Nats Chat

The Nats lost 8-5 in extras on Friday night to visiting Miami for their 5th defeat in the past 6 games. Adding additional insult to the evening is that the Mets beat Seattle to move back in front of Washington by a half game. Al & Mark recap the 11 inning defeat; which required 6 IP by 6 different relievers.

(17:15) The Nationals slugged 3 dingers on Friday and one of them came from Travis Blankenhorn in his first game since getting called up by Rochester. He hit 5th playing LF and this season had a OPS of .877 in AAA. Lane Thomas & CJ Abrams also went deep in the loss.

(30:00) Josiah Gray is still slated to start Sunday after a throwing a monitored bullpen session. There will be a lot of attention to his next start after he had a very poor August.

(34:30) Mike Rizzo still has not officially signed an extension despite the expectation that he will do so. Where do the negotiations stand between the GM and the franchise?

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The Nats successful August (17-11) came to anti climatic conclusion as they lost 6-1 on Thursday night in the series opener vs. the Marlins. Al & Tim discuss the struggling offense; which only scored 1 run in the past 2 games. The lineup was dealt a tough blow pregame as Lane Thomas was a late scratch due to back tightness.

(14:10) Joan Adon allowed 5 runs in as many innings and gave up 9 hits along the way. Adon has been on opposite ends of the spectrum in his 5 Big League starts since being called up from AAA. Two of his starts saw him tease a no hitter and the other 3 outings did not go so well.

(22:40) We take an opportunity during this NL East series to evaluate how the new look MLB schedule is playing out. This season the Nationals play their divisional foes 13 times compared to when they used play them 19 times a year. Is Radical Realignment around the corner?

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The Nats long winning road trip ended with a thud as they were shutout Wednesday afternoon in Toronto. Mark (From Canada) & Al note this end a string of 5 consecutive series victories. The offense was no match for Chris Bassit, who only allowed 3 hits in 8 IP.

(08:00) CJ Abrams was 0 for 4 in the loss Al points out the surprisingly disappointing numbers for the young SS in August. His .229 average this month is far lower than when he hit .327 in July.

(15:00) Patrick Corbin gave up 10 hits in one of those starts where he couldn't stop giving up hits. Corbin leads MLB in hits allowed (183) and this was a dubious category in which he led last season.

(18:20) Tanner Rainey is rehabbing in Rochester and it is looking like he will return to Washington in September. Rainey has been out since he had Tommy John surgery in early August of last year.

(23:00) It is up in the air whether or not Josiah Gray will make his next scheduled start on Sunday vs. Miami. Gray had a very poor August and the next update will come after Friday's bullpen session.

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The Nats held off Toronto 5-4 for a dramatic win against the AL Wild Card contender. Mark (From Ontario) & Al begin with the bullpen that clung on to the lead, but allowed 3 runs in 4 IP. Kyle Finnegan loaded the bases with no outs while nursing a 2 run lead, but was able to emerge with his 25th save of the season.

(12:30) The Nationals hit a pair of homers on Tuesday night for all of their offensive production. Carter Kieboom homered for the 3rd time since joining the team and Keibert Ruiz left the yard for the 5th time in August.

(17:45) Jacob Young made a memorable throw from CF to home for a crucial outfield assist to end the bottom of the 8th. Young made a no hop throw that was then perfectly played from Ruiz.

(27:30) MacKenzie Gore made it through 5 IP despite a pitch count that went over 100. Gore has made 5 starts this month and his ERA during that stretch is under 4.00 (3.76).

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Josiah Gray's rough August continued as he only lasted 2 innings in Monday night's 6-3 loss at Toronto. Al & Mark (From Canada) recap Gray's gruesome start and what seems to be wrong with his pitching mechanics. This month in five starts, the right hander's ERA is at 8.84 with 17 walks issued.

(17:30) CJ Abrams had a very electric evening (error aside) as he had a trio singles and also stole 3 bases. Abrams now has 37 stolen bases on the season and is seriously threatening Trea Turner's franchise record of 46 swipes.

(20:00) The Nats now have 3 catchers on the roster and Mark explains why dentistry plays a role in that occurrence. Keibert Ruiz returned to the starting lineup as Drew Millas was called up from Rochester.

