Frustrations are bound to boil over during the long baseball season. Either with one’s self or with a teammate, it’s a part of the game for every team.

Despite a shortage of wins over the last couple of years, there haven’t been too many incidents with the Nationals. At least not in the public eye.

The Nats have had even fewer reasons for one this year, as they entered tonight’s opener with the Marlins only four games under .500 and winners of five of their last six games.

But that doesn’t mean players aren’t intense in the moment. Some guys get into certain mindsets when it comes to game time and are completely different people off the field.

MacKenzie Gore is one of those players. Much like former Nationals ace Max Scherzer, Gore is very friendly in the clubhouse on days he’s not pitching. On days he does take the bump, however, don’t get in his way.

Josiah Gray is going to retake the mound for the second start of his rehab assignment tonight with Double-A Harrisburg. The Senators are home against the Bowie Baysox (Orioles) with the injured right-hander starting and scheduled to go about four innings and 60-65 pitches.

Gray landed on the 15-day injured list on April 9 (retroactive to April 6) and made his first rehab start on Sunday with Single-A Fredericksburg. He threw 43 pitches and allowed three runs on three extra-base hits, awarded one walk, hit a batter and struck out two. He told reporters this week in Detroit that he focused mostly on his fastball and cutter.

Tonight, he’ll look to incorporate more of his extensive arsenal.

“I want to see him today to really attack the strike zone,” manager Davey Martinez said before Friday’s opener against the Marlins at Nationals Park. “Get ahead, finish. We always talk about finishing hitters in three pitches or less. I want to see him do that. Plus too, we talked a little bit about how to utilize his breaking ball. I want to see him throw it early in counts for strikes and see if he can do that. But the biggest thing is his mechanics. We got to make sure he hones in on his mechanics. That he's not flying open. I want his misses to be around the plate. So hopefully, he gets there today.”

Gray throws a whopping seven pitches: four-seam fastball, cutter, slider, curveball, sweeper, changeup and sinker. While the Nats would like to see him focus on a couple of them, they’re fine with him trying out as many as he wants in his rehab starts. As long as he throws them for strikes.

DETROIT – Lane Thomas did say something when Emil Jimenez called a borderline pitch strike three on him in the top of the sixth Thursday afternoon. He said two words, which when combined, can make for quite the insult.

But Thomas insists he wasn’t directing those words at Jimenez and rather uttered them out of frustration at the strike three call. Which is why he couldn’t believe it when Jimenez immediately ejected him from the game.

“Looking back, what I said was nothing that I haven’t said in the past,” he said. “I just thought (the ejection) was a little quick. So I don’t know if he didn’t understand me, or what happened. But I definitely didn’t say anything towards him. That was the frustrating part for me, that it was that quick and not directed at him.”

The first ejection of Thomas’ career made for quite a scene, with Jesse Winker (who was on-deck) jumping in to defend his teammate, and then manager Davey Martinez pleading his case to Jimenez as bench coach Miguel Cairo and third base coach Ricky Gutierrez tried to make sure Thomas and Winker didn’t say or do anything else that could get them into even more trouble.

“I think it was a tough pitch, and I was just frustrated,” Thomas said. “I say stuff all the time, but it’s not directed at anyone. That’s what I told (crew chief Larry Vanover): ‘I don’t talk to you guys like that. I didn’t say anything out of my norm.’”

DETROIT – Josiah Gray will make his next rehab start Friday, but Cade Cavalli is taking a break in his rehab assignment to work in the bullpen with the Nationals coaching staff.

Gray, who threw 43 pitches over three innings Sunday for Single-A Fredericksburg in his rehab debut, is scheduled to take the mound again Friday, moving up to Double-A Harrisburg and increasing his workload. The right-hander, who went on the 15-day injured list after two rough starts to his season with a flexor strain in his elbow, said he was pleased with the physical state of his arm after his first competitive game in nearly two months.

