SAN FRANCISCO – Though he’s now on the injured list for the first time in his major league career, Josiah Gray was encouraged to learn the strain in his elbow and forearm is not likely to keep him out as long as a more serious injury he believes he avoided.

Gray, who officially went on the 15-day IL today with what the Nationals have termed an elbow/forearm flexor strain, said an MRI taken in recent days showed his elbow ligament is intact, as well as all other forearm muscles. The right-hander doesn’t know a precise timetable yet for his absence, but he did not suggest it will be a prolonged absence.

“Overall, a positive outlook,” he said. “It sucks to miss time and not be out there helping the guys winning games. But it’s a part of what pitchers are and what we do. I’m just going to take it on the chin and take it day-by-day.”

Gray said he first noticed an issue following Thursday’s start against the Pirates, when he “just felt a little more banged-up than usual.” He attempted to throw his standard between-starts bullpen session over the weekend and still didn’t feel right, so he alerted the Nationals training staff and had tests taken.

The strain that was discovered via MRI was muscular in nature, affecting the flexor-pronator mass, not his ulnar collateral ligament. Given the recent spate of major pitching injuries throughout the sport, with a number of prominent big leaguers needing Tommy John surgery, Gray was relieved to learn his prognosis.

SAN FRANCISCO – Josiah Gray is going on the injured list and won’t make his scheduled start tonight against the Giants.

The Nationals announced today Gray was placed on the 15-day IL with what the club termed a right elbow/forearm flexor strain. Joan Adon will start in his place tonight at Oracle Park.

The severity of Gray’s injury isn’t clear yet, but the Nats were concerned enough to have Adon join them in San Francisco on Monday as part of the taxi squad they’re allowed to carry during road trips. The 25-year-old right-hander opened his season at Triple-A Rochester, allowing four runs (two earned) in 2 1/3 innings 11 days ago. He hasn’t pitched since.

Gray was named the Nationals’ Opening Day starter for the first time this spring but struggled in each of his first two outings, allowing a total of 13 runs and 15 hits in 8 1/3 innings against the Reds and Pirates. He last pitched April 4, but IL moves are allowed to be backdated only three days, so he officially goes on the IL as of April 6.

This is the first time Gray has gone on the IL in a major league career that began in 2021 with the Dodgers. Despite his at-times erratic performances since joining the Nationals that summer, his durability has never come into question.

The Nationals know what Josiah Gray looks like at his best, slinging up any of seven different pitches to keep hitters off-balance and induce a host of swings and misses while escaping the occasional jam.

The Nationals also know what Gray looks like at his worst, unable to locate his fastball, unable to put away hitters, unable to extend outings due to high pitch counts.

And two starts into his 2024 campaign, the 26-year-old right-hander has resembled only the latter version of himself, not the former.

Hoping to bounce back from a disappointing Opening Day outing in Cincinnati last week, Gray instead regressed in some ways, getting roughed up by the Pirates early and often and failing to make it out of the fifth inning during what wound up a 7-4 loss in a rain-delayed series finale at Nationals Park.

One week after allowing seven runs on eight hits and two walks in four innings against the Reds, Gray was charged with six runs on seven hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings today, digging his teammates into a big hole early that made the rest of the affair mostly moot.

They managed to play Monday’s home opener as scheduled with no interruption. They managed to play Wednesday night as scheduled with no interruption. Can the Nationals and Pirates do the impossible and play today’s series finale as scheduled with no interruption?

There’s once again rain in the forecast, so that may be too much to ask for. But perhaps the baseball gods will smile upon us again and provide a window of dryness during the late-afternoon/early-evening hours.

The Nats will again be looking to win the rubber game of a series, having missed their chance to do that Sunday in Cincinnati when Kyle Finnegan blew the save. All things considered, if they could emerge from this opening week with a 3-3 record, everyone would have to be satisfied.

Josiah Gray is back on the mound for his second start, hoping for better results than his Opening Day outing. If nothing else, the right-hander really would like to go deeper in the game, perhaps even becoming the first Nationals starter to complete six innings this season.

The Nats are making a roster move today: Jacob Young is coming up from Triple-A Rochester, with Victor Robles headed to the injured list with a left hamstring strain. Young fits the profile well to take Robles’ spot, so look for him to share center field with Eddie Rosario and come off the bench to pinch-run and play defense late in games.

