Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats
Hey guys, my apologies for the little absence from the site. College life is not for the weak, I’ll put it that way. Anyways, the Washington Nationals got a win today in their final road and divisional game of the season, in a 4-3 victory over the Braves in Atlanta. Andrew Alvarez continued his impressive September with a 4⅓-inning scoreless outing, which was supplemented by some power from the Nats’ order.
The Nats got on the board first in the top of the first inning as Daylen Lile just keeps on hitting, this time it was an RBI single to put the Nationals ahead 1-0. Bryce Elder and Andrew Alvarez went back and forth trading zeroes until the fourth, when Josh Bell smacked a solo home run to double the lead and make it a 2-0 ballgame.
The Braves rallied in the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases with one away against Mitchell Parker, coming in out of the bullpen to replace Alvarez. Parker navigated what could have very easily been a game-changing situation, getting Matt Olson to pop out and Ronald Acuna to ground out, ending the inning.
James Wood built on that momentum in the top half of the sixth as he got a 2-0 sinker from Elder right down the heart of the plate, and launched it over the center field fence to make this one a 3-0 game.
The Braves finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth against newcomer Julian Fernandez, as Drake Baldwin hit the 19th home run of his rookie campaign to trim the deficit to 3-1.
- Andrew Alvarez: 4.1 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts, 83 pitches
- Bryce Elder: 7 innings, 6 hits, 3 runs (3 earned), 0 walks, 7 strikeouts, 95 pitches
After Clayton Beeter picked up some clutch strikeouts to work out of a seventh-inning jam, the Nats got their final bit of damage in the top of the eighth. James Wood blasted a solo shot to center field for his second of the game, and his 30th of the season, to make it 4-1 Washington, a run that would prove to be huge.
The Braves clawed back against the Nationals’ bullpen, getting a solo homer from Marcell Ozuna in the eighth inning and a solo homer from Eli White in the ninth to cut the lead to 4-3. Jose A. Ferrer buckled down and kept Atlanta from tying the game up, securing the win for the Nats in their final road game of 2025.
Positives from this afternoon on the pitching side were Andrew Alvarez, Mitchell Parker, and Clayton Beeter. Parker came in like a fireman and put the flames out with no damage on the scoreboard. Offensively, Wood was the star. Lile led the way with a three-hit performance, raising his batting average to .296 in what’s been just a remarkable rookie season from someone that was not part of the Nationals’ young core at the beginning of the year. They also got two-hit days from Wood and Bell to give the Nats just enough to escape with a win in the final game of the series.
The Nats’ season is down to just three remaining games, as the final series of the year will begin on Friday night at 6:45 from Nats Park. The White Sox are in town for a matchup of two of the league’s worst. For Washington, this represents an opportunity to finish off a disappointing season with a strong weekend showing, as Cade Cavalli (3-1, 4.23 ERA) will make his final start of 2025 and attempt to go out on a high note in what’s been a very roller coaster year for him, but an encouraging one as it pertains to his future. It may not be postseason baseball, but it’s our team, so I encourage all of you to take the time to enjoy these three games this weekend, because we all know how badly we’re going to miss it when the winter rolls around.