“It was good,” he said. “Definitely a little rusty, working out the kinks. But I felt prepared. I felt good for each inning that I threw and worked on some things. Looking forward to the next one.”

Gray allowed three runs on three hits (all for extra bases), with one walk, two strikeouts and a hit-by-pitch in Sunday’s outing. He said he focused mostly on his fastball and cutter and will look to incorporate his full arsenal as he proceeds.

Manager Davey Martinez suggested Gray could make as many as five rehab starts in total before coming off the IL. That timeline wouldn’t have him rejoining the Nationals until the end of the month or perhaps even early July.

The Nationals have been building a lot on the field over the past couple of years. The rebuilding process to return to a highly competitive level is never easy. They have made significant strides, while currently looking at one of their more successful seasons in a while.

But what they are building off the field may be just as important as the on-field results.

General manager Mike Rizzo has put together a nucleus of young players tasked with carrying this team back to the top of the baseball world. Manager Davey Martinez has been tasked with getting all of those young pieces to mesh.

Unfortunately, two of those young pieces have been sidelined for most of this year: Josiah Gray, who landed on the 15-day injured list after just two starts, and Cade Cavalli, who is still on his way back from last year’s Tommy John surgery.

Yes, their progress on the mound has slowed. But their development as teammates, key individuals in the clubhouse and pieces of this franchise’s future has actually grown.

Confirmed: Josiah Gray will begin his long-awaited rehab assignment on Sunday with Single-A Fredericksburg.

After being cleared earlier this week to pitch in a competitive game for the first time in almost two months, the Nationals have finally locked down the date and time for the right-hander to retake the hill.

The FredNats take on the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox) at Virginia Credit Union Stadium at 1:35 p.m. Gray will look to complete about three innings.

“We're looking for three ups, 50-55 pitches,” manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame media session. “If we get through that, that would be a good day for him. Then what we want to do is bring him back here after that. Let him go through his workouts here. And if everything goes well, the next one will probably be in Harrisburg. And then we'll go from there.”

Gray landed on the 15-day injured list on April 9 (retroactive to April 6) with a right elbow/forearm flexor strain. He had only made two starts to that point, giving up 15 hits, 13 runs and five walks with nine strikeouts over 8 ⅓ innings.

Josiah Gray is ready to pitch in a competitive game again.

Gray, who has spent nearly two months on the 15-day injured list with a flexor strain in his forearm, has been cleared to begin a minor league rehab assignment. The exact date and location hasn’t been finalized yet, but manager Davey Martinez suggested it’s most likely to come Sunday at Single-A Fredericksburg.

“I would like to send him to the closest affiliate for now, because I want him to come back here after he pitches,” Martinez said. “So if Fredericksburg is home, that’s probably where he’ll go.”

The Fred Nats indeed are home Sunday afternoon against Kannapolis, so that appears to be the answer.

Gray landed on the IL on April 9 after two rough starts to his season. He slowly built his arm back up and in recent weeks pitched in three simulated games against teammates. The last of those came Tuesday when the right-hander threw 65 pitches over three innings.

There’s nothing more tempting in baseball than to try to predict a team’s pitching plan for both the short-term and long-term. And there are few exercises that almost always turn up results that don’t come to fruition.

Way back in March, as the Nationals prepped for the season in West Palm Beach, it seemed a given that Trevor Williams’ hold on the fifth spot in the Opening Day rotation was tenuous at best. Shoot, there even seemed to be a reasonable chance he would lose the job to spring training invitee Zach Davies. Then Davies had a blowup start that led to his release and Williams retained his starting job entering the season.

Even so, the leash on Williams figured to be short, especially on the heels of a miserable 2023 season. A couple of bad weeks to begin April and he might be bumped to the bullpen, opening the door for Jackson Rutledge (presumably the first-man up at Triple-A) to get his shot.

Then Williams got off to a great start to the season, and instead the opening in the Nats rotation came via injury to Josiah Gray. The choice to replace Gray wasn’t Rutledge (who was off-schedule at the time) but Mitchell Parker, who was thrown to the wolves at Dodger Stadium and conceivably could be sent back to Rochester one or two rough starts into his career.