CINCINNATI – A season of renewed optimism ran headfirst into a brick wall this afternoon. Opening Day saw Josiah Gray get lit up by a 33-year-old journeyman, the Nationals lineup get shut down by a 31-year-old making his first start in two seasons and their starting third baseman get taken out by a pregame ground ball.

An 8-2 loss to the Reds – a game that essentially was over after three innings – was demoralizing enough. The injury to Nick Senzel might as well have been a kick to the groin, one that came 90 minutes before the season’s first pitch was even thrown.

Senzel, the former Cincinnati first-round pick who signed for a modest $2 million over the winter in hopes of resurrecting his career, was fielding grounders during batting practice when a ball struck him on the thumb. Instead of trotting out of the dugout with his new teammates in his old ballpark for player introductions, he was getting an X-ray, which revealed a broken right thumb, according to manager Davey Martinez.

"It's awful," Martinez said. "He was in a good spot, and we were in a good spot with him. He was excited for today. And then just a freak accident."

"I was warming up in the training room, and I see him roll in," Gray said. "I'm not really paying attention, but I hear him saying something happened. I feel terrible for him, because obviously the significance of coming back here - he had a long career here - and for it to happen in pregame as well, that's a tough blow for him. I feel for him."

CINCINNATI – And away we go!

Forget about anything that happened last season. Forget about anything that happened over the winter. Forget about anything that happened during spring training. It all made for great conversation and debate, but it doesn’t matter anymore. Starting today, we have actual baseball to watch and evaluate.

The 20th season of Washington Nationals baseball begins on the road. It’s actually the first time the Nats have opened on the road since 2018, when rookie manager Davey Martinez debuted with a win in … Cincinnati! This is the eighth road opener in club history, and it’s strange to think the only repeat towns during that time are New York and Cincinnati of all places.

This is also only the fourth Opening Day against someone from outside the National League East. The others: at the Cubs in 2012, home against the Yankees in the bizarre 2020 season. Among division foes, the Nationals have faced the Mets and Braves five times apiece, the Marlins four times and the Phillies twice.

The last 12 season openers have seen only three starting pitchers take the mound: Max Scherzer (six times), Stephen Strasburg (four) and Patrick Corbin (two). But today, the Nats pass the ceremonial baton to someone new: Josiah Gray, who makes his first career Opening Day start, against the franchise that drafted him in 2018 (and then traded him to the Dodgers six months later).

From the moment they traded Max Scherzer, Trea Turner and six others in July 2021, the Nationals stopped paying attention to their won-loss record.

Managers, general managers and players can say all they want about competing every single day and believing they’re going to win far more than they lose, but deep down everyone associated with the Nats knew at that moment the organizational priority no longer involved winning percentage at the major league level.

That continued through the 2022 season, which also saw the club deal Juan Soto in the biggest trade of them all, and then through the 2023 season, even though the Nationals’ win total ultimately did improve by a healthy amount from 55 to 71.

Now, as the rebuild enters its third full season, with several core players already on the roster and several more coming soon, it’s fair to ask for the first time in a long time: Should the Nats be judged primarily by their record?

“I think we’re at a point right now where it’s wins and losses,” right-hander Josiah Gray said. “We want to improve on last year.”

JUPITER, Fla. – The Nationals weren’t able to play Friday night due to persistent rain across the entire state of Florida. So they’ll try to play two today … even though neither is a makeup game against the Astros! See, the Nats already had a day-night, split-squad doubleheader scheduled. (Such great planning for the second-to-last day of spring training, huh?)

It all gets started at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, where half of the team will face the Cardinals and Miles Mikolas for the third time in 12 days. The veteran right-hander didn’t give up much in those previous two matchups, allowing a total of three runs in 10 innings. Jake Irvin will oppose Mikolas, and he’s been excellent each of his last two starts against the Mets and Marlins, totaling nine scoreless innings on three hits, zero walks and 10 strikeouts.

The nightcap sees the other half of the Nationals staying home in West Palm Beach to face the Marlins, with Josiah Gray making his final tune-up before he takes the mound for real Opening Day in Cincinnati. Gray had a wild night against the Astros on Monday, walking seven, striking out six but somehow only allowing one run in five innings. He’ll look to find the strike zone just a bit more this time.

