The Nats lost 3-2 to Toronto on Monday night to begin the three game series in Navy Yard. Al & Mark focus on the familiar Blue Jays starting pitcher, Max Scherzer, who was returning from the IL (back). Scherzer tossed 75 pitches and was pulled in the 3rd inning amid a standing ovation. (12:00) Will Scherzer go into the Hall of Fame with a Nats hat on his plaque? (17:00) The offense struggled against Toronto's stout bullpen. Andres Chaparro's 5th inning solo homer was the only run that the Nats mustered against that unit. (23:30) Eddie Yean served as the Opener and pitched into the top of the 3rd. Yean only needed 11 pitches to get through the first two innings, but then allowed two Blue Jay runs. (25:30) Alvarez took the ball from Yean and then was sent down to AAA following the loss. Will Jake Irvin take his spot in the rotation? (34:00) The Pirates and Diamondbacks are playing each other this week in Pittsburgh. The Pirates won 3-2 in extras on Monday night to even Arizona for the final wild card spot. Washington is just a game back in the standings of these two teams. Link to this episode sponsor: https://ccanactionfund.org/2026-ev-raffle/

The Nats grabbed a rare home series victory after Sunday's 10-7 win over Arizona. Al & Mark have an avalanche of team news to sort through in this edition as Curtis Mead was traded to Boston late on Saturday evening. (06:45) Washington acquired lefty starter Connelly Early from the Red Sox in exchange for Mead. Early is currently on the 15-Day IL for elbow inflammation, but Paul Toboni laid out an encouraging timeline for his return this season. Early is a rookie with a 3.44 ERA in 17 starts in 2026. (15:30) How does this affect Foster Griffin as the Trade Deadline approaches on Monday August 3rd? (19:40) Projecting the potential starting rotation of the future for the organization after trading for Early. (23:00) CJ Abrams continues his red-hot stretch with a pair of homers in Sunday's win. Abrams now has 27 homers and leads all of MLB with 82 RBIs. (25:30) James Wood also went deep twice and is up to the 30 homer plateau. Wood surpassed Juan Soto on Sunday for the highest OPS in all of the NL at .953. (29:00) Brady House was called up from AAA on Sunday morning following Mead being traded away. House immediately was impactful as he doubled twice and drove in an insurance run while starting at 3B. House had an OPS of .842 while spending two months with Rochester. (32:00) Miles Mikolas only lasted four frames while serving as the true starting pitcher on Sunday. Mikolas allowed three runs and his ERA now sits at 5.65. (34:00) Five relievers were needed in order to preserve the victory.. Matt Krook began the inning with a five-run lead in the top of the 9th, but needed Clayton Beeter to take over for his 10th Save of the season. (38:00) Max Scherzer is returning from the IL on Monday and will take the mound at Nationals Park for the visiting Blue Jays on his 42nd birthday. Scherzer has had a rough season as he has a 10.23 ERA in six starts. (43:00) The Nats trail Arizona by just one game for the final wildcard spot.

**Late Saturday night the Nats traded Curtis Mead to Boston in exchange for left-handed starting pitcher Connelly Early. Tim gives a very brief update in the lead-off spot. The Nats moved back above .500 with a 5-3 win over Arizona on Saturday afternoon. Mark & Al hold a lengthy discussion about the unusual situation the franchise finds itself in with Foster Griffin, who earned his 12th victory of the season. Griffin is a Free Agent at the end of the year and it is still possible that he is dealt before the August 3rd Trade Deadline. Is it possible that the team and Griffin could reach an extension in the middle of the season? (12:00) Griffin pitched into the 7th and allowed three runs along the way. His ERA now sits at 2.76, the 9th lowest among qualifying NL starting pitchers. (19:00) CJ Abrams drove in three runs as he now leads all of MLB with 79 RBIs. Abrams tied the game in the 3rd with a 2-run double and then later slugged his 25th homer of the season. Abrams' OPS is now up to .924 and the only NL hitters ahead of him are Juan Soto, James Wood, and Pete Crow- Armstrong. (25:00) Daylen Lile's 2-run triple put Washington ahead for good in the bottom of the 3rd. Dylan Crews hit a few spots ahead of Lile in the lineup and drew three walks in the win. This follows an encouraging trend as Crews drew five walks on the six game road trip. (28:00) Miles Mikolas will take the mound at some point in Sunday's rubber match. The Nationals currently trail Arizona by two games for the final wild card spot.

