Soriano's availability for Saturday is uncertain after he pitched each of the previous three days.

Soriano hasn't pitched on four consecutive days at any point this season, so manager Matt Williams figures to turn elsewhere should a save opportunity present itself Saturday. With Tyler Clippard also having pitched three straight days, Drew Storen seems the top candidate to fill in during the ninth inning.

Soriano made things interesting on Friday, giving up three hits and a run before nailing down his 29th save of the season.

Despite his occasional ninth inning adventures Soriano's still got a 1.90 ERA and 0.95 WHIP, and has been one of the most statistically impressive closers in baseball this season.

Soriano tossed a perfect ninth inning against the Mets on Thursday to pick up his 28th save of the season.

Soriano needed 22 pitches to get through the ninth, but it was uneventful otherwise. Although he hasn't had as many save opportunities as previous seasons, he's been very effective in 2014.

Soriano gave up a solo homer in the ninth inning Wednesday against the Mets, but righted the ship to secure his 27th save of the season.

After Soriano gave up a leadoff homer, he allowed singles in two of the Mets' next three at-bats, putting the winning run in scoring position with only one out. Soriano then buckled down and allowed a fielder's choice grounder that nabbed a runner at home, and cleanly fielded a groundout back to himself to record the game's final out. The veteran reliever may miss out on his third straight 40-save campaign, but he's pitched much more effectively than a season prior, as his 1.94 ERA and 0.97 WHIP would suggest.

Nationals manager Matt Williams said he turned to Drew Storen to close out Wednesday's game because Soriano has seen a heavy workload recently, but he added that Soriano will be available Thursday, Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com reports.

The skipper dispelled any thoughts of an injury or a role change for Soriano, who was blasted for four earned runs over just one-third of an inning in a blown save against Miami on Monday. Despite the tough outing, Soriano still has a 1.96 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 41.1 innings this season. The typically-reliable Storen gave up two runs Wednesday but still managed to nail down the win for Washington.

Rafael Soriano took his fourth blown save and his first loss of the year after giving up four runs in the ninth Monday against the Marlins.

This one hurts. Soriano saw his ERA jump all of the way from 1.10 to 1.96 after retiring just one of the six batters he faced. He had been scored upon just four times in 41 previous appearances this year, giving up five runs total.

Rafael Soriano delivered a scoreless ninth inning Friday against the Reds for his 24th save of the season.

It wasn't easy, as Soriano gave up a double and a walk, but he managed to avoid any serious damage. He struck out two batters in the frame and now owns a microscopic 1.13 ERA in 40 appearances this season to go along with a 39/13 K/BB ratio over 40 innings.

Rafael Soriano pitched a scoreless ninth inning against the Rockies on Tuesday to earn his 23rd save of the season.

Soriano bounced back from blowing a save opportunity his last time out to put down the Rockies with relative ease. Soriano worked around a leadoff double to get Charlie Blackmon swinging before inducing two fly ball outs to end the game. The hiccup in his previous outing appears to have been just that, and Soriano still owns a stellar 1.15 ERA and 0.87 WHIP going forward.

Rafael Soriano blew the save in the top of the ninth, but escaped with the win as the Nationals walked off against the Brewers on Sunday.

It was a rare moment of fallibility for the veteran closer. With one out, Soriano allowed a single, a walk, and then an RBI single to Rickie Weeks to tie the ballgame at 4-4. Carlos Gomez was caught stealing and Ryan Braun flied out to end the threat. Teammate Jayson Werth picked Soriano up in the bottom half of the ninth, ripping a walk-off RBI double, so Soriano escaped with the win. The 34-year-old is now 22-for-25 in save opportunities with a 1.18 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP, and a 36/12 K/BB ratio.

Rafael Soriano tossed a perfect ninth inning to earn his 21st save of the season against the Cubs on Sunday.

