Nats Chat

The Nats crushed Minnesota 15-2 on Wednesday night; the most runs they've scored all season.  Mark & Al open with the offensive performance where four homers were hit in the victory.

(05:00) Another big night by CJ Abrams, highlighted by a late Grand Slam.  Abrams roped a pair of doubles to give him eight total bases on Wednesday night. Abrams' OPS is at .960, tied for 7th best in the NL.

(11:00) The other three Washington dingers ...

The Nats were trounced 11-3 on Tuesday night against visiting Minnesota. Al & Mark examine Cade Cavalli's poor outing, where he allowed six runs in just four innings of work.  Three of those were unearned, but Cavalli had a fielding error that contributed to the run total. Cavalli only threw two strikeouts after having registered double digits Ks in his previous two starts.

(14:30) Andre Granillo struggled by giving up four late ru...

The Nats won their first home game since April 21st on Sunday afternoon. Mark & Al discuss the 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, where five Washington pitchers combined to take the mound. PJ Poulin lasted two innings for the first time as an Opener this season and he remains the only pitcher on the team to serve in that role.

(05:45) Zack Littell only allowed one run in nearly four innings of work on 41 pitches. Littell's ERA...

The Nats home woes continued in Saturday afternoon's 4-1 loss to the Brewers.  Al & Tim note how the team is now 3-12 at Nationals Park to begin the season, and they have not yet won a home series.

(06:30) The offense has cooled off a bit recently; other than a few recent exceptions.  Washington had two men on, with no outs in the bottom of the 9th and were unable to do anything with it.  Brady House's OPS is currently at .642 and ...

The Nats continue to struggle at home as they lost 6-1 to Milwaukee on Friday night. Al & Mark marvel at Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski, who no-hit the Nationals until being removed in the bottom of the 6th due to a right hamstring cramp. Misiorowski eclipsed 100 MPH many times in his dominant outing.

(08:00) The offense only mustered two hits and the first one didn't come until the bottom of the 7th after a Daylen Lile double.

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The Nats won another road series after rallying for a 5-4 victory over the Mets on Thursday afternoon.  Mark (From Citi Field) & Al open with CJ Abrams, who crushed a 2-run HR in the top of the 8th to put the Nationals up for good.  Abrams' OPS is up to .961; which is 5th best in the NL (Ildemaro Vargas has the lead believe it or not).

(13:15) Sloppy base running in the top of the 9th; which cost the team chance at insurance runs.

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The Nats pummeled the Mets 14-2 on a wet Wednesday night in New York. Mark (From Citi Field) & Al have another strong Cade Cavalli outing to go over as he struck out ten hitters for the 2nd straight start. Cavalli lasted six innings and ended his evening by throwing 24 straight strikes.

(11:00) A trio of relievers combined for three scoreless innings in relief of Cavalli.  PJ Poulin threw the bottom of the 9th, meaning it is unlike...

The Nats were shutout 8-0 on Tuesday night at the Mets. Mark (From New York) & Al begin with Zack Littell, who gave up a homer on the first pitch of his outing  Littell allowed eight runs, and almost all of those came in the decisive bottom of the 4th.  The veteran righty's ERA is now up to an awful 7.85.

(05:30) Littell has pitched 16 innings this season and stunningly has give up 13 homers in that stretch. This leads to a discuss...

The Nats emerged victorious in another extra inning affair this weekend vs. the White Sox.  Mark (From Chicago) & Al recap Sunday's 2-1 triumph; where the Nationals took the series rubber match.

(04:00) Washington went 9-8 in this stretch of 17 games in 17 days.  As they sit at 13-16, it feels like the team culture is at a better place all things considered.

(07:05) Foster Griffin tossed seven shutout innings and he closes his Apri...

The Nats beat the White Sox 6-3 on Saturday afternoon in 10 innings. Mark (From Chicago) & Al praise Jake Irvin for his nine strikeout effort in almost six innings of work. This was the first scoreless outing for Irvin in 2026 and the most strikeouts he's had since April 20th last year in Colorado.

