Nats Chat

The Nats topped the Mets 11-6 on Saturday night after jumping out to an early 8-1 lead. Mark ( Live from Citi Field) & Al convene after a busy day in Flushing as New York traded Max Scherzer to Texas in the middle of the game. The lineup feasted on Carlos Carrasco, including Riley Adams who continues to contribute at the plate in his limited playing time.

(14:45) Jeimer Candelario reached base four times as his tenure in Washington likely is over in a few days. What is Candelario's trade value like as we approach the Trade Deadline?

(25:50) Jordan Weems was one of four relievers to take the mound after Patrick Corbin and Weems had is fifth consecutive scorless outing. Of the seven runs he has allowed this month, four of which came in a single outing to skew his numbers.

(30:00) Now that Scherzer has been dealt away from New York, does this guarantee that he will enter Cooperstown wearing the Curly W? This will be the 6th team of his career that began in 2008.

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The Nats lost 5-1 at the Mets on Friday night for a 2nd straight defeat. Mark (From Citi Field) & Al start with Jeimer Candelario's potential injury while trying to extend a single into a double in the 8th inning. Candelario has had many injuries this month, as we approach Tuesday's Trade Deadline.

(06:00) MacKenzie Gore only lasted 5 IP and issued 4 walks in the process. Gore never threw a clean inning and it came to haunt him in the 5th when Pete Alonso connected on a 3 run HR off a hanging slider.

(17:00) The offense was little match for Max Scherzer as the only run came off of a Luis Garcia Solo HR. Garcia was the lone bright spot in the lineup as he tallied 3 hits. July has been a tough month for Garcia as he is only hitting .225.

(23:40) Our diehard listener in South Korea (Rich) passed along a first hand testimonial of how well Erick Fedde is pitching in the KBO and that he is a candidate for their version of the Cy Young Award.

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After yet another rain delay, the Nats lost 2-1 at the Mets on Thursday evening. Mark (Live from Citi Field) & Al immediately dive into the odd situation where Kyle Finnegan had an over an hour to think about the inherited bases loaded jam in the bottom of the 8th.

(06:45) Finnegan entered the game in relief of Mason Thompson; who lost control in the middle of his outing. This has been a periodic pattern for Thompson and both of the Mets runs were charged against him.

(10:00) Josiah Gray issued a few walks and had a high pitch count, but did not allow a run in his 6 IP. Gray's ERA this year is 3.27 in 21 starts.

(17:10) The Nationals offense struggled in this series opener as they only collected 5 hits. Lane Thomas went 0 for 4 and his numbers at the plate in July have been lower than earlier this season. This leads to a discussion on where he stacks up on the open trade market.

(24:50) The Angels are going for it and are keeping Shohei Ohtani. Given their dissatisfaction with Anthony Rendon (yep), might they ironically trade for Jeimer Candelario?

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The Nats ended the successful home stand in thrilling fashion as they scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th to win 5-4. Mark & Al begin by wondering why Rockies Manager kept his struggling Closer Daniel Bard on the mound. Bard was out of the game though when CJ Abrams continued his magical July ride with a walk-off RBI single.

(18:00) Jake Irvin had a mixed bag outing, but did tally 7 strikeouts and made it 6 IP. The negative of the afternoon was that he allowed 3 Colorado homers. The bullpen did pitch well behind as they combined for 3 scoreless frames.

(27:35) Victor Robles was moved to the 60 day IL to help make room for the call-up of Andres Machado. The earliest Robles can return is late August as he is basically been out since early May. Where does he currently fit into the organization's long-term plans?

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The Nats ended a very long night on a high note in the 6-5 victory over the Rockies. There were two separate rain delays that led to a conclusion just before Midnight; only 12 hours before Wednesday's series finale. Al & Mark start with the decisive 4 run bottom of the 8th where Jeimer Candelario had a RBI double and Joey Meneses was the hero with a 3 run blast. "Joey Four Bags" has been on a tear this month as he is slugging .535 in July.

(09:00) Davey made sure to get both Keibert Ruiz & Riley Adams into the lineup and was rewarded with 2 hits and a RBI double for Adams. Will there be a continued push to get both catchers at bats every day?

(17:00) Trevor Williams made it through 6 IP and ultimately gave up 4 runs. The bullpen only yielded one run; which led to Kyle Finnegan notching his 14th Save of the season.

(25:00) Yet again rain played tricks on the Nationals as the first rain delay on Tuesday evening did not have any rain. Why does it seem like it gets botched in Navy Yard multiple times a year? At least the fans were given discounts on food during the wait.

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**Record scratch** The Nats win streak from the weekend came to an abrupt halt on Monday night in a 10-6 loss to visiting Colorado that was marred by plenty of sloppy play. Mark & Al recap the grisly details from Patrick Corbin's outing where he ceded 10 hits and his ERA is now up to 5.01.

(11:30) Plenty of instances of poor defense in this defeat and this leads to an assessment of what the defensive chess board might look like for Washington in the next few seasons as the prospects continue to rise within the system.

(21:05) Jeimer Candelario connected on his 16th HR of the season as we are one week away from the Trade Deadline. Any chance the Nationals do not deal him?

(30:00) **Must Listen Segment** Mark recounts his special family trip over to Dyersville, Iowa to check out the real life "Field of Dreams".

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Get out your brooms as the 2+ year sweep drought in a 3 game series is thankfully over as the Nats took care of the Giants 6-1 on Sunday afternoon. Al & Tim have plenty to revel in, but especially Lane Thomas' unforgettable day where he tied a franchise record with 4 stolen bases, 3 hits at the plate, and flashed the leather in the field multiple times. However, the conversation quickly morphs into... should they trade Lane next week before the Deadline?

(15:00) Riley Adams homered on Sunday and his OPS is well above .800 despite having fewer than 100 plate appearances. What can the Nationals do to get him more playing time?

(22:30) MacKenzie Gore had a good outing as he threw 5 shutout innings with 8 Ks and only allowed 4 hits. Gore lasted 90 pitches and then handed it off to the bullpen. This was his best outing since last month in San Diego (June 25th).

(29:00) The highlight of the sweep might be how effective the bullpen was all weekend. On Sunday, they shouldered 4 IP and only allowed 1 run in the process.

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Saturday was a special day at Nationals Park as it began with the introductory Dylan Crews Press Conference and was followed by a 10-1 thrashing of the Giants. Al & Tim start with all the offensive accolades for CJ Abrams, Keibert Ruiz, and Alex Call. Abrams homered on his Bobblehead night while Ruiz & Call each are slugging over .500 in July.

(21:30) Josiah Gray issued 3 walks right away, but settled down and lasted 7 IP without walking anyone else. Gray has now lasted 7 frames on 4 different occasions this season. The bullpen continued their solid series as Rico Garcia and Joe LaSorsa each threw a scoreless inning to wrap up the victory.

(29:00) Dylan Crews met with the media prior to the win and Tim asked the #2 overall pick what his expected timetable is in order to make it Washington. When should we expect him to make his MLB debut? Mike Rizzo indicated that his journey will begin in West Palm before heading up to either Fredericksburg or Wilmington.

(37:10) Crews' Agent, Scott Boras, certainly made his presence felt at the press conference with a few memorable comments. Boras also referenced some of his past high profile clients that played in Washington in the previous decade.

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The Nats beat the Giants 5-3 on Friday night to begin the home stand. Al & Tim recap Jake Irvin's career best start as he struck out nine and almost made it 7 IP on 111 pitches. What is a realistic ceiling for Irvin as we move forward?

(11:10) This was not a night to complain about the bullpen as they came through unscathed for the final 7 outs. Jordan Weems came through in a 7th inning jam, and then Jose A. Ferrer & Kyle Finnegan each threw 1-2-3 frames to close it out over San Francisco. Weems has struggled at times this year, but also has shown a propensity to strike guys out.

(18:30) Lane Thomas & CJ Abrams each homered early in the victory; part of the offense's 5 extra base hits on the evening. Abrams continued his torrid stretch while hitting lead-off as his OPS this month is 1.015.

(28:45) Dylan Crews reportedly has officially signed with Washington and is expected to have his introductory press conference on Saturday afternoon. The hosts discuss what a realistic timetable for Crews might look like between now and his eventual MLB debut.

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The Nats bullpen imploded again in Chicago, this time they allowed 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th to lose 8-3. Mark (Live from Wrigley Field) & Al discuss the continued sorry state of affairs for the 'pen and on Wednesday Mason Thompson was part of the problem. During the final 2 games of the series, the relief pitching gave up 20 runs in less than 6 frames.

(13:30) Trevor Williams had a so-so outing as he allowed 7 hits in his usual 5 IP. What are the chances that a contender would seek Williams at the Deadline to fill out their rotation?

(22:00) Jeimer Candelario slugged his 15th HR of the season in the 8th inning just before Washington briefly tied the Cubs. What kind of return might the Nationals get for Candelario in a few weeks?

(28:15) While Candelario is almost a given to be dealt, it is not as clear for Lane Thomas. Hear Mark explain what Mike Rizzo is weighing while potentially shopping Thomas.

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