The Nats fell 6-5 on Saturday night in L.A. for their 17th road loss in their past 19 games. Mark (From Dodger Stadium) & Tim begin with another failed top of the 9th rally by Washington. CJ Abrams ultimately struck out with two runners on base to end the game. (05:10) Clayton Beeter gave up a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 7th to Tommy Edman, the 36th blown save for the franchise this season. The Nationals pitching staff somehow leads MLB in both walks and homers allowed. (12:00) Cade Cavalli struck out eight Dodgers in six innings of work. Cavalli's ERA is at 3.12 with likely three starts remaining. (17:00) Dylan Crews doubled twice, but he also struck out twice. HIS OPS currently sits at .654. (21:30) Jorbit Vivas was held up at third base in the top of the 2nd and the Nationals never drove him run. This then leads to examining Victor Estevez's first season as Nationals 3B coach. (24:00) An update on Shohei Ohtani, who has not played in either game this series. (28:30) A quick look at the Dodgers ownership situation as Mark Walter recently sold off the Lakers.

The Nats lost to the Dodgers 5-3 on Friday night to begin their six game road trip. Mark (From Dodger Stadium) & Al open with the Nationals 9th inning comeback where they almost overcame a five run deficit. James Wood's RBI double brought to the tying run to the plate, but Andres Chaparro then flew out to end the affair. (07:00) Nasim Nunez had an active evening and some of it was not very good. Nunez stole his 45th base of the season, but then was thrown out at 3rd with Wood up to bat as he overslid the bag. Nunez also made a crucial error at shortstop that gave L.A. a 4-0 lead. (14:00) Nunez has 14 errors on the season and the complications at SS for the franchise continue. CJ Abrams got the start at 2B on Friday night. (16:00) Jackson Kent issued four walks in five innings of work. Kent has struggled in this category as he has walked 19 batters in five career starts. (19:00) Jack Sinclair made his MLB debut by tossing a scoreless bottom of the 8th. Sinclair took Matt Kranik's roster spot after Kranik was the latest reliever to be DFA'd. (23:00) Cade Cavalli will take the mound on Saturday night and will be a stiff test for the Dodger lineup. It is unclear if Shohei Ohtani wil return to the field after missing the past few days due to soreness in his neck.

The Nats were blanked 9-0 on Wednesday by the visiting Braves. Al & Tim examine the defeat where Washington only mustered two hits and didn't get their first one until the bottom of the 6th. This concludes a brutal stretch of 16 straight games without an off-day. (05:00) James Wood returned from the IL and his 6th inning single was one of the team's two hits. Wood has 30 home runs with 20 games remaining and last season he finished with 31 homers. (08:00) The other hit came form YoYo Morales in his 2nd career game. Morales was at 1B on Wednesday as Abimelec Ortiz served as the DH and Andres Chaparro got a rare start at 3B. (12:00) Brad Lord got the start as it was a planned bullpen game. There was an hour plus rain delay, but the timing came after Lord had already pitched three frames. (14:00) Riley Cornelio took over for Lord, but gave up a pivotal Sean Murphy 3-run HR and the Braves never looked back. Max Kranick took the mound in the 7th and he also gave up a 3-run shot. (19:00) Washington next plays on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. All three games this weekend in LA are late at night, but the team has a quick turnaround on Monday afternoon in San Diego. (23:00) Reacting to listener emails about the latest twists and turns in the CJ Abrams defensive saga. Abrams actually played 2B in Wednesday's defeat.

