Nats Chat

Friday night was a banner evening for the Nats organization, capped off with a 3-2 win in extras over the visiting Angels. Al & Mark begin by updating you on the highlights that occurred across the team's minor league affiliates on Friday. They then shine a spotlight on Alex Call, who had walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th; his 3rd hit of the day.

(08:00) The Nationals past met its future when James Wood had an infield single at the expense of Anthony Rendon. It seemed like Rendon did not realize how much speed Wood has when running down the line.

(12:30) Washington benefited from good pitching all night between Mitchell Parker, Jacob Barnes, and Kyle Finnegan. Parker is seriously making a case as the team's best starting pitcher this season and his ERA currently sits at 3.83.

(22:00) CJ Abrams was a late scratch and Nasim Nunez filled at SS. Nunez was dealing with cramps late in the game as Mark points out the odd circumstances surrounding his roster status and what that might mean.

(24:00) Rendon received a standing ovation from the crowd as it was his first time returning to Navy Yard since the 2019 World Series. Rendon had three singles, but did strikeout in the top of the 10th. Amazingly, the Angels have used more players at 3B since signing Rendon than the Nationals have in that time frame.

(30:00) Who was better at 3B at their peak? Rendon or Ryan Zimmerman?

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Thursday was a long afternoon in Navy Yard that featured a pair of rain delays before the Giants outlasted the Nationals 9-5 in extra innings. Mark & Al parse through the terrible Washington defense late in the game, which was due to more than just the wet field conditions, evidenced by San Francisco not committing any errors on their end.

(09:00) James Wood misplayed a ball in the top of the 4th and his defense has been disappointing so far in LF. Why does he look so uncomfortable out there?

(14:00) The game was tied at two entering the top of the 9th, before the affair took on an entirely new trajectory. Kyle Finnegan had a really bad inning, that not only saw three Giants runs, but also included him not backing up an errant throw. Mark points out that the weather did affect Finnegan's array of pitches in the outing.

(24:00) Lost in the shuffle, Luis Garcia Jr. sent the game into the 10th with a 3-run HR as he was down to his final strike. This homer concluded a wild 9th inning that saw both team plate three runs.

(30:00) The Nats host the Angels this weekend and more rain is in the forecast on Friday. The team did not have an off-day this week and are in need of one after using seven relieverson Thursday.

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The Nats lost 7-4 to the Giants on Wednesday night as the rain mostly held off. Mark & Al though begin with the announcement that the Annual Nats Chat Podcast Party will be at Walter's Sports Bar in Navy Yard on..... Friday October 4th from 6:30-8:30pm.

(04:00) Emblematic of the organizational decline in pitching, Jake Irvin did not pitch well for the fourth time in his past six starts. Irvin gave up three homers and he has allowed a startling ten homers in the past month.

(17:00) Alex Call was all over on the place on Wednesday while coming through with two hits from the second spot in the order. Call made multiple nice plays in the outfield, but he did hit into a game ending double play with the bases loaded.

(23:00) Juan Yepez homered in the loss while slotted third in the batting order. Yepez has been up from AAA for a little over a month and his OPS is .a whopping 903 in that stretch.

(30:00) Trey Lipscomb got the start at 3B, but was pinch hit later in the game. Lipscomb is really struggling at the plate and has not a multi hit day since July 12th. Could he be replaced by the newly acquired Jose Tena, who is currently at Rochester?

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The Nats overcame an early four run deficit to knock off the Giants 11-5 on Tuesday evening in Navy Yard. Mark & Al have plenty of praise to shower on James Wood as he homered and scored four times in the victory. Wood already has 23 RBI since getting called up to the majors, which is five more than Nick Senzel had in his time with Washington, despite Senzel having almost one hundred more at-bats than the rookie this season.

(11:30) CJ Abrams' 3-run HR gave the Nationals the lead for good at 5-4 in the bottom of the 2nd. You need to watch the highlight of this homer as Abrams somehow hit a pitch above his eyes over the fence.

(14:00) Keibert Ruiz doubled and homered on Tuesday night to continue his strong start to August. The hosts discuss how important the final few months of the season are for the catcher.

(18:00) Alex Call had a pair of RBI doubles and also drew a walk. Call has produced at the plate since getting promoted from AAA in late jUly.

(23:00) MacKenzie Gore had an awful beginning to this game as he immediately allowed four San Francisco runs. Gore has not pitched well in seven of his past eight starts and his trajectory is a growing concern. To his credit though, Gore did last five innings before handing it off to the bullpen.

(31:00) The Nats moved up Thursday's game vs. the Giants to 12:05PM from the original 4:05pm start time. There is a lot of rain in the D.C. forecast for the next few days.

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The Nats lost 4-1 to the visiting Giants on Monday night to begin the four game series. Mark & Al point out how the offense has scored less than two runs in 22 of their 62 defeats thus far this season. The Nationals have hit the fewest homers in all of MLB this year, even less than the woeful White Sox.

(06:00) CJ Abrams went 0 for 5 in the leadoff spot and his August is off to a slow start. Abrams' OPS was at .857 at the end of June, but it now currently sits at .769.

(17:10) Is Hitting Coach Darnell Coles' job on the line in the final few months? We've received many emails and tweets on the topic and this leads to discussion on Victor Robles' recent success in Seattle.

(24:00) Patrick Corbin was tagged with the loss as San Francisco quickly took a 4-0 lead vs. the lefty. Corbin's ERA is now up to 5.88 and hopes of it falling below 5.00 seemed to be dashed.

(29:25) We shine a spotlight on a pair of pitchers at the Single-A level. Travis Sykora, who recently threw five no-hit innings for the Fred Nats, and also Jarlin Susana of the Wilmington Blue Rocks.

