Nats Chat

The Nats suffered another gut punch loss from the Phillies despite being an out away from victory. Al & Mark convene after the Nationals 5-4 loss on Wednesday night puts them at 41-40 overall. Derek Hill hit a 2-run shot off of Richard Lovelady in the top of the 9th to flip the lead. (04:30) What are Paul Toboni's options (if any) in order to improve this bullpen? (06:30) PJ Poulin did his job as he retired all four batters faced. (12:00) Should Orlando Ribalta have intentionally walked Kyle Schwarber in the top of the 9th with first base open? Schwarber ended up walking anyways. (20:15) Carson Palmquist had a busy Wednesday as he was called up, tossed over three innings, and then demoted back to AAA after the game. (25:30) The offense combined for a trio of homers in the defeat. Luis Garcia Jr. & Curtis Mead each now have hit 13 home runs this season and Jorbit Vivas has gone deep in two straight games. (30:00) CJ Abrams walk and doubled after sitting out on Tuesday. (32:00) Cade Cavalli vs. Christopher Sanchez on Thursday evening.

The Nats beat the Phillies 4-1 on Monday night and have guaranteed themselves a winning record at the upcoming midway point of the season. Mark & Al examine the victory that saw a pair of homers from the potent offense. Washington is currently 1.5 games back of Philadelphia for the 2nd wildcard spot. (04:30) Luis Garcia Jr.'s solo homer put Washington ahead 2-1 in the 2nd. Curtis Mead later on hit a 2-run shot to give the Nats some breathing room. (14:00) Dylan Crews began the scoring with a RBI single in the bottom of the 1st. Crews' OPS is now up to .625 after his recent surge. (18:00) Nasim Nuñez made another great defensive play, but he also was charged with an error in a separate sequence. Nuñez did steal his 29th bag of the season which leads all of the majors. (20:45) Foster Griffin was excellent as he only allowed one run in 7.1 IP. Griffin's ERA is down to 3.15 and he is earning legit All-Star consideration. (27:40) Clayton Beeter notched his 6th save of the season which is tied for the team lead along with Gus Varland. (29:00) DJ Herz's rehab has been halted due to a right flexor muscle strain. Herz has not taken the Big League mound since 2024 and he had Tommy John Surgery in April of 2025.

The Nats outlasted Tampa Bay 4-3 on Saturday afternoon in Florida. Al & Tim dig into the team's 40th victory of the season and go over all the elements of adversity that Washington thwarted on their way to a win. (05:00) Jacob Young exited early after slamming into the wall during a crucial catch in the bottom of the 8th. Young not only made an incredible grab, but also had the presence of mind to toss the ball to his teammate while writhing in pain on the warning track. (10:35) Young leaving the game forced Blake Butera to give up his DH. James Wood took over in the outfield and in the top of the 9th Jorbit Vivas hit for the newly formed pitcher spot in the lineup. (15:30) CJ Abrams homered for the 16th time this season and his 56 RBIs are the 4th most in MLB. (16:30) Dylan Crews homered for the 4th time this month and the 9th inning solo shot served as a crucial insurance run. (20:20) Cade Cavalli was pulled in the 3rd inning after his start was pushed back a day due to food poisoning. Cavalli immediately registered a high pitch count before handing the ball off to Mitchell Parker. (23:40) Brad Lord tossed three scoreless innings and his ERA is now down to 2.29. Could Lord get All-Star consideration next month? (27:00) The Nats look to win another series on Sunday afternoon as Andrew Alvarez toes the rubber.

The Nats yet again were unable to complete a sweep for the 6th consecutive opportunity. Mark & Al dive into Wednesday's 6-4 loss at the hands of the visiting Royals that snapped the four game win streak. (07:00) Analysis of Dylan Crews' slide into 2nd base in the 6th and the ensuing review to see whether or not he was out. (12:00) Zack Littell was hit hard as he allowed four homers off of seven hits in five innings of work. Littell already has given up twenty homers; which tied for the most in the majors. (18:00) Mitchell Parker continues to struggle as he allowed a pair of runs on Wednesday. Parker has given up an earned run in eight of his past nine outings. (22:00) Washington heads to Florida for three game this weekend at the Rays. The Nats are openly trying to emulate many principles that Tampa Bay has pioneered in the Front Office. Blake Butera worked for a long time in the Rays organization before getting hired as Nationals Manager. (25:30) Could the Nats be buyers next month?

The Nats won their 3rd straight on Monday night to move to 3 games over .500 for the first time since.... 2019. Mark & Al discuss the 7-3 victory that has Washington in a tie for the final wildcard spot through 73 games. (08:15) Dylan Crews blasted a 3-run shot in the bottom of the 5th to put his team ahead by four runs. Crews has a had great homestand with both the bat and glove. (16:30) An early look at the NL voting results thus far for CJ Abrams & James Wood. Abrams leads for shortstops but Wood is in 7th place among outfielders. (23:00) Andrew Alvarez & Brad Lord teamed up for seven innings of work in the victory. Alvarez struck out five Royals before Lord took over in the top of the 5th. (31:10) Keibert Ruiz used up all of his team's ABS challenges in the top of the 1st. (37:30) An update from the Voice of the AA-Harrisburg Senators, Frankie Vernouski.

The Nats are back above .500 after Saturday's 8-3 victory over the Mariners. Al recaps the win that saw Luis Garcia Jr break the tie with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 5th. (04:00) Blake Butera credited the "Tarp's Off" crowd in RF for their energy. The official attendance was just over 30,000 on Saturday. (06:30) Daylen Lile had a RBI triple on his Bobblehead Day. His hometown Louisville defeated the DC Defenders on the other side of South Capitol Street in UFL action on Saturday. (09:00) Cade Cavalli was cruising until he reached the top of the 5th. He gave up a pair of homers in the frame while not getting a lot help from his defense behind him. Cavalli's outing now sits at 3.98 and he is in 11th place for the lead in NL strikeouts. (12:15) The bullpen tossed four scoreless frames in the victory. PJ Poulin was very effective in his return from AAA and Brad Lord recorded the final six outs. (16:00) Dylan Crews knocked in a run as part of the 3-run bottom of the 1st. (20:00) Ben Raby's award winning feature for WTOP on Alexander Ovechkin passing Wayne Gretzky for most goals scored in NHL history. Ben is a radio veteran and a prominent Nats Chat listener.