Nats Chat

The Nats four-game win streak was halted by the visiting Phillies on Wednesday night. Al & Mark recap the 3-0 loss; which was low lighted by the bullpen issuing a staggering 13 walks in the defeat.

(04:00) Jared Simpson opened the game, but only recorded one out while walking four Phillies. Simpson has combined to issue seven walks in his past two outings.

(12:00) Luis Perales had a wild boxscore as he tossed two scoreless innings, but in rather adventurous fashion.  Perales issued five walks, but did strike out a pair of Phillies.

(16:00) Zack Wheeler tossed seven shutout innings and Al notes how impressive he has been coming off of thoracic outlet surgery.  Wheeler's ERA is down to 2.29 and he has recorded 177 strikeouts this season.

(22:00) Andrew Pinckney was sent back to AAA after the game and presumably will be replaced on the roster by a pitcher.

(24:00) Will Connelly Early, DJ Herz, and/or Josiah Gray get called up to Washington before the year ends?

(27:00) An extended discussion about the franchise having seven consecutive losing seasons this decade.

(38:00) Josh Whetzel, the Voice of the Rochester Red Wings, gives an update from AAA.  The report begins with Connelly Early's rehab start on Tuesday night in Buffalo. 

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The Nats win streak extended to four-games with another comeback victory on Tuesday night. Mark & Al dig into the 6-3 victory over the visiting Phillies, who are now five and a half games behind Atlanta in the NL East standings.

(03:00) A quick message from Tim about supporting the podcast.

(06:00) Daylen Lile did not get the start, but changed the game with his pinch-hit opportunity in the bottom of the 7th.  Blake Butera loaded up a right-handed heavy lineup against Philadelphia ace Jonathan Sanchez, but then switched it up as the game continued.

(12:00) Why did Butera go with Lile over Wood in the 7th? Wood then hit Chaparro immediately after Lile's homer in the 7th.  Chaparro tied the game in the 5th with a solo homer.

(22:00) Jackson Kent allowed three runs in five innings of work, but he also issued three walks.

(27:00) Yovanny Cruz retired all five batters that he faced in his 2nd appearance since getting called back up last week. Erik Tolman took the mound in the top of the 9th and notched his 3rd save of the season.

(30:00) Cade Cavalli's next start was pushed to Friday in St. Louis and it will be a bullpen game on Wednesday vs. the Phillies. 

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The Nationals rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the bottom 8th to prevail with a 6-5 win over the Angels on Sunday afternoon.  Mark & Al discuss Washington sweeping the worst team in the AL during the weekend series in Navy Yard.

(06:00) Daylen Lile began the four-run 8th with a RBI triple and it ended with a Dylan Crews RBI single for a 6-4 lead.

(11:30) James Wood did not run hard when thrown out at home in the 1st.  Ryan Zimmerman called him out on the broadcast and Wood apologized after the game.

(19:00) Riley Cornelio opened for Jake Irvin and they combined for seven innings of work. Cornelio struck out four in just two frames on the mound.

(24;20) CJ Abrams committed an error at shortstop and it is his 20th of the season. He trails Trea Turner by one error for the most in baseball.

(28:00) Washington is a percentage point ahead of the Mets for last place in the NL East.  New York hosts the Orioles on Monday while the Nats have the day off. 

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The Nats blew a late 4-run lead but ultimately emerged victorious on Saturday afternoon over the Angels.  Al & Tim examine the 6-5 walk-off victory after Harry Ford's comebacker was not fielded cleanly in the 10th and that brought across CJ Abrams for the winning run.

(07:00) Andrew Alvarez struck out eight Angels in seven innings of work; while allowing only one hit.  Alvarez seems to be on the path towards locking up a rotation spot for next season. Alvarez is an organizational success story as he was a 12th round pick in the 2021 Draft.

(11:30) Brad Lord gave up three runs in his 8th inning appearance and changed the dynamic of Washington's lead as it dwindled to 4-3.  Lord's struggles recently has reached the point that his ERA is back above .400.