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The Nats held off the Brewers 4-3 on Sunday afternoon to take the series. Mark & Al have more praise for Luis Garcia Jr. who homered for the second straight day. Garcia Jr. had to fight for the starting 2B job in Spring Training, but at this point seems to be a lock for Opening Day 2025.

(10:30) James Wood came through with a 3-run triple to give Washington a 4-0 lead. Wood has only been with team for a month, but already has 20 RBIs. For comparison's sake, Wood has 9 more RBIs this season than Joey Gallo, who has 31 more at-bats than the rookie.

(17:00) Mitchell Parker tossed six scoreless innings against a lineup that a few weeks ago scored five runs against him. Parker's ERA is at 4.06 in his rookie season.

(23:15) Robert Garcia allowed three runs in the top of the 8th and the bullpen clearly is weakened since the July trades. Could Jackson Rutledge be tried out as a reliever in the final few months?

(29:00) The home stand continues on Monday as the San Francisco Giants come to town for four games. Blake Snell is slated to pitch on Wednesday; coming off a No-Hitter.

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The Nats scored four runs right away and rode the momentum towards a 6-4 victory over the Brewers on Saturday afternoon to end their five game losing streak. Al & Mark convene after the weather surprisingly held off and the game was able to played on time and without any delay.

(06:00) Luis Garcia Jr. hit third and rewarded Davey Martinez with a big afternoon. Garcia had three hits including a solo homer to give his team a five run lead as he was a triple shy of the cycle. The hosts use this opportunity to praise Garcia for his solid season and reflect on the recent obstacles he overcame within the organization.

(12:00) Alex Call was part of the four run opening inning as he came through with a RBI single. Call has been very impressive at the plate in his brief time up at the majors this season.

(16:30) DJ Herz earned the win by only allowing one run in five innings of work. Herz has pitched well since he returned from AAA and has exceeded expectations after the organization traded for him last summer.

(24:00) Kyle Finnegan recorded the final four outs after taking over for Joan Adon in the 8th. Is the plan to keep Adon in a set-up role for the final few months?

(32:00) Josiah Gray was at Nationals Park on Saturday shortly after having season ending surgery. Mark relays what Gray told reporters before the game.

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The Nats lost 8-3 to the Brewers on Friday night to start their ten game home stand. Al hosts solo after the Nationals fifth consecutive defeat, which puts them at a season worst 12 games below .500. Jake Irvin pitched into the 6th and was charged with four runs after giving up six hits. Five relievers were needed to cover the final 10 outs and Jose A. Ferrar gave up a pair of runs in less than an inning of work.

(06:00) There was more bad news about Cade Cavalli as he has yet to ramp up in West Palm Beach as was previously scheduled. Cavalli underwent Tommy John surgery 16 months ago, but it seems increasingly unlikely he will pitch in the majors this season.

(11:00) The offense did briefly overcome an early 3-0 deficit, but did not score vs. the Brewers bullpen. CJ Abrams homered on the two year anniversary of the Juan Soto trade with the Padres that brought Abrams to D.C.

(16:00) Al reads a couple of listener submitted emails that have to do with Darnell Coles' job status as hitting coach and also a check in on the state of the Rebuild.

(29:00) Jason Prill, the Voice of the Lynchburg Hillcats, gives us a scouting report on Alex Clemmey and Rafael Ramirez Jr. These were two of the three prospects acquired from the Guardians organization in exchange for Lane Thomas.

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The Nats lost 5-2 on Wednesday afternoon in Phoenix for their fourth consecutive defeat. Mark (From Arizona) & Al dig into MacKenzie Gore's so-so start where he gave up three runs in just five innings of work. Gore's ERA is at 4.54, which is much higher than the 2.91 ERA that he brought into June.

(12:00) Keibert Ruiz exited the game early after getting hit in the groin while behind the plate. Ruiz flew home with the team, which is noteworthy because in 2022 he was unable to travel with his teammates following a similar injury.

(17:00) As they have a habit of doing, the offense did their best in late innings as they almost fully trimmed the four run deficit. Luis Garcia Jr. capped a great month with a RBI single and James Wood had a pair of hits in the loss.

(20:00) Jacob Young made a fantastic catch after coming off a rare day on the bench. It is time to start promoting Young's candidacy for a Gold Glove Award.

(28:00) The Nationals open a ten game home stand on Friday night by hosting the Brewers. As of now Joe Ross is not slated to take the mound, but he will be on full rest by Sunday.

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The Nats made one final trade in the closing minutes of the trade deadline on Tuesday evening. Mark (From Phoenix) & Al though begin with a player not dealt away, All-Star closer Kyle Finnegan, and react to Mike Rizzo's comments on why the right-hander stayed in Washington. The hosts layout the potential scenarios that are next for Finnegan as he is under team control in 2025.

(14:00) Dylan Floro was sent to Arizona in exchange for corner infielder Andres Chaparro as their final move before the deadline. Chaparro is having a strong offensive season in AAA and might project to a future DH. Floro was signed to a one year deal in the off-season and in four months with the Nationals his WHIP was at a solid 1.05.

(19:00) There were rumors online that the Nats were vying to trade for Cardinals OFer Dylan Carlson. Any truth to them?

(22:00) The Nationals made four trades this month (Harvey, Thomas, Floro, and Winker) and the hosts discuss the best acquisitions made by the organization.

(25:00) As for the game on Tuesday, it was the worst loss in franchise history as they lost 17-0 at the Diamondbacks. Patrick Corbin had another awful outing by allowing eleven runs in only three innings of work.

(35:30) Travis Blankenhorn was called from AAA_Rochester to fill an open roster. Blankenhorn briefly played in Washington last season and is likely a place holder until Dylan Crews eventually gets promoted.

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