Nats Chat

The Nats were crushed 11-0 in Philadelphia as Paolo Espino couldn't last four innings. Mark (Live from Philly) & Al have no choice but to begin with how badly the team played on Tuesday as they have now dropped six games in a row. (07:05) The offense came up empty and in the past few days are displaying a troubling trend as they have not scored a run in the opening six innings for three straight d...

The Nats perplexing inability to beat Miami continued on Monday as they lost 3-2 in extras on July 4th. Al & Mark note how the Nationals are 1-12 this year vs. the Marlins among other troubling trends. Tanner Rainey again gave up a late crucial HR, this one being a 2 run shot to break the tie in the top of the 10th. (12:54) Patrick Corbin had another strong start as he lasted seven frames and only...

The Nats continue to be tormented by the Marlins as they fell 7-4 in extras. Mark & Al recap a hectic final few innings that saw the lead change hands multiple times in the final few innings. Tanner Rainey was one pitch away from the save, but instead his struggles continued as he gave up a lead changing 2 run HR. Is the 9th inning not for him? (16:20) The narrative of this game changed shape many...

The Nats lost 5-3 Saturday to Miami for a 3rd straight defeat. Mark & Al begin with the pregame news that GM Mike Rizzo and Manager Davey Martinez had their 2023 options picked up. Was this news surprising or largely expected? The hosts explain why this was done in midseason. (20:54) Jackson Tetreault was not able to make it a third consecutive solid start as he issued five walks in four innings....

The Nats lost 6-3 to Miami to open up a four game series on a holiday weekend in D.C. Al gives kudos to Mark for his pinch hit performance on Friday night as he filled in as color commentator on MASN. They then evaluate Josiah Gray's outing; where he allowed six runs in just under six frames. How much time off should he have between starts? (12:10) Keibert Ruiz had an impressive game both with the...

The Nats missed a rare opportunity for a sweep as they lost 8-7 to the Pirates in a game that saw a very bizarre play to conclude the top of the 5th. Mark & Al try to unravel all that went into the decision to grant Pittsburgh a run despite the Nationals turning a double play with one out. Did the umps get it right? They certainly took their time in making their decision, (13:09) The bottom of the...

The Nats beat the Pirates 3-1 for their third straight win and their sixth victory in the past eight games. Mark & Al this time have plenty of good things to say about Patrick Corbin as he struck out a dozen Pirates in eight innings of work. It ties a career high for Corbin in terms of strikeouts, the last time he whiffed that many was back in the 2019 NLCS. (13:32) Tanner Rainey ran into some tro...

The Nats came back on the Pirates 3-2 as Maikel Franco hit a game winning 2 run HR in the bottom of the 8th. Al discusses how they struggled with runners in scoring position all night until Franco came through late as the Nats have now won five of their past seven games. The boys ultimately stranded ten runners on base in the victory. (11:20) Erick Fedde allowed two runs in five frames, keeping th...

The Nats hung on 6-4 in Texas to win a weekend series for the fourth time in five attempts. Al & Mark (Live From Globe Life Field) begin with praise for Jackson Tetreault who only allowed one run in the victory. The Nationals have had a quality start in six of the past seven games and have gone 4-3 in that stretch. (09:45) Tanner Rainey came in to get the Save as a 6-1 lead in the 9th was trimmed...

The Nats lost a heartbreaker to the Rangers 3-2 as Adolis Garcia hit a walk-off HR against Kyle Finnegan in the bottom of the 9th. Mark (Live from Texas) and Al take a glass half full approach to Saturday as Josiah Gray struck out nine in seven innings, only allowing four hits in the process. Does it seem like he's elevated his game this past month? (11:30) Finnegan got the nod in the 9th instead...

The Nats topped the Rangers 2-1 in their first ever trip to Globe Life Field. Mark (Live from Texas) & Al tip their caps to Paolo Espino, who had another solid outing, as he didn't allow a run until the 6th inning. Why exactly was Paolo buried on the pitching depth chart for so long? (10:35) Josh Bell collected three hits in the return to his hometown, including the go ahead RBI single in the 8th...

The Nats were blanked 7-0 in Baltimore in a rain shortened affair (6 innings). Al & Tim begin with the bewilderment of some of the decisions behind the two rain delays that occurred on Wednesday. Why did it take so long to call it a night? Austin Hays of the Orioles hit for the cycle despite it not being a full game, the 3rd player to do so against the Nationals. (07:45) Patrick Corbin struggled y...

A refreshed Nats blanked the Orioles 3-0 for a 2nd straight win. Mark (Live from Baltimore) & Al evaluate Erick Fedde's big night as he tossed six shutout frames at Camden Yards. The bullpen was just as good as well as Kyle Finnegan, Carl Edwards, Jr., and Tanner Rainey all threw scoreless innings. (12:03) Lane Thomas homered on Tuesday while hitting ninth in the order. Thomas is hitting .310 so f...

