Washington Nationals’ lineup for the series opener with the Chicago Cubs in D.C.

After a sweep at the hands of the Orioles in Baltimore, and a split of the four-game set with the Phillies in Philadelphia, with walk-off losses in three of the last five games, Washington’s Nationals made a number of trades last night, in advance of this afternoon’s Trade Deadline.

In the immediate aftermath of the Nationals’ loss in the second game of Thursday’s twin-bill with the Phillies in Citizens Bank Park, Davey Martinez talked to reporters on Zoom, and said he liked the effort if not the results in their 3-1 win and 11-8 loss.

“We were going to come out today and play hard, we did, we played hard,” Martinez said, a day after a COVID outbreak on the roster sent four players and eight staff members into the quarantine protocols.

“Made a few mistakes, but the boys came out and played hard,” the manager added.

“We won the first game. Max [Scherzer] did a tremendous job. [Yan] Gomes just coming back off the IL, big home run.

“Second game we jump out early, we just couldn’t hold the lead. I thought [Wander] Suero threw the ball really well, he just ran out of gas there at the end, and give the ball to [Tanner] Rainey with just having to get one out and at that moment he couldn’t just close out the game.

“Unfortunate, but we’ve got to keep going. It’s been a long 24-48 hours, we just got to keep going.

“We get home tomorrow and play the Cubs and try to go 1-0 tomorrow.”

Before the trades really started flying, with closer Brad Hand dealt to Toronto during the first of two games, both Max Scherzer and Trea Turner reportedly traded to LA, though that’s not official yet, Kyle Schwarber sent to Boston, and Daniel Hudson shipped to San Diego, Martinez said he knew changes were coming, and GM Mike Rizzo would do what worked best for the organization.

“I know Mike and our front office, they’re working diligently,” Martinez said. “If they feel like they can get some good pieces to help us in the future, even help us in the near future, it’s a possibility that we might lose some guys. But they’re constantly working, I know Mike has been on the phone, and he’s talked to a bunch of different teams, so we’ll just see what happens. For me and the coaching staff and the players that are here right now, it’s business as usual, and we talk about that. Hey, you play for the name on the front of your jersey, and go out there and play well, and they understand that.”

What will the Nationals’ lineup look like tonight?

HERE’S THE NATIONALS’ LINEUP FOR THE 1ST OF 3 WITH THE CUBS: