Nats Chat

The Nats lost 6-2 in Philadelphia to drop 3 of 4 in this week's series. Mark & Al begin by with a curious examination of Patrick Corbin's unique pitching line where he did not allow an earned run despite issuing 7 walks.

(16:40) Blake Rutherford was 0 for 2 on Thursday night and is hit-less in 16 MLB at- bats since getting called up. Rutherford has played in 5 games this month after hitting .345 this season collectively in Harrisburg and Rochester.

(20:00) CJ Abrams swiped his 25th consecutive base to set a franchise record. He has not been caught stealing since all the way back to May 3rd vs. the Cubs.

(26:10) The weekend the worst team in all of Baseball comes to D.C. in the Oakland Athletics; who are on pace for just 46 wins this season. As of now, the plan is for the A's to relocate to Las Vegas after 2024.

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The Nats were no hit for the 1st time since they began play in 2005 as Michael Lorenzen led Philadelphia to a 7-0 defeat of Washington. Mark & Al tip their caps to the franchise almost going 20 years without being no hit; good for the longest active streak in MLB. It was just Lorenzen's second appearance with the Phillies after being traded from Detroit last week and he issued 4 walks while throwing 124 pitches.

(16:30) MacKenzie Gore was hit hard on Wednesday as he allowed six runs in just 5 IP. Gore surrendered a trio of homers; which is the most in an outing since joining the organization. His ERA is now up to 4.62 and continuing to trend upward.

(22:30) Davey Martinez announced pregame that Joan Adon will join the rotation and it will for the time include six starters. Adon is coming off a no hit bid for over the weekend, but he has struggled this season in AAA.

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The Nats split their Tuesday doubleheader in Philadelphia to begin the 4 game series. Al & Mark recap Joey Meneses's late game heroics in Game 2 as his pair of HRs unexpectedly lifted Washington to victory. Hear Mark lay out what the first 162 games of Meneses' MLB career looks like in a stats sense; now that he has reached the unofficial milestone.

(14:30) A big part of the 5-4 win was the bullpen coming through with 4+ scoreless innings of work. Andres Machado recorded 4 of the outs and his WHIP in August so far is 0.40. Earlier this summer the Nationals DFA'd Machado, but he ultimately ended up back in Rochester before being called back up.

(26:00) Both Trevor Williams and Josiah Gray struggled in their starts and neither made it past the 5th inning. Williams has given up at least one run in eight consecutive outings and his spot in the rotation might be in jeopardy.

(32:45) An extended discussion on recent pro Philadelphia comments by Bryce Harper that seemed to be underhanded towards D.C. fans. This oddly came in response to Phillies fans rallying around a struggling Trea Turner.

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The Nationals pulled off a road sweep for the first time in almost 4 years as they doubled up the Reds 6-3 on Sunday afternoon. Mark & Al open with Davey Martinez's aggressive managing in pushing many of his top bullpen arms for a 3rd straight day. Kyle Finnegan pitched the 9th inning all weekend without giving up a run.

(10:45) CJ Abrams and Lane Thomas homered on the opening 2 pitches of the game, the first 2 ever MLB pitches thrown by Cincinnati starter Lyon Richardson. Abrams went 4 for 5 on Sunday; matching a career high from September of last season.

(17:30) Jake Alu was back in the lineup at 2B and contributed with a RBI for the fourth straight start. Ildemaro Vargas meanwhile was at 3B all weekend, should that continue to be the case?

(31:00) Paolo Espino was released by the organization to make roster space despite being on the IL. We salute Paolo's time in D.C. despite unlikely odds that led to him being part of the starting rotation for an extended time.

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The Nats won 7-3 in Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon for the 10th victory in their past 15 games. Mark & Al begin with the stunning start by Joan Adon, as he had a Perfect Game going until it was broken up with 2 outs in the bottom of the 6th. Adon was only called up due to Trevor Williams being briefly away from the team and is now expected to remain on the Big League roster.

(16:40) Tim Shovers gives a quick update on Dylan Crews debut with the Fred Nats on Saturday evening in Virginia.

(21:30) Both Keibert Ruiz and Riley Adams were in the lineup as Ruiz occupied the DH spot. The catcher tandem combined for 4 hits and Adams OPS this season is now at an eye opening .925.

(33:30) Terry Byrom, the Voice of the Harrisburg Senators, gives an update on James Wood, Trey Lipscomb and more from the AA affiliate.

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The Nats won 6-3 in 10 innings in Cincinnati to open the weekend series. Mark (Live from his Hotel Room) & Al have a lot to get to, but begin with extended discussions of Lane Thomas and Joey Meneses, who combined for 3 HRs in the victory.

(11:40) Jake Alu started at 2B and Ildemaro Vargas took over at 3B on Friday night. Alu came through with another RBI since being called up; his 3rd in as many games. Where does Jeter Downs fit into all of this?

