Nats Chat

The Nats handed the Mets a crucial defeat on Saturday afternoon in Queens.  Mark (From NYC) & Al meet after the Nationals blew an early 3-0 lead, but Daylen Lile's exciting 2-run Inside-the-Park-Home run put them ahead for good 5-3.

(05:00) It looked initially that Lile's big hit would be a triple as he is one away from setting a franchise record. Lile's OPS is now ahead of James Wood (.814 vs. .807).

(08:45) CJ Abrams made a brutal TOOTBLAN in the top of the 11th just before Lile's homer. Abrams was then mysteriously replaced in the field in the bottom of the 11th.

(13:10) Cade Cavalli had another good outing as he tossed five shutout innings. Cavalli has only had one bad stat since getting called up from AAA in early August.

(17:30) Jose A. Ferrer took over in the 8th and could not protect the 3-run lead. New York scored a pair off the lefty in the 8th and then Juan Soto's 9th inning single sent the game to extra innings.

(25:00) Reaction to the expansive story from the Washington Post on the current ownership situation with the Nats. 

(37:30) Brief mention of recent comments by Ted Leonsis. 

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The Nats dropped their 5th straight on Friday night as they were beaten by the Mets 12-6.  Mark (From NYC) & Al gather after Washington guaranteed itself of having more losses this season than the previous two years.

(04:30) The pattern of sloppy defense continued on Friday as the outfield combined for three errors; two of which were on Dylan Crews.

(07:15) James Wood struck out two more times and committed a fielding error himself. Wood is now up to 212 Ks on the year; 21 more than AL leader Riley Greene.

(09:20) Daylen Lile tripled for the 11th time this season and 7th time in September. Lile is now tied with Denard Span for the most triples in Nationals history since 2005.

(14:20)  Andrew Alvarez's fourth outing was his worst so far as he gave up six runs in less than four innings of work. The Mets lineup was the hardest test yet for the young lefty.

(23:30) Mitchell Parker is being moved to the bullpen for the rest of the season. This is not much of a surprise as his ERA is now up to 5.85 and this will be the first time he will take the mound as a reliever.

(26:45) Josiah Gray pitched on Friday for AAA-Rochester as he struck out a pair, issued three walks, in just under 3 innings. Will he pitch next weekend in Washington against the White Sox?

(30:00) Another update on a potential candidate for the vacant GM position, this one being Eddie Romero, the Assistant GM for the Red Sox.

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The Nats lost 9-4 on Wednesday and dropped all four games this week against the Braves. Mark & Al evaluate the team's tired legs as they have shown recent signs of fatigue.  It has been a busy stretch for the team as they have played 14 games in the past 13 days.

(07:30) James Wood had a RBI double and a single on his 23rd birthday. Wood did strikeout for the 210th time this season, extending his own franchise record.

(13:10) Brad Lord had a shutout through five innings, but it all came apart in the top of the 6th.  Lord was charged with two runs in the four run 6th and his ERA is now up to 4.18.

(25:00) Sauryn Lao is a recently acquired right hander who was called up to replace Orlando Ribalta. Lao gave up a pair of runs in his two innings on the mound.

(30:15) Josh Whetzel, the Voice of the Rochester Red Wings, gives an update from AAA as they are in their final week of the season. 

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Tuesday was a long one on South Capitol Street and neither game went the home team's way. Al & Tim convene following a day/night doubleheader where the Braves won 6-3 in the afternoon and then took the evening session 5-0 in extras.

(05:45) James Wood struck out four times in the Game 1 loss. Wood sat out Game 2 and is now up to 209 strikeouts this season, 23 more than Riley Greene who leads the American League.

(10:30) Daylen Lile tripled for the 10th time while only having played in 82 games.  Lile set a franchise record for a rookie in this category and Denard Span has the most in a season with 11 since the franchise relocated to D.C. in 2005.

(15:00) Jake Irvin had a typical 2025 start as he allowed six runs and his ERA is up to 5.76.

(16:45) MacKenzie Gore lasted into the top of the 6th and didn't allow a run in his outing.  Gore dropped his ERA to exactly 4.00 and our new mantra is for him is "Gore Under 4".

(21:45) The series finale is on Wednesday and Thursday will be the team's first day off in two weeks. 

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The Nats were pounded 11-3 by the Braves on Monday night in Navy Yard. Mark & Al begin with Daylen Lile yet again impressing as he homered and lifted his OPS to .816, just six points behind James Wood.  Lile has the highest OPS of any NL Rookie with 300+ at-bats.

(05:45) Dylan Crews went 0 for 3 and his batting average is now down to .202.

(08:00) Mitchell Parker was pushed into the the top of the 6th and ended with a grisly line of allowing six runs off of ten hits.

(15:45) Jarlin Susana recently had surgery on his right lat after going on the IL in early September.

(19:00) More updates on the team's search for a new President of Baseball Operations. 

