Nats Chat

The Nats were routed 11-4 on Sunday afternoon in Miami for their 2nd straight defeat and it was their largest margin of loss so far this season. Al begins with MacKenzie Gore, who's pitching line saw four runs scored off of eight hits in six innings of work. Gore threw 105 pitches, another example of the lefty's pitch inefficiency.

(05:40) Jorge Lopez & Lucas Sims combined to surrender seven runs, while only retiring the Marlins.  Sims' ERA is up to 12.79 so far this season; he was a reliever that the team signed to a one year deal at the beginning of Spring Training.

(07:40) Cole Henry was called up prior to the game and pitched the bottom of the 8th.  Henry was originally a starter in their minor league system and is coming off of thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.

(11:00) The Nats drew 20 walks this weekend and combined for eight of them on Sunday.  James Wood walked three times in the loss and Alex Call had one in the leadoff role.

(13:30) Dylan Crews did not play for a 2nd straight day in what seemed to be in favor of giving the at-bats to Call. His OPS thus far sits at .625.

(15:00) Keibert Ruiz had an inexplicable base running gaffe in top of the 5th.  Ruiz got thrown out trying to steal 3rd base with only out and the game tied, which killed the rally with the heart of the order up.

(17:30) Washington faces Paul Skenes for the first time on Monday night in Pittsburgh. 

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The Nats did not have effective pitching in their 7-6 loss on Saturday afternoon in Miami. Al recaps the not so pretty totals for Trevor Williams, who allowed six runs off of eight hits, before getting pulled in the bottom of the 5th.  Williams so far on the season is sporting a 7.36 ERA.

(06:00) The bullpen did not allow a run on Friday night for the first time all season, but that luck did not carry over into Saturday.  Colin Poche allowed. Marlins run across, but the trio of relievers that followed him did not allow a further run.  Al points out the grisly stats so far for the lefty Poche, who pitched for Tampa Bay last year.

(10:05) Washington's offense only had singles despite scoring six runs.  Keibert Ruiz had three hits while hitting third in the order and leads the team with a .985 OPS.

(13:00) Alex Call drew a pair of walks in the loss and has walked a staggering nine times out of 37 plate appearances this season. 

(17:15) CJ Abrams has been placed on the 10-day IL due to a hip flexor strain. Abrams left Friday night's game early after re aggravating the injury that kept him out of the lineup earlier in the week.

(20:00) A special listener birthday shoutout.  To learn more about the opportunity, email us at [email protected].

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The Nats trailed 4-0, but stormed back for a 7-4 victory on Friday night in Miami.  Mark & Al have plenty of offensive highlights to address, but begin with an update on CJ Abrams, who exited the game early due to a hip flexor strain.

 

(07:00) The Nats had more extra base hits than they did singles in the win. The most pivotal one was Nathaniel Lowe's pinch-hit 3 run double that gave Washington a 5-4 lead in the 8th. Lowe was a late scratch from the starting lineup due to illness and later persevered through a 10 pitch at bat for the big hit.

(10:45) James Wood homered for the fourth time in the past four games. Wood hit a towering shot in the top of the 9th to give the Nats much needed insurance.

(12:40) Bell put Washington on the board with a 2 run HR in the top of the 6th.  Bell was moved to 1B after Lowe was a late scratch and that ultimately led to Alex Call taking over in LF for the DHing James Wood.  Call took advantage as he drew four walks and had a RBI double for the final run.

(20:00) Mitchell Parker did not have a good outing, but the team is nonetheless 3-0 when he starts this season.  Parker gave up four runs in the bottom of the 5th and his poor defensive mechanics were a major culprit.

(24:30) The bullpen finally had a game without surrendering a run in 2025. Lucas Sims walked the tightrope in his lone inning and Kyle Finnegan overcame a leadoff double to secure the save.

(28:45) This was game one of a ten game road trip in three different cities.  They can reach .500 with a victory on Saturday vs. Sandy Alcantara as they currently sit at 6-7.

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The Nats fell behind right away and lost to the Dodgers 6-5 on Wednesday afternoon to halt the win streak.  Mark & Al begin with Jake Irvin, who had one of odder outings you will ever see.  Irvin gave up four runs to the first four batters up, but then retired 18 of the final 21 Dodgers he faced.

