Craig Albernaz and Blake Butera have known each other for more than a decade. This weekend, they faced off as MLB managers for the first time.
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There was a time, not too long ago, that Baltimore Orioles Manager Craig Albernaz and Washington Nationals Manager Blake Butera dreamed of one day working on the same major league staff.
That seemed possible even as recently as October, when Albernaz was hired to be the Orioles skipper. But four days later, Butera took the Nationals job, and suddenly the two were regional competitors.
On Friday morning, before they faced each other for the first time in their new roles, they sat in Butera’s office catching up. They hugged when exchanging lineup cards before Friday’s game, then put their friendship aside and played the first of two three-game series this season. After Butera’s Nationals won Friday and Saturday, Albernaz’s Orioles dealt them a 7-3 defeat Sunday to prevent a sweep.
“Overall, happy with how the series went,” Butera said. “Obviously, want to win every game, but taking two out of three against this team is pretty good.”
Unlike on Friday, when the Nationals used three relievers in the ninth to stave off the Orioles’ comeback attempt in a 3-2 victory, or on Saturday, when a seven-run seventh secured a 13-3 blowout, there was no spark in the finale. Miles Mikolas came in from the bullpen with two outs in the second, then gave up four runs in 5⅔ innings. Still, his ERA (6.91) slipped under 7 for the first time this season.
“Not a ton of excuses, just didn’t feel great,” Mikolas said. “I’m looking a little bit out of my rhythm the first couple of innings — you know, having a hard time putting the ball where I wanted to — but made some adjustments and much better those last three innings.”
Jacob Young got the Nationals on the board with a home run in the second, and Daylen Lile scored on a sacrifice fly from Keibert Ruiz in the fourth. Washington had other chances but managed only one more run, an RBI single from CJ Abrams in the seventh that bounced off Pete Alonso’s glove and across the infield. The Nationals went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 men.
“I thought we did a good job of getting hits. We just couldn’t have that big inning today,” Butera said.
Before they were first-time managers, Butera and Albernaz were chasing their dreams in the minors. The two met in 2015 when Butera, a 35th-round draft pick that year, was playing for Princeton, then the Tampa Bay Rays’ rookie-level team, and Albernaz was his coach. Two years later, Butera gave up on his goal of playing and moved to the dugout. Albernaz, who was managing at low Class A Hudson Valley, hired him as his bench coach in 2017, and their friendship blossomed.
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They remained in contact as they went on to other jobs. Albernaz was tapped for major league roles, first with the San Francisco Giants and then with the Cleveland Guardians. Butera remained with the Rays, working as a minor league manager and later their farm director.
“He’s just super genuine,” Butera said of Albernaz. “He isn’t going to change who he is because of the title. He’s the same person when he was a minor league hitting coach as he is a major league manager today.”
“He describes me as genuine?” Albernaz said. “That’s one way to put it. I like that. I feel the same way. He’s genuine, he’s real, he’s consistent.”
They have leaned on each other while navigating the highs and lows of leading big league teams for the first time, FaceTiming once or twice a week and texting in between calls. Albernaz even called Butera after he was hit in the jaw by a line drive earlier this season.
Albernaz still can’t eat solid food and has lost 12 pounds since the incident just over a month ago, and Butera advised him to stay in the clubhouse or the other side of the dugout this weekend, just in case.
“He’s getting old — his reactions aren’t as quick anymore,” Butera joked.
Each manager has had their own challenges, beyond getting hit in the face. In Baltimore, the Orioles entered the season with high expectations after finishing below .500 in 2025 and getting swept out of the playoffs the two previous years. With Alonso and other major additions, they were supposed to be a contender for the American League East title. Instead, they are 21-26.
And while Butera claims that he always knew the Nationals had this in them, most can agree that the team is playing better than predicted. Reaching .500, as they did Saturday, was a big enough deal for Washington that Butera opened his postgame news conference with a thank you to the fans for coming out and sticking by the team. The Nationals still have far to go, as evident in Sunday’s loss, but they are making progress.
With the series behind them, Butera and Albernaz can go back to being friends — until next month, at least, when the two will face each other again in Baltimore.
“I’m just so proud of him,” Albernaz said. “It’s awesome seeing what he’s doing.”
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