Nats Chat

The Nats have finally returned to the .500 mark and did so in emphatic fashion.  Mark & Al dive into the Nationals 13-3 pummeling of the Orioles on Saturday afternoon in front of another sell out crowd in D.C.  The fans were not only treated to a win, but also received Alex Ovechkin Bobbleheads. (08:00) Keibert Ruiz had a monster afternoon as he homered, knocked in five runs, stole a base, and eve...

The Nats edged the Orioles 3-2 on Friday night in front of a sold out crowd in Navy Yard. Al & Mark praise the nearly 39,000 fans in attendance who packed the house for the well received promotion of  "Hot Dog Day". (08:00) Zack Littell tossed five shutout innings before handing the ball off to Andrew Alvarez.  This was the first scoreless outing of the season for Littell in his 9th appearance. Bl...

The Nats entered Thursday one game below .500 and for the 15th consecutive (15th!!!!) time they lost when trying to reach that level. Mark (From Cincinnati) & Al recap recap the 15-1 thrashing at the hands of the Reds. (04:15) Blake Butera is not hung up on necessarily reaching .500 right now. (07:00) Foster Griffin had by far his worst start of the season by allowing nine runs in under five innin...

The Nats staged an impressive comeback in Wednesday night's 8-7 win in extras.  Mark (From Cincinnati) & Al discuss how Washington found themselves in an early 5-0 hole, before the offense & bullpen teamed up to rally against the Reds. They are just one game below .500 through 43 games played. (05:45) Daylen "The Louisville Slugger" Lile hit his 3rd homer in the past two games in the top of the 10...

The Nats blasted six homers on Tuesday night for a 9-2 win in Cincinnati. Mark (From Great American Ballpark) & Al start with the impressive offensive totals, that included a pair of homers from both Luis Garcia Jr. & Daylen Lile. (05:30) Luis Garcia Jr. has been on a hot streak after missing a few games due to a wrist issue.  Garcia's OPS has now climbed up to .725 for the season. (07:00) Daylen...

The Nats dropped a second straight winnable game over the weekend in Miami.   Mark & Al react to Washington's 5-2 loss in the rubber match of the three game series that came just before the Wizards were announced as the lottery winners for the NBA Draft. (05:30) The Nationals continued their pattern of sloppy play by making a pair of crucial outs on the bases. One of them was particularly painful...

The Nats blew an early four run lead and ultimately lost 8-7 on Saturday afternoon in Miami.  Al & Tim point out how this was a particular frustrating defeat as the Nationals drop to 19-21 overall through 40 games. (06:30) Washington staged a furious rally in the 9th that fell just short.  They trailed 8-4 entering the frame, but Joey Wiemer made a crucial base running mistake that removed the tyi...

The Nats edged the Marlins 3-2 on Friday night for their 3rd straight victory.  Mark & Al discuss the road win where all of the scoring came in the 1st inning. (03:00) Foster Griffin was tremendous in striking out nine Marlins in seven innings of work.  Griffin has pitched at least six frames in four consecutive starts. The lefty's ERA is a very impressive 2.12. (11:30) **Riding the wave while it...

The Nats beat the Twins 7-5 on Thursday afternoon for their first home series victory of the series. Mark & Al have plenty of praise for Keibert Ruiz, who doubled twice and broke a late tie with a solo homer in the bottom of 7th. Ruiz's OPS rose an astonishing .127 points in  single day. (10:30) Breaking down the Nationals catching situation after back to back days of rare offensive production fro...

The Nats crushed Minnesota 15-2 on Wednesday night; the most runs they've scored all season.  Mark & Al open with the offensive performance where four homers were hit in the victory. (05:00) Another big night by CJ Abrams, highlighted by a late Grand Slam.  Abrams roped a pair of doubles to give him eight total bases on Wednesday night. Abrams' OPS is at .960, tied for 7th best in the NL. (11:00)...

The Nats were trounced 11-3 on Tuesday night against visiting Minnesota. Al & Mark examine Cade Cavalli's poor outing, where he allowed six runs in just four innings of work.  Three of those were unearned, but Cavalli had a fielding error that contributed to the run total. Cavalli only threw two strikeouts after having registered double digits Ks in his previous two starts. (14:30) Andre Granillo...

The Nats won their first home game since April 21st on Sunday afternoon. Mark & Al discuss the 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, where five Washington pitchers combined to take the mound. PJ Poulin lasted two innings for the first time as an Opener this season and he remains the only pitcher on the team to serve in that role. (05:45) Zack Littell only allowed one run in nearly four innings o...

The Nats home woes continued in Saturday afternoon's 4-1 loss to the Brewers.  Al & Tim note how the team is now 3-12 at Nationals Park to begin the season, and they have not yet won a home series. (06:30) The offense has cooled off a bit recently; other than a few recent exceptions.  Washington had two men on, with no outs in the bottom of the 9th and were unable to do anything with it.  Brady Ho...

