Nats Chat

Sunday was a long one in Atlanta, but the Nats emerged with a hard fought 2-1 victory. Mark (From ATL) & Al open by noting that the Nationals are indeed .500 as they have concluded a third of the season. Washington stands at 27-27 and are in 2nd place in the NL East.

(06:20) Foster Griffin bounced back from two not so good outings with six shutout frames on Sunday afternoon.  Griffin struck out six and his ERA is down to 3.63 on the season.

(11:20) Andrew Alvarez earned the Hold by recording four crucial outs and it is likely that he will move into the rotation now that Jake Irvin is on the IL.

(14:45) Nasim Nuñez's error in the 9th did not allow Richard Lovelady to notch the Save.  Orlando Ribalta took over and was able to escape the bases loaded jam to preserve the victory.

(17:00) Jake Irvin's MRI landed him on the 15-Day IL due to a right shoulder strain.  Irvin is expected to resume throwing soon and the feeling is that this is the best possible scenario.

(20:00) The Nationals won a series over a 1st place team without the offensive firepower they've had throughout most of the season. Luis Garcia Jr. stepped up the most on Sunday as his pinch-hit RBI single served as crucial insurance.

(27:40) There were two rain delays on Sunday and both were mismanaged. It briefly looked like the field would not return to playable conditions, but the 7th inning resumed at 7:35PM.

(39:30) Greg Madia, who covers UVA Sports for The Daily Progress, gives a scouting report on AJ Gracia, an outfielder who is a possible 1st Round pick for the Nationals this summer with the #11 overall pick. 

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The Nats impressively blanked the Braves 2-0 on Saturday afternoon to even the weekend series.  Mark (From Atlanta) & Al have a lot to discuss with Jake Irvin, as he threw five shutout innings, but exited early due to injury concerns and will get a MRI for his back/lat on Sunday morning.  There was a forty minute rain delay after the 1st inning, but Irvin remained in the game through the delay.  

(07:00) Irvin struck out seven Braves and he has plenty of outings this season with at least five Ks.

(14:20) Brad Lord tossed three shutout innings and Mark lays out why he should stay in this role and not move into the starting rotation. Richard Lovelady pitched the 9th and closed out his 4th save of the season; just one day after he Opened on Friday night.

(18:25) Dylan Crews homered for the first time since getting promoted to put the Nats up 1-0. Coincidentally, Crews' last homer in 2025 came in Atlanta in late September.

(21:15) Daylen Lile tripled for the first time season after having a flurry of them last year.

(24:40) Keibert Ruiz doubled in the 3rd and his OPS is now up to .784 after it was only at .507 at the end of April.

(28:00) The Nats aim to get back to .500 on Sunday late afternoon in the series rubber match as Foster Griffin will take the mound.  This will be Game #54; the 1/3 point of the 162 game season. 

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The Nats blew it in 10th and ended up losing 5-4 in 11 innings top to the Braves on Friday night.  Mark (From Atlanta) & Al recap the narrow defeat that saw extra innings played in an active rain as Washington has lost by one run in two straight days.

(05:10) CJ Abrams had two huge late hits as he homered in the 8th and tripled in the 10th. Abrams knocked in three runs to extend his lead across the sport in this category.

(09:40) Curtis Mead homered for the first run of the night. Mead started at 3B and he might become an everyday starter at the position while Brady House is in AAA.

(12:35) Dylan Crews singled, stole a base, and had an outfield assist.  Crews however made a poor throw home on the final play of the game, but it came amid a wet atmosphere.

(19:20) Blake Butera took a risk in the 8th when Jose Tena pinch hit for Jacob Young and grounded out.  This caused Wood to move from DH to RF and the Nationals lost their DH spot the rest of the way.

(24:20) Richard Lovelady served a the Opened and did his job in the bottom of the 1st.  Miles Mikolas then took over and tossed five shutout frames while striking out three Braves.

(30:00) Five more relievers were used over the course of the final five innings. Orlando Ribalta blew the save in the bottom of the 10th and allowed Atlanta to score a pair of runs in order to force an 11th inning. 

