WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Soroka came off the injured list and, for five innings, resembled the phenom who was an All-Star at age 21.
Then it all fell apart in the sixth.
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Washington Nationals starting pitcher Michael Soroka throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Michael Soroka throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Michael Soroka walks back to the dugout after he was pulled during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Michael Soroka throws during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Making his second start for the Washington Nationals and first since he strained his right biceps on March 31, Soroka cruised through five frames against the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, striking out eight as the Nationals built a 3-0 lead.
His third time through the Guardians' batting order wasn't so smooth. Soroka loaded the bases in the sixth with nobody out and then fell behind to Carlos Santana, who lined a 2-1 slider to right field for a bases-clearing double. Santana came in to score against reliever Jorge Lopez, leaving Soroka with a line of four runs allowed in five innings. Cleveland ultimately scored eight runs in the sixth and won 8-6.
“The only pitch I really, really want back is that one to Santana,” Soroka said. “I just threw it about 6 inches too high and he’s a good hitter. He made me pay.”
Soroka was reinstated from the 15-day IL before the game. He gave up an identical four runs in five innings during his Washington debut, a 5-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Before the ugly end to Wednesday's outing, Soroka dominated the Guardians with a sharp slider and 96 mph fastball — the swing-and-miss stuff that led the Nationals to sign him to a $9 million, one-year deal in the offseason.
“As a whole, we got it in the zone early, let them know that I was throwing all pitches for strikes,” Soroka said. “That’s ultimately where I’m at my best.”
An All-Star with Atlanta during his first full season in 2019, the 27-year-old Soroka has been limited by injuries since. He tore his right Achilles tendon on a routine fielding play in 2020, then injured the same tendon while walking into Atlanta’s ballpark the following year. He missed the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
“We’ve got to keep him healthy, right?” manager Dave Martinez said. “But I think he’s going to give us a lot of innings, keep us in games just like he did today.”
Soroka hasn't won in the majors since 2023. Last year for the Chicago White Sox, he went 0-10 with a 4.74 ERA in 25 appearances, including nine starts.
Washington optioned right-hander Eduardo Salazar to Triple-A Rochester to make room for Soroka. Salazar is 0-1 with a 9.77 ERA in 17 appearances this season.
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Washington Nationals starting pitcher Michael Soroka throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Michael Soroka throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Michael Soroka walks back to the dugout after he was pulled during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Michael Soroka throws during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's photo portrait display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has had references to his two impeachments removed, the latest apparent change at the collection of museums he has accused of bias as he asserts his influence over how official presentations document U.S. history.
The wall text, which summarized Trump's first presidency and noted his 2024 comeback victory, was part of the museum's “American Presidents” exhibition. The description had been placed alongside a photograph of Trump taken during his first term. Now, a different photo appears without any accompanying text block, though the text was available online. Trump was the only president whose display in the gallery, as seen Sunday, did not include any extended text.
The White House did not say whether it sought any changes. Nor did a Smithsonian statement in response to Associated Press questions. But Trump ordered in August that Smithsonian officials review all exhibits before the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. The Republican administration said the effort would “ensure alignment with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”
Trump's original “portrait label," as the Smithsonian calls it, notes Trump's Supreme Court nominations and his administration's development of COVID-19 vaccines. That section concludes: “Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.”
Then the text continues: “After losing to Joe Biden in 2020, Trump mounted a historic comeback in the 2024 election. He is the only president aside from Grover Cleveland (1837– 1908) to have won a nonconsecutive second term.”
Asked about the display, White House spokesman Davis Ingle celebrated the new photograph, which shows Trump, brow furrowed, leaning over his Oval Office desk. Ingle said it ensures Trump's “unmatched aura ... will be felt throughout the halls of the National Portrait Gallery.”
The portrait was taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok, who is credited in the display that includes medallions noting Trump is the 45th and 47th president. Similar numerical medallions appear alongside other presidents' painted portraits that also include the more extended biographical summaries such as what had been part of Trump's display.
Sitting presidents are represented by photographs until their official paintings are commissioned and completed.
Ingle did not answer questions about whether Trump or a White House aide, on his behalf, asked for anything related to the portrait label.
The gallery said in a statement that it had previously rotated two photographs of Trump from its collection before putting up Torok's work.
“The museum is beginning its planned update of the America’s Presidents gallery which will undergo a larger refresh this Spring,” the gallery statement said. “For some new exhibitions and displays, the museum has been exploring quotes or tombstone labels, which provide only general information, such as the artist’s name.”
For now, references to Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton being impeached in 1868 and 1998, respectively, remain as part of their portrait labels, as does President Richard Nixon's 1974 resignation as a result of the Watergate scandal.
And, the gallery statement noted, “The history of Presidential impeachments continues to be represented in our museums, including the National Museum of American History.”
Trump has made clear his intentions to shape how the federal government documents U.S. history and culture. He has offered an especially harsh assessment of how the Smithsonian and other museums have featured chattel slavery as a seminal variable in the nation's development but also taken steps to reshape how he and his contemporary rivals are depicted.
In the months before his order for a Smithsonian review, he fired the head archivist of the National Archives and said he was firing the National Portrait Gallery's director, Kim Sajet, as part of his overhaul. Sajet maintained the backing of the Smithsonian's governing board, but she ultimately resigned.
At the White House, Trump has designed a notably partisan and subjective “Presidential Walk of Fame” featuring gilded photographs of himself and his predecessors — with the exception of Biden, who is represented by an autopen — along with plaques describing their presidencies.
The White House said at the time that Trump himself was a primary author of the plaques. Notably, Trump's two plaques praise the 45th and 47th president as a historically successful figure while those under Biden's autopen stand-in describe the 46th executive as “by far, the worst President in American History” who “brought our Nation to the brink of destruction.”
Barrow reported from Atlanta.
People react to a photograph of President Donald Trump on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Visitors to the National Portrait Gallery walk past the portrait of President Donald Trump, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Visitors stop to look at a photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
A photograph of President Donald Trump and a short plaque next to it are on display at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's "American Presidents" exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Anna Johnson)
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
