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 took over in the 1st for Poulin and lasted four frames. Mikolas allowed four hits and struck out four in his best outing of the young season.

(15:30) Alvarez was demoted back to AAA in the middle of our taping during our discussion on his future with the club. This is the 2nd pitcher this week to get sent back to Rochester after nailing down the final out in a victory (Orlando Ribalta).

(25:10) Curtis Mead hit a 2-run homer to go up 3-0 in the 5th. This was a nice bounce back for Mead, who made a pivotal base running mistake in the bottom of the 9th in Saturday's loss.

(29:00) The first run of the game came on a convoluted play that resulted in Nasim Nunez coming across to score.

(33:00) The home stand continues on Monday night as the Braves come to Navy Yard for four a four game series.

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The Nats made too many mental mistakes to count in their 7-6 Saturday afternoon loss to the visiting Giants. Mark & Al examine the puzzling extra inning defeat where there were plenty of examples of terrible fundamentals. The Nationals had poor base running, awful bunting, and overall came nowhere close to playing smart Baseball. Curtis Mead had a shockingly terrible base running mistake in the bottom of the 9th and Jorbit Vivas almost out did him in the 10th.

(13:40) James Wood homered again for the 7th time this season, tied for the 2nd most in the National League.

(17:00) Cade Cavalli had another disappointing outing as he only lasted four innings despite being given an early four-run lead. Cavalli was charged with three runs allowed after yielding seven San Francisco hits. Cavalli has only tossed 19.2 IP in five starts so far this season.

(24:00) Mitchell Parker lasted three innings in relief of Cavalli and gave up three runs in the process. The bullpen the rest of the way did a solid job, including two perfect innings by Richard Lovelady.

(26:30) Miles Mikolas will take the mound on Sunday as Washington looks to avoid getting swept.

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The Nats were easily beaten 10-5 by the Giants on Friday night to open the home stand on a sour note. Al & Mark spend plenty of time on Zack Littell, who gave up six runs before the end of the 2nd inning. Littell wasn't signed until March was well underway and it seems like the late Spring start is still affecting him.

(10:30) Why do valued Free Agent pitchers have to wait until the middle of Spring Training to sign sometimes?

(13:45) Richard Lovelady pitched the 9th right after taking Oscar Ribalta's roster spot. Lovelady walked in a run with the bases loaded for San Francisco's final run. Ribalta notched the save on Thursday in Pittsburgh and was then demoted to AAA on Friday.

(18:05) James Wood crushed an opposite field homer 441 feet late in the contest. Wood is now tied with Abrams for the team lead in homers with six.

(22:00) Daylen Lile hit his 1st homer of the year to bring up his OPS to .691. Lile has not yet tripled this season, after having 11 of them in his rookie year.

(26:30) The Nationals just went 5-2 on the road trip, but only have one home victory.

(28:45) Cade Cavalli will take the mound on Saturday afternoon vs. San Francisco. Cavalli's ERA is 4.60 through four starts this season.

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The Nats split the series in Pittsburgh by emerging with a 8-7 extra-inning win on Thursday afternoon. Mark (From PNC Park) & Al run through the seesaw affair, that was scoreless after four innings of play.

(05:20) The offense scored eight runs despite going 1 for 14 w/ RISP. The Pirates were a big help in that department as they committed four errors, including some terrible defense in the Nationals four-run top of the 5th inning. James Wood's RBI single in the top of the 10th to break the tie was the only RISP to come across the plate.

(10:00) CJ Abrams reached base four times for the second straight day. This time he singled, walked twice, and was hit by a pitch in the victory. Abrams OPS is now up to 1.191, the highest in the National League.

(13:40) Foster Griffin's outing was going well until he allowed four Pittsburgh runs in the bottom of the 5th. Griffin struck out seven hitters on 89 pitches and is currently sporting a 3.05 ERA through four starts.

(16:45) Six relievers were needed to finish out the victory. Colin Beeter blew the save in the 9th, but Oscar Ribalta escaped the 10th inning jam to close it out.

(24:00) Reliever Richard Lovelady was recently acquired off of waivers from the Mets. The lefty has been in the majors since 2019 and has a career ERA of 5.25.