The Nats continued to struggle at home in Friday night's 3-2 loss to Arizona. Mark & Al convene after Washington returned to .500 through 104 games played thus far. (08:00) The only Nationals runs came off of Dylan Crews' 2-run HR in the bottom of the 4th to tie the game. Crews went deep off of Arizona lefty Eduardo Rodriguez and it reflects his wide disparity in hitting righties vs. lefties this year. (14:40) Carson Palmquist allowed two early Arizona runs before Zack Littell took over in the top of the 2nd. Palmquist has not pitched particularly well as an Opener and he is likely being used in the role due to being a lefty. (23:00) Orlando Ribalta struck out three Diamondbacks in just over an inning of work. Ribalta's quietly impressive season continues as his ERA is now down to 3.64. (26:30) The Nats introduced Chris Hacopian, who they drafted number 11 overall a few weeks ago, prior to the game. Hacopian grew up in Montgomery County (Maryland) and attended Winston Churchill High School before embarking on a college career at Maryland & Texas A&M. (32:30) Breaking down the financial approach to signing draft picks.

The Nats blanked Colorado 8-0 on Wednesday afternoon for a rare shutout in Coors Field. Mark (From Denver) & Al convene following another road series win by Washington to finish their West Coast road trip at 4-2. (04:00) Cade Cavalli tossed six shutout frames to drop his ERA to 3.58 for the season. Cavalli struck out eight Rockies and he has the 7th most Ks in the National League (127). (12:10) Eddie Yean & Max Kranik combined to pitch the final three innings in the victory. This was Yean's first appearance since getting called back up from Rochester. (17:30) The Nationals broke the game wide open with six runs in the top of the 7th. It was nightmare inning for the Rockies defense as they committed three errors in the frame. (19:00) CJ Abrams gathered four hits to conclude his red hot road trip. Abrams is one of only six NL hitters with an OPS above .900. (22:30) Luis Garcia Jr. homered for the 21st time to put the team up 5-0. Al points out the unusual contractual quandary that Garcia Jr. is in as he is due to be a Free Agent following the 2027 season. (28:00) Washington welcomes in Arizona on Friday evening to begin their six game home stand. The Diamondbacks are a game and a half ahead of the Nats for the final wild card slot.

The Nats were upended 8-7 by the Rockies on Tuesday night. Mark (From Coors Field) & Al examine the seesaw affair that was tipped for good by Hunter Goodman's solo homer in the bottom of the 8th. (03:00) Carson Palmquist tossed a scoreless 1st but allowed four runs in the bottom of the 2nd. (05:00) Miles Mikolas immediately inherited a jam and ultimately gave up three runs in almost four innings of work. Mikolas' ERA is now up to 5.60 and his spot in the rotation could be in jeopardy as Jake Irvin rehabs his return. (14:00) Clayton Beeter gave up the decisive homer in the bottom of the 8th. Goodman is now up to 31 homers which is the 3rd most in the majors. (16:10) Eddie Yean has been promoted from AAA and the initial expectation is that his stay in the Big Leagues will much longer this time. (18:30) CJ Abrams homered twice and now is up to 24 homers for the season. Abrams is tied for the most RBI in the majors with 76 through 102 games. (22:15) Breaking down the failed contact plays that led to missed opportunities for the offense. (28:00) Cade Cavalli will take the mound on Wednesday afternoon as the team sits at .500. Washington is a game and a half behind Pittsburgh (and a slew of other teams) for the final wild card spot.

