Nats Chat

The Nats topped the Padres 4-2 on a busy Saturday in Navy Yard.  Mark & Al begin with Mitchell Parker's victorious effort after six innings of work. Parker only needed 82 pitches to reach that point and his biggest moment of the night came when striking out Manny Machado in thev bottom of the 5th with the bases loaded.

(11:00) Jacob Young slammed into the wall while in CF in the top of the 3rd, but remained in the game. Young was un...

The Nats opened the 2nd half much with a 7-2 loss to the Padres after Kyle Finnegan made a mess of a tied game.  Mark & Al recap the closer falling apart in the top of the 9th while other teams keep a close eye on the right hander ahead of the Trade Deadline.  Finnegan only recorded one out while giving up a grand slam to Manny Machado and his ERA is now up to 4.37.

(14:30) C.J. Abrams 2-run homer tied the game in the bottom of the ...

The Nats drafted Eli Willits, a high school shortstop out of Oklahoma, with the number #1 overall pick in Sunday night's MLB Draft.  Mark & Al react to the selection that surprised most prognosticators. Ethan Holliday, the other highly touted high schooler from Oklahoma, was picked by Colorado at #4 overall.

(08:30) Willits is just 17 years old and has stated that he would like to be in the Big Leagues by when he turns 20.  Willits ...

The Nats let it slip it away on Saturday afternoon in their 6-5 walk-off loss in Milwaukee. Al begins with a quick preview of Sunday night's MLB Draft where the Nationals hold the #1 overall pick.  Kade Anderson, pitcher from LSU, is the likeliest selection in the top spot.

(04:00) Kyle Finnegan inherited a 5-3 lead, but very quickly allowed three Brewers runs.  The final blow came on a Caleb Durbin single after Andrew Vaughn's 2-ru...

The Nats lost 8-3 on Friday night in Milwaukee as the road trip moved to its second leg. Al quickly circles back to the curious comments made by Davey Martinez just a few days prior to his firing.  Following the Nationals win on Thursday July 3rd, Davey made a specific point to thank the organization.  It was Martinez's 500th and final win as Washington's skipper.

(05:15) Brady House had a RBI double while continuing to play good de...

The Nats were trounced by the Cardinals 8-1 in Thursday night's rubber match. Mark (From St. Louis) & Al convene after the Cards' Miles Mikolas continued his dominance over Washington's offense.

(05:30) C.J. Abrams lost track of how many outs there were in the top of the 8th and it led to an inning ending double play. Abrams apologized afterwards and took the responsibility.

(11:00) Michael Soroka only lasted four innings and allowed...

The Nats gave Miguel Cairo his first win as interim Manager with an 8-2 thrashing of the Cardinals. Mark (From St. Louis) & Al recap the victory that saw three homers, including the 24th of the season by James Wood.

(05:30) MacKenzie Gore earned the win as he only allowed one run in six innings of work. Gore will be able to pitch in the All-Star Game since he will not take the mound this Sunday in Milwaukee.

(12:45) Six of the Nats n...

Tuesday marked a new era for the franchise, at least in the interim.  Mark (From St. Louis) & Al examine the pregame comments by Miguel Cairo & Mike DeBartolo.  Cairo was elevated from Bench Coach and was emotional when discussing his long time friend Davey Martinez. The Nationals lost his debut 4-2 at the Cardinals after a lengthy rain delay.

(05:10) DeBartolo made it clear that the organization will be revamping how it uses data a...

A few hours after a 6-4 loss to Boston, the Nats fired GM Mike Rizzo & Manager Davey Martinez. Mark & Al react to the major organizational moves as it is truly an end of the an era.  Rizzo became the permanent GM in 2009, Martinez became skipper after 2017, and they were the GM/Manager combo for the 2019 World Series championship.

(13:15) Mike Rizzo told the Washington Post that he had to "navigate that ownership group for 20 years"...

The Nats were crushed 10-3 by the visiting Red Sox on Saturday afternoon. Mark & Al recap the poor defensive showing which was exacerbated by the 7-run top of the 3rd for Boston.

(04:15) Mitchell Parker committed a fielding error in the disastrous 3rd inning and the other came by corner infielders. Mark points out just how poor the Nationals infield team defense has been this season.  Parker stayed in the game and finished his day w...

The Nats were clobbered 11-2 by the Red Sox in their annual 11:05AM 4th of July home game. Mark & Al discuss Lucas Giolito's great outing for Boston, in what was his first start in Navy Yard since 2016.  The Nationals traded him that offseason to the White Sox as part of a deal that landed Adam Eaton.

(06:00) Michael Soroka had an ugly stat line as he gave up seven runs off of nine hits in just four+ innings of work.  Soroka was pul...

James Wood announced prior to the game that will be in this year's Home Run Derby field and then followed it up with a dominant performance. Al examines Wood's 5 hit night in the Nats 9-7 win over Detroit; which sealed a second straight series. Wood homered for the 23rd time this season and singled four times.

(06:00) The offense exploded with 15 hits and three drawn walks. Paul DeJong capped the 5-run 1st inning with a 3-run shot, ...

The Nats & Tigers split their Wednesday doubleheader in D.C. Al & Mark recap both the 11-2 Detroit rout and the 9-4 Nats comeback in Game 2.

(03:40) Washington scored six runs in the bottom of the 8th to defeat the Tigers in the nightcap. Nathaniel Lowe & Josh Bell combined for 7 RBIs in the victory and each had crucial hits in the decisive frame.

(09:00) Paul DeJong got the start on Wednesday night at 3B and saw brief action in the ...

The Nats ended their West Coast trip on a good note by rallying for 7-4 win at the Angels on Sunday afternoon. Mark (From Anaheim) & Al recap the extra inning victory that saw Washington tie it up in the 9th and score three runs in the top of the 11th.

(05:10) James Wood amazingly became the first player in franchise history to draw four intentional walks in a single game.  Wood is the player to be purposely walked that many times i...

The Nats took the the lead into the bottom of the 7th, but the game quickly was flipped upside down in the 8-2 Saturday night loss in Anaheim. Mark (From Orange County) & Al wonder why Kyle Finnegan was not utilized while facing the heart of the order in the 7th, when the Angels scored six runs against the beleaguered bullpen.

(13:40) Michael Soroka handed the 'pen a lot to work with as he only allowed one run in six innings of work...

The Nats brought their bats to Anaheim as they out-slugged the Angels 15-9 on Friday night. Mark (From Orange County) & Al break down the 19 hit performance where the offense scored in seven different frames.

(6:10) A trio of Nationals had three hits in the win. C.J. Abrams, Luis Garcia Jr., and Nathaniel Lowe all came through at the plate on Friday night. Lowe has had a hot road trip as he has eight hits in the past seven games.

(13...

The Nats limped into the midpoint of the season as they were shutout 1-0 on Wednesday afternoon in  San Diego. Mark (From Petco Park) & Al have another hard luck MacKenzie Gore loss to recap as the offense yet again let down their lefty Ace. The bats have only mustered ten runs in the past seven Gore starts. Gore struck out six Padres and still leads the NL in strikeouts.

(13:30) Former Nationals prospect Nick Pivetta struck out ten...

The Nats were ahead 3-0, but the Padres came back in the middle innings for a 4-3 triumph over Washington. Mark (From Petco Park) & Al discuss Trevor Williams' outing, as the veteran allowed four San Diego runs and took the loss.

(09:35) San Diego's go-ahead run came on a RBI groundout where Nathaniel Lowe took the easy out at 1B instead of throwing home for a force out.  Mark explains what led to Lowe's decision to not throw to the...