Nats Chat

The Nats coughed up a late lead in Chicago and lost 4-2 . Mark & Al again begin with the exploits of "Joey Four Bags" Menses as he homered in every game in this series and has four dingers in seven games. The 30 year old rookie has certainly taken advantage of his opportunity since the trade deadline.

(06:40) Josiah Gray had his first good outing in awhile as he did not allow a run until the 7th inning. His afternoon came to an end after giving up his MLB leading 29th HR of the season. His bullpen however did not hold onto the lead as the Cubs scored all their runs in the 7th.

(12:30) Wednesday was both sides of the Victor Robles spectrum. He had an incredible diving catch, but then later made a crucial mistake. He made a poor decision on a throw home in the game changing 7th inning, which was compounded by it landing nowhere near a teammate's glove.

(27:05) Jarlin Susana made his organizational debut in Florida and hit 102 MPH on the radar gun. This leads into a conversation about the new Baseball America rankings for Washington's system, which is led by C.J. Abrams.

(34:20) Less than two weeks after the trade; Juan Soto returns to D.C. on Friday night. Will they pitch to him?

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The Nats snapped their six game skid with a dramatic 6-5 win at Wrigley Field. Mark (Live from the Friendly Confines) and Al celebrate "Joey Four Bags" Meneses' big night as he connected on the game winning 2 run HR in the top of the 8th. Menses has three homers since being called up a week ago in the midst of his Age 30 season.

(06:40) Keibert Ruiz has his thunder stolen a bit in the victory as he homered twice early in the game. Ruiz rounded out his strong evening by throwing out a runner and laying down a nifty tag on a play at the plate.

(18:40) Our Guy Paolo Espino gave the Nationals the best start they've had in awhile as he only allowed one run in five frames. He was in line for the win until the bullpen briefly coughed up the lead.

(32:05) Patrick Corbin will skip his next start, but then will return to the rotation next week. The hosts evaluate where the lefty stands after the news. Is a move to the bullpen the next step?

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The Nats lost 6-3 at the Cubs for their sixth consecutive defeat. Al begins by pointing out to Mark (Live from Wrigley Field) that a bright spot emerged on Monday in the new prospects rankings by Baseball America. Washington has five of the top 55 prospects, with four ranked ahead of Cade Cavalli (C.J. Abrams the highest at #11).

(07:30) An emailer asks if Cade Cavalli remaining in AAA has anything to do with MLB service time stipulations. Is it more baseball reasons or service time reasons?

(12:40) Two Natonals went deep at Wrigley Field, Luke Voit & Joey Meneses. We are looking to come up with a nickname for Meneses; after he spent the past decade toiling in the Minors. Email us at [email protected]

(19:05) Anibal Sanchez had a decent outing until it fell apart in the sixth inning. He has allowed a staggering amount of homers this season and his ERA is above 7.00. This leads to a familiar discussion about how poor the starting pitching has been as of late,

(27:50) Maikel Franco made a big time mental mistake as the Cubs executed a double steal without a pitch being thrown. Mark explains what occurred on the bizarre play in the 7th inning.

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The Nats were crushed 13-1 in Philadelphia that capped a four game sweep by the home team. Al & Tim try to make sense of the miserable weekend, which was low lighted by noncompetitive starting pitching. Cory Abbott on Sunday allowed four homers and seven runs in fewer than four frames; while issuing five walks.

(20:10) Luis Garcia committed an egregious throwing error in the 8th inning on Sunday. C.J. Abrams spent the weekend at SS for Rochester, which begs the question of when will Abrams get called up? It seems like Garcia's days at SS are coming to an end in the near future.

(26:10) Luke Voit had six hits in his first series as a National. He seems to have settled in already to the third spot in the batting lineup.

(30:30) Answering listener emails, and the conversation steers towards the possibility of promoting Cade Cavalli. He started on Sunday in Columbus and had a decent outing (5 IP, 2 R, 6 H). Could he face the Padres next weekend?

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The Nats lost 11-5 in Philadelphia as Patrick Corbin yet again didn't even record three outs. Al tries to figure out what the next move is as his ERA is above 7.00 and Davey Martinez's tone after the game indicated there might be a change in his role. Corbin is 4-16 on the season and is flirting with being the first pitcher to lose 20 games in a year since Detroit's Mike Maroth dubiously accomplished this in 2003.

(20:45) It basically became another bullpen game for Washington and Jordan Weems had the roughest outing of the bunch. The 'pen hasn't had a bit of rest since the All Star break concluded.

