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Nats ChatNats Drop the Rubber MatchThe Nats fell 3-2 on Sunday afternoon to the visiting Giants. Al begins with the sluggish offensive performance, that was punctuated by the curious decision to pinch-hit Josh Bell for Amed Rosario in the bottom of the 9th. James Wood had a RBI double, but the bats only collected five hits in total.(07:30) Alex Call and Robert Hassell III each had disappointing outfield defense in the pivotal top of the 3rd. Most notably, Call lost a fly ball in the sun at the wall that turned into a Sam Huff homer instead of an out.(12:15) Mi...2025-05-2618 minNats ChatAbrams to the IL Before Loss in South FloridaThe Nats did not have effective pitching in their 7-6 loss on Saturday afternoon in Miami. Al recaps the not so pretty totals for Trevor Williams, who allowed six runs off of eight hits, before getting pulled in the bottom of the 5th. Williams so far on the season is sporting a 7.36 ERA.(06:00) The bullpen did not allow a run on Friday night for the first time all season, but that luck did not carry over into Saturday. Colin Poche allowed. Marlins run across, but the trio of relievers that followed him did not allow a further ru...2025-04-1323 minNats ChatMore Good Pitching Down SouthThe Nats won 3-1 on Thursday night to take three out of four games this week in Atlanta. Al & Tim begin with what has become a familiar starting point for this podcast.... solid team pitching. Trevor Williams earned the victory as he lasted into the 6th and four relievers combined for a scoreless effort. The final six outs were recorded by the dynamic duo of Hunter Harvey & Kyle Finnegan.(17:00) Joey Meneses had the hit of the night with a two run double in the top of the 3rd and came through with five hits during this series...2024-05-3135 minNats ChatGame 63: Gore Struggles in AtlantaThe Nats losing streak is up to six games after falling 6-4 in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon. Al summarizes MacKenzie Gore's start where the lefty gave up five runs in as many innings. Gore's ERA is now above 4.00 (4.04) and he has not earned a victory since April.(08:20) Lane Thomas doubled and tripled on Saturday in Georgia. Hear Al point out a staggering 1st inning Lane Thomas statistic.(14:30) Michael Chavis started at 1B as Dom Smith was given a rare day off. Smith has been at 1B for the Nationals for every game since late April...2023-06-1122 minNats ChatGame 46: Corbin & Candelario Lead the WayThe Nats ended their four game skid by topping Detroit 5-2 on Saturday afternoon in a game that lasted just a tad over two hours. Al praises the lineup for their five extra base hits in the victory and two of those came from the scorching bat of Jeimer Candelario.(11:40) Patrick Corbin earned the victory and also reached the milestone of 1500 career strikeouts. Al points out that Corbin is likely in the midst of his best pitching stretch since 2020.(17:10) Kyle Finnegan notched the save and Hunter Harvey came through with a scoreless 8th inning. Hear...2023-05-2124 minNats ChatGame 45: Furious Rally Comes Up ShortThe Nats lost 8-6 on Friday to visiting Detroit after trailing 8-0 in the 6th inning. Mark & Al break down Jake Irvin's short outing and wonder how much this affects his future status in the rotation. Luis Garcia committed a costly throwing error in the 3rd inning which led to 3 more Tigers runs (It should be noted that this was his 1st error of the season).(14:30) Matthew Boyd, the Tigers starting pitcher, took a no hitter into the 6th until Keibert Ruiz connected on lead-off double (or should it have been an error?) This spurred a major...2023-05-2035 minNats ChatGame 14: Bell Leads Cleveland Rally + Nats Perspective on Commanders SaleThe Nats couldn't keep their early lead and lost 4-3 to visiting Cleveland on Friday night. Al & Tim Shovers begin with the bullpen who for a third time in less than two weeks could not deliver a victory. Hunter Harvey and Carl Edwards Jr each struggled as an early 3-0 Washington lead became no more. Josh Bell played a big part of it in his return to Navy Yard; as he homered and doubled in the later innings.