Nats Chat

For the third straight game the Nationals couldn't plate a run in their 3-0 loss to Kansas City on Wednesday night. Mark & Al dive into the continuing offensive ineptitude as the team is now 8-14 in September.

(07:00) The lack of runs leads to re-visiting the conversation about the decision in August to bring back the entire coaching staff in 2025.

(14:10) DJ Herz only allowed one run in his start of the season. Herz was called up in early June to replace the injured Trevor Williams and ended the year with an ERA of 4.16

(22:45) Cade Cavalli was at the stadium on Wednesday and Mark gives an update after the right hander met with the media. How much was this missed season due a to "dead arm"?

(31:00) Thursday afternoon will be Patrick Corbin's final start in a Washington uniform and it will be interesting to see how the home crowd receives him when he exits the game.

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The Nats rough September continued on Tuesday night as they were blanked 1-0 by the visiting Royals in extra innings. Mark & Al convene after back to back shutout defeats and the team has now lost seven of their past eight games.

(07:10) Dylan Crews went 0 for 4 and struck out 3 times. Crews' average is now down to .196 after his first month in the majors.

(15:30) Stone Garrett was called up from Rochester to replace Andres Chaparro, who was placed on the Paternity List. Over a year ago Garrett had a gruesome leg injury at Yankee Stadium and has spent the bulk of this season in AAA.

(22:45) Mitchell Parker's final start of the season was a strong one as he did not allow a run and make an excellent defensive stab. Parker ended up making 29 starts with Washington after getting called up in mid April.

(30:00) The organization handed out its end of the year minor league awards and Elijah Green won Defensive player of the Year. Green played CF for the Fred Nats, but the former 1st Round pick (2022) has struggled mightily at the plate.

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Following a two hour rain delay, the Nats were blanked 5-0 on Sunday afternoon in Chicago. Before we get into the show, we are excited to announce that WE WILL BE RETURNING FOR A 5TH SEASON AT NATS CHAT in 2025.

(06:00) Jake Irvin allowed a trio of early Cubs homers and he has now given up 29 of them this season. Irvin is now at 10-13 with an ERA at 4.22 and afterwards was critical of how mentally handled the delay start to the game.

(16:30) The offense outhit Chicago, but yet again did not score due to the lack of homers. Dylan Crews snapped an 0-19 slump and only had one hit in the final five games of the road trip. Crews is at 98 at bats since being called up and his OPS is now down to .599.

(22:00) Washington has six games remaining all home at this upcoming week. They host Kansas City and Philadelphia for 3 games apiece and both teams still have October implications. It has been a rough September for the Nationals as they are 8-12 this month.

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The Nats ended their five game skid on Saturday afternoon, but the major news of the day came beforehand. Mark (From Wrigley Field) & Al dive into the shocking news that CJ Abrams was optioned to the minors and will not play the rest of the season. There were reports that Abrams was out at a Chicago casino until 8AM on Friday morning, just a handful hours prior to 1st Pitch. Abrams will spend the next week at the team's facility in West Palm Beach since AAA-Rochester's season ends on Sunday.

(24:00) Almost lost in the shuffle from the busy Saturday, MacKenzie Gore took a no hitter into the bottom of the 7th. Gore struck out nine Cubs and navigated through a trio of walks issued. His ERA is at 4.04 and he has one start remaining next week in D.C.

(30:00) Five Washington hitters had multiple hits in the win. Joey Gallo hit his second HR of the series and he now is up to nine on the season, a far cry from last season's 23 homers with the Twins.

(34:00) Kyle Finnegan pitched the 9th and it was his first appearance in a week. The Nats are at 69 victories and need to go 3-4 down the stretch to exceed last season's win total.

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The Nats lost their fifth in a row on Friday afternoon, but there were positive items to focus on amid defeat. Mark (From Chicago) & Al gather after the Nationals 3-1 loss at Wrigley Field that keeps the team stuck at 68 wins. Trevor Williams had a solid outing after returning from a long stint on the IL; he only allowed one run in five frames in his first appearance since May 30th. Williams has one start remaining and these outings might serve as a de facto tryout for 2025.

(17:00) The only Washington run came off of James Wood's 8th HR of his rookie year. No National has hit 30 HRs in a season since Anthony Rendon & Juan Soto in 2019.

(20:10) Crews went 0 for 3 and has not had a hit in three straight games. He is hitting just .211 so far in the majors and his OPS is at .621.

(23:00) A long form discussion on if ownership will spend money this offseason? What will Mike Rizzo be authorized to do?

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The Nats lost 7-6 on Thursday night in Chicago for their 4th consecutive defeat. Mark (From Wrigley Field) & Al react to Washington falling to 17 games below .500 for the first time this season.

