The Nats won the series rubber match 5-4 on Sunday afternoon against the Diamondbacks.  Al credits Washington's offense for getting to Arizona ace Corbin Burnes, who only lasted five innings. The bats came out early as they put up four runs in the opening three innings.

(06:00) Paul DeJong had a pair of hits and drove in as many runs.  DeJong was slotted 8th in the order and is hitting .240 so far in the young season.

(08:45) Dylan Crews hit right behind DeJong and also had two hits on Sunday.  Crews had a good weekend series with three total hits and a stolen base.  Hear what Davey Martinez had to say about the reasons for his recent success.

(13:00) Trevor Williams earned the win by striking out six in five frames.  The bullpen picked up the slack behind him as they only allowed one run; at the expense of Jorge Lopez.  Kyle Finnegan notched the save for the second straight day.

(19:30). Shohei Ohtani and the defending World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers will come to Navy Yard on Monday night for a three game series.  

(21:45) The closing highlight of Alex Ovechkin's record breaking 895th career goal is courtesy of John Walton and Ken Sabourin on the Capitals Radio Network.

The Nats halted their four game skid with a 4-3 victory on Saturday afternoon over Arizona.  Al & Mark have plenty of praise for Mitchell Parker, who has started both games that the Nationals have won this season.  Parker cleanly fielded a tough comebacker at the end of his outing, notable because of how poorly he fielded his position last season.

(10:00) The bullpen was handed a three run lead with three innings to go and did just enough to prevail.  Kyle Finnegan recorded his 2nd save of the season while navigating through traffic on the bases. The final out of the game was a first in franchise history as Riley Adams threw out an attempted steal of 2nd base in order to end the affair.

(16:45) James Wood had a hot start on Saturday as he made a nifty catch near the wall and then hit a 2 run double in the bottom of the first. Wood was slotted in the 5th spot in the lineup, a rarity for him.

(21:00) Josh Bell had a triple in the win.  You read that right.

(24:50) Answering a listener email about the possibility of Amed Rosario getting reps at 3rd base in expense of Paul DeJong for offensive purposes.

(28:00) There was some question as to who would start on Sunday as it was the injured Michael Soroka's turn in the rotation, but instead Trevor Williams moves up on full rest due to the day off on Thursday.  There had been speculation that Brad Lord could move out of the 'pen, but instead the organization opted to figure out the vacant spot on Tuesday night after MacKenzie Gore pitches on Monday. 

The Nats slow start continued in a 6-4 loss on Friday night against visiting Arizona despite scoring three runs in the bottom of the 1st.  Mark & Al open the episode by breaking down Jake Irvin's start that only lasted five frames. Irvin allowed seven hits and four runs on just 86 pitches while being unable to early hold onto the early lead.

(10:30) Jose A. Ferrar gave up a pair of runs in the top of the 7th to give the Arizona lead for good. Ferrar has really struggled so far as he ceded multiple runs in three of out of his four appearances this year.

(17:00) The Nationals scored four runs off of three homers on Friday night.  CJ Abrams & Luis Garcia Jr. homered right away and Nathaniel Lowe's blast briefly tied the game in the bottom of the 6th.  Mark points out how that even though they have a fair amount of homers so far, the team's lack of drawing walks have been a major culprit.

(26:35) The 2005 Nationals will be inducted into the franchise's Ring of Honor this weekend.  This was the first season in Washington after the Expos moved to D.C. and they surprisingly opened the year with a 50-31 record while playing at RFK Stadium. 

**Closing highlight courtesy of John Walton and Ken Sabourin on the Capitals Radio Network.

The Nats fell 5-3 in Toronto on Tuesday night to drop to 1-4 on the season.  Mark (Live from Canada) & Al begin with the bad pitching luck for starter Trevor Williams & flame throwing reliever Jose A. Ferrer.  They both were victims to instances such as infield hits and defensive miscues behind them.  Hear what franchise record Williams is quietly threatening Max Scherzer for.

(17:45) The Nats offense had another subpar night in scoring just three runs.  Dylan Crews, who has been struggling at the plate, rested in favor of Alex Call in RF.  Call rewarded his manager's confidence with a pair of hits while hitting 8th in order.

(21:00) CJ Abrams was by far the biggest bright spot for Washington as he filled up the box score in a franchise SS type of performance.  Abrams had a trio of hits, two of which were doubles, and made a tremendous defensive play up the middle.

(25:35) Keibert Ruiz knocked in a pair of runs and continues to impact every game.  Ruiz drew a walk and has a five game hitting streak to start the season.

(29:05) The Nats will have MacKenzie Gore on the mound on Wednesday in their hopes to avoid the sweep.  Should we be caught up in the 1-4 record?

The Nats lost their first road game of the season 5-2 in Toronto.  Michael Soroka struggled in his franchise debut and ended on a sour note as he departed early due to an injury.  The prognosis afterwards was not serious and has been classified as a right biceps cramp.