Then Parker exceeded everyone’s expectations and now has solidified his place in the big league rotation for the foreseeable future. And alongside the improving MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin, plus the still-effective Williams, the Nationals had four quality starters giving their team a chance to win every time they took the mound.

CJ Abrams and Jacob Young are once again out of the Nationals lineup, leaving the team shorthanded once again with two regulars dealing with injuries.

Abrams, who jammed his left shoulder making a diving play at shortstop Friday night, is sitting for the third straight day. Young, who took a pitch off his right hand Saturday afternoon, is sitting for the second straight day.

Davey Martinez said Abrams has reported improvement in his shoulder each day, but it does continue to bother him when he swings.

“CJ said he felt better today than he did yesterday, so it is getting better,” the manager said. “I figured just give him another day, and hopefully if we need him (off the bench), he’s available.”

Young tried to hit in the cage today and reported his hand remains sore, so the Nationals decided not to push it and gave him his second straight day off.

CLEVELAND – The Nationals clubhouse was mostly empty three hours before tonight’s series opener at Progressive Field, only a few players lounging around and chatting while the rest waited to take a late bus to the ballpark following an exceptionally late night of travel.

A 7:20 p.m. getaway night game in Atlanta was bad enough. Then a lengthy delay with the team’s charter plane meant the Nats didn’t finally check into their Cleveland hotel until nearly 5 a.m.

Suffice it to say, Davey Martinez canceled batting practice and told everyone to report to the park later than usual, hoping they would get some much needed rest in the meantime.

“We pushed the buses back a little bit, but these guys are all getting ready,” Martinez said during his 5 p.m. pregame session with reporters. “A lot of them are already in the cage. We’ll have our (pre-series scouting) meetings and try to get ready to go.”

The Nationals weren’t pleased with the scheduling of their four-game series against the Braves, which began with a 4:10 p.m. Memorial Day affair but then concluded with three straight 7:20 p.m. starts. This also comes during a tough stretch of 17 consecutive scheduled game days, with their next day off still a ways away on June 10.

ATLANTA – Josiah Gray threw another live bullpen session today, one more step closer to returning from the 15-day injured list.

Gray landed on the IL with a right elbow/forearm flexor strain after just two starts in which he allowed 13 runs in 8 ⅓ innings. But after a long and patient rehab process, he finally returned to a mound to face live hitters for the first time on Saturday at Nationals Park.

He only threw 23 pitches, plus 27 warmup pitches, that first time. He got up to 76 today, including his warmups, at Truist Park while mixing in his off-speed stuff more.

“It was good. Better,” said manager Davey Martinez, who watched Gray alongside pitching coach Jim Hickey. “He threw a total of 76 pitches. And he threw the ball well. His breaking ball was sharp. A lot better today than it was the other day. Fastball was coming out pretty good. So he's doing good. He's in a good place right now. We'll continue to build him up and then we'll see where we go from there. I think he'll have one more live and then we'll make a decision and what we're going to do next.”

Likely to stay on a normal five-day rotation, the 26-year-old’s next live BP will come next week back in D.C. after the Nationals return from Cleveland.

It wasn’t much, only 23 pitches to a pair of hitters standing in front of a screen as several coaches and trainers watched from behind. For Josiah Gray, though, this was a significant step: His first time facing live batters since going on the injured list more than six weeks ago.

“Definitely put a smile on my face,” the Nationals right-hander said, “being able to get some pep back in my step and know that I’m able to go out there and face hitters. That’s what I love to do. That’s what I like: To just go out there and compete. So just a really, really important day, and I’m definitely going to enjoy this one.”

On the 15-day IL since mid-April with a flexor strain in his right elbow, Gray was cleared to start throwing again in short order. And he has been throwing off a bullpen mound for several weeks now.