(27:10) Washington went an impressive 5-2 on the road trip. They open up a seven game home stand on Friday night vs. the Giants; with the Braves coming into D.C. on Monday.

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The Nats were blanked for the first time this season on Jackie Robinson Day across MLB. Mark (From Pittsburgh) & Al discuss the 2-0 defeat, where the Pirates scored both of their runs in the bottom of the 1st.

(04:20) CJ Abrams reached base four times in a game with very few base runners. Abrams singled, walked, and was hit by a pitch on two separate occasions. Abrams' OPS so far is a staggering 1.175, which is the 2nd highest in the sport, only behind Yordan Alvarez.

(14:30) Irvin retired 13 of the final 16 batters he faced in the loss. Irvin continues to get roughed up in the 1st inning and has allowed seven runs in that opening frame over the course of four starts.

(18:15) Brad Lord took over for Irvin and lasted for three innings on the mound. Lord was the only reliever needed; giving the rest of the bullpen the day off during this endless stretch of games.

(24:00) Keibert Ruiz is struggling at the plate and has done a poor job of challenging ABS calls.

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The Nats bullpen inherited a lead and held on for good in Tuesday night's 5-4 win over the Pirates. Mark (From Pittsburgh) & Al begin with CJ Abrams, who continued his recent surge with a solo homer and two other hits.

(08:00) James Wood drew pair of walks out of the leadoff spot, but did strike out three times. Brady House came through with a single and a double in the victory.

(12:45) The offense is averaging 5.8 runs per game through 17 games.

(14:30) Miles Mikolas took over for the Opener PJ Poulin and lasted for three plus innings. Mikolas' ERA thus far is an astounding 11.49 in four appearances.

(19:00) Mitchell Parker had an excellent outing just hours after being activated to the Washington roster. Parker tossed two shutout innings and struck out five Pirates in the process.

(26:30) The Nationals are 8-9 and will try and get to .500 on Wednesday evening. Jake Irvin will take the mound in Pittsburgh.

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The Nats were crushed by the Pirates 16-5 on Monday night. Mark (From Pittsburgh) & Al run through Cade Cavalli's rough outing; as he was pulled in the bottom of the 2nd. Cavalli allowed four runs in the 2nd and was lifted in favor of Paxton Schultz. Paul Skenes meanwhile lasted six frames and only allowed a CJ Abrams solo homer.

(10:00) The bullpen had an awful night as Pittsburgh scored ten runs in the bottom of the 6th. Jackson Rutledge had the roughest evening of all relievers as he gave up seven runs in less than two innings of work and was sent back down to AAA after the loss.

(17:30) Cole Henry and Ken Waldichuk were each placed on the IL and Waldichuk might be facing Tommy John Surgery, pending a 2nd opinion.

(21:40) Abrams' OPS so far is 1.024 on the season and he is in the top 20 of MLB at the moment.

(23:00) Jacob Young went deep while hitting 5th in the lineup.

(26:10) Miles Mikolas is slated to start on Tuesday night, but we will see how long Blake Butera gives him the ball.

(29:30) An update from AAA by Josh Whetzel, the Voice of the Rochester Red Wings.

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The Nats pulled off their first series sweep in Milwaukee since 2006 on Sunday afternoon. Mark & Al dissect the 8-6 victory that saw more production from James Wood at the plate. Wood went deep for the 5th time this season and his OPS has shot up to 1.005. Wood also stole home as part of proper execution of "The Play".

(09:00) Jose Tena & Curtis Mead each came through with RBIs as pinch-hitters in the top of the 7th.

(14:10) Jacob Young had a single and double in the victory and his OPS is an encouraging .789.

(17:30) Zack Littell allowed three runs and all of them came off of solo homers in five innings of work.

(22:05) Ken Waldichuk left the mound while holding his pitching arm in pain. Waldichuk had Tommy John surgery previously in 2023.

(27:40) Gus Varland notched the save and it seems like that position is still up for grabs.

(30:10) The Nationals move their road trip to Pittsburgh and the first game on Monday will feature Paul Skenes vs. Cade Cavalli.

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