You’ll notice some players who were part of Friday’s roster cuts in the lineups today and tonight. Because of the split-squad situation, the Nationals have no choice but to use every available body, even those no longer in major league camp.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (ss) vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, Jupiter
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: None
Radio: MLB.com (Cardinals feed)
Weather: Rain ending, 77 degrees, wind 16 mph out to right field

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Josiah Gray has danced this dance before. He did it on a regular basis last season, putting himself into jams and then getting himself out of them.

That success has given the Nationals right-hander the confidence to deal with such precarious situations. It has also made him realize he’d be better served not getting into those situations quite so often.

“I think every outing when I’m toeing that line … it’s kind of like: Here we go again,” he said. “I shouldn’t be putting myself in these positions.”

Gray kept doing it tonight during the Nationals’ 10-1 exhibition victory over the Astros. He allowed 10 of the 24 batters he faced to reach, seven via walk. And somehow he departed after five innings with only one run on the board.

“Not a pretty outing at all,” he said. “Kind of just laboring through things. Some of the walks, I felt like I was spraying the ball around. Some of the other walks, I felt like I was just missing them. I was lucky to only give up one today, but things could get a little different with that many runners on.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It’s a sweltering March afternoon here in South Florida, summer-type weather with popup thunderstorms all over the place. Hopefully that doesn’t impact tonight’s game, but the Nationals and Astros surely will be keeping an eye on the radar before and after they take the field.

Assuming no delays or poor conditions, Josiah Gray makes the start, his second-to-last tune-up before he takes the mound for real on Opening Day in Cincinnati. Gray enters with a 7.36 ERA this spring, but that’s more than a bit misleading. He was excellent in his first two starts, allowing one run and six baserunners in five innings. Then he was roughed up last time out, allowing five runs and nine baserunners in only 2 1/3 innings. That was 10 days ago, though, because Gray pitched on a back field in a minor league game last week. Either way, it’s important for him to build up some innings tonight and hopefully have some success against some good Houston hitters.

Most of the regulars are in the Nationals lineup, aside from Luis García Jr. and Nick Senzel. So it’ll be Ildemaro Vargas at second base and Trey Lipscomb at third base, all of them facing Cristian Javier.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. HOUSTON ASTROS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 6:05 p.m.
TV: MLB.tv (Astros feed)
Radio: 980 AM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 85 degrees, wind 14 mph out to right field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
LF Eddie Rosario
1B Joey Meneses
DH Joey Gallo
C Keibert Ruiz
CF Victor Robles
2B Ildemaro Vargas
3B Trey Lipscomb

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Josiah Gray first pitched in a big league camp in the spring of 2020, a 22-year-old prospect with the Dodgers who made it through only three appearances before he was sent down to the minors.

Gray was thinking about that the other day when Davey Martinez called him into his office and informed the now-26-year-old he will be starting Opening Day for the Nationals next week.

“Progress is probably the first word that comes to mind, because of how I’ve progressed through the league in the short amount of time I’ve been a major leaguer,” Gray said. “I just remember my first big league camp being with the Dodgers and getting cut, and thinking how that feeling was. And to say you’re going to be our first arm out of spring training going into the season is really cool and really surreal.”

Martinez had been leaning in this direction all winter, but the manager decided to wait to see how Gray fared this spring before making the official announcement today. In the end, the progress Gray displayed last season while earning his first All-Star selection and his continued development this spring was compelling.

“He’s matured so much since the first day I saw him,” Martinez said. “Even through the struggles of last year, he’s a lot different. Coming into camp, he’s been so much different as far as growth-wise. Understanding who he is, working on things he needs to work on, not trying to reinvent the wheel. He knows he needs to go out there and attack and throw strikes.

JUPITER, Fla. – Robert Hassell III is likely to open the season on the injured list after an MRI revealed a strain of his groin, but it doesn’t appear the Nationals outfield prospect will miss significant time.

Hassell injured himself March 8, able to play only one inning in the field, pulled before he could take an at-bat. He has been sidelined since, getting the MRI on Tuesday.

Manager Davey Martinez didn’t want to suggest a timetable for Hassell to return but acknowledged the 22-year-old will need to miss “a little time.”