But the Nationals wanted to hold off before taking this next step, wanting to make sure the 26-year-old was both in good physical shape and with clean pitching mechanics first.

“The thing is, we really want to try to keep this as more of a prevention thing,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We don’t want him to get hurt again. So we wanted to make sure we took time, that he was in his legs, that everything was sound. And then we can build up from there.”

Members of the local media walked into the Nationals clubhouse this afternoon expecting to see a familiar face back at his locker. But lo and behold, it was the same 26-man group getting ready for tonight’s series opener against the Mariners.

Lane Thomas will continue his minor league rehab assignment over the next couple of days, manager Davey Martinez announced, ending speculation that the outfielder would rejoin the team for the holiday weekend.

Finally cleared to return to game action since landing on the 10-day injured list on April 24 with a left MCL sprain, Thomas has made three rehab appearances with Double-A Harrisburg this week, going 2-for-9 with a double, a walk, two strikeouts, a stolen base and an outfield assist. He played a full nine innings for the first time Thursday night. He's leading off and serving as the designated hitter tonight.

“He played nine innings yesterday. He's feeling better,” Martinez said during his pregame media session. “Just as I thought, playing nine innings, being on his feet, he's a little sore. But he's getting there. He wanted to play a couple more games and then we'll see how he comes out of it. I know they got a day off on Monday, so we'll re-evaluate him after this weekend. But he's doing good. He's getting some at-bats. He's gonna play nine innings again today. We'll go day-by-day with him.”

The Nationals offense could use Thomas right now. They have scored two or fewer runs in seven of their last 11 games, losing nine overall. And although the 29-year-old got off to a slow start this year (.184 average, .503 OPS, two home runs, 10 RBIs), he was their most productive hitter last year. At the very least, he could provide more protection in the lineup for the slumping CJ Abrams.

BOSTON – As the Nationals got settled into the cramped visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park, Joey Gallo learned that his next rehab game with Triple-A Rochester was postponed due to inclement weather about four hours south in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Davey Martinez was hoping his first baseman/designated hitter, who has been on the injured list since April 26 with a left shoulder AC sprain, would carry over his strong night at the plate last night into tonight with the Red Wings.

“Joey Gallo is rehabbing in Rochester still,” Martinez said ahead of tonight’s opener against the Red Sox. “Today got rained out, so they got no game today.”

Gallo went 2-for-5 with a double and three-run home run in the Red Wings’ 14-12 loss to the RailRiders last night. It was his first multi-hit game and extra-base hits over his five rehab games, a good sign the 30-year-old is getting his timing back after hitting .122 with a .597 OPS and three home runs in his first 23 games with the Nats.

“He hit a home run and a double. He's starting to swing the bat a little bit better,” Martinez said. “They said he feels good. Just like everybody else, he's just trying to get his timing back. Hopefully, he continues to play. The rainouts are not good, but I want him to get as many at-bats as he possibly can before we bring him back up here. But we also want to make sure that this doesn't linger and that it goes away. But he said he feels good.”

Jacob Young is available off the bench for Saturday’s game after departing in the top of the fifth inning of Friday’s 9-3 victory over the Blue Jays.

While batting leadoff and playing center field, Young was 1-for-2 with a leadoff double in the third, coming around to score the Nats’ first run of the night, but was replaced two innings later by Jesse Winker with back spasms, manager Davey Martinez confirmed after the game.

The 24-year-old outfielder was seen in the Nats clubhouse this afternoon coming back from the batting cages with his bat and gloves, presumably taking swings to test out his back. Although he’s not in the starting lineup, with Alex Call taking over in center field and CJ Abrams bumped back up to the leadoff spot, Martinez said Young should be available to either pinch-hit or pinch-run.

“He's better today. He's better,” Martinez said of Young. “He'll be available, maybe, to come off the bench. Pinch-hit or pinch-run or something. But he's doing better.”

Even though Young is feeling better, Martinez did not play with the idea of putting him back in the starting lineup today.

The Nationals’ run-starved lineup should get a couple of veterans back in the coming days.

