Nats Chat

The Nationals beat the Marlins 5-1 as Max Scherzer won his seventh game of the season. Mark & Al recap the lineup's performance as Trea Turner & Josh Bell turned the tied in the 6th inning, and the hosts point of how dependent Washington is on the long ball. Josh Harrison stepped up while hitting fifth, as he had a RBI single in the first inning. (11:03) Juan Soto had multiple extra base hits this...

The Nats lost 3-2 in Miami for a second straight defeat. Al recaps the offensive struggles versus Marlins rookie Zach Thompson, who was only making his fourth career Major League start. Starlin Castro however has been swinging much better ever since returning from the Restricted List. (14:21) Patrick Corbin tagged with the loss in his uneven start. He had rough first inning, but then settled down...

The Nationals were drubbed 11-2 in Miami; ending a string of five straight victories. Mark & Al discuss Jon Lester's worst outing since joining Washington. What was different Friday night from his previous solid start? Why didn't Davey Martinez go to Jefry Rodriguez earlier in order to eat more innings? (12:01) Mark gives an update on Josh Bell's MRI and what his status is for this weekend. (16:05...

The Nationals beat the Marlins 7-3 for a fifth straight victory. Al & Mark marvel at how Kyle Schwarber hit two more bombs, a historic run of 12 HOMERS IN 13 GAMES! Is the best stretch a Nat has ever had at the plate? (9:53) Juan Soto had a pair of RBI doubles, showing some rarely seen power of late. How's the 1-2-3 punch looking at the top of the lineup right now? (16:35) Joe Ross bounced back an...

The Nats emerged victorious in a seesaw affair 13-12 over the Phillies. Mark & Al aren't quite sure where to start so the conversation begins with the decisive 9th inning. What would have happened if Jordy Mercer had to exit the game? Was it the right move to have Alex Avila sacrifice bunt? No Starlin Castro jokes today as he was the hero with the 2 run single in the 9th. (8:01) Josh Bell hit a gr...

The Nats beat the Phillies 3-2 on a tension filled evening in Philadelphia. Max Scherzer made his dissatisfaction quite clear with the new protocol of checking pitchers for sticky substances. His aggravation escalated as Phillies Manager Joe Girardi requested a third check, which led to fireworks between the two. Oh by the way, Washington is now tied for second place in the NL East, as they have w...

The Nats defeated the Mets 5-2 to take the series and close out the home stand with an 8-3 record. Mark & Al capture the avalanche of good vibes on South Capitol Street Sunday. Kyle Schwarber went deep three times, to punctuate an all-time stretch, as he homered NINE TIMES in the last ten games.   (12:03) For the 1st time since October of 2019, Gerardo Parra returned to Nationals Park. Not only di...

The Nationals beat the Mets 6-2 to split Saturday's Doubleheader. Al & Mark focus on Jon Lester's impressive attempt to throw a complete game shutout, that made it all the way until the top of the 7th (final inning). Should Davey Martinez have pulled him prior to the 7th, when the game all of a sudden got interesting? (15:25) Kyle Schwarber went deep twice; including what has become his near tradi...

The Nats lost 5-1 in Game 1 of a Doubleheader vs. the Mets. Mark & Al are dumbfounded by the continuing offensive ineptitude, especially against non-elite starting pitching. Why wasn't Ryan Zimmerman in the lineup vs. the lefty David Peterson? (9:10) Alex Avila picked up where Yan Gomes left off on Friday night behind the dish. Is this the best defensive catching tandem in team history? (13:05) Jo...

The Nats shutout the NL East leading Mets 1-0 to open a crucial four game series. Al & Tim recap the decisive bottom of the 9th, capped by Yan Gomes knocking in Juan Soto. Did New York go to their closer Edwin Diaz too early? (6:13) Plenty of praise is given to Fedde, who now owns a streak of twenty consecutive scoreless innings. Can we officially consider him a good pitcher? What does this mean f...

The Nationals swept Pittsburgh with a 3-1 victory Wednesday afternoon behind the Legend that is Paolo Espino for a fourth straight win. Al & Mark praise Espino for his five scoreless innings that resulted in his first career Major League win; fifteen years after he was drafted in the tenth round. Do we need to get the Paolo shirts printed ? Plus, another solid performance by the Bullpen, including...

The Nationals beat up on the Pirates 8-1 for a 3rd straight win. Mark & Al evaluate Patrick Corbin's evening, unquestionably his best start of his season. (10:32) Yan Gomes effectively ended the game in the opening inning with his Grand Slam to give Washington a 5-0 lead. This was the headliner for a good offensive night as Trea Turner got back over .300, Jordy Mercer had a trio of hits, and Kyle...