(10:50) If the news on Soroka ends up being worse than initially expected, who takes his spot in the rotation?  There is no easy and immediate answer to this one.

(16:40) The only source of offense for Washington came off back to back homers in the top of the 6th. So far the team has hit eight home runs in just eight games. CJ Abrams homer was the first hit of the day off of Blue Jays starter Bowden Francis.

(21:00) Dylan Crews terrible start at the plate continued on Monday as he went 0 for 4 to remain without a hit so far in 2025.  Crews struck out twice in this loss and has done so in 10 out of 15 at bat this season.

(28:10) Four relievers appeared for the Nats and they combined to only allow one run.  Brad Lord pitched for the 2nd straight day.

(36:05) Josh Whetzel, the voice of the AAA Rochester Red Wings, gives an update on the series in Buffalo.  Among the players mentioned: Andrew Alvarez, Trey Lipscomb, and Jackson Rutledge.

The Nats earned their first victory of the season on Sunday as they defeated the Phillies 5-1.  Mark & Al have plenty of positives to run through and begin with Mitchell Parker, who continued the good starting pitching to begin the Washington season.  Parker pitched into the 7th and didnt allow any runs.

(10:00) The two Nationals homers on Sunday came from new additions to the lineup in Josh Bell & Nathaniel Lowe.  The team combined for six home runs in the opening series.

(13:45) Paul DeJong came through with a trio of hits, two of which were doubles.  DeJong entered the day without a hit through two games while starting at 3B.

(19:40) Keibert Ruiz caught all three game this series and hit cleanup in the order.

(22:05) The bullpen only gave up one run, but it sure made things interesting in the top of the 9th.  Brad Lord made his Major League debut in the final frame, which came across as a curious decision. Kyle Finnegan came in for Lord to preserve the win in just five pitches.

(29:00) The Nats begin their first road trip of the season on Monday when they open a three game set in Toronto with Michael Soroka making his franchise debut on the mound.

The Nats were easily beaten by the Phillies 11-6 on Saturday afternoon in Navy Yard. Mark & Al spend plenty of time on the bullpen, which has performed poorly in both games so far this season. Jake Irvin departed a tied game after five innings and four relievers combined to give up nine runs following his exit. The 'pen is not only giving up a bunch of runs, but they are issuing a ton of walks along the way.

(22:00) Keibert Ruiz homered for the second straight game and briefly put Washington ahead 2-0. Ruiz also added a double and has had success from both sides of the plate this week.

(24:05) Amed Rosario had a trio of hits including a homer.  Rosario hit 5th in the order and got the start at 2B over Luis Garcia Jr. in order to face the lefty starter.

(27:10) Nathaniel Lowe went deep for the first time as a National and has flashed solid leather so far at 1B.

(29:00) Dylan Crews mad a great play in the field, but went 0 for 5 with 5 Ks while hitting 2nd in the lineup.

(35:30) In depth discussion on the new City Connect uniforms that were worn on Saturday.

The Nats bullpen let them down on their way to a season opening 7-3 loss in extra innings vs. the visiting Phillies. Mark & Al start with a major positive for Washington as MacKenzie Gore set a franchise Opening Day record with 13 strikeouts. Gore was fantastic as he did not issue any walks and only gave up one hit.

(10:30) Keibert Ruiz homered off of Zack Wheeler and threw out a runner trying to steal 2nd base.  Davey Martinez mentioned pregame that Ruiz lost weight in the offseason and he was pleased with his Spring.

(17:00) Jacob Young was caught stealing despite James Wood at the plate with a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 6th inning.

(21:15) Opening Day was not a good one for the Nationals bullpen as five relievers combined to allow seven runs in just four innings of work. Colin Poche really struggled in his first outing with the Nats as he gave up four Philadelphia runs in the top of the 10th to put the game out of reach.

(27:45) Derek Law will begin the season the 15-Day IL due to right forearm inflammation. Mark explains what led to him not being ready to pitch for Washington on Opening Day.

(32:00) The Nationals were dealt bad news this week as DJ Herz was added to the 60-Day IL and is getting a 2nd opinion on his sprained elbow ligament that could lead to Tommy John surgery. Al notes that this continues a troubling pattern of a pitcher getting a significant injury at some point in Spring Training.

The Nationals season begins on Thursday March 27th at 4:05PM vs. the visiting Phillies. Mark & Al get you set for the 21st season of Washington Nationals baseball.

(00:00) Nats moved to town 20 years ago

(10:00) Minor league prospects to monitor: Robert Hassell III & Brady House

(14:10) Brad Lord surprisingly contending for a bullpen spot

(17:45) Nationals return their Rule 5 Pick Evan Reifert back to Tampa Bay

(21:30) How to measure success in 2025

(30:10) More homers this season as a team?

(35:45) Evaluating the base running and stolen base threats

(38:15) A look at the pitching staff

(43:00) Season predictions

(52:45) Expectations for attendance