(27:10) Joey Meneses, who up until Tuesday was in the Minors for a decade, played LF and had a single. The problem? He was admiring what he thought was a homer, but instead the ball didn't get out of the ballpark, and he ended up at first base as opposed to a double. Why not the automatic hustle after toiling for so long in the minor leagues?

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The Nationals lost 7-2 in Philadelphia as Josiah Gray allowed four homers in just four innings pitched. Al & Mark dive into Gray's continued struggles, that include a healthy edge across Baseball for most homers given up this season (28). Why the refusal to throw his change-up?

(19:01) Kyle Gibson took a Perfect Game into the 7th until Victor Robles broke it up w/ a HBP. Robles had another adventurous evening as he misplayed fly ball in the first became a J.T. Realmuto triple.

(25:07) Josh Rogers cleared waivers and opted for Free Agency. Rogers pitched well last September for Washington, but did not replicate that success this season.

(27:30) Answering a listener submitted email digging into the nitty gritty of the franchise's status among its peers when it comes to player development.

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The Nats lost 5-4 in a rain shortened affair (4.5 innings) at the Phillies as Paolo Espino remains winless on the season. Al & Mark evaluate Luke Voit's franchise debut that included a RBI single and a run scored. What exactly were the circumstances that led to him coming to Washington as opposed to Eric Hosmer?

(13:42) MacKenzie Gore, one of the players acquired from San Diego, joined the team in Philadelphia on Thursday. Mark gives the latest as his injury timetable as he has elbow inflammation. Will he return to the mound this season? This leads to a further discussion of the other prospects that were included in this week's trade.

(24:10) The Nationals had another instance of an egregious out at home plate and this one turned out to be especially costly. Yadiel Hernandez was thrown out while attempting to tag up in the top of the 5th with two outs. The problem? That ended up being the final out of the game due to rain.

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The Nats lost 9-5 to the Mets in the series rubber match on Wednesday afternoon. Mark & Al start by digesting the fact that Juan Soto is playing Baseball for another team on the other side of the country. The franchise has lost many stars in the past few years, but this one feels different in a more profound way.

(10:03) Luke Voit will join the team on Thursday in Philadelphia and will likely be at 1B and in the heart of the order. He will take the roster spot of Alcides Escobar, who has been barely playing ever since Luis Garcia got called up.

(21:10) Hitting 9th and playing 3B was... Ildemaro Vargas. He is known for his glove (committed a throwing error) and not his bat (went 4 for 4). The conversation then steers to Anibal Sanchez as he struggled again on the mound. Will he be replaced in the rotation?

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The Nationals unexpectedly beat the Mets 5-1, but the headline of Tuesday is that Juan Soto is no longer in D.C. Al & Mark react to the blockbuster trade that shipped Soto & Josh Bell to San Diego in exchange for a horde of prospects. What to make of this monumental day as Soto has officially been traded? Why did the team feel that it had to do this?

(16:43) The Nats received six players in return and the hosts run through their credentials. C.J. Abrams is a shortstop and is expected to be playing in Washington later this month. Hear the hosts breakdown all the prospects that the Padres dealt away.

(25:45) The Nationals shockingly only made a pair of trades this week, the other being on Monday when Ehire Adrianza was sent to Atlanta. Why wasn't Nelson Cruz dealt away? What about some of the members of the "A" bullpen?

(37:05) Joey Meneses, who has been in the minor leagues for over a decade, made his Major League debut. The result? A solo HR for his 1st career hit.

(43:40) Mark & Al spontaneously honor legendary broadcaster Vin Scully, who passed away on Tuesday night at age 94.

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The Nats lost 7-3 to the Mets in what **might** be the final game in which Juan Soto sported the "Curly W". Al & Mark marvel at Soto's performance on Monday night as he crushed a HR off of Max Scherzer, walked three times, stole a base, and threw a runner out at home. They give their updated thoughts on Soto's situation as we are under 24 hours until the 6pm Eastern Trade Deadline on Tuesday August 2nd.

(17:45) Josh Bell doubled in what will likely be his final game as a National and his average sits at .301. Nelson Cruz, who also might be on his way out, was dropped to the 6th spot in the order. Why did Davey Martinez wait until August to drop Cruz in the lineup?

(23:45) Washington made its first trade as it shipped Ehire Adrianza to Atlanta in exchange for a AA outfielder. Adrianza was a reserve on last year's World Series Champion.

(32:04) Patrick Corbin lost his 14th game of the season. Hear what he and Jose Lima now have in common.

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