If Day 1 of the next era of Nationals baseball offered everyone a glimpse at what could still make the rest of this season fun, Day 2 offered a harsh reminder of how rough the next two months could still be. During a 6-3 loss to the Cubs, the rebuilding Nats showed little of the youthful energy and talent that was on display during Friday night's win. This game saw a ragged start from Joe Ross, sloppy defense from Carter Kieboom and Luis García and a general lack of offense against an...

The learning continues today for Spenser Watkins. And we'll find out more about him, as well. We know about Watkins' perseverance as a 30th-round draft pick, his pitching intelligence, how he grasps the art of his profession as a survival tactic. Today, he gets the chance to show how he responds to his first dose of adversity at the major league level. Watkins allowed a total of three runs in his first three starts, but Marlins catcher Sandy Leon matched them with one swing - the ball landing...

Ryan Zimmerman knows what it's like to be part of a rebuild. Even if the specific details have faded from his mind over the last 12 years, the longest-tenured player in Nationals history remembers taking the field every night in 2009 on a 103-loss club that featured only a handful of players who would actually stick around long enough to be part of the club's first division title three years later. But what Zimmerman - and the Nationals, by extension - experienced this week was completely...

He didn't put up a zero like Matt Harvey on Friday night, but left-hander John Means looked very much like his pre-injury self tonight. And seeing the Orioles ace pitch like that had to be a most welcome sight throughout Birdland. Means allowed just one run over six innings and picked up his first win since his no-hitter as the Orioles beat Detroit 5-2 at Comerica Park. There was a bit of drama in the ninth, as a comfortable win turned into something less than that. Tanner Scott struggled...

The first of the 12 prospects the Nationals acquired before this week's trade deadline has joined the active roster. Mason Thompson, a reliever the Nats received from the Padres for Daniel Hudson late Thursday night, has arrived in Washington and was formally placed on the 26-man roster for tonight's game against the Cubs. The 23-year-old right-hander does have some big league experience, having debuted for San Diego last month. In four appearances, he allowed one run on four hits and one...

All rebuilds have a face attached to them. Usually one of a young, up and coming player - whether a high draft pick or fast-rising prospect - that signifies the hope of what's to come. The light at the end of the tunnel. The success of the future. I know Nationals manager Davey Martinez said he doesn't like the term "rebuild," but for our purposes, let's just stick to calling it that, even if this new direction for the franchise is more of a retooling or reloading. Whatever "re-" you...

At the end of an emotional 36-hour stretch for a completely gutted Nationals roster was this perhaps unexpected fact: The Nats not only beat the Cubs on Friday night, they also picked up a game on everyone in front of them in the National League East. They're now 6 1/2 games back of the Mets. No, the front office isn't suddenly regretting their decision to trade away eight veterans in the first step of an acknowledged franchise rebuild, but the guys who do take the field every night the rest...

Anthony Santander is the cleanup hitter tonight as the Orioles continue their series against the Tigers in Detroit. Santander is starting in right field and DJ Stewart is in left. Austin Hays is on the bench. Pat Valaika remains in the lineup at second base. Pedro Severino is catching again tonight. He homered twice last night for his second career multi-homer game, and has hit three in the last two games. He's 5-for-14 in his last four games. Severino is batting .333/.400/.767 in his last...

With five wins their last seven games and a record of 8-5 since the All-Star break, the Orioles head back to Comerica Park tonight for the third of a four-game series with Detroit. The Tigers won 6-2 Thursday night and the Orioles won 4-3 last night. Pedro Severino hit solo homers in the third and fifth innings Friday for an O's team that has hit 16 home runs its last eight games. It was the second multi-home run game of his career in addition to his three-homer game on June 4, 2019 at Texas....

It will be years before anyone can know if the Nationals got enough legitimate prospects during their 36-hour trade deadline binge of 2021 to lift the franchise back into contention. As much as folks want to instantly grade a team's performance on trades, it simply can't be done until all involved players have a chance to prove who they are on the field. But this much we can say already about the 12 young players the Nats just acquired from six clubs in exchange for eight veterans: They have...