(26:00) Joey Meneses has a legit shot at 100 RBIs this season. He currently stands at 76 as there are 30 games remaining in the season.

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The Nats came up short in their sweep attempt as they fell 2-1 on Sunday afternoon in Miami. Al gets you up to speed on the catching situation as Riley Adams started every game this series while Keibert Ruiz has been out of the starting lineup since taking a foul ball to the mask on Wednesday in New York. It is important to note that Ruiz did pinch hit and minor league catcher Drew Millas will join the team on Monday in Toronto per Mark's report.

(05:00) Trevor Williams had a solid outing, but the 2 run HR he gave up to Jorge Soler was the difference. It was Williams 2nd straight good performance after navigating through a difficult stretch this summer.

(14:15) Al answers an email about how the team should handle this off-season now that the team is clearly more competitive. Should they be spending on the Free Agent market this Winter?

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Facing a 2-1 deficit in the top of the 9th, the Nats rallied to come away with a 3-2 win in Miami. Al, always a pragmatic one, wonders if a .500 season is in play, believe it or not. They would need to go 20-12 over the final stretch to meet the threshold. Washington is now two games ahead of the last place Mets.

(07:30) Jacob Young pinch ran in his MLB debut and scored the tying run. Young was a 2nd round pick in the 2021 draft and played a portion of the season at four different levels.

(14:00) Jake Irvin yet again had a solid outing as he only allowed one run in 6 IP. Al throws out the notion that Irvin has possibly been the team's best starting pitcher.

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The Nats beat the Marlins 7-4 and later on Friday night the Mets lost to lift Washington into solo possession of 4th place in the NL East. Al & Mark are astonished by yet another Joan Adon start that saw a No Hit bid make it into the 6th.

(10:00) Carter Kieboom continues to take advantage of his opportunity as he homered for the 2nd time this week. This does to be his last chance to make it within the organization.

(21:00) Alex Call had an eventful evening in Miami as he had an early game collision with Lane Thomas, was picked off, and had a RBI single. We take the microscope to Call as the franchise's outfield future is crowded & TBD.

(35:30) The latest with GM Mike Rizzo's extension is that it is expected to happen in the near future. This comes after there was speculation he might be under consideration for a similar role with the White Sox.

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The Washington Post broke the news on Thursday that Stephen Strasburg will officially retire as opposed to waiting out the full duration of his 7 year deal. Mark (From The Bronx) & Al marvel at just how busy the Nats news cycle has been ever since heading to Williamsport. The Little League attention, Dylan Crews to AA, Davey Martinez extension, Stone Garrett injury, and now the Strasburg news in just the past 5 days.

(10:00) The Nationals defeated the Yankees 6-5 in the matinee in order to capture their 4th consecutive series. The bottom of the 9th was a bit of an adventure, but Kyle Finnegan did just enough to notch the save.

(14:00) Alex Call is expected to get even more playing time after the Stone Garrett injury. Call stepped up on Thursday as he homered and made a dramatic catch in CF for the final out of the win.

(16:00) CJ Abrams hit a crucial HR, but did admire his work on the way out. Hear what his manager had to say afterwards regarding the incident.

(30:00) Strasburg has been on the IL all season and it is expected that he will announce his retirement in September. Mark catches you up on everything you need to know on the situation and what the bread crumbs were along the way. Al then lays out the various ways to view his legacy to the organization and the city.

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The Nats were routed on Wednesday night 9-1 at Yankee Stadium in an affair where Aaron Judge hit a trio of homers. Mark (From the Bronx) & Al begin with Stone Garrett needing to be carted off the field after his leg ran into the outfield wall. Garrett was seen covering his face with a towel in the immediate aftermath.

(14:40) MacKenzie Gore did not pitch well in this game and allowed 6 runs in just 4 IP. His defense behind him was not very good and the 2nd inning was the undoing as the Yankees scored 5 runs in the frame.

(22:00) The offense only totaled 3 hits and never had a runner in scoring position. The most disappointing aspect was that the lineup was ineffective against Luis Severino; who has had a wretched season on the mound.

(26:00) Carl Edwards Jr. has been shutdown due to a stress fracture in his throwing shoulder. This is particularly bad timing for Edwards because he is a Free Agent after the season.

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