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Tim gives a quick reminder about the end of season Podcast Party on Friday night October 2nd at Walter's Sports Bar in Navy Yard. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Nats ended the season on a high note with a 6-4 win over the Mets on Sunday afternoon.  Mark & Al gather after the Nationals 77th victory of the year; 11 more than in 2025. (04:00) Mark relays the vibe in the clubhouse after game #162. (08:00) "The focus in 2027 is winning". (12:00) How should ownership view the 1.839M attendance this season? (19:00) Washington stunningly ended up scoring the 3rd most runs in the sports this year. (21:00) Andres Chaparro slugged a pair of homers in Sunday's victory. Chaparro ends his season with an impressive .894. (24:00) CJ Abrams had a RBI triple in the season finale and cpncludes his season with 106 RBIs.  Will he be traded this offseason? Anthony Rendon holds the Nationals franchise record with 126 RBIs in 2019. (29:00) DJ Herz made his 2nd start of the week and allowed four runs in just three innings of work.  Herz is expected to fight for a spot in the back-end of the rotation. (31:00) The bullpen combined for six shutout innings and Erik Tolman closed it out. Al notes the bullpen's season-long ERA barely dropped below 5.00 after the scoreless top of the 9th. (35:00) A discussion about Blake Butera's 1st coaching staff. (41:00) What to expect within the organization in the next few months.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Nats lost 7-1 on Saturday afternoon to the visiting Mets, but it a was successful game in the larger picture. Mark & Al leadoff with the news that James Wood was voted Player of the Year by the local media ahead of CJ Abrams.  Wood has fewer homers than Abrams, but does have a higher OPS. (07:00) This game began at 12:35pm as opposed to its original 4pm start time due to impending weather.  This worked out on Saturday and Sunday's game has been moved by two hours earlier and will begin at 1:05pm. (10:00) Connelly Early made his Nationals debut on Saturday as he tossed three scoreless frames in just 34 pitches.  Early was injured when Washington acquired him from Boston in late July in exchange for Curtis Mead.  Early has already been slated for the 2027 starting rotation. (16:00) Jake Irvin relieved and ate some innings, but ultimately gave up two homers and five runs. Irvin ends the season with a 5.48 ERA and it is possible that he will be non-tendered in the offseason. (25:00) Al points a telling yet under-the-radar stat regarding the bullpen. (29:00) James Wood had a pair of hits with exit velocities above 100 MPH. Wood has on game left to avoid not hitting a homer in the final two months of the season. (31:00) DJ Herz will get the start in Sunday's season finale vs. the Mets.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Friday was busy one at Nationals Park as it began with a Cade Cavalli press conference and ended with a 7-6 win over the Mets.  Mark & Al begin with Josiah Gray, who earned his first career save by holding off New York in the top of the 9th.  It was the first time that Gray took the mound in Navy Yard since April 4th, 2024. (10:00) Blake Butera feels that if Washington had an average bullpen this season, then they would be preparing for the postseason. (16:00) Paul Toboni addressed the media prior to the game and seemed to indicate that Andrew Alvarez will have a spot in the rotation next season.  Alvarez did not pitch well on Friday night as he allowed five runs in just under five innings of work. Alvarez's outing ended on a sour note as he gave up a pair of Mets homers in the top of the 5th. (20:00) James Wood didn't homer, but he did reach base four times out of the leadoff spot. Wood's OPS is at .895 with two games remaining. (24:00) CJ Abrams crushed a ball to deep RF, but the wind knocked it down and Abrams' lack of hustle out of the batter's box was under the spotlight as he ended up with just a single.  This is similar to an instance from the season's opening series in Wrigley Field. (29:30) Dylan Crews homered for the 13th time this season and stole two bases in the victory.   (32:00) Connelly Early will make his Nationals debut on Saturday afternoon (12:35pm start now!).  He is expected to pitch a few innings before handing the ball off to Jake Irvin. (36:00) A recap of Cavalli's press conference filled with plenty of emotion after signing his four-year extension.  All of Cavalli's teammates attended to show their support for the right-hander.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Nats took the series with a 4-2 victory on Wednesday afternoon in Detroit.  Mark (From Comerica Park) & Al examine the team wrapping upits road campaign with a winning road trip in St. Louis & Detroit.  Washington finished the season with a 38-43 record on the road as they had a stretch where they lost 21 of 23 away games this summer. (6:00) It was a victorious Bullpen game that opened with Richard Lovelady on the mound.  Brad Lord had the most usage of any of the six relievers as he lasted 3.1 IP. Lord struck out a trio of Tigers on 49 pitches in what seems like his best role. (10:00) Yovanny Cruz notched the save as he recorded the final four outs.  Cruz entered in an 8th inning jam and struck out Spencer Torkelson to keep the 3-run lad intact. (18:00) YoYo Morales' 2-run homer in the top of the 6th put the Nats up 3-0. Morales has a .930 OPS in 43 at-bats this month in the majors. This leads to a discussion about his defensive options moving forward.   (23:00) CJ Abrams' RBI single put Washington the board and was his 103rd RBI of the season.  Abrams got the start at 2B for the 2nd straight day in Detroit. (27:00) Nasim Nuñez stole 2nd base to set the Nationals record and moments later swiped his 49th bag.  Nuñez broke the mark set a few seasons ago by CJ Abrams. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Nats topped the Tigers 3-1 on Tuesday night behind a pair of homers by CJ Abrams.  Mark (From Detroit) & Al begin with four rookie pitchers combining to preserve the victory despite not throwing one clean inning all evening. (06:00) Riley Cornelio served as the Opener behind handing the ball off to Jackson Kent in the bottom of the 3rd. Cornelio's ERA in September is an impressive 1.84 in six appearances. (8:00) Erik Tolman notched his 4th save of the season while striking out the side.  Jack Sinclair preceded Tolman and retired all four Tigers that he faced. (14:00) Cade Cavalli won't pitch the rest of the season after reaching the 200K mark on Friday last week. Cavalli ends the season with a 3.02 ERA in just under 170 innings pitched. (18:00) Abrams clobbered his 32nd & 33rd homers of the season and surpassed 100 RBIs for the first time in his career.  Blake Butera referred to Abrams as a superstar after the win. (23:00) Abrams or James Wood for Nationals Player of the Year? (27:00) Dylan Crews went 2 for 4 and stole two bases on Tuesday night.  Crews' OPS is at .662 with four games remaining.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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.