(12:00) The bullpen unfortunately continued their stretch of giving up a run every game this season.  Eduardo Salazar took over for Irvin, but gave up a pair of runs in the 7th to give the Los Angeles the lead for good.

(15:15) The offense quickly overcame the early four run deficit after Luis Garcia Jr.'s RBI double in the bottom of the 3rd.  They collectively showed patience at the plate by drawing seven total walks. CJ Abrams hit a leadoff homer, his 4th time going deep this season.

(19:30) Do you prefer James Wood in LF or at DH?  Wood played LF on Wednesday and drew two walks while going 0 for 3 at the plate.

(25:20) Washington is off on Thursday and on Friday in Miami they embark on a 3 city/ 10 game road trip with no off days in between.

(27:30) We remember a member of the 2005 Nationals Tony Blanco, who tragically passed away this week in the Dominican Republic in the nightclub accident that also claimed Nelson Cruz's sister & former MLB pitcher Octavio Dotel.

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The Nats won their 4th straight on Tuesday night as they routed the Dodgers 8-2.  James Wood stole the show as he went deep twice and knocked in five runs while serving as the DH.  Wood has homered three times in two games after entering series with just one homer.

(09:45) Keibert Ruiz had a pair of hits while slotted at 3rd in the lineup. Ruiz has at least one hit in nine out of the ten games in which he has played in so far this year.

(11:15) Dylan Crews also had two hits and has five of them this week after having a terrible opening week at the plate.

(15:30) It was a true team effort by the pitching staff in order to get all 27 outs.  Brad Lord tossed three scoreless frames to open the game and later Orlando Ribalta also threw three innings. Lord not only pitched well, but he struck out Shohei Ohtani in both meetings.

(25:30) Washington is now 5-6 after standing at 1-6 just a few days ago. The Nationals are 4-1 on the homestand and have won multiple series in a row.

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The Nats have now won three in a row after defeating the defending World Series champion Dodgers 6-4 on Monday night in Navy Yard.  Mark & Al discuss MacKenzie Gore's solid outing where he only allowed a pair of runs in six innings of work.  Those two LA runs came off of a Shohei Ohtani 2-run HR, part of his evening where he was a double shy from the cycle.

(10:00) Kyle Finnegan not only got the save, but took care of the final five outs.  He has recorded the final out in three consecutive days and in all likelihood will be unavailable on Tuesday.

(17:10) James Wood homered for the first time this season to put Washington ahead 5-2. Wood was removed in the top of the 9th for defensive purposes by Jacob Young even though Wood was on deck if the Dodgers forced a bottom of the 9th.

(22:10) Keibert Ruiz had a RBI double to extend the lead to 6-2.  Ruiz's strong start to the season continues as his OPS is currently at .981.

(25:00) There were more instances of runners getting thrown out on base and three Nats have been tagged out at home in the past two days.  This has an ongoing issue over the past few seasons.

(30:30) Brad Lord will start for the injury plagued pitching staff on Tuesday and Jackson Rutledge will likely come into relieve him. Lord was a starter in the minors and transitioned to a reliever during Spring Training.  This is a chain reaction to Michael Soroka getting placed on the IL shortly after DJ Herz did as well.

(36:20) Josh Whetzel, the Voice of the AAA-Rochester Red Wings, provides an update on Brady House, Robert Hassell III, Darren Baker, and more. 

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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.

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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. 

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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.

 

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The Nats were swept in Toronto and dropped the finale 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon. Mark & Al start with the top of the 9th where a late Nationals rally was stymied by pinch- runner Jacob Young getting thrown out trying to steal 2nd base.

(11:20) Dylan Crews hit 9th on Wednesday and Amed Rosario was slotted 2nd. Crews continued his awful offensive start to the season as he is now 0 for 18. However, Crews made multiple excellent defensive plays in CF, showing that he can hang in there when not swinging the bat well.

(17:05) MacKenzie Gore did not continue his Opening Day momentum as he allowed nine hits in just five innings. Gore's 95 pitches resurrected the fact that he has struggled with pitch efficiency in his career.

(23:10) The bullpen had a solid day and Brad Lord made yet another appearance. Orlando Ribalta was the real bright spot as he tossed two scoreless frames.

(29:30) Mark relays the vibe in the clubhouse after the 1-5 start.

(33:30) Tim Shovers interviews author & veteran Will Bardenwerper about his new book "Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for Soul of America" Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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