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The Nats were on the losing end of Thursday afternoon's 2-1 loss against the Mets. Al & Tim start with Cade Cavalli, who struck out nine hitters in seven innings of work on just 84 pitches. Cavalli dipped his ERA down to 3.86 after this impressive outing despite being tagged with the loss.

(09:30) Is Cade Cavalli the #1 individual bright spot so far this season?

(13:10) Clayton Beeter and Orlando Ribalta each tossed a scoreless inning against New York.  Ribalta escaped a bases loaded/ no outs jam and his ERA is down to an impressive 1.80.

(18:00) The only Washington run came on an Andres Chaparo RBI groundout in the 5th.  Keibert Ruiz had a pair of hits, but was thrown out at 2nd on a double steal attempt to end a threat.

(23:20) Dylan Crews went 2 for 11 in the three games he played since returning to D.C..  Crews committed an error on Thursday, one of the two made by the team.

(27:15) The Nationals head to Atlanta for a weekend series and then the road trip will move to Cleveland.  Both teams are leading their divisions and the Braves hold the NL's best record.

(29:00) RIP to Howard Fendrich, who sadly passed away at age 55.  Howard was best known for his tennis coverage for the Associated Press, but he spent plenty of time covering the Nationals & other local teams. 

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The Nats are back at .500 after beating the Mets for the 2nd straight night.  Mark & Al convene after the 8-4 victory on Wednesday night and put in perspective where this team stands after 50 games played.

(09:00) Comparing this team to the 2005 Nationals, who had a surprisingly strong start.

(13:20) CJ Abrams hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 1st to put Washington ahead right away. Abrams is in a four-way tie for most RBIs in all of Baseball (42). Abrams also had an impressive OPS (.928) which is the 7th highest in the NL.

(18:10) Jacob Young's 2-run HR in the bottom of the 8th gave the Nats a four run cushion. Young has homered four times this month and already has a career high with six home runs on the season.

(20:00) Keibert Ruiz hit a RBI double to give Washington a 4-1 lead.  Ruiz's OPS has recently skyrocketed and he is now slugging .500.  Ruiz was thrown out at home on a controversial play and hear why Blake Butera was unable to challenge the call.

(28:05) Nasim Nuñez had a great all-around game as he stole a base, made an impressive play in the field, and laid down a sacrifice bunt.

(30:30) Zack Littell & Andrew Alvarez combined for all nine innings in the victory.  This tandem is expected to continue to work together when it is time in the rotation.

(38:20) PJ Poulin was sent to AAA after the game.

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The Nats trailed by five runs right away, but completely flipped the script on the Mets for a 9-6 win on Tuesday night.  Al & Mark examine James Wood's Inside-the-Park Grand Slam in the bottom 2nd to cut the deficit to just one run.  Wood has 13 homers this season, tied for 3rd most in the NL, but leads all of MLB in runs scored.

(11:45) Paul Toboni met with the media on the same day that Dylan Crews joined the Big League Club.  Toboni addressed what he has recently seen from Crews and why now is the right time to call him up.  Crews went 1 for 4 on Tuesday night while playing in CF and hitting sixth in the lineup.  

(15:15) What to expect the outfield to look like now that Crews is up and Joey Wiemer has been sent to AAA.

(18:00) Toboni answered plenty of questions regarding the decision to send Brady House to Rochester.  It was pointed out just how much House has struggled against right-handed pitching this year.

(23:00) Was Crews called up too early to make his MLB debut back in 2024?

(27:00) Foster Griffin was terrible in the beginning of his start as New York led 5-0 by the top of the 2nd.  Griffin however settled down and was able to make it through five innings of work.

(31:30) Brad Lord tossed three innings to get to the 9th and Richard Lovelady closed it out from there.  Lovelady bounced back after getting hit hard as the Opener on Sunday against the Orioles. 

(34:30) Will Andrew Alvarez continue to stay on the roster?

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Monday was a jam packed one for the Nats as lost 16-7 to the Mets in extras, with New York scoring 10 runs in the top of the 12th.  Mark & Al begin with the report that Dylan Crews is getting called from AAA and that he will take the place of Brady House, who will be sent to Rochester. House has really struggled lately in the field and has committed eight errors already this season.  Crews' OPS in Rochester was .777 with five homers during his month and a half stretch in AAA.