The Nats continue to struggle at home as they lost 6-1 to Milwaukee on Friday night. Al & Mark marvel at Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski, who no-hit the Nationals until being removed in the bottom of the 6th due to a right hamstring cramp. Misiorowski eclipsed 100 MPH many times in his dominant outing. (08:00) The offense only mustered two hits and the first one didn't come until the bottom of t...

The Nats won another road series after rallying for a 5-4 victory over the Mets on Thursday afternoon.  Mark (From Citi Field) & Al open with CJ Abrams, who crushed a 2-run HR in the top of the 8th to put the Nationals up for good.  Abrams' OPS is up to .961; which is 5th best in the NL (Ildemaro Vargas has the lead believe it or not). (13:15) Sloppy base running in the top of the 9th; which cost...

The Nats pummeled the Mets 14-2 on a wet Wednesday night in New York. Mark (From Citi Field) & Al have another strong Cade Cavalli outing to go over as he struck out ten hitters for the 2nd straight start. Cavalli lasted six innings and ended his evening by throwing 24 straight strikes. (11:00) A trio of relievers combined for three scoreless innings in relief of Cavalli.  PJ Poulin threw the bott...

The Nats were shutout 8-0 on Tuesday night at the Mets. Mark (From New York) & Al begin with Zack Littell, who gave up a homer on the first pitch of his outing  Littell allowed eight runs, and almost all of those came in the decisive bottom of the 4th.  The veteran righty's ERA is now up to an awful 7.85. (05:30) Littell has pitched 16 innings this season and stunningly has give up 13 homers in th...

The Nats emerged victorious in another extra inning affair this weekend vs. the White Sox.  Mark (From Chicago) & Al recap Sunday's 2-1 triumph; where the Nationals took the series rubber match. (04:00) Washington went 9-8 in this stretch of 17 games in 17 days.  As they sit at 13-16, it feels like the team culture is at a better place all things considered. (07:05) Foster Griffin tossed seven shu...

The Nats beat the White Sox 6-3 on Saturday afternoon in 10 innings. Mark (From Chicago) & Al praise Jake Irvin for his nine strikeout effort in almost six innings of work. This was the first scoreless outing for Irvin in 2026 and the most strikeouts he's had since April 20th last year in Colorado. (11:30) Mitchell Parker allowed a pair of runs, but did strikeout three Chicago hitters.  Brad Lord...

The Nats fell 5-4 at the White Sox to open their road trip on Friday night. Al & Mark (From the South Side) begin with the White Sox's curious decision to pitch to James Wood in the top of the 9th w/ first base open and Luis Garcia Jr. standing on second base.   (04:45) PJ Poulin was the opener before handing the ball to Miles Mikolas in the bottom of the 2nd. Munetaka Murakami hit his 11th homer...

The Nats lost 7-2 to the Braves on Thursday afternoon to conclude another disappointing home stand. Al examines the bullpen meltdown in the top of the 7th where Atlanta scored four runs to break the tie. Gus Varland & Cionel Perez were the culprits in the pivotal frame. (08:10) Cade Cavalli struck out 10 in just five innings for his best outing of the season. Cavalli gave up two runs and his ERA d...

The Nats were out-slugged 8-6 on Wednesday vs. the visiting Braves. Al & Mark recap another rough start for Zack Littell, as he gave up a quartet of homers in six innings of work. (07:00) Littell's ERA is now at 7.56 in five appearances and he has allowed a staggering 11 homers in 25 innings. (12:30) Further examination of the evaluation process that led to Littell not signing until Spring Trainin...

The Nats routed the Braves 11-4 on Tuesday night on South Capitol Street.  Mark & Al focus on the recent offensive production and are encouraged by many of the results. Washington drew a stunning dozen walks on their way to snapping Atlanta's six game win streak. (07:30) James Wood homered for the 8th time this season, which is tied for the NL lead. Luis Garcia Jr. also had a big night at the plat...

The Nats led 3-2 entering the 6th on Monday night, but a series of Washington pitchers allowed five Atlanta runs to put the game out of reach.  Mark & Al sort through the 9-4 loss; which saw a lot of sloppy defense by the Nationals. (05:45) Jake Irvin hit Ronald Acuna Jr. twice and the second one came in the top of the 6th. CJ Abrams then was the recipient of retaliation, but he kept his calm and...

The Nats blanked the Giants 3-0 on Sunday afternoon to avoid getting swept this weekend at home. Mark & Al analyze the surprising pitching effort by PJ Poulin, Miles Mikolas, and Andrew Alvarez. It was a whirlwind Sunday for Alvarez as he traveled from Rochester in the morning, and then earned the win on the mound in D.C. after taking over in the 5th. (05:00) Mikolas was the bulk starter as he too...