especially a team like the Mets that has so many good players, and all of a sudden they decide the trade was imminent with him," manager Davey Martinez said. "I can say to the Rangers that they're getting a quality starter, a guy that's going to go out there and give them everything he's got. He's definitely going to help Texas. As you all know, I love Max. He's done some unbelievable things for us here in D.C., and I wish him well. I'm glad we don't have to face him again."

It’s not exactly become a regular occurrence, but it’s no longer a once-in-a-blue-moon event. For the fourth time in the last month, the Nationals have both Keibert Ruiz and Riley Adams in the lineup together.

Ruiz once again will serve as designated hitter for tonight’s game against the Rockies, with Adams catching as Davey Martinez tries to find ways to keep two hot bats in the lineup at the same time.

Martinez’s motivation is pretty simple. Adams has been one of baseball’s most productive backup catchers, entering tonight’s game batting .289/.344/.542 with five doubles, two triples, four homers and 11 RBIs in only 91 plate appearances. Ruiz, meanwhile, has been hot himself over the last month, batting .323/.371/.523 with four doubles, three homers and 11 RBIs over his last 17 games.

“I just try to pick days where I can do it,” Martinez said. “After this weekend, looking at everything, it just made sense for them both to get a chance to get more at-bats. I want to keep Riley going; he’s swinging the bat well. And also, Keibert’s swinging the bat really good right-handed.”

Martinez first started both of his catchers June 22 against the Diamondbacks and watched them go a combined 6-for-8 with a double and a homer. All told in the three games they’ve both started, they’ve gone a combined 11-for-25.

It was not a taboo word around the Nationals clubhouse. In fact, in talking to members of the team before today’s finale against the Giants, no one was really too concerned about it.

But it had to be noted how long it has been since the Nationals last swept a three-game series. You have to go back more than two years to June 14-16, 2021 against the Pirates for the last time they accomplished that feat. And per STATS, the Nats have not swept a series in their last 96 attempts, which is the longest streak of series without a sweep in major league history after passing the Philadelphia Athletics’ 89 straight series without a sweep between 1914-1917.

Alas, they finally did it, sweeping the Giants in three games this weekend with a 6-1 win this afternoon in front of 23,404 fans at Nats Park.

"This weekend we played like I thought we'd play throughout," said manager Davey Martinez after the game. "With a lot of energy, it was a lot of fun. It was a great weekend for us. So I was proud of the boys. You saw us go first to the third, you saw us turn double plays when we needed to, make some good plays, steal some bases, get big outs. Everybody was on point. So it was a fun weekend.”

As they did in each of the past two nights, the Nats jumped out to an early lead and didn’t look back, the new top of the lineup once again leading the charge.

There was a certain admirable quality to what the Nationals bullpen did Thursday afternoon. After a 1-hour, 43-minute rain delay forced MacKenzie Gore’s start to end after only 1 1/3 innings and 17 pitches, Davey Martinez had to ask six relievers to churn out a combined 8 2/3 innings in a game that wasn’t decided until the 10th.

Of course, the bullpen’s performance would’ve been appreciated even more had Kyle Finnegan not surrendered the game-tying run in the eighth and Hunter Harvey surrendered the game-winning runs in the 10th.

But given the circumstances, and what was asked of them, Martinez couldn’t get too down on the group as a whole.

The key figure in the proceedings was Mason Thompson, who was summoned to take over when the rain delay ended, thrust into a jam in the top of the second. The right-hander proceeded to induce an inning-ending, 6-2-3 double play, then returned to pitch the third and fourth innings, ultimately allowing one run to the Reds.

“It starts with the first guy and wondering how far he can go,” Martinez said. “Mason did a great job. You’re hoping for an inning and two-thirds, and he gave us more than that. So that set the tone. Then the rest of the guys just followed suit. I thought they did really well.”

SEATTLE – The Nationals wrap up the West Coast portion of their nine-game road trip this afternoon with a matinee against the Mariners. They’ll do so without two regular members of their lineup starting, each for different reasons.

CJ Abrams is sitting after getting hit by a pitch on his right elbow in the top of the seventh Tuesday night. It was actually the second time the young shortstop was hit in that location during this trip, and this time it swelled up enough to warrant departing the game.

Abrams did initially remain in Tuesday’s game and proceeded to steal second after reaching. On the slide, he appeared to get spiked on his right hand. When the inning ended, he remained in the dugout, with Ildemaro Vargas taking over at shortstop for the final five frames of an 11-inning victory.

Abrams was walking around the clubhouse this morning with his right arm in a sleeve after receiving treatment. He didn’t sound concerned about missing any length of time.

“He’s a little sore; he’s getting worked on this morning,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He should be available to pinch-hit, play some defense later on in the game. Just giving him a little breather. He’s a guy who got hit twice in the same spot in a week. He woke up today a little sore.”

SEATTLE – The Nationals have spent an inordinate amount of time on the West Coast this season. Today, they play their 25th road game against West division opponents. Compare that with only six road games against Central teams and only nine road games against East teams. They’ve made four separate trips to California in three months.

The good news: Today is the last time the Nats will play west of St. Louis this season. And they would love to head back east with another win, not to mention a 4-2 record in San Diego and Seattle before departing for Philadelphia.

Davey Martinez’s lineup for the finale against the Mariners does not include CJ Abrams, who was hit by a pitch on the right elbow Tuesday night and had to depart. It does not include Joey Meneses, who gets a rare day off. It does include both Keibert Ruiz (who is DHing) and Riley Adams (who is catching).

Patrick Corbin gets the start, hoping for better results than his blowup start in San Diego to begin this trip (seven runs in five innings). The Nats could certainly use some length from the left-hander today after playing 11 innings Tuesday night.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at SEATTLE MARINERS
Where: T-Mobile Park
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Sunny, 70 degrees, wind 6 mph out to center field

Although they lost an off-day, the Nationals were hoping to use this makeup game against the Diamondbacks to create some momentum before heading out on a nine-game road trip.

Yesterday’s win over the Cardinals was only their fourth since the start of June. Putting together back-to-back wins to end this homestand would have made for a happy flight out west.

Davey Martinez applauded his team for playing clean baseball during yesterday’s rainy conditions. But the Nats got sloppy again, committing two errors and allowing four unearned runs in a 5-3 loss to the D-backs in front of 13,251 fans who withstood the misty weather.

"We can't give good teams 28-29 outs. We can't," Martinez said after their 14th loss this month. "I think we had four unearned runs today. Take those away and we're right in the ballgame. So we gotta get better at that, we really do. And if we do that, we're going to be able to compete. So we got to just come back tomorrow and play a good, clean baseball game and see where we're at.”

Weird circumstances surrounded today’s getaway game, which technically was recognized as a one-game series since it was rescheduled from June 8 due to poor air quality in the D.C. area from the Canada wildfires.