The Nats win streak extended to four-games with another comeback victory on Tuesday night. Mark & Al dig into the 6-3 victory over the visiting Phillies, who are now five and a half games behind Atlanta in the NL East standings. (03:00) A quick message from Tim about supporting the podcast. (06:00) Daylen Lile did not get the start, but changed the game with his pinch-hit opportunity in the bottom of the 7th.  Blake Butera loaded up a right-handed heavy lineup against Philadelphia ace Jonathan Sanchez, but then switched it up as the game continued. (12:00) Why did Butera go with Lile over Wood in the 7th? Wood then hit Chaparro immediately after Lile's homer in the 7th.  Chaparro tied the game in the 5th with a solo homer. (22:00) Jackson Kent allowed three runs in five innings of work, but he also issued three walks. (27:00) Yovanny Cruz retired all five batters that he faced in his 2nd appearance since getting called back up last week. Erik Tolman took the mound in the top of the 9th and notched his 3rd save of the season. (30:00) Cade Cavalli's next start was pushed to Friday in St. Louis and it will be a bullpen game on Wednesday vs. the Phillies.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Nationals rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the bottom 8th to prevail with a 6-5 win over the Angels on Sunday afternoon.  Mark & Al discuss Washington sweeping the worst team in the AL during the weekend series in Navy Yard. (06:00) Daylen Lile began the four-run 8th with a RBI triple and it ended with a Dylan Crews RBI single for a 6-4 lead. (11:30) James Wood did not run hard when thrown out at home in the 1st.  Ryan Zimmerman called him out on the broadcast and Wood apologized after the game. (19:00) Riley Cornelio opened for Jake Irvin and they combined for seven innings of work. Cornelio struck out four in just two frames on the mound. (24;20) CJ Abrams committed an error at shortstop and it is his 20th of the season. He trails Trea Turner by one error for the most in baseball. (28:00) Washington is a percentage point ahead of the Mets for last place in the NL East.  New York hosts the Orioles on Monday while the Nats have the day off.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Nats blew a late 4-run lead but ultimately emerged victorious on Saturday afternoon over the Angels.  Al & Tim examine the 6-5 walk-off victory after Harry Ford's comebacker was not fielded cleanly in the 10th and that brought across CJ Abrams for the winning run. (07:00) Andrew Alvarez struck out eight Angels in seven innings of work; while allowing only one hit.  Alvarez seems to be on the path towards locking up a rotation spot for next season. Alvarez is an organizational success story as he was a 12th round pick in the 2021 Draft. (11:30) Brad Lord gave up three runs in his 8th inning appearance and changed the dynamic of Washington's lead as it dwindled to 4-3.  Lord's struggles recently has reached the point that his ERA is back above .400. (12:30) Will Dion could not close it out and in turn gave up a pair of Los Angeles runs; which put his team behind 6-5 in the top of the 9th.   (20:00) Abimelec Ortiz's 2-run double gave Washington a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd. Andres Chaparro then pinch hit for Ortiz and tied the game with RBI single in the bottom of the 9th.  Is the organization all set for 1B in 2027? (25:00) James Wood is up to 21 steals and CJ Abrams is now one stolen base away from a 30-30 season. (30:00) Keibert Ruiz had a trio of hits and his OPS is up to.... .789! (35:00) Frankie Vernouski, the voice of the Harrisburg Senators, gives an update on Eli Willits and the rest of the AA club. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Nats snapped their seven game losing streak on Friday night as they rallied past the Angels 4-3 in Navy Yard. Before Al & Mark dig into the dramatic bottom of the 8th, they address a significant shake up in the team's medical personnel. (04:00) Mark reported prior to the game that the team parted ways with Harvey Sharman, the franchise's executive director of medical services.  Sharman has been with the organization since 2016 and he came over from Leeds United Football Club in Europe. (12:00) Cade Cavalli struck out nine in six innings of work.  Cavalli is up to 194 Ks on the season as he likely has two starts remaining. (21:00) Erik Tolman notched an adventurous save as he almost gave up a game-tying homer in the 9th to Christian Moore.  It ended up being a double and Tolman settled down to keep the lead intact. (26:00) Clayton Beeter tossed a scoreless bottom of the 8th, but was sent to AAA following the victory.   (29:00) The Nats trailed 2-1 entering the bottom of the 8th, but the offense came through in the frame.  Andrew Pinckney's sacrifice fly tied the game and then Jorbit Vivas stepped in the batter's box.  Vivas doubled down the line to give Washington a 4-2 lead. (32:00) Update on Harry Ford, who exited the game early due to hurting his left wrist. (35:00) Will Seaver King get called up before the end of the season? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.