(12:30) Will Dion could not close it out and in turn gave up a pair of Los Angeles runs; which put his team behind 6-5 in the top of the 9th.  

(20:00) Abimelec Ortiz's 2-run double gave Washington a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd. Andres Chaparro then pinch hit for Ortiz and tied the game with RBI single in the bottom of the 9th.  Is the organization all set for 1B in 2027?

(25:00) James Wood is up to 21 steals and CJ Abrams is now one stolen base away from a 30-30 season.

(30:00) Keibert Ruiz had a trio of hits and his OPS is up to.... .789!

(35:00) Frankie Vernouski, the voice of the Harrisburg Senators, gives an update on Eli Willits and the rest of the AA club.

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The Nats snapped their seven game losing streak on Friday night as they rallied past the Angels 4-3 in Navy Yard. Before Al & Mark dig into the dramatic bottom of the 8th, they address a significant shake up in the team's medical personnel.

(04:00) Mark reported prior to the game that the team parted ways with Harvey Sharman, the franchise's executive director of medical services.  Sharman has been with the organization since 2016 and he came over from Leeds United Football Club in Europe.

(12:00) Cade Cavalli struck out nine in six innings of work.  Cavalli is up to 194 Ks on the season as he likely has two starts remaining.

(21:00) Erik Tolman notched an adventurous save as he almost gave up a game-tying homer in the 9th to Christian Moore.  It ended up being a double and Tolman settled down to keep the lead intact.

(26:00) Clayton Beeter tossed a scoreless bottom of the 8th, but was sent to AAA following the victory.  

(29:00) The Nats trailed 2-1 entering the bottom of the 8th, but the offense came through in the frame.  Andrew Pinckney's sacrifice fly tied the game and then Jorbit Vivas stepped in the batter's box.  Vivas doubled down the line to give Washington a 4-2 lead.

(32:00) Update on Harry Ford, who exited the game early due to hurting his left wrist.

(35:00) Will Seaver King get called up before the end of the season?

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The Nats were swept by the Padres on Wednesday for their 7th straight loss.  Mark (From San Diego) & Al jump right into the reality that is an 0-6 road trip in Southern California after falling 9-2 in the Petco Park matinee. Adding extra insult to injury, Maryland native Jackson Merrill drove in six runs in the midst of his two homer effort.

(05:30) Blake Butera was ejected in the bottom of the 3rd when the Padres took a 3-2 lead.

(11:00) Jackson Kent only lasted four innings as he allowed five runs off of eight hits.  Kent has made six starts since August, but only one of them has been impressive.

(19:00) The bullpen didn't blow a save, but all three relievers gave up at least one run.  Brad Lord ceded a pair of runs and his ERA currently sits at 3.76.

(23:30) Craig Stammen made a bullpen move that worked out in the 3rd, but did he make a rookie mistake along the way?

(26:00) Keibert Ruiz hit a solo homer and Dylan Crews continued his solid September with a RBI single to put Washington up 2-0.

(29:00) An extended discussion about CJ Abrams as he has struggled at the plate in the past month. Abrams' OPS was .898 prior to the announcement of the position switch and it now down to .827. He really struggled in August as his OPS for that month was at .519. 

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The Nats bullpen set a dubious MLB record in Tuesday night's 5-4 loss to the Padres.  Mark (From San Diego) & Al examine the bullpen implosion that occurred in the bottom of the 8th as Washington fumbled away their 3-run lead.  This was the 3rd blown save of the five game winless road trip in Southern California and their 38th of the season.  That sets a record for blown saves; surpassing the 37 blown saves committed by the 2024 White Sox (stat began in 1988**).

(08:00) Riley Cornelio threw three scoreless frames as he started the bullpen game.  This was Cornelio's first career start at the major league level.

(12:30) The game came apart for the Nats in the bottom of the 8th with a pair of recently called up rookies on the mound.  Jared Simpson walked the bases loaded and Erik Tolman could not escape the jam.

(19:00) Is this worst Nationals bullpen of all time?

(28:00) YoYo Morales and Andres Chaparro each homered in defeat. Chaparro's OPS is at .881 after getting called up for good in mid May.