(11:30) Mitchell Parker allowed a pair of runs, but did strikeout three Chicago hitters.  Brad Lord took the mound in the 10th to notch...

The Nats fell 5-4 at the White Sox to open their road trip on Friday night. Al & Mark (From the South Side) begin with the White Sox's curious decision to pitch to James Wood in the top of the 9th w/ first base open and Luis Garcia Jr. standing on second base.

(04:45) PJ Poulin was the opener before handing the ball to Miles Mikolas in the bottom of the 2nd. Munetaka Murakami hit his 11th homer of year off of Mikolas, which is ti...

The Nats lost 7-2 to the Braves on Thursday afternoon to conclude another disappointing home stand. Al examines the bullpen meltdown in the top of the 7th where Atlanta scored four runs to break the tie. Gus Varland & Cionel Perez were the culprits in the pivotal frame.

(08:10) Cade Cavalli struck out 10 in just five innings for his best outing of the season. Cavalli gave up two runs and his ERA dropped down to 4.01.

(14:00) Mark g...

The Nats were out-slugged 8-6 on Wednesday vs. the visiting Braves. Al & Mark recap another rough start for Zack Littell, as he gave up a quartet of homers in six innings of work.

(07:00) Littell's ERA is now at 7.56 in five appearances and he has allowed a staggering 11 homers in 25 innings.

(12:30) Further examination of the evaluation process that led to Littell not signing until Spring Training was well underway.

(17:25) James ...

The Nats routed the Braves 11-4 on Tuesday night on South Capitol Street.  Mark & Al focus on the recent offensive production and are encouraged by many of the results. Washington drew a stunning dozen walks on their way to snapping Atlanta's six game win streak.

(07:30) James Wood homered for the 8th time this season, which is tied for the NL lead. Luis Garcia Jr. also had a big night at the plate as he had four hits and knocked i...

The Nats led 3-2 entering the 6th on Monday night, but a series of Washington pitchers allowed five Atlanta runs to put the game out of reach.  Mark & Al sort through the 9-4 loss; which saw a lot of sloppy defense by the Nationals.

(05:45) Jake Irvin hit Ronald Acuna Jr. twice and the second one came in the top of the 6th. CJ Abrams then was the recipient of retaliation, but he kept his calm and went on to score a run.

(16:20) Day...

The Nats blanked the Giants 3-0 on Sunday afternoon to avoid getting swept this weekend at home. Mark & Al analyze the surprising pitching effort by PJ Poulin, Miles Mikolas, and Andrew Alvarez. It was a whirlwind Sunday for Alvarez as he traveled from Rochester in the morning, and then earned the win on the mound in D.C. after taking over in the 5th.

(05:00) Mikolas was the bulk starter as he took over in the 1st for Poulin and la...

The Nats made too many mental mistakes to count in their 7-6 Saturday afternoon loss to the visiting Giants. Mark & Al examine the puzzling extra inning defeat where there were plenty of examples of terrible fundamentals.  The Nationals had poor base running, awful bunting, and overall came nowhere close to playing smart Baseball. Curtis Mead had a shockingly terrible base running mistake in the bottom of the 9th and Jorbit Vivas a...

The Nats were easily beaten 10-5 by the Giants on Friday night to open the home stand on a sour note. Al & Mark spend plenty of time on Zack Littell, who gave up six runs before the end of the 2nd inning. Littell wasn't signed until March was well underway and it seems like the late Spring start is still affecting him.

(10:30) Why do valued Free Agent pitchers have to wait until the middle of Spring Training to sign sometimes?

(13:...

The Nats split the series in Pittsburgh by emerging with a 8-7 extra-inning win on Thursday afternoon. Mark (From PNC Park) & Al run through the seesaw affair, that was scoreless after four innings of play.

(05:20) The offense scored eight runs despite going 1 for 14 w/ RISP. The Pirates were a big help in that department as they committed four errors, including some terrible defense in the Nationals four-run top of the 5th inning....