Nats Chat

The Nats let it slip it away on Saturday afternoon in their 6-5 walk-off loss in Milwaukee. Al begins with a quick preview of Sunday night's MLB Draft where the Nationals hold the #1 overall pick.  Kade Anderson, pitcher from LSU, is the likeliest selection in the top spot.

(04:00) Kyle Finnegan inherited a 5-3 lead, but very quickly allowed three Brewers runs.  The final blow came on a Caleb Durbin single after Andrew Vaughn's 2-run double tied up the affair.

(07:00) Shinnosuke Ogasawara only lasted four innings and shortly after taping was optioned to AAA-Rochester.

(10:10) Finnegan's blown save ruined the intial storyline that belonged to Brady House.  The rookie hit his first two career MLB homers and the 2nd one gave Washington a 4-3 lead in the top of the 8th.

(13:15) MASN reports that James Wood & MacKenzie Gore will fly to Atlanta on a team provided private jet for the All-Star festivities.  This recalls a brief controversy involving Juan Soto a few years back. 

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The Nats lost 8-3 on Friday night in Milwaukee as the road trip moved to its second leg. Al quickly circles back to the curious comments made by Davey Martinez just a few days prior to his firing.  Following the Nationals win on Thursday July 3rd, Davey made a specific point to thank the organization.  It was Martinez's 500th and final win as Washington's skipper.

(05:15) Brady House had a RBI double while continuing to play good defense at 3B.  Riley Adams, who likely will start most days for the time being, homered in the defeat.

(07:45) Mitchell Parker did not pitch well as he allowed seven runs in less than five innings of work.  Through 19 stats this season, Parker will enter the All-Star break with a 5.12 ERA.

(11:00) Al opens up the mailbag, send in a question to [email protected]

(18:30) Hear about how to get a free drink on Monday at Walter's courtesy of Mike Rizzo.

(20:45) Ben McDonald tells Tim his scouting report on Ethan Holliday. 

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The Nats were trounced by the Cardinals 8-1 in Thursday night's rubber match. Mark (From St. Louis) & Al convene after the Cards' Miles Mikolas continued his dominance over Washington's offense.

(05:30) C.J. Abrams lost track of how many outs there were in the top of the 8th and it led to an inning ending double play. Abrams apologized afterwards and took the responsibility.

(11:00) Michael Soroka only lasted four innings and allowed a pair of runs. Soroka will enter the All-Star break with an ERA of 5.35.

(15:45) The game got away from Washington after Mason Thompson gave up five runs in the bottom of the 6th.  To be fair, Thompson was plagued by sloppy defense behind him.

(22:35) A preview of this weekend's MLB Draft as the Nats have top pick.  The most likely options come from both college and high school. 

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The Nats gave Miguel Cairo his first win as interim Manager with an 8-2 thrashing of the Cardinals. Mark (From St. Louis) & Al recap the victory that saw three homers, including the 24th of the season by James Wood.

(05:30) MacKenzie Gore earned the win as he only allowed one run in six innings of work. Gore will be able to pitch in the All-Star Game since he will not take the mound this Sunday in Milwaukee.

(12:45) Six of the Nats nine hits were for extra bases on Wednesday night.  Nathaniel Lowe gave Gore an early cushion by hitting a 3-run HR in top of the 1st.  Amed Rosario also went deep and he is worth monitoring as a potential trade chip at the end of the month.

(19:00) Luis Garcia, the newly signed reliever and not to be confused with the 2B, made his first appearance with the team in the bottom of the 9th.

(24:10) Trevor William's season is over and is to be determined which kind of surgery he will have due to his partial UCL tear.  It is possible that he will undergo "Tommy John" surgery, which would put his 2026 season in doubt.

(27:00) A discussion about Keibert Ruiz's 2nd trip this summer to the concussion IL.

(30:30) Reaction to Mike Rizzo's Wednesday morning radio appearance on 106.7 the Fan. Did he refuse to fire Davey?

(38:15) Josh Whetzel, the Voice of the Rochester Red Wings, gives his weekly update from AAA.  Hear about Cade Cavalli's recent outing and Nick Schnell's continued power surge. 

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Tuesday marked a new era for the franchise, at least in the interim.  Mark (From St. Louis) & Al examine the pregame comments by Miguel Cairo & Mike DeBartolo.  Cairo was elevated from Bench Coach and was emotional when discussing his long time friend Davey Martinez. The Nationals lost his debut 4-2 at the Cardinals after a lengthy rain delay.

(05:10) DeBartolo made it clear that the organization will be revamping how it uses data and technology while he is in charge.  He has a busy first month on the job as the Draft is this weekend and the Trade Deadline is at the end of July.

(17:10) Addressing the elephant in the GM room.... what to do with MacKenzie Gore?

(22:30) Cairo has been an interim manager before as he took over the Chicago White Sox in the final few months of the 2022 season.  Among the minor changes Cairo made, Bob Henley will return to D.C. as a MLB Field Coordinator.

(26:20) James Wood nonchalantly made a leaping grab over the LF fence to rob the Cardinals of a homer.

(31:00) Jake Irvin took the loss as he allowed four St. Louis runs in six innings of work.  Mark mentions that it was another instance of Irvin showing declining velocity on the mound.

(32:45) Keibert Ruiz was moved back to the 7-Day Concussion IL and Drew Millas returned from AAA-Rochester.  