(05:00) CJ Abrams had a magnificent game as he had four hits, two of which were doubles, and a pair of stolen bases.

(12:45) Darren Baker got his first career start at a stadium that he grew up at and he responded with a trio of hits. Baker sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at The Friendly Confines when he was a four year old child when his dad was the Cubs Skipper.

(16:05) Jacob Young was thrown out trying to steal 2nd Base and exited early due to a shoulder injury. Young was replaced in the lineup by Joey Gallo, who later connected with a three-run homer.

(23:20) Patrick Corbin took the loss in what will likely be his second to last start in a Nationals uniform. Corbin has a slew of statistics that show he is yet again one of the worst starting pitchers in Baseball.

(33:00) Josh Whetzel, the Voice of the Rochester Red Wings, gives an update on the AAA team in their final week of play. Hear the latest on players such as Brady House, Trey Lipscomb, and Robert Hassell III.

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The Nats were pummeled 10-0 on Wednesday night to conclude the sweep at the hands of the Mets. Mark (From Citi Field) & Al convene after Washington finished a paltry 2-11 vs. New York this season and the Mets maintain a two game lead over the Braves from the NL's Wild Card spot. The Nationals remain stuck at 68 wins and need to go 4-6 the rest of the way to exceed last season's win total.

(14:00) DJ Herz was cruising through the initial innings, but the wheels came off in the bottom of the 4th. New York scored 9 runs in the frame and 7 of them came at the expense of the lefty. The big inning was a very costly one to Herz as it raised his ERA by over half of a run (4.30).

(21:00) Jose Quintana threw 7 scoreless innings for the third time this season against Washington. The offense only mustered three hits and two of them came from CJ Abrams.

(27:15) It was a big day in Single-A as Travis Sykora won Carolina Pitcher of the Year, then pitched well on the mound for the Fred Nats, and the evening finished with a League Championship.

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The Nats were blown out 10-1 on Tuesday night at the Mets. Mark (From NYC) & Al react to Mitchell Parker's rough outing, that saw him allow five runs in under four innings of work and make yet another mental error in the field. Parker did not properly cover 1st base on a grounder to the right side and Mark explains the severity of this deficiency for Parker's long term career outlook. Parker's ERA is up to 4.44 after making 28 starts in his rookie season.

(16:00) Zach Brzykcy was one of the call-ups from Rochester, but has struggled mightily since making the majors. Brzykcy allowed three runs in an inning of work and is in danger of being sent back to AAA. Tanner Rainey meanwhile threw a scoreless inning and has really improved his performance in the past few months.

(20:10) Dylan Crews had three of the teams' four hits while hitting in the 7th spot. CJ Abrams was back in the lineup, but was removed early amid the rout.

(26:00) The Nationals are just 2-10 this season against the Mets with one game remaining on Wednesday night. DJ Herz will face New York, who currently lead Atlanta by two games for the final playoff spot.

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The Nats lost 2-1 at the Mets in ten innings on Monday evening to begin their final road trip of the season. Mark (From Citi Field) & Al react to the splendid start by Jake Irvin, who brought a shutout into the bottom of the 8th. Irvin made a spectacular defensive play to end the 4th inning and had a memorable reaction afterwards.

(13:10) Kyle Finnegan was not used, but did warm up in the bullpen in case the Nationals took the lead in top of the 10th. Why didn't he pitch the bottom of the 10th regardless?

(18:30) CJ Abrams missed his 4th straight game due to his lingering shoulder impingement. Davey Martinez said pregame that he was available to pinch-hit, but he ultimately did not.

(23:00) Why did Ildemaro Vargas bunt in the 10th?

(29:00) Washington cemented its fifth consecutive losing season on Monday night. Would they have started the Rebuild a year earlier if 2020 was a normal season?

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The Nats held off the Marlins 4-3 on Sunday afternoon to close the season series with a dominant 11-2 record against Miami. Al & Tim put in perspective how many positives emerged from the victory; that showed the potential for the near future.

(04:00) James Wood crushed a pair of homers and now has seven in his rookie season. Both of the blasts had exit velocities that exceeded 100 MPH.

(12:10) CJ Abrams missed a third straight game due to a shoulder impingement. Nasim Nunez got the start again at SS and drew a walk, the only time he made it on base this series.

(16:00) MacKenzie Gore had a solid start for the fourth time in the past five outings. Gore struck out five Marlins in six innings of work and his ERA dropped a bit to 4.17. Gore likely has two starts remaining in this season.

(25:00) The Nats are now four wins away from surpassing last season's win total. However, this will be their 5th straight October sitting at home.

(28:45) Tim makes his case to Al as to why batting average is being overly dismissed in the modern age.

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