(31:00) Eli WIllits is getting promoted to AA-Harrisburg after spending three months in Wilmington.  Willits went 0 for 4 with two walks in his debut with the Senators on Tuesday while hitting 2nd and playing SS.

(36:00) Mark gives an update on catcher Drew Millas who needs another surgery on his finger. Also hear some quick updates on Connelly Early and Josiah Gray's rehab efforts. 

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The Nats are now 0-4 on their West Coast road trip as they lost 3-2 on Labor Day afternoon in San Diego.  Mark (From Petco Park) & Al convene after Washington lost for the 19th time in the past 21 road games. The assignment was a tough one as first pitch was at 2pm PT on Monday afternoon despite not finishing their series in LA until 10pm PT on Sunday night.

(06:00) Dylan Crews hit his 11th homer of the season to cut the deficit to one run in the top of the 6th.  Crews also had an outfield assist that led to a double play in the bottom of the 8th.  Crews' OPS is at .661; slightly higher than last season's .632.

(12:30) What will the organization think of Crews heading into 2027?

(17:00) Jared Simpson and  Jack Sinclair combined to throw two plus scoreless innings of out of the bullpen.  Each of these two arms were called up this month and have limited experience.

(20:00) No word yet on the results from Orlando Ribalta's MRI.

(22:00) Jake Irvin took the loss as he allowed all three Padres runs in almost six innings of work. Irvin's ERA is at 5.52 this season in 19 starts. Will he be back next season?

(24:00) James Wood lost a fly ball in the sun and this leads to a discussion on his outfield defense at this stage of his career.

(28:00) Connelly Early will have a rehab outing on Tuesday in a "Bridge League" game in Florida.  Now what is the Bridge League?

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The Nats yet again coughed up a late lead as the tied the 2024 White Sox for the most blown saves in a season. Mark (From Dodger Stadium) & Tim recap the 7-5 loss in Los Angeles on Sunday evening. Washington led 5-4 until Mookie Betts' 3-run HR in the bottom of the 8th off of Will Dion.

(05:00) Orlando Ribalta was unavailable out of the 'pen due to right forearm tightness.  Ribalta felt discomfort less than an hour before the game and he will get a MRI on Tuesday in San Diego.

(09:00) Dion struck out the Dodger side in the 7th, but his luck ran out in the 8th.  He retired the first two hitters, but then Alex Call's 2-out single began the rally.

(14:00) How does Paul Toboni and his staff respond to this season's bullpen disaster in the off-season?

(20:00) Andrew Alvarez pitched into the 5th, but ran into trouble and was ultimately charged with three runs.  Alvarez, the Southern California native, pitched in front of many family and friends on Sunday evening.

(24:00) CJ Abrams hit his 30th homer of the season in the top of the 1st. Daylen Lile tripled again in the 6th, but then got tagged out in a rundown after a contact play.

(28:00) Any chance that Josiah Gray takes Ribalta's roster spot?

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The Nats fell 6-5 on Saturday night in L.A. for their 17th road loss in their past 19 games.  Mark (From Dodger Stadium) & Tim begin with another failed top of the 9th rally by Washington.  CJ Abrams ultimately struck out with two runners on base to end the game.

(05:10) Clayton Beeter gave up a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 7th to Tommy Edman, the 36th blown save for the franchise this season. The Nationals pitching staff somehow leads MLB in both walks and homers allowed.

(12:00) Cade Cavalli struck out eight Dodgers in six innings of work.  Cavalli's ERA is at 3.12 with likely three starts remaining.

(17:00) Dylan Crews doubled twice, but he also struck out twice. HIS OPS currently sits at .654.

(21:30) Jorbit Vivas was held up at third base in the top of the 2nd and the Nationals never drove him run. This then leads to examining Victor Estevez's first season as Nationals 3B coach.

(24:00) An update on Shohei Ohtani, who has not played in either game this series.

(28:30) A quick look at the Dodgers ownership situation as Mark Walter recently sold off the Lakers. 
 

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