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A few hours after a 6-4 loss to Boston, the Nats fired GM Mike Rizzo & Manager Davey Martinez. Mark & Al react to the major organizational moves as it is truly an end of the an era.  Rizzo became the permanent GM in 2009, Martinez became skipper after 2017, and they were the GM/Manager combo for the 2019 World Series championship.

(13:15) Mike Rizzo told the Washington Post that he had to "navigate that ownership group for 20 years", which leads little to the imagination.  Mike DeBartolo has been elevated from Assistant to interim GM and the managerial position will be addressed on Monday's off-day.

(19:00) Rizzo was masterful at trades, but not so much at drafting.

(24:45) Would any manager have had positive results with this roster the past few years? This was Davey's first Managerial job and he is by far the longest tenured skipper in team history.

(32:20) Ownership uncertainty is front and center in the search for the next GM.  Will some qualified candidates shy away from this job?

(39:40) Will Rizzo & Martinez get these same positions with other teams in the future?

(44:00) Washington begins a six game road trip on Tuesday night in St. Louis after these major changes. Early indications are that the interim manager will either be Miguel Cairo or Matt LeCroy.

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The Nats were crushed 10-3 by the visiting Red Sox on Saturday afternoon. Mark & Al recap the poor defensive showing which was exacerbated by the 7-run top of the 3rd for Boston.

(04:15) Mitchell Parker committed a fielding error in the disastrous 3rd inning and the other came by corner infielders. Mark points out just how poor the Nationals infield team defense has been this season.  Parker stayed in the game and finished his day with three straight scoreless frames.

(18:30) Keibert Ruiz had a RBI ground out in an at bat that felt very predictable. The offense was put in a tough hole as it was behind 9-0 before the bottom of the 9th.

(24:00) Mason Thompson has been activated as he battles back from a 2nd Tommy John surgery. Zach Brzykcy was sent down to AAA-Rochester in the corresponding roster move.

(26:45) Derek Law was moved to the 60-day IL and it seems quite unlikely that he will pitch this season.

(32:00) Shinnosuke Ogasawara will start on Sunday for the Nats instead of Cade Cavalli.  Why?

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The Nats were clobbered 11-2 by the Red Sox in their annual 11:05AM 4th of July home game. Mark & Al discuss Lucas Giolito's great outing for Boston, in what was his first start in Navy Yard since 2016.  The Nationals traded him that offseason to the White Sox as part of a deal that landed Adam Eaton.

(06:00) Michael Soroka had an ugly stat line as he gave up seven runs off of nine hits in just four+ innings of work.  Soroka was pulled in the 5th while struggling against Boston's collective 3rd at-bats.

(16:15) The Nats went 0 for 5 w/ RISP in the loss.  Keibert Ruiz singled in his return from the IL after he was on the 7-day concussion IL.  As part of the roster movement, Drew Millas was optioned to AAA-Rochester.

(18:00) Trevor Williams was placed on the 15-day IL one day after his start vs. Detroit due to a right elbow sprain.  It is unclear who will replace him in the rotation.

(21:00) Wednesday's doubleheader has forced the need for a starter on Sunday vs. Boston. Could it be Cade Cavalli?

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James Wood announced prior to the game that will be in this year's Home Run Derby field and then followed it up with a dominant performance. Al examines Wood's 5 hit night in the Nats 9-7 win over Detroit; which sealed a second straight series. Wood homered for the 23rd time this season and singled four times.

(06:00) The offense exploded with 15 hits and three drawn walks. Paul DeJong capped the 5-run 1st inning with a 3-run shot, his first with the franchise.

(08:10) Jake Irvin struggled again in the top of the 1st where he allowed three runs. Irvin then bounced back to throw five straight scoreless frames.

(10:45) Al takes notice to eyebrow raising Davey Martinez's postgame comments.

**(15:15) Tim discusses LSU Kade Anderson's with LSU legend Ben McDonald. The Nats own the top pick in the July 13th MLB Draft and Anderson is considered by many to be the likeliest choice. 

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The Nats & Tigers split their Wednesday doubleheader in D.C. Al & Mark recap both the 11-2 Detroit rout and the 9-4 Nats comeback in Game 2.

(03:40) Washington scored six runs in the bottom of the 8th to defeat the Tigers in the nightcap. Nathaniel Lowe & Josh Bell combined for 7 RBIs in the victory and each had crucial hits in the decisive frame.

(09:00) Paul DeJong got the start on Wednesday night at 3B and saw brief action in the opening game of the doubleheader at SS. It was DeJong's first Big League action since he took a pitch to the face in Mid April.

(13:15) MacKenzie Gore did not have his best on Wednesday, but gutted his way through five plus innings of work in Game 2. Gore only struck out two Tigers in his no decision effort.

(17:00) Trevor Williams had another bad outing as he gave up seven runs off of nine hits.  Williams only lasted three innings in Game 1 and needed 54 pitches in order to get out of the top of the 1st, where Detroit scored six runs.

(28:40) Andry Lara was the team's 27th player for the day and he responded with three shutout innings of work after getting called up from AA-Harrisburg. The 22 year-old has struggled this season in the minors and his overall ERA is at 7.71.

(32:05) Wednesday night was the debut of the AARP jersey patch sponsorship deal.  What took so long?

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