Nats Chat

The Nats lost 9-2 in Detroit on Monday night as we are in the final week of the season.  Al & Tim begin with DJ Herz, who struggled in his first Big League start since September 2024. Herz lasted four innings and allowed four Tigers runs in the process.  (06:00) Herz had Tommy John surgery in April of 2025 and originally came to the organization in 2023 in exchange for Jeimer Candelario.(10:00) Luis Perales had a nightmare outing as he gave up five runs in just two innings of work.  Perales has only made six appearances for Washington, but his ERA is at an alarming 11.45.  Tim takes the opportunity to revisit the trade last December where Perales was acquired from Boston in exchange for lefty starter Jake Bennett.(16:00) Cole Henry was released in order to make room for Herz on the roster.  Henry showed flashes of success, but has not pitched well since coming off thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.  Henry made 11 appearances this season with the Nationals, but with a 7.90 ERA.(20:00) YoYo Morales' 2-run pinch-hit homer was the only source of offense for Washington on Monday.  Morales has a small sample size at the plate, but an OPS of .973 nonetheless.(26:00) James Wood committed a 1st inning error in LF that put Detroit up 2-0.  Wood struck out 3 times in the loss and his OPS is at .900 with five games remaining.(30:00) AAA-Rochester, led by veteran Manager Matt LeCroy, qualified for the playoffs for the first time in over a decade.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Nats fumbled an 8th inning lead and lost 5-3 on Sunday afternoon in St. Louis. Al & Tim cite the familiar bullpen refrain as they extended their MLB record for most blown saves in a season to 42 occurrences.(05:00) Yovanny Cruz gave up the pivotal 2-run homer to Leo Bernal that gave the Cardinals the 5-3 lead in the bottom of the 8th.  Cruz's ERA is up to 5.27 in 15 appearances this season.(10:00) What will Paul Toboni do differently when building next season's bullpen?(16:00) Jake Irvin had a solid outing as he struck out eight Cardinals in just over five innings of work.  Irvin might have one more start left in his season before a winter of uncertainty awaits him.(20:00) CJ Abrams slugged his 31st homer of the season on Sunday and he now leads the team in that category.  Abrams played 2B twice over the weekend series.(23:00) James Wood struck out twice in the loss and he has not homered since July 26th.(29:00) DJ Herz will start on Monday night in Detroit.  Herz has not made a major league start since September 2024 as he has been recovering from Tommy John surgery.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Nats prevailed in St. Louis 8-5 on Saturday night in a four-hour affair that lasted 11 innings. Al & Mark convene after Washington grabbed their sixth win the past seven games.  The Nationals won their 73rd game of the season; guaranteeing that they will avoid 90 losses in 2026.(06:00) Andrew Alvarez was fantastic as he tossed six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. Alvarez's ERA is at 3.17 this season and it seems for almost certain that he will part of the 2027 rotation.(12:00) The offense plated right runs off of dozen hits and a pair of Cardinals errors. Jorbit Vivas had a big night as he went 4 for 6 with a RBI single in extras. Vivas' OPS in his solid September is at .807.(17:00) James Wood was removed from the game when Jacob Young took over for him in RF in the top of the 9th.(20:00) Dylan Crews made an incredible catch against the wall and later had an outfield assist.(25:00) Six relievers combined to allow five runs and blow the save twice along the way. Riley Cornelio took over in the 11th, but needed Will Dion to come in and notch the final out. The defense didn't help at all as four errors were committed on Saturday night.(30:00) Returning to the conversation about James Wood's hustle as Blake Butera later admitted that he partially removed Wood for not running out an 9th inning grounder.  (33:00) Dion is the 14th pitcher to earn a save this season for the Nationals.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Friday was a great day for the Nationals as it began with Cade Cavalli signing an extension and it ended with a 9-1 win in St. Louis.  Al & Mark  dive right into the deal with Cavalli that is worth $47M over 4 years; with a team option for 2031.(08:00) What does this move say about ownership?(14:00) What motivated Cavalli to sign this extension now? Cavalli is not a Scott Boras client.(25:00) Just a few hours after the extension was announced, Cavalli took the mound in St. Louis. Cavalli struck out six Redbirds in five innings of work and reached 200 strikeouts in the process.  He is the first Washington pitcher to record 200 strikeouts in a season since 2019.(32:00) Josiah Gray tossed a scoreless bottom of the 9th in his first major league appearance since April 4th, 2024. Gray was called up on the off-day after pitching this past week in AAA.  (36:00) Will Gray be a starter or reliever next season? Or could he be non-tendered?(41:00) CJ Abrams stole his 30th base of the season and Dylan Crews clubbed a 2-run HR to put the Nationals up 5-0 in the top of the 3rd.(47:00) Tim recently caught up with reliever Richard Lovelady, who describes what an off-season at Driveline looks like in Arizona. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Nats four-game win streak was halted by the visiting Phillies on Wednesday night. Al & Mark recap the 3-0 loss; which was low lighted by the bullpen issuing a staggering 13 walks in the defeat.(04:00) Jared Simpson opened the game, but only recorded one out while walking four Phillies. Simpson has combined to issue seven walks in his past two outings.(12:00) Luis Perales had a wild boxscore as he tossed two scoreless innings, but in rather adventurous fashion.  Perales issued five walks, but did strike out a pair of Phillies.(16:00) Zack Wheeler tossed seven shutout innings and Al notes how impressive he has been coming off of thoracic outlet surgery.  Wheeler's ERA is down to 2.29 and he has recorded 177 strikeouts this season.(22:00) Andrew Pinckney was sent back to AAA after the game and presumably will be replaced on the roster by a pitcher.(24:00) Will Connelly Early, DJ Herz, and/or Josiah Gray get called up to Washington before the year ends?(27:00) An extended discussion about the franchise having seven consecutive losing seasons this decade.(38:00) Josh Whetzel, the Voice of the Rochester Red Wings, gives an update from AAA.  The report begins with Connelly Early's rehab start on Tuesday night in Buffalo.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.