May 8, 2026 [LINK / comment]
To the surprise of almost no one, the Washington Nationals lost 3 games out of 4 in the home series against the red-hot Atlanta Braves two weeks ago. The Nats won the second game (Apr. 21) thanks to another fine outing by Foster Griffin (6 innings) and home runs by James Wood and Curtis Mead; final score 11-4. The next day, the Nats grabbed a 4-1 lead in the 1st inning, but Zach Littell kept giving up runs, and the Braves came out ahead, 8-6. In the final game of the series, Cade Cavalli went 5 innings and threw 10 strikeouts, but the bullpen (more specifically Cionel Perez) folded in the late innings, and the Braves won it, 7-2.
Nevertheless, the Nats continued to show show spunk and even some occasional signs of professional maturity. On April 24 they headed to Chicago and came up short (5-4) against the White Sox. Once again, P.J. Poulin started the first couple innings for the supposed "starter" Miles Mikolas, who seems averse to actually "starting" games. But somehow the Nats bounced back with two straight games that went to the 10th inning, winning by scores of 6-3 and 2-1. Then they got another road series win against the Mets in New York, getting trounced 8-0 in the first game, and then getting revenge 14-2 the next day, capped by Brady House's first career grand slam. In the rubber match game, C.J. Abrams hit a clutch 2-run homer in the top of the 8th, giving the Nats a 5-4 victory. With two straight road series wins, the Nats were climbing close to the .500 mark.
Then on May 1, the Nats welcomed the Milwaukee Brewers to Washington, and the Brew Crew clearly had revenge on their minds after the Nats swept them at American Family Field three weeks earlier. The Nats barely got on the board in the first two games (6-1 and 4-1, respectively), but they pulled off a 3-2 win thanks in great measure to the two RBI singles hit by Nasim Nunez. After a day of rest, the Minnesota Twins began a 3-game series in their franchise's original home city, when they were the Washington Senators. The Twins won 11-2 in the first game, as Nats starting pitcher Cade Cavalli seemed to fall apart in the 2nd inning. But the next day Miles Mikolas actually started the game, and he actually got his first win of the season, as C.J. Abrams' late-inning grand slam put the icing on the cake in a 15-2 rout. The rubber match game was a back-and-forth affair, and the Nats managed to come out ahead, thanks largely to none other than Keibert Ruiz. He hit two doubles and a home run, batting in 4 of the Nats' 7 runs, in a 7-5 decision. That put the Nats into sole possession of 2nd place in the NL East, one game ahead of the Phillies.
Tonight the Nats hit the road again, and in the 6th inning are ahead of the Miami Marlins 3-2.
My Washington Nationals page has been updated to reflect data for the month of April (including 5 games in March), and trying to keep up with the fluid defensive position assignments. As just one example, James Wood started the season in left field, but now plays in right field.
Among the new pitching rotation, Foster Griffin (ERA of 2.22, with a 3-1 record) thus far has proven he is worth every penny of the $5.5 million contract that he signed in December. The same cannot be said of either Zack Littell ($7 million) or Miles Mikolas ($2.25 million), however. Jake Irvin and Cade Cavalli are a mixed picture, in need of adjustments.