The Nats ended all sorts of losing streaks by beating Philadelphia 9-3 as they had lost eight in a row overall, twelve straight to the Phillies, and thirteen consecutive against NL East foes. Mark & Al tip their caps to Jackson Tetreault who earned his first career victory in only his second career start. Will he get another Major League start? (09:15) Juan Soto capped a frustrating week on a posi...

The Nats lost in 2-1 to the Phillies in 10 innings, but the focus of Saturday came Pregame as Ryan Zimmerman's #11 was retired. Mark & Al applaud the ceremony as it seemed to hit all right notes, aided by perfect weather and sell-out crowd in Washington D.C. (20:35) Josiah Gray threw six scoreless frames as he in a pitcher's duel with Aaron Nola. Gray was well rested after he missed his Monday sta...

The Nats lost both ends of Friday's Doubleheader in D.C against Philadelphia to extend their losing streak to seven games. Al & Mark begin with the final inning of the long day, as Luis Garcia was controversially called for obstruction that led to a 2 run Philly lead in the 10th. Mark spoke with the umpire Dan Iassonga afterwards and hear all that went into the decision. (18:45) Josh Bell had a mo...

The Nats were trounced 10-1 by Philadelphia for their 5th consecutive defeat. Mark & Al do the best they can to piece together the disaster that was the 3rd inning on Thursday evening as the Phillies scored seven runs in the frame, aided by a pair of Washington errors. Why is the defense so shaky this season? (08:01) Patrick Corbin didn't make it out of the 4th inning as he exited with a very unus...

The Nats were swept by the Braves as they lost 8-2 in the series finale. Mark & Al recap a three game stretch in which red hot Atlanta pulverized Washington. Adding injury to insult, Juan Soto missed a second straight game due to a the contusion on his right knee. (14:47) Victor Robles had a blatant TOOTBLAN to end the 7th inning. Why does he so often make mistakes on the bases (21:03) Erick Fedde...

The Nats lost 10-4 to the surging Braves, who have won 13 in a row. Al & Mark discuss how the pitching woes keeping piling up for Washington as Jackson Tetreault was thrusted into his MLB debut against a red hot Atlanta. The original plan this week was Josiah Gray on Monday and Stephen Strasburg and Tuesday, and it ended up being Earsmo Ramirez and Tetreault, respectively. (16:10) Juan Soto did no...

Monday was an awful/no good day for the Nats from start to finish as they lost 9-5 to Atlanta. Mark & Al update the latest on Juan Soto as he missed his final at bat after banging his knee in the dugout prior to the top of the 9th. (05:14) Pregame it was announced that Stephen Strasburg is back on the IL due to discomfort after his Saturday bullpen session. We still don't know the results of the M...

The Nats lost 4-1 to Milwaukee as the bid for a series sweep came up short. Mark & Al focus on the ten runners that Washington stranded as they went opposite of their instinct to score runs against Brewers starter Jason Alexander. Al was mildly incredulous at Juan Soto's 1st inning bat attempt. What did Davey Martinez have so to about it? (16:01) The Nationals used a tandem start on Sunday as Paol...

The Nats held on 8-6 over Milwaukee to clinch the series. Mark & Al start with the mildly surprising news postgame that Paolo "The Secret Weapon" Espino will get his first start of the season on Sunday as the team seeks its first sweep of the season. (04:32) The heart of the order took center stage on Saturday as Juan Soto, Nelson Cruz, and Josh Bell connected on back to back to back HRs that gave...

The Nationals beat Milwaukee 11-5 to open up the eleven game home stand. Al highlights the myriad of offensive contributors as Washington collected 19 hits; four of which were homers. Nelson Cruz not only returned to the lineup, but had four hits (including his 455th career HR) in the process. (08:40) Keibert Ruiz homered among his three hits and picked off another runner at first base on a snap t...

The Nats lost 7-4 to the Marlins as Stephen Strasburg pitched for Washington for the first time in over a year. Mark (live from Miami) and Al dissect his up and down start. Do they focus more on the seven runs he allowed or the five strikeouts he threw? What to make of fastball velocity? (20:45) Nelson Cruz was a late scratch due to a stiff back and will have a MRI soon. The lineup card meanwhile...

The Nats lost 2-1 in 10 innings as all the runs scored came in extra innings. Mark (Live from Miami) and Al recap the very busy 9th and 10th innings, which concluded with Tanner Rainey blowing a save opportunity. Mark explains the unusual situation where a replay at the plate did not go Washington's way. (17:10) Josiah Gray threw five scoreless frames as he was in quite the pitchers duel with Sand...