(08:00) Trevor Williams was in line for his 2nd victory of the season, but ended up with a no decision...2023-04-1534 minNats ChatGame 4: Offense Only Collects 4 Hits in DefeatThe Nats lost the series opener to the visiting Rays 6-2 as the offense only mustered four hits. Al & Mark begin with the struggling lineup and wonder... is that what to mostly expect all season? Washington has only totaled nine runs in four games so far.(12:20) Trevor Williams' Nationals debut resulted in a loss as he gave up four runs in his outing. Adding to the bad fortune of the evening, runner interference yet again did not go the franchise's way.(24:00) Ildemaro Vargas got the nod to play LF on Monday night and Mark explains...2023-04-0435 minNats ChatGame 150: Gray's Outing Sputters in the 6thThe Nats lost 5-2 in Miami and Josiah Gray took his 10th loss of the season. Al & Mark (Live from Florida) run through Gray's start, as he had only allowed one run until the Marlins scored three off of him in the 6th. On the bright side, Gray did not allow a home run for the first time in 14 starts.(11:47) Updates on both MacKenzie Gore and Patrick Corbin. Will either guy start a game for Washington in the final stretch? Gore has a rehab start on Monday for Rochester and Corbin left his last start early due...2022-09-2431 minNats ChatGame 111: Winless Road Trip ContinuesThe Nats lost 6-3 at the Cubs for their sixth consecutive defeat. Al begins by pointing out to Mark (Live from Wrigley Field) that a bright spot emerged on Monday in the new prospects rankings by Baseball America. Washington has five of the top 55 prospects, with four ranked ahead of Cade Cavalli (C.J. Abrams the highest at #11).(07:30) An emailer asks if Cade Cavalli remaining in AAA has anything to do with MLB service time stipulations. Is it more baseball reasons or service time reasons?(12:40) Two Natonals went deep at Wrigley Field, Luke Voit & Joey...2022-08-0934 minNats ChatGame 71: Fedde & 'Pen Shutout the O'sA refreshed Nats blanked the Orioles 3-0 for a 2nd straight win. Mark (Live from Baltimore) & Al evaluate Erick Fedde's big night as he tossed six shutout frames at Camden Yards. The bullpen was just as good as well as Kyle Finnegan, Carl Edwards, Jr., and Tanner Rainey all threw scoreless innings.(12:03) Lane Thomas homered on Tuesday while hitting ninth in the order. Thomas is hitting .310 so far in the month and Mark explains what likely led to the decision to put in that lineup spot.(22:05) A Ryan Zimmerman memory submitted from a listener. Please...2022-06-2222 minNats ChatGame 28: Shutout in Anaheim, Rendon Goes HitlessTh Nats were blanked 3-0 by the Angels as their road trip extended to a third city. Mark (Live from Anaheim) & Al open the discussion with Joan Adon's start as there was a lot to like despite the final result. The highlight of his outing were back to back strikeouts against Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.(13:06) It was the first time that Anthony Rendon faced his old team as he went 0 for 4 with 2 Ks. Mark explains what Anthony said to reporters pregame about playing against the Nationals. What's your favorite HR of his from October 2019?(20:33...2022-05-0737 minNats ChatGame 10: Soto HRs into the River in DefeatThe Nationals lost 6-4 in Pittsburgh on a cold Mid April night. Al & Mark (Live from Pittsburgh) recap an evening where the Nats left 11 runners on base.(05:08) Juan Soto himself didn't strand any runners, and he also reached base four times for a 2nd straight game. He smashed his 3rd HR of the season, that somehow found its way into the Allegheny River. (11:01) Josh Rogers did not last five innings and following this season's formula, it resulted in a Washington loss. The hosts also touch upon a few moments of...2022-04-1732 minNats ChatGame 7: Gray & "A" Bullpen Take the Series in AtlantaThe Nats won the rubber match in Atlanta 3-1 for their third victory in the past four days. Mark (live from Truist Park) and Al open the discussion with praise for Josiah Gray, who tossed five scoreless innings. What was working for Gray in the outing?