“But he feels good,” Martinez added. “He’s going to just do some strengthening stuff, and hopefully we get him ready as soon as possible.”

The strain does not appear to be serious, because Hassell hasn’t been shut down altogether. He played catch Tuesday in West Palm Beach and was scheduled to hit off a tee today.

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Victor Robles is back in the Nationals lineup for this afternoon’s game against the Twins at Hammond Stadium, three hours away from West Palm Beach.

The 26-year-old outfielder came out of the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader in the middle of the third inning after striking out against Astros starter José Urquidy in his second at-bat.

Manager Davey Martinez revealed after the game that Robles has been dealing with a knot in his hamstring since being hit by a pitch Wednesday against the Marlins in Jupiter.

“He's in there today,” Martinez said before the game against the Twins. “We'll see how he's doing today. He said he's feeling a lot better. He got some more treatment yesterday. He said (it feels) pretty good. Like I said, it's just that one area where you got hit. They worked on it yesterday. They broke up some scar tissue, so he said he feels a lot better today.”

Robles is leading off and playing center field against Twins starting right-hander Pablo López. It has been on-and-off raining in Fort Myers this morning, so we’ll see how far the Nats push him with a wet outfield.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Josiah Gray has been impressive over his first two starts of spring training. He only gave up one run, four hits and two walks while striking out 10 in his first two starts over five innings for a 1.80 ERA.

But you can’t put too much stock into spring training numbers, good or bad.

Gray saw his first bad results of Grapefruit League action tonight in what would be a 7-6 loss to the Cardinals on a muggy night in West Palm Beach.

“It wasn't great,” Gray admitted after the game. “Even from the second batter on, I felt like I was out of sorts. I wasn't really throwing strikes. Kind of just battling myself there on the mound. I was happy to finish the outing well, but I think overall it was just a poor outing and not the way I wanted things to go today.”

The right-hander’s night started rough. After walking Jordan Walker in the first, he surrendered a two-run home run to Nolan Gorman to put the Nats in a 2-0 hole. He needed 21 pitches (only 10 strikes) to get out of the first inning.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals begin a long weekend tonight with a game against the Cardinals. They’ll turn right back around for a split doubleheader tomorrow at 12:05 p.m. against the Astros (on MASN) and 6:05 p.m. against the Marlins at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Then they’ll take an early three-hour bus ride across the state back to Fort Myers to face the Twins at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Oh, and we’ll lose an hour of sleep Saturday night when daylight-saving time begins.

As for tonight’s matchup, Josiah Gray will make his third start of spring and look to build on his strong performances to date. He’s only been charged with one run, four hits and two walks while striking out 10 over his first two starts.

The Nats order is full of regulars and looks like what could potentially be an Opening Day starting lineup.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EST
TV: None
Radio: MLB.tv (Cardinals’ feed)
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 10 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
LF Jesse Winker
1B Joey Meneses
DH Joey Gallo
C Keibert Ruiz
3B Nick Senzel
2B Luis García Jr.
CF Jacob Young

RHP Josiah Gray

CARDINALS
CF Victor Scott II
RF Jordan Walker
2B Nolan Gorman
C Iván Herrera
DH Alec Burleson
1B Luken Baker
SS Thomas Saggese
3B José Fermín
LF Michael Siani

RHP Lance Lynn

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Hello from JetBlue Park, aka “Fenway South.” The Nationals are making one of two cross-state trips today, this time to face the Red Sox. They’ll return to the area in eight days to face the Twins. And they brought some very intriguing names with them on the 2 1/2-hour bus ride.

James Wood and Dylan Crews are both in today’s lineup, Crews in center field while Wood serves as DH. Robert Hassell III, Brady House and Trey Lipscomb are all here and scheduled to come off the bench. And then there are three call-ups from minor league camp who came along as well: Elijah Green, Yohandy Morales and Daylen Lile. Hopefully, we get to see them at some point.

Josiah Gray is the starter on the mound, making his second start of the spring. The right-hander was really sharp in his debut against the Mets, striking out five across two scoreless innings. He’ll try to build up to three innings this afternoon against a Boston lineup that includes Rafael Devers, Trevor Story and Masataka Yoshida.