The Nats are back above .500 after Monday night's 7-3 win in Colorado. Mark (From Coors Field) & Al tip their caps to an unlikely bullpen trio that tossed almost five scoreless innings in the victory. Riley Cornelio took over for Andrew Alvarez in the 5th, Matt Krook grabbed the baton in the 7th, and Tom Cosgrove notched a very efficient six-out save to close it out. (09:30) Andres Chaparro homered for the third time on the road trip to put Washington up 3-0. Chaparro later found himself in the middle of a silly brawl after Rockies starter Kyle Freeland took issue with how Chaparro returned to the dugout after flying out. (16:15) Jacob Young went deep to put the Nationals up for good in the top of the 6th. CJ Abrams then homered in the next frame to give Washington some breathing room and a 6-3 lead. (18:00) Curtis Mead recorded three hits and his OPS is up to .870. How much does he factor into the organization's long-term plans? (26:40) Andrew Alvarez allowed three runs off of six hits in his Monday night start. Alvarez's ERA is at 4.22 through 14 appearances and his job is in jeopardy when Jake Irvin returns from the IL. Irvin threw a scoreless rehab start for AA-Harrisburg on Sunday. (30:00) Background on PJ Poulin's injury. (33:00) Trevor Williams gave up three runs in Sunday's rehab start with High-A Wilmington.

The Nats beat the A's 5-2 on Sunday afternoon to capture weekend series in Sacramento. Al & Tim open with Foster Griffin's 11th victory of the season as he only gave up one run in seven innings of work. Griffin has not allowed multiple runs in eight consecutive outings and his ERA is now down to 2.68 this season. (07:00) The Trade Deadline is Monday August 3rd at 6PM Eastern. (12:45) Griffin's next start will come over the weekend at home vs. Arizona. (18:00) PJ Poulin was placed on the 15-Day IL due to a left flexor strain; joining Brad Lord on that list. (24:00) Nasim Nuñez stole a pair of bases amid manufacturing the opening run of the game. Nuñez comfortably leads the rest of Baseball with 37 stolen bases this season. (26:00) Washington went back-to-back in the top of the 5th to break the game open (Abrams & Crews). (28:00) The Nats look to go above .500 this week in Colorado with a three game series that begins on Monday night.

The Nats were pummeled 15-1 by the Athletics on Saturday night in Sacramento. Al & Mark dig into offense not showing up just one day after scoring 23 runs. They were being no-hit by J.T. Ginn until Keibert Ruiz broke up the bid with a single in the top of the 7th. (08:00) The lineup was not identical to Friday night's offensive eruption. Jose Tena went 0 for 3 as the DH in the 3rd spot in the order, but Andres Chaparro did not play after driving in eight runs in Friday's win. (12:00) Zack Littell started and it did not go well. The Nats were immediately down 5-0 and Littell ultimately allowed eight runs in the loss. His ERA currently sits at 5.34 through 20 outings. (18:20) Max Kranik's Nationals debut was a rough one as he gave up five runs in less than an inning of work. Jorbit Vivas shockingly took the mound for the 2nd straight evening as both games this series have been blowouts. (23:00) The series rubber match will be Sunday afternoon as Foster Griffin is next up in the rotation.

The Nats trampled the Athletics 23-4 on Friday night in Sacramento to open the 2nd Half of the season. Mark & Al discuss the easy victory that saw Washington return its record to an even .500. (07:00) Andres Chaparro drove in eight runs as part of his two homer evening. Chaparro only had seven RBIs so far this season until gathering four hits on Friday night. (12:00) Harry Ford homered in his Nationals debut. Ford was called up this week from AAA after fellow catcher Drew Millas was placed on the IL. Ford came over to the organization after being traded for Jose A. Ferrer in the offseason. (20:45) Daylen Lile went deep in the 9th to give the Nationals 23 runs. (22:00) Curtis Mead doubled three times as part of his four-hit Friday night. Mead's OPS now is up to an impressive .865. (25:00) Cade Cavalli took the mound on Friday after closing out the 1st Half on Sunday. Cavalli struck out nine over the course of six innings of work. (29:15) Riley Cornelio tossed two shutout innings and struck out five Athletics hitters. (32:00) Robert Hassell III is now in the Pirates organization after being traded this week for cash considerations.