First baseman Joey Gallo is scheduled to begin what should be a brief rehab assignment Saturday at Single-A Fredericksburg. Outfielder Victor Robles, meanwhile, continues on his rehab assignment at Triple-A Rochester and appears close to rejoining the big league club.

Gallo, out since April 27 with a sprained left shoulder, is ready to start playing in minor league games a week later. He has already taken swings in the cage and is now prepared to face live pitching in a game.

Gallo is eligible to come off the 10-day injured list on Tuesday, so if all goes well he should be activated in time for the Nationals’ series opener against the Orioles that night. The 30-year-old was off to a miserable start to his season, batting .122 with three homers, five RBIs and 43 strikeouts in 91 plate appearances, but his presence would still be a boost to a Nats lineup that has scored only two runs in its last three games.

Robles is set to play in his fourth rehab game tonight for Triple-A Rochester, batting leadoff and starting in center field. The 26-year-old suffered a hamstring strain April 3 and has been on the IL since. He’s 3-for-10 with a triple and two RBIs so far on rehab.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Nick Senzel is on the kind of power streak most players only dream about. Trey Lipscomb has been red-hot since returning from Triple-A. So how do the Nationals keep both players in the lineup?

For now, the answer is to have Senzel serve as designated hitter while Lipscomb handles third base.

That’s the alignment again tonight for the Nats’ series opener against the Rangers, the fourth straight lineup card Davey Martinez has filled out with Lipscomb at third and Senzel as DH.

“It works out really well for us right now,” Martinez said. “Nick’s starting to swing the bat really well. Lipscomb’s playing really well both sides of the ball. So we’ll keep it like this for a while.”

Senzel, whose season debut was delayed by a fractured thumb suffered during pregame drills on Opening Day, enters tonight with five homers in his last six games. And he nearly hit another homer Monday night in Miami, the ball landing at the wall in deep left-center for a double.

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.

The Nationals haven’t completely overcome the flu bug that has taken down several corners of the clubhouse the last two weeks: They had to place another ill player on the injured list today because of it.

Reliever Robert Garcia became the latest victim, placed on the 15-day IL with influenza prior to tonight’s series opener against the Dodgers. The club purchased the contract of right-hander Jacob Barnes from Triple-A Rochester to fill the bullpen vacancy and designated minor league infielder Jake Alu for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Garcia first was afflicted with the virus more than a week ago and was unable to pitch for several days during the Nationals’ West Coast trip. The left-hander did come back to appear three times in a four-game span at the end of the week but did not look himself, retiring only one of the seven Astros batters he faced Friday and Saturday, his fastball velocity down from 95-96 mph to 92-93 mph.

“We noticed his velo was way down, and he was trying to pitch through it,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I don’t want him to get hurt, so we’re going to take care of him.”

Garcia, whose transaction was backdated two days, joins Keibert Ruiz on the IL with the flu, but the catcher is healthy again and nearly ready to return. Ruiz, who lost 18-to-20 pounds while sick, begins what should be a brief rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg tonight and should be activated later this week.

As the Nationals prepare to welcome the Astros to D.C. for three games this weekend, when the organization and fan base are celebrating the five-year anniversary of their World Series win over Houston, there was some baseball news to attend to before the festivities begin.

Davey Martinez has three prominent players on the injured list, and each of them is progressing nicely and nearing a return.

Josiah Gray, who landed on the 15-day IL on April 9, retroactive to April 6, with a right elbow/forearm flexor strain, has been able to increase his throwing distance over the past couple of days.

“Josiah Gray played catch up to 60 feet the last two days,” the manager said ahead of Friday’s opener. “He feels good, so he will continue his progress.”

Gray is eligible to come off the injured list after this weekend, but the Nats will likely want to see him return to the mound a few times before returning him to the active roster. And they’re hoping that once this injury has been healed it will turn into better results for the right-hander, who allowed 13 runs and 15 hits in 8 ⅓ innings over his first two starts.