The Nats beat the Braves 9-5 on Tuesday night to open a two game series in Navy Yard. Al & Mark note how the team has won five of its past six games and their 67th victory of the season surpasses last season's total. Can they go 13-8 down the stretch to reach the 80-win plateau? (11:00) Yohandy "YoYo" Morales was a triple shy of the cycle in his MLB debut. His first MLB hit was a homer and he came very close to hitting a 2nd one, but it hit off the top of the wall. Morales was drafted in the 2nd Round of the 2023 Draft. (18:00) Jared Simpson also impressed in his MLB debut as he tossed three scoreless innings. Simpson took the mound in the top of the 5th and struck out a trio of Braves along the way. (22:00) CJ Abrams had two hits while playing SS in the victory and Brady House doubled off a right-handed pitcher. (25:00) Jake Irvin only lasted four innings despite giving up just two runs. Any chance he could moved to the bullpen next year? (28:00) James Wood is expected to come off the IL on Wednesday afternoon vs. Atlanta. (32:00) Paul Toboni met with the media prior to the game on Tuesday and of course CJ Abrams' defensive positioning came up.

The Nats beat Miami 6-3 on Monday night for their fourth win in their past five games. Mark & Al start with noting the roughly 10K in announced attendance, which was one of the lowest in stadium history. (06:00) Daylen Lile homered twice on the same day that he was named NL Player of the Week. Lile's OPS has now escalated to .752, which is 61 points higher than it was a few weeks ago. (10:00) Brady House had two hits in the victory as he is getting more and more opportunities to face right-handed pitching. (12:00) Jorbit Vivas was benched after not running out a pop fly in the bottom of the 4th. Vivas apologized following the game and accepted full responsibility. (18:00) Will Dion started the bullpen game and tossed three scoreless innings. Dion also picked off a pair of Marlins runners before handing it off the Luis Perales; who allowed three runs in the top of the 4th. (20:00) Matt Waldron took the mound in the 5th and did not allow any runs in three innings of work, but he loaded up the bases in the top of the 8th with no outs. Erik Tolman, a recent call-up, then wriggled out of the jam and then closed it out in the 9th. (23:00) James Wood needs a bit more time before returning to the Nats lineup. Wood homered on Sunday in AA-Harrisburg rehab appearance and then met with the team on Monday at Nationals Park. (25:30) A potential concerning update regarding Josiah Gray, who last pitched in the majors since April 2024. (28:00) CJ Abrams was originally slated to play SS on Monday night before being scratched due to back tightness. Blake Butera said during pregame availability that Abrams will actually see time at both 2B & SS in September. What is going on here?

The Nats led Miami 2-0 entering the top of the 9th on Sunday, but then the bullpen feel flat on its face. Mark & Al hold a lengthy discussion about the 'pen as it blew its 37th save of the season in the 6-2 defeat. This team amazingly has blown more saves (37) than they have converted saves (35) this season. (05:00) The litany of mistakes included not backing up an errant throw and allowing a way too easy steal of home. (10:00) Max Kranik began the frame, but it was Tom Cosgrove had the nightmare frame. Listen to how accountable Cosgrove was in the clubhouse after the loss as he ran through all the mental mistakes that he made while on the mound. (20:00) An explanation as to why Orlando Ribalta and some other arms were not available to pitch in the 9th. Cade Cavalli's Saturday start only lasting four innings had an effect on bullpen usage, in addition to the fact that the team has not had an off day in a week and a half. (30:00) Andrew Alvarez's solid outing was erased by the 9th inning collapse on Sunday afternoon. Alvarez did not give up a run in six innings of work as his ERA is at 3.47 in 21 appearances. (32:00) The nature of the loss buried the original lede in that CJ Abrams made his debut at 2B. No ground balls were to hit his way, but he did make a nice stab to end the 6th. (35:00) James Wood homered in his rehab stint on Sunday for AA-Harrisburg. It is expected that he will return to the Nats lineup on either Monday or Tuesday.