(10:46) The top bullpen arms then stepped up for the final twelve outs to give Gray his first W of the season (Finnegan, Doolittle, Cishek , and Rainey). Do the Nationals actually have themselves a solid back-end of the 'pen?(17:24) The offense jumped out on M...2022-04-1433 minNats ChatGame 122: Yelich Slams the Win Streak Shut in Four Hour AffairThe Nationals lost 9-6 in Milwaukee to halt the three game win streak. Al laments how the game took four hours and eighteen minutes. What can be done to avoid interminable games like this one?(5:20) Lane Thomas was given a prominent role in the lineup card as the leadoff hitter in CF. He backed up the assignment by impressing with his bat, speed, and arm. A few other young guys made contributions as well on Saturday.(14:57) The bullpen had two disastrous innings in the 5th & the 8th. Al explains wha...2021-08-2240 minNats ChatGame 118: Ross' Elbow to the IL & Skid Hits 7The Nats lost 6-5 to Atlanta for a seventh straight defeat, but the main story Sunday stemmed from pregame. Mark & Al react to the news that Joe Ross is back on the IL due to a partial UCL tear in his elbow, which could possibly lead to another Tommy John Surgery. What might this mean for the team's rotation and also the future of Ross' career?(16:54) The Nationals were more competitive than Saturday's rout, but still came up just short. There were some bright spots, including Carter Kieboom at the plate, Lane Thomas reaching ba...2021-08-1646 minNats ChatGame 99: Hand Collapses Again for a 5th Straight DefeatThe Nationals coughed up a late lead and fell 6-5 in Philadelphia on a walk-off 3 run HR by Andrew McCutchen off of closer Brad Hand. Mark & Al put in perspective what this means for Hand's value on the trade market in addition to the "kick in the teeth" type loss they were dealt.(4:01) Twitter was filled with reports that the Nats are listening to trade offers for Trea Turner, who is a Free Agent after 2022. Should Washington consider dealing away their All Star Shortstop?(15:37) Max Scherzer is open to...2021-07-2739 minNats ChatGame 38: Bote HR off Harris Sinks the NatsThe Nationals lost 6-3 at the Cubs for a 2nd straight defeat. Al & Mark yet again have no choice but to talk about the struggling offense, as Washington stranded 11 men on base. Will things turnaround if Juan Soto continues to lack power?(13:16) A recap of Patrick Corbin's mediocre start, Al explains what "Corbin got BABIP'd" means. Focus turns to his battery mate Yan Gomes, who very quietly is having a strong season defensively.(22:48) A preview of Max Scherzer's Wednesday night start at Wrigley Field as he takes on Jake Ar...2021-05-1934 minNats ChatGame 33: Corbin & A Pair of 1st Inning HRs End the SkidThe Nationals ended their 4 game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over Philadelphia. Al & Mark compliment Patrick Corbin, who has turned his season around lately, and had his best start of the year. Are we seeing a return of "2019 Corbin?" The Bullpen also featured some arms in new roles as Daniel Hudson came in the middle of the 8th to save the day and Austin Voth pitched a high leverage 9th inning. Where does Voth rank in the bullpen hierarchy?(13:20) Al compares Davey Martinez's lineup to Vanna White's wardrobe. Confused? Tune in to find out...2021-05-1433 minNats ChatGame 23: Corbin & Bell Lead the Way to a 3rd Straight WinThe Nats beat Miami 7-2 for their first three-game winning streak of the season. Al & Mark react to the good vibes surrounding the team at the moment and Patrick Corbin's stellar start. Why has he had such a "Jekyll & Hyde" season so far?(13:47) The offense had a good day and Josh Bell led the way with 4 RBIs, including a 3 run double off former National Ross Detwiler. Mark then points out the pace that Trea Turner is on so far offensively and how his defensive statistics are just as impressive. (20:56) Aust...2021-05-0233 min