(11:45) Seaver King was promoted to AAA after having a strong start to his season in Harrisburg at shortstop.  King was the franchise's 1st Round pick at 10th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft.  King's OPS in AA was .989.

(16:20) Jacob Young was removed in the bottom of the 2nd after getting drilled in the ribs and the X-Rays were negative.

(18:00) The defense continued to be sloppy as Washington committed four errors on Monday night.

(23:00) Jake Irvin only lasted four innings and allowed one earned run, three runs in total.  Irvin's ERA is up to 5.59 and the concerns about him in the rotation do remain.

(24:30) Explaining the confusion in the top of the 12th when the umpires briefly would not allow Jorbit Vivas to relieve Paxton Schultz on the mound.   Schultz was forced to pitch for the 3rd straight day when the 12th began and the Mets took full advantage. 

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The Nats did not sweep on Sunday and instead lost 7-3 to the visiting Orioles. Mark & Al open with Richard Lovelady, the Opener who gave up an upper deck solo homer in the top of the 1st hit to Gunnar Henderson.

(04:00) Miles Mikolas allowed a 2-run HR vs. the initial batter that he faced in the top of the 2nd after taking over for Lovelady.  Mikolas' ERA this season is a grisly 6.91.

(09:00) Will Andrew Alvarez take Mikolas' spot in the rotation?

(17:00) Jacob Young homered for the 5th time this season; which is already a career high.  Young also went deep in Saturday's victory.

(20:00) Keibert Ruiz doubled, walk, and his slugging percentage is almost on par with Jams Wood believe it or not.

(27:00) Brady House dropped a foul ball and was charged with his 8th error of the season, tied for the 2nd most in all of MLB.

(29:30) The Mets come to town on Monday for a four game series. New York is coming in with momentum as they went 5-1 in their recent home stand. 

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The Nats have finally returned to the .500 mark and did so in emphatic fashion.  Mark & Al dive into the Nationals 13-3 pummeling of the Orioles on Saturday afternoon in front of another sell out crowd in D.C.  The fans were not only treated to a win, but also received Alex Ovechkin Bobbleheads.

(08:00) Keibert Ruiz had a monster afternoon as he homered, knocked in five runs, stole a base, and even won an ABS challenge. Ruiz's OPS is up .715 and has climbed over .200 points in the month of May.

(15:00) Brady House did not start on Saturday, but he still ended up doubling and homering late in the rout.

(21:00) Cade Cavalli lasted until the 7th and struck out eight O's along the way.  Cavalli was throwing a shutout through six innings (79 pitches), but he allowed a pair of homers in the top of the 7th to mar his final pitching line.

(28:10) This victory ends a shocking streak of 15 consecutive defeats for Washington when entering the game at 1 game under .500.

(31:15) A great shoutout that mentions Nationals Fantasy Camp. If you are interested in a shoutout to be read on air, send us an email at [email protected].

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The Nats edged the Orioles 3-2 on Friday night in front of a sold out crowd in Navy Yard. Al & Mark praise the nearly 39,000 fans in attendance who packed the house for the well received promotion of  "Hot Dog Day".

(08:00) Zack Littell tossed five shutout innings before handing the ball off to Andrew Alvarez.  This was the first scoreless outing of the season for Littell in his 9th appearance. Blake Butera showed confidence in Littell in allowing him the opportunity to wriggle out of a jam in the top of the 5th.

(14:45) Andrew Alvarez had a strong performance after returning from Rochester.  Alvarez tossed three scoreless innings before running into trouble in the top of the 9th. Alvarez was relieved by Gus Varland with no outs and then Richard Lovelady came in to nail down the final Orioles out.

(24:00) Daylen Lile homered for 4th time this week to put Washington up 3-0. Lile had three of the team's hits in the victory and his OPS is now at .798; making him the clear 3rd best hitter in the lineup.

(29:15) Cade Cavalli will take the mound on Saturday afternoon as the team looks to finally get back to .500.  Thursday's loss was the 15th consecutive one for Washington when entering the affair at one game below .500.

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