The Nats earned their first walk-off win of the season in Saturday afternoon's 5-4 win over Miami in extras. Al begins with the hero Dylan Crews, who's single brought in Nasim Nunez in order to preserve the victory in the bottom of the 10th. Crews had an impactful day as his swinging bunt resulted in a pair of runs coming across after a Miami throwing error in the 3rd. (10:00) Despite the win; the offense was retired for 21 consecutive hitters until the 10th inning. (12:30) CJ Abrams was at DH on Saturday as it has been over two weeks since his switch to 2B was announced. (15:00) Cade Cavalli had a great but brief outing as he exited after the top of the 4th. Cavalli fielded a comebacker off his leg and left the game shortly there after due to "calf discomfort". Hear what Blake Butera had to say about it postgame. (18:00) Tom Cosgrove had a rough appearance as he allowed three runs in less than an inning of work. Brad Lord then gave up the game tying 2-run HR to Heriberto Hernandez in the game changing top of the 7th. (22:00) Tim is joined by Jerome Hruska, the long time Nationals Public Address Announcer. Hear about how he reached the majors and what it was like to PA the World Series.

The Nats took care of the Marlins 9-2 on Friday evening in D.C. Mark & Al dig into Jackson Kent's impressive seven inning performance in just his 4th career Big League start. Kent ran into trouble in the top of the 7th, but convinced Pitching Coach Simon Matthews to let him wriggle out of it himself. Kent allowed just one run while striking out three Marlins on 106 pitches. (09:00) This outing came just five days after Kent lost in Miami on Sunday. Kent was lifted in the 5th inning and allowed three runs in the 6-2 loss that resulted in a sweep. (11:00) Is Kent in line to be part of the 2027 Opening Day rotation? (15:00) The Nats lost to Eury Perez on Saturday last week, but the tables turned in Navy Yard. Perez only lasted three innings and allowed five runs along the way. (17:30) Brady House crushed a 3-run shot off of Perez in the bottom of the 3rd. The actual distance was ultimately adjusted to 445 feet per Stat ast and it was one of the furthest balls ever hit towards LF in Nationals Park history. (23:00) Harry Ford homered and Daylen Lile tripled for the 6th time this season. Lile's ascending OPS is now up to .729. (28:00) Connelly Early recently threw live BP in West Palm and the current plan is for him to make a rehab start on September 8th. (30:00) James Wood took full BP and he might be able to return during this home stand. (33:00) CJ Abrams made a great play at SS as the wait continues for him to make the announced switch to 2B.

The Nats salvaged a series split with Colorado on Thursday afternoon after a 7-1 triumph. Al & Mark note that there was a clear sense of extra hustle just one day after Blake Butera called out the team for a lack of effort. (08:00) Daylen Lile kept up his hot week with three hits, including a homer. Lile has shot up his OPS recently as it now at .724. (11:00) Jacob Young impressed with an extra effort double, single, and a pair of stolen bases. Young's OPS is at .713, much higher than last year's total of .583. (15:00) Another game at DH for CJ Abrams. (18:00) Jake Irvin pitched into the 5th and struck out six Rockies, but he also issued six walks. (20:30) The most important play of the game might have been the pickoff by Keibert Ruiz to nab the runner leaning at 1B. It was a 4-1 game in the 7th as Clayton Beeter was facing Hunter Goodman, Colorado's best hitter. (25:00) Which position players are in jeopardy of getting replaced over the winter? (30:00) This weekend the Nats host Miami for a four game series after the Marlins swept last weekend's series.

The Nats were trounced 13-1 on Wednesday night by visiting Colorado. Before diving into the rout, Mark & Al briefly revel in the 1,000th edition of this podcast. (07:30) Blake Butera called out his team's lack of effort after the loss. (10:00) Andres Chaparro got a rare start at 3B and homered in the bottom of the 2nd. However, Chaparro did not hustle on a double by Jose Tena with two outs in the 4th and this was something that Butera pointed out afterwards. (18:00) CJ Abrams originally was slated for SS but ended up being the DH after pregame workouts did not go smoothly on the ankle. (23:00) Matt Waldron started the bullpen game as he recently joined Washington. This is the 3rd MLB team that Waldron has pitched for this season (Toronto & San Diego). (26:00) Poor outing for Will Dion as he allowed four runs in the 5th and Colorado never looked. Luis Perales had a disappointing MLB debut as he gave up a Grand Slam in the 7th. (34:00) Jake Irvin will take the mound on Thursday afternoon as the Nationals look to split the series.