The Nationals pulled off a road sweep for the first time in almost 4 years as they doubled up the Reds 6-3 on Sunday afternoon. Mark & Al open with Davey Martinez's aggressive managing in pushing many of his top bullpen arms for a 3rd straight day. Kyle Finnegan pitched the 9th inning all weekend without giving up a run.
(10:45) CJ Abrams and Lane Thomas homered on the opening 2 pitches of the game, the first 2 ever MLB pitches thrown by Cincinnati starter Lyon Richardson. Abrams went 4 for 5 on Sunday; matching a career high from September of last season.
(17:30) Jake Alu was back in the lineup at 2B and contributed with a RBI for the fourth straight start. Ildemaro Vargas meanwhile was at 3B all weekend, should that continue to be the case?
(31:00) Paolo Espino was released by the organization to make roster space despite being on the IL. We salute Paolo's time in D.C. despite unlikely odds that led to him being part of the starting rotation for an extended time.
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Brooms Brought Out in Cincy

A Washington Nationals podcast offering recap and analysis after every game, plus all the breaking news throughout the year. Hosted by Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com & Al Galdi, host of "The Al Galdi Podcast". For sponsorship opportunities, contact Tim Shovers at natschatpodcast@gmail.com.

Sports

Baseball

The weary traveling Nats lost 7-1 on Friday night in Cleveland. Mark (From Progressive Field) & Al open with the crummy logistics that preceded the Nationals for this series opener as they did not make it to their hotel room until 5 AM after flying in from Atlanta. Davey Martinez gave the team off from "BP" for additional rest.
(06:00) Washington only collected four hits and Luis Garcia Jr. had three of them. Garcia cooled off a bit at the plate in May as opposed to April (.253 vs. .311).
(10:00) Keibert Ruiz missed a tag on a play at the plate that brought in an early Guardians run. This leads to extended discussion on Ruiz's defense so far this season.
(15:30) Not a banner night for the bullpen as they allowed five runs in just two innings of work. The bulk of trouble belonged to Jacob Barnes and he was responsible for three runs while only recording one out. Why didn't Tanner Rainey pitch the bottom of the 8th when the game was out of reach?
(25:30) Patrick Corbin struck out five and allowed a pair of runs in six innings of work. Corbin continues the team's stretch of solid starting pitching.
(28:00) An update on where things stand with Victor Robles and his recent "DFA".
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Beaten in Cleveland

The Nats won 3-1 on Thursday night to take three out of four games this week in Atlanta. Al & Tim begin with what has become a familiar starting point for this podcast.... solid team pitching. Trevor Williams earned the victory as he lasted into the 6th and four relievers combined for a scoreless effort. The final six outs were recorded by the dynamic duo of Hunter Harvey & Kyle Finnegan.
(17:00) Joey Meneses had the hit of the night with a two run double in the top of the 3rd and came through with five hits during this series. Meneses is hitting .246 this month, which is much better than his April (.200).
(20:00) Jacob Young reached base multiple times and also stole his 17th base of the season. Young's speed created a lot of havoc on Thursday and led to a Braves throwing error.
(26:30) We read a pair of listener submitted email questions. Send us yours to natschatpodcast@gmail.com.
(33:00) As Josh Gibson's stats are very much in the sports news this week, we play a segment from our podcast's interview with Bob Kendrick in June of 2021 about Gibson. Kendrick is the President of the Negro Leagues Hall of Fame in Kansas City, MO.
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More Good Pitching Down South

The Nats beat the Braves 7-2 on Wednesday night to move to 25-29 on the season, putting them on pace for 75 victories this season. Mark & Al have another solid starting pitching performance to discuss as MacKenzie Gore earned the win and did not issue a walk along the way. Gore's ERA so far this season is 2.91 through 11 starts.
(14:00) The bullpen threw nearly four innings, but didn't need to use Kyle Finnegan. Hunter Harvey recorded four outs and pushed his WHIP down to 0.92.
(17:00) Lane Thomas had a big game as he hit a 3 run HR, doubled, singled, stole a pair of bases, and drew a walk.
(24:30) Joey Gallo was in the news on Wednesday and also had a bunt single in the top of the 8th. (https://www.tmz.com/2024/05/28/hayden-hopkins-expecting-child-mlb-player-joey-gallo-not-mark-davis/)
(28:30) Major League Baseball has officially elevated Negro League statistics and the legendary Josh Gibson now owns multiple major records in baseball history. Gibson played a portion of his career in Washington D.C. while with Homestead Grays.
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Gore Strikes Out Ten in an Atlanta Win

Jake Irvin was excellent on Tuesday night in Atlanta, but the Nats were shutout 2-0. Mark & Al begin with Irvin who struck out a career high ten batters in six innings of work. This game continued a season long pattern of Irvin not getting a lot of support from his offense. Should he have returned to the mound for the 7th after he through 90 pitches?
(12:00) Max Fried was also superb as he tossed eight scoreless frames. The Nationals continued making costly outs on the bases, including CJ Abrams getting doubled off to stymie a 1st inning rally. Jesse Winker also was picked off and it seems to be a daily occurrence for the team.
(24:00) James Wood was placed on the 7-day IL due to right hamstring tightness. Wood has not played since he was lifted in the middle of Rochester's game on Thursday night. Will Wood make it to D.C. before the All Star Break?
(27:00) Victor Robles has not yet been claimed on waivers after being DFA'd by Washington on Monday. If someone else does pick him up, will it be in the minors?
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No Run Support for Irvin

The Nats opened the road trip with an 8-4 Memorial Day victory in Atlanta. Al & Tim have a crowded box score to sort through as the team collected fifteen hits and six Nationals had a multi hit afternoon. Lane Thomas was one of them as he had a pair of hits in his first game since returning from the IL. Thomas had been out since April 24th due to a sprained left MCL.
(07:00) Keibert Ruiz had multiple hits for the fourth consecutive game and his batting average has shot up by 53 points since Friday afternoon (.210).
(11:00) Victor Robles was the odd man out after the return of Thomas. Robles was DFA'd and the man that was chosen over him (Jacob Young) had a trio of hits in the win. What exactly went wrong for Robles?
(21:00) Mitchell Parker had a shutout going until the bottom of the 7th. The hosts make the argument that he has been the most pleasant surprise so far in 2024.
(27:30) Derek Law was the only reliever to struggle, but did induce a rally ending double play in the bottom of the 7th. The final six outs were recorded by the dynamic duo of Hunter Harvey & Kyle Finnegan.
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Brooms Brought Out in Cincy

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