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The Nats took the series rubber match in Sunday afternoon's 4-3 win over the Pirates. Mark & Al note that the Nationals are 9-4 to start September and need only one more victory to avoid a 100 loss season.

(04:35) Daylen Lile was the offensive hero as his 8th inning RBI double put Washington ahead for good.  Lile reached base four times and his OPS is now up to .796 on the season.

(09:00) CJ Abrams made his 20th error of the season, the 2nd most of any short stop in Baseball.

(17:45) Cade Cavalli struggled in the opening inning as he immediately fell behind 3-0.  Cavalli adjusted from there and didn't give up any more runs.

(20:35) The bullpen got the job done with four scoreless innings, but the choice of Clayton Better instead of Jose A. Ferrer was curious.

(28:15) The Braves come to D.C. on Monday for four games in the next three days.

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The Nats lost 5-1 on Saturday afternoon to the visiting Pirates.  Al & Mark convene after the offense was only able to muster one run in the defeat.

(06:00) Dylan Crews had multiple instances of aggressive and heads up base running in the bottom of the 6th. His play that inning is emblematic of the kind of player Crews wants to be.

(13:10) Andrew Alvarez was superb on Saturday as he tossed six shutout innings in his third Big League start.

(22:40) Washington's 1-0 lead evaporated in the top of the 8th and the Pirates off score four runs in that frame off of Cole Henry and PJ Poulin.

(28:05) Josiah Gray threw just shy of two innings for AA-Harrisburg on Saturday.  Will he make it to Washington in 2025?

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The Nats opened the homestand with a 6-5 victory over Pittsburgh despite an early three run deficit.  Mark & Al begin with the defensive exploits by James Wood in the top of the 9th as his perfect throw nailed the tying run at the plate.  It was an up and down evening for Wood as he doubled twice, but also struck out twice, thus setting a single season franchise record with 200Ks.

(10:15) Brady House & Dylan Crews each went deep in the victory. Crews is now at nine homers on the season.

(15:00) Brad Lord had a decent outing as only gave up three runs in six innings of work.  Lord's ERA is now at 4.21 for the year.

(18:30) Jose A. Ferrer struggled in the 9th as he almost blew the 6-3 lead.  This was after he entered the game with a light show to signify that the closer was coming on the mound.

(25:05) Interesting details on Brad Haas, who was officially announced as the new Special Assistant to the Orioles GM.  Haas just left the Nationals role as their Director of Scouting. 

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The Nats had to settle for a series split in Miami after dropping Thursday night's finale 5-0. Al & Tim gather after Washington was shutout for the 12th time this season to conclude their otherwise winning road trip.

(04:00) MacKenzie Gore returned from the 15-Day IL to toss five innings in the loss.  Gore allowed two runs in the first inning and struck out four Marlins in the outing.

(08:05) CJ Abrams had a throwing error and it was his 18th of the season. Abrams has the 3rd most errors in Baseball and his defense is called into question.  Abrams did however steal his 30th base of the season, reaching the milestone for the 3rd straight year.

(11:20) James Wood had the day off and the offense was quite anemic in his absence. RIley Adams was back behind the plate and hit 3rd in the lineup.

(14:30) Response to a report by the Washington Post's Barry Svrluga about the latest phase in the GM search.

(23:45) Terry Byrom, the long time voice of the AA-Harrisburg Senators, is calling his final game on Sunday. We replay an interview that Tim held with Terry back in late May of 2023 when James Wood was still in AA. 

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The Nats led 3-0 entering the bottom of the 6th, but an ensuing comedy of errors tilted the evening in the Marlins direction for an 8-3 loss on Wednesday. Mark (From Miami) & Al though begin with the very encouraging news that MacKenzie Gore not only is coming off the IL, but will take the mound on Thursday night in South Florida.

(08:00) Jake Irvin tossed five scoreless innings, but it all came apart in the four run bottom of the 6th.  The defense made a pair of errors, Miguel Cairo was ejected after a replay didn't go Washington's way, and Jake Irvin was also ejected just after he was removed from the mound.

(15:20) The sloppy defense leads to a conversation about what kind of Manager could be in the dugout in 2026.

(23:35) James Wood struck out three times and now is up to 198 on the season.  It is the 2nd most in franchise history and he is only one behind Adam Dunn's dubious mark from 2010.

(24:40) Daylen Lile tripled for the fourth time this road trip and he is stunningly just two behind the team record since moving to D.C.  Denard Span, who coincidentally called the game on MASN, has most in Nats history with 11 triples.  The most impressive part of all of this is that Lile has basically only played half of a season.

(30:00) Seaver King & Jake Bennett are the main organizational names headed to the Arizona Fall League.

(33:45) Josh Whetzel, the Voice of the AAA-Rochester Red Wings, provides his weekly update on players such as Nick Schnell, Andrew Pinckney, and Phillip Glasser. 

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