A quick programming note: I’m heading home after today’s game for a short break. Bobby Blanco is down here and will have you covered all week, so be sure to read his work (including a feature story this morning about Jacob Young) on the site.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. BOSTON RED SOX
Where: JetBlue Park, Fort Myers
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EST
TV: MLB.tv (Red Sox feed)
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 81 degrees, wind 10 mph out to left field

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – That Josiah Gray struck out five Mets batters today during his two-inning spring debut was good news for the Nationals

That he struck out three of those batters swinging at fastballs was great news for Gray.

“Anytime you can get swings and misses, especially on the fastball, is a good feeling,” the right-hander said. “A confidence booster.”

Gray has shown the ability to be a strikeout pitcher at times during his burgeoning career, with five double-digit outings the last two seasons. But most of those whiffs came on breaking balls, with the occasional called third strike sprinkled in for good measure.

What Gray showcased today during an eventual 6-3 exhibition loss was something different. And something the Nationals have been waiting to see for a while.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – It’s another beautiful day down here in paradise (sorry) as the Nationals return home to face the Mets for the first time this spring. The first two games have been highlighted by events that transpired after most of the starters departed. Perhaps today we’ll get a little more action from the regulars.

Davey Martinez has most of his everyday position players in the lineup. One notable exception: Brady House, who gets his first start at third base after coming off the bench Sunday against the Marlins. Jacob Young, who started in center field Sunday, is back in the lineup again today, this time in left field.

Josiah Gray takes the mound for the first time in 2024, and it’ll be interesting to see how many different types of pitches he throws during his two scheduled innings. Will Gray throw the kitchen sink at a Mets lineup he’s going to face plenty this season, or will he focus on a couple of particular offerings today?

Among the other pitchers scheduled to appear out of the bullpen are minor league starters Mitchell Parker and Cole Henry.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EST
TV: None
Radio: None
Weather: Sunny, 74 degrees, wind 9 mph in from right field

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – As he stood on the warning track to the side of the plate Tuesday morning watching several of his regular hitters step in to face Josiah Gray in the first round of live batting practice this spring, Nationals hitting coach Darnell Coles saw a few swings and misses. He saw a few called strikes. He saw a few weak ground balls.

A fan standing behind the backstop a few feet away brashly asked Coles: “Is that the Single-A team? They’re making Josiah look like a Hall of Famer!”

Coles, to his everlasting credit, didn’t berate the fan, who almost certainly had no idea who he was talking to. “Yeah, that’s the Single-A team,” he responded with a smile, fully knowing the results of a February practice session like this have no bearing on what’s to come from April through September.

Coles also knew what that fan – and perhaps many others out there – seem to forget: Gray is a good major league pitcher.

Before you pounce on that blasphemy, let’s review the facts. Gray finished last season with a 3.91 ERA, 15th best in the National League. His ERA-plus of 110 means he was above-average, a full 10 percent better than the league average to be precise. He was one of only 21 pitchers in the NL to make at least 30 starts. He made the All-Star team. He finished with 3.1 WAR, 15th-best in the NL, right behind Cy Young Award contender Spencer Strider.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – They took the field as a team for the first time in 2024, Nationals pitchers, catchers and position players alike emerging from the clubhouse and heading outside to stretch, warm up and then conduct fundamental workouts in unison on the first day of full-squad workouts.

“Great day,” manager Davey Martinez said afterward. “A lot of energy. The boys were good. I saw some good pitching. I saw some good hitting. It was a good day.”

Fifty-four of the 58 players who have been invited to major league camp so far participated. One (Mason Thompson) is still in the middle of a two-week shutdown due to elbow soreness. One (Zach Davies) just arrived today after signing a minor league deal Sunday. One (Trevor Williams) is due to arrive later this week after his wife gave birth to the couple’s fifth child over the weekend. And one (Stephen Strasburg) may or may not take up the club’s request to come to Florida and mentor young pitchers even though he's no longer physically able to pitch himself.

Everyone else was good to go, and the ensuing 2 1/2 hours provided a combination of serious instruction, intriguing head-to-head matchups among teammates and ample opportunity for laughter and fun.

Martinez chose to set the tone for the workout – and the entire spring – with some baserunning instruction right off the top. The seventh-year manager gathered every position player around the plate for a lengthy discussion of baserunning expectations, then ushered everyone to first base where he personally demonstrated the proper way to take leads, get back to the bag or take off for second base and beyond.