Soriano needed just eight pitches to dispatch the Cubs in the ninth, inducing two ground balls and a flyout. He's now got 21 saves in 23 chances this year, owning a strong 1.03 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 32/11 K/BB ratio in 35 innings of work.

Rafael Soriano narrowly escaped with his 20th save, working a scoreless ninth inning in Wednesday's win over the Rockies.

Soriano got into trouble after recording two quick outs, walking Michael McKenry and allowing a single to D.J. LeMahieu. But he was able to get Josh Rutledge to pop out to right field to end the contest. Soriano is now 20-for-22 in save chances with a 1.06 ERA, a 0.85 WHIP, and a 32/11 K/BB ratio. It's been a fantastic season for the 34-year-old.

Rafael Soriano slammed the door on the Cubs in the ninth inning on Saturday, retiring all three hitters that he faced en route to his 19th save of the season.

The 34-year-old hurler has looked completely rejuvenated this season, compiling a microscopic 1.09 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 31/10 K/BB ratio over 33 innings, while converting 19 of his 21 save opportunities.

Rafael Soriano struck out the side in a scoreless ninth inning for his 17th save of the season Sunday against the Braves.

Soriano's strikeouts dipped a bit last year, as the right-hander fanned 51 in 66 2/3 innings, but he's now struck out 29 batters in 31 innings so far this season. It's just one of the ways in which the 34-year-old has been fantastic this year, as he's got a 1.16 ERA and 0.87 WHIP after Sunday's outing. The closer appears to still have some good years in him yet.

Rafael Soriano earned his 16th save of the season Saturday in the Nationals' defeat of the Braves.

Soriano retired all three batters he faced in the top of the ninth inning, using only 14 pitches -- eight of which were strikes. He has a 1.20 ERA on the season.

Rafael Soriano grabbed his 15th save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning in Wednesday's win over the Astros.

The Astros didn't put up much of a threat, mustering only a two-out single off of the right-hander, who recorded two strikeouts in the effort. Soriano is now 15-for-17 in save chances with a 1.29 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP, and a 25/10 K/BB ratio on the season.

Rafael Soriano held the Astros scoreless in the ninth inning to pick up his 14th save on Tuesday.

Soriano worked around a one-out walk to nail down the win for the Nationals. The 34-year-old right-hander has been great for the Nationals, as he's converted 14 of 16 save opportunities and has a 1.33 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and a 23/10 K/BB ratio.

Rafael Soriano allowed one run but escaped to earn his 13th victory in Tuesday's win against the Giants on Tuesday.

Soriano inherited a 2-0 lead and coughed up a leadoff Brandon Crawford triple to deep right center. Brandon Hicks' ground out to shortstop scored Crawford, but Soriano dispatched of the next two batters to escape the frame. The veteran has given up runs in each of his last two appearances, but he still sports a fine 1.44 ERA.

Rafael Soriano struck out two over a perfect inning to nail down a save in Thursday's win over the Phillies.

Chase Utley grounded out to start the ninth before Soriano got Ryan Howard and John Mayberry swinging to preserve the two-run lead. Soriano was often shaky for the Nationals last season, but he's been terrific this year with a 0.78 ERA and 12 saves over 13 opportunities.

Rafael Soriano threw a clean ninth inning to earn his 11th save of the season against the Pirates on Sunday.

Soriano induced three fly balls to close out the win. He's now got a 0.90 ERA -- both of his earned runs allowed on the year came in his lone blown save on May 10 -- and 1.00 WHIP in 20 innings. He's not one of the elite closers, but he's still plenty capable of getting the job done.

Rafael Soriano tossed a perfect ninth inning to pick up his tenth save as the Nationals defeated the Mets 6-3 on Sunday.

A hiccup on May 10 against the Athletics aside, Soriano has been money for the Nationals in the ninth inning thus far. Along with 10 saves in 11 chances, Soriano has a 1.00 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, and a 16/7 K/BB ratio in 18 innings.