The Nats topped Pittsburgh 3-2 to move out of last place. Mark & Al highlight how good the pitching has been in the past ten games before celebrating Kyle Schwarber's recent productive run in the leadoff spot. Should Schwarber hit leadoff vs. a left hander on Tuesday? (11:02) Juan Soto had a very poor throw home on a sacrifice fly. Is his shoulder still an issue? Plus, Jon Lester still can't earn...

The Nats shutout San Francisco 5-0 to earn a series split. Al & Mark wonder if this is the best pitched series in team history, as they only allowed three runs in four games. Joe Ross tossed eight shutout innings for the best outing of his career, while striking out nine. Is he about to turn a corner at age 28? (11:48) Kyle Schwarber hit 2 HRs as leadoff hitter, which effectively sealed the Giants...

The Nationals dropped the 2nd game of their doubleheader, 2-1 in extras to the Giants. Al & Mark spend plenty of time scratching their heads over Victor Robles decision to tag up from first base in the 8th inning, which led to a backbreaking double play. Will he be benched on Sunday for the crucial mental error? (13:02) Jefry Rodriguez was called up from AAA and threw four shutout innings in a spo...

The Nats opened the doubleheader with 2-0 victory over San Francisco as Erick Fedde finally returned to the mound. Mark & Al evaluate Fedde's outing, which was dominant just like his last start in Arizona. It's fitting that he went up against Kevin Gausman, a fellow former 1st round pick, who was a late bloomer. (9:38) Kyle Schwarber made Davey Martinez look good by hitting a leadoff HR in the 1st...

The Nats were shutout 1-0 by San Francisco as the home stand couldn't have started in a worse fashion. Al & Tim discuss the post World Series curse that seems to continually hover over the organization as Max Scherzer was injured in the top of the 1st. Do you feel better that Scherzer's injury isn't arm related? (11:25) Tips of the cap to the Bullpen for basically throwing a complete game and only...

The Nats prevailed 9-7 in 11 innings over Tampa Bay. Al & Mark open with yet another heavy usage night for the bullpen as Patrick Corbin only made it through five innings. Did you agree with using Daniel Hudson & Brad Hand as much as they pitched? Props need to be given to Tanner Rainey, as he recorded his first career save. (15:25) The offense had a very productive evening, including three homers...

The Nationals were topped 3-1 at Tampa Bay for their 3rd straight defeat. Mark & Al pinpoint the moments where the offense underwhelmed again, including the nearly impossible to believe stat where the team is hitting .145 with the bases loaded this season. They give their reactions to the unconventional decision to hit Kyle Schwarber leadoff. Plus, should Josh Bell have been sent home in the 7th o...

The Nats were doubled up in Philadelphia 12-6 in a game that took over four hours. Al & Mark recap the Bullpen Game that went awry in the middle innings for Washington. The beginning of the afternoon started well until Austin Voth had his nose broken during a rare at bat. (10:01) A round-up of the interminable 4th inning, that saw the Phillies score seven times without getting an extra-base hit. W...

The Nats lost 5-2 at the Phillies on Saturday afternoon. Mark & Al yet again must run through the futile offensive numbers as the Nationals couldn't break it open against the vulnerable Philadelphia bullpen. They react to what seems to be an increasingly frustrated Davey Martinez. (16:33) Joe Ross was untouchable early in his start, but a Josh Bell error led to Ross falling apart in the 4th. Why d...

The Nationals held on 2-1 in Philadelphia to open the weekend series. Al takes the reins by himself to tell the tale of the pitchers duel that Washington prevailed in. He begins by putting in perspective how well the Nats defense has been so far this year, crystallized by Alex Avila tagging out a pinch runner halfway across the diamond, bringing new meaning to the term "TOOTBLAN". (13:18) Max Sche...

The Nats lost 5-1 in Atlanta Thursday afternoon to split the four game series. Mark & Al focus on the missed opportunity by the offense as they were blanked by Tucker Davidson, an unheralded prospect. Al throws out an idea on who could help inject life into the lineup, can you guess who it is? (17:35) Patrick Corbin was unscathed through five innings, but the wheels came off in the 6th. Mark expla...

The Nationals defeated the Braves 5-3 for their 2nd straight victory. Al & Mark not only have another win to talk about, but they have another Juan Soto HR to discuss. Is it too early to say he's back to his usual self? Yan Gomes had a sterling evening on both sides of the dish, throwing out a stealing Ronald Acuna Jr. and then breaking a late tie with a go ahead solo shot in the 8th. (14:01) The...

The Nationals beat the Braves 11-6 to end their losing streak on an eventful and long evening in Atlanta. Al & Mark begin by wondering whether this was overall a good or bad night for Nats fans. The good was the Juan Soto leading the offense with 3 hits (including a HR), the bad was Stephen Strasburg exiting in the 2nd inning due a tight right trapezius muscle. They choose the good and give props...