(16:40) Mark relays what Davey Martinez had to say during Pregame about the demotion of Luis Garcia to AAA.

(26:00) The Nationals were the beneficiaries of good pitching vs. the Reds as Patrick Corbin made it into the 7th with a low pitch count, and five relievers combined for a scoreless effort in 3.2 IP. Jordan Weems continued his strong summer as came through with a pair of K's in his one inning of work.

(35:20) Dylan Crews had 3 hits on Friday in West Palm and is slated to make his Minor League debut on Saturday night in Fredericksburg. Hear where the hosts think he might be spending his September, just a few months after being drafted #2 overall.

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It ended up being a busy Wednesday afternoon in Navy Yard as initially the Nats had an unorthodox walk-off winner over Milwaukee by the score of 3-2. Then roughly an hour after the game; it was announced that Luis Garcia is being sent down to AAA and Corey Dickerson was unconditionally released. Mark & Al examine why Garcia will be headed to Rochester and what that means long term at 2B in Washington.

(16:50) The offense had some rather creative ways to defeat Brewers All Star Closer Devin Williams in the bottom of the 9th. Alex Call is credited with an unusual scoring, a walk-off fielder's choice grounder. Ildemaro Vargas not only scored the winning run, but had very heads-up base running along the way.

(24:30) MacKenzie Gore threw a solid outing as he allowed just a pair of runs in 6 IP. An encouraging element to his start is that he only needed 89 pitches to get through the top of the 6th; a frame where he struck out the side.

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The Nats did not make any more deadlines on the final day of the MLB Trade Deadline leading up to their 6-4 loss at the hands of the visiting Brewers. Mark & Al examine why Washington did make any additional swaps and what went into the decision to retain Lane Thomas and Kyle Finnegan.

(09:30) As for the actual game; Josiah Gray had a disappointing outing where he exited after 3.2 IP. It was the top of the 4th that did in Gray as he allowed 4 runs and tossed 37 pitches in that frame alone. This was his shortest outing of the season.

(18:45) The offense had a mildly productive evening as Dominic Smith and CJ Abrams each had a pair of hits. Jake Alu, 24th rounder from 2019, came through with his 1st career RBI after getting called up from Rochester. It is expected that Alu will get plenty of opportunity at 3B after Jeimer Candelario was traded away.

(27:15) Now that August has arrived, it puts into focus that both Davey Martinez and Mike Rizzo are not under contract for next season. Will they both be back in 2024?

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The Nats rallied to top the Brewers 5-3, but just before the series began Jeimer Candelario was shipped to the Cubs in exchange for a pair of prospects. Mark & Al react to the trade and see whether or not Mike Rizzo got proper value in return for the veteran 3B. Both prospects coming from Chicago ranked in the top 20 of their system, Kevin Made (SS), and DJ Herz (LHP).

(10:15) The focus turns to 3B long term as we look sat what the MLB timetable is for Brady House, the 1st Round Pick from 2021, that recently was promoted to AA Harrisburg. Jake Alu was called up Monday from Rochester and is expected to get plenty of at bats at 3B for the rest of the season.

(18:20) The remaining potential trade chips all played well in Monday night's victory. Joey Meneses and Lane Thomas combined for all 5 Washington RBIs and Kyle Finnegan notched his 15th save of the season. Will they all remain on the Nationals come as the 6pm Trade Deadline arrives on Tuesday?

(28:30) Jake Irvin lasted 5.1 IP and Al continues to point out how much better he has been since having his spot in the rotation skipped earlier this summer.

(33:00) A quick look back at the dizzying amount of trades the Nats pulled off at 2021 Trade Deadline. They moved a total of 8 players in return for 12 prospects, including Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz.

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The Nats were beaten 5-2 by the Mets to close out the long weekend series in Flushing. Mark (From NY) & Al on a disappointing day for the offense are able to tip their caps to CJ Abrams for stealing 3 more bases from the leadoff position. Abrams has successfully stolen the last 21 bags he attempted to swipe; dating all the way back to May.

(07:30) Lane Thomas did not start but was inserted mid game as a pinch hitter. It caused some raised eye brows when he was not in the lineup pregame, but Davey Martinez said it was for a scheduled day off; not due to a trade. Al points out how his slump seems to be correlated to dropping in the order to make room up top for Abrams.

(13:40) Rico Garcia was placed on the IL and Amos Willingham returned to take his roster spot. The franchise's bullpen has been beleaguered this summer by many injuries, including to that of Sean Doolittle.

(19:00) Trevor Williams only lasted 4 IP and immediately left after the game due to being added to the Bereavement List. Williams has struggled this month and his ERA is at 5.97 in 7 July starts.

(23:30) According to the NY Post, Max Scherzer will now be paid millions by three separate franchises this season; which includes Washington.

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