Nats Chat

The Nats beat the Blue Jays 11-8 in a wild affair to capture the weekend series on a Sunday afternoon in Navy Yard after trailing 6-1 early in the game. Mark & Al have a lot to get to, but begin with Luis Garcia who had three crucial hits and knocked in four runs. Garcia homered twice in the series and is now hitting .337 so far this season.

(12:00) Jesse Winker slugged a 3 run HR to put Washington ahead 7-6 in the bottom of the 4th. Winker also doubled on Sunday for his first multi hit game since April 27th.

(15:00) Eddie Rosario had his biggest hit yet since joining the team as he clubbed a 2 run HR to break the 8-8 tie and put the Nationals up for good. Rosario's averaged is now .117 and raised 34 points over the weekend series.

(22:00) Davey Martinez used six relievers on Sunday as the team finally have an off day coming up. The final seven outs came from the trusty duo of Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan.

(25:00) MacKenzie Gore only lasted three innings and committed one of the three errors charged to the team. Gore needed 76 pitches to get his nine outs as he gave up six runs, including a grand slam to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

(33:00) The Orioles come to D.C. on Tuesday for a quick two game series. Baltimore has the AL's best record and the Nats will have another opportunity to get back over .500.

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Mark is back from Florida and so are the Nats as Opening Day is Thursday in Cincinnati. He & Al begin start with the prospect likeliest to begin in Ohio this week and it's not James Wood or Dylan Crews. Hear all the factors that led to Trey Lipscomb escalation up the depth chart within the organization. Lipscomb is an infielder and was drafted by Washington in the 3rd round of the 2022 Draft after playing at the University of Tennessee.

(12:00) An update on the starting rotation which will include Trevor Williams and not Zach Davies. Why is Jackson Rutledge beginning his season in Triple A Rochester?

(19:00) Bullpen Roll Call. Mark explains how competitive spots were for relievers this Spring. As of now, Robert Garcia is the only lefty on the roster.

(22:00) An evaluation of where the Rebuild stands.

(29:00) Davey Martinez is entering his his 7th season at the helm for the Nats. What sort of pressure is there on Davey for this season or none at all? He signed a two year extension in August that runs through the 2025 season.

(34:15) Al poses the question - who most needs to show improvement this season?

(38:30 Both hosts give their official season prediction for the 2024 Washington Nationals.

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Trea Turner got the game winning hit against his old team as the Nats lost 3-2 in Philadelphia on Friday night. Al & Mark recap the hectic ninth inning which began by the score of 2-0 with the Phillies leading. Kyle Finnegan pitched the final frame, but was not the beneficiary of good defense behind him.

(12:45) Patrick Corbin only gave up a pair of runs, but was relieved in the bottom of the 5th. Corbin's ERA this season is at 5.92, which is not as bad as his ERA in 2022 (6.31).

(18:00) CJ Abrams went 0 for 5 while hitting behind lead-off hitter Alex Call in Friday's batting order. Abrams was rightfully an All-Star, but Al points out that his success so far this year is limited to largely April & June.

(22:10) Another good game for James Wood as he gathered a trio of hits and reached base four times. However, he was caught stealing for the 6th time in only 12 attempts so far.

(30:00) The hosts sift through all the nitty gritty as the team weighs what is next for Dylan Crews. There is an avenue to call him up for the final month or so without taking away his rookie status for 2025. The next home game for Washington is on Tuesday night against Colorado.

(34:05) Crucial start for MacKenzie Gore on Saturday evening vs. the potent Philly lineup. There are increasing calls to send Gore to AAA as he has struggled mightily this summer.

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Wednesday was filled with rain in the DMV, but the skies were clear enough in the early evening for a 5-3 Nationals victory over Pittsburgh. Mark & Al start with Joey Gallo as his first hit with the franchise was fittingly a solo HR. He then later added two more hits after beginning the season 0 for 12.

(08:00) Luis Garcia Jr. doubled three times and knocked in a run. It is the first time in Garcia's career that he pulled off that feat.

(11:40) CJ Abrams had another impressive performance as he had a pair of hits and knocked in two runs. His RBI single was the capper to the four runs that Washington scored in the bottom of the 2nd.

(14:30) Victor Robles exited the game early due to a left hamstring injury and will receive a MRI on Thursday. If he lands on the IL, this would mean the team needs to likely call up another outfielder to fill his spot.

(20:15) Trevor Williams threw the best outing of any Nats starting pitcher so far this season and was rewarded with a victory. He allowed two runs in 5.1 IP and it is his first victory since August 20th of last season.

(24:30) A very encouraging sign was how effective Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan were in preserving the victory after some rough moments so far this season. Finnegan impressed many with his new "sweeper" pitch while notching the Save.

(30:30) The series wraps up on Thursday afternoon as Josiah Gray will take mound. Gray did not pitch well on Opening Day in Cincinnati as the Nationals seek their first series victory of the season.

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The Nats overcame an early four run deficit to knock off the Giants 11-5 on Tuesday evening in Navy Yard. Mark & Al have plenty of praise to shower on James Wood as he homered and scored four times in the victory. Wood already has 23 RBI since getting called up to the majors, which is five more than Nick Senzel had in his time with Washington, despite Senzel having almost one hundred more at-bats than the rookie this season.

(11:30) CJ Abrams' 3-run HR gave the Nationals the lead for good at 5-4 in the bottom of the 2nd. You need to watch the highlight of this homer as Abrams somehow hit a pitch above his eyes over the fence.

(14:00) Keibert Ruiz doubled and homered on Tuesday night to continue his strong start to August. The hosts discuss how important the final few months of the season are for the catcher.

(18:00) Alex Call had a pair of RBI doubles and also drew a walk. Call has produced at the plate since getting promoted from AAA in late jUly.

(23:00) MacKenzie Gore had an awful beginning to this game as he immediately allowed four San Francisco runs. Gore has not pitched well in seven of his past eight starts and his trajectory is a growing concern. To his credit though, Gore did last five innings before handing it off to the bullpen.

(31:00) The Nats moved up Thursday's game vs. the Giants to 12:05PM from the original 4:05pm start time. There is a lot of rain in the D.C. forecast for the next few days.

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