Cade Cavalli gets the ball for the Nationals at 7:10 PM ET opposite Griffin Jax, who is still being stretched out as a starter after opening the year in the Tampa bullpen. Cavalli is 4-4 with a 3.98 ERA and is coming off 5 innings of 3-run ball against Seattle in a win. Jax is 1-5 but the record is misleading — he's been carefully built up, with a 3.68 ERA and a 5-inning, 0-run no-decision against the Angels last time out.
The story right now is momentum. Washington is 39-36 after ripping off 4 straight wins against the Mariners and Royals before dropping the series finale Wednesday. Blake Butera's group is above .500 in mid-June, which the franchise hasn't been able to say in a while, and Dylan Crews and the bats have been mashing. Tampa Bay is still 41-30 and a better team on paper, but the Rays just got swept in 3 by the Dodgers in Los Angeles — including a 1-0 loss and a 5-4 nailbiter where they couldn't finish — and are 1-4 in their last 5.
The injury list is doing the Rays no favors. Ryan Pepiot is done for the year after hip surgery, the bullpen is a triage unit with Uceta, Wilson, Heasley and Manuel Rodriguez all on the 60-day, and the outfield is patched together with Jake Fraley out 6-to-8 weeks post-hernia surgery. The one piece of good news: Kevin Cash said Jonny DeLuca (hamstring) could be activated during this series, which would at least give Tampa back a real right fielder.
- Day-To-DayJarlin Susana RP — Susana threw from a mound this week for the first time since undergoing lat surgery last September, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.
- Day-To-DayTyler Stuart SP — no
- Day-To-DayTyler Baum DH — Baum has not pitched this year due an undisclosed injury.
- Day-To-DayTravis Sykora SP — Sykora will undergo a UCL reconstruction on his right elbow in two weeks, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
- 15-Day-ILJake Irvin SP — Nationals manager Blake Butera said Monday that Irvin (shoulder) remains shut down from throwing, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILDJ Herz SP — Herz (elbow) struck out four batters over three scoreless innings in his second rehab start Thursday in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.
- 60-Day-ILKen Waldichuk RP — Waldichuk (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery and an internal brace procedure April 21 and is hopeful to return to game action at some point early in the 2027 season, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILTrevor Williams SP — Williams (elbow) threw a simulated game at Nationals Park ahead of Tuesday's loss to the Marlins, MLB.com reports.
- Day-To-DayAustin Vernon RP — The Rays have shut Vernon down from throwing due to right elbow soreness, per MLB.com.
- Day-To-DayAlfredo Zarraga RP — no
- 10-Day-ILJonny DeLuca RF — Rays manager Kevin Cash said Wednesday that DeLuca (hamstring) could be activated from the 10-day injured list during this weekend's series versus the Nationals, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.
- 10-Day-ILJake Fraley RF — Rays manager Kevin Cash said Monday that Fraley (hernia) will require surgery and will face a recovery timeline of 6-to-8 weeks, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
- 15-Day-ILJesse Scholtens RP — Scholtens was charged with a blown save and dropped to 5-3 on the season in Monday's 9-7 loss to the Orioles in 13 innings after yielding five runs (three earned) on four hits across 1.1 frames. He struck out one batter.
- 60-Day-ILGavin Lux LF — Lux (shoulder) is scheduled to take live batting practice against teammate Craig Kimbrel (wrist) on Tuesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
- 60-Day-ILJonathan Heasley RP — Heasley was returned to the major-league roster and placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with a right elbow stress reaction.
- 60-Day-ILManuel Rodriguez RP — Rodriguez (elbow) has no timetable to progress to facing live hitters, MLB.com reports.
Washington's rotation is also held together with tape — Jake Irvin is still shut down with the shoulder, Trevor Williams and DJ Herz are working back, Josiah Gray is finally throwing again — but Cavalli has quietly been the most reliable arm on the staff, with quality starts piling up over the last month-plus. If the Nats can get 5 or 6 from him and hand it to the leverage guys with a lead, that's a winnable spot against a Rays lineup that just got shut out once and held to 4 or fewer runs in 4 of its last 5.
For the Rays, this is a get-right series. Friday's series opener at Tropicana is the kind of game contending teams are supposed to take care of at home against a Washington club that just spent a week and a half feasting on Seattle and Kansas City. We'll see if the lineup wakes up or if the LA hangover lingers another night.