Game #11 Nats trying to find a positive consistency

Photo by Andrew Lang/TalkNats

The Washington Nationals showed hustle, grit, and teamwork yesterday to mount one of the best comeback wins in a long time. They did to the Cardinals what the Dodgers just did to the Nats over the weekend. All the players seemed engaged, and every position player contributed in this game. Starting pitcher Zack Littell had a very good start for his team, and the Nats send Cade Cavalli to the mound for his first start at home this season.

Manager Blake Butera‘s promise that his players would run a Hard-90 might have finally sunk-in as CJ Abrams made hard contact and immediately ran out of the box in what turned out to be a home run. And James Wood was running hard on defense and offense for his best defensive play of his career — and later Wood added another 3-run homer.

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The new ABS system seems to have a Hawthorne Effect … and the Nats are benefitting.

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Postgamer #10: Bombs away! Nats blast three homers in the eighth to take come-from-behind win: A recap

Talk about a game the Nationals wouldn’t have won in the prior five years. The Cardinals had a 6-3 lead on the way to the bottom half of the eighth inning, and that was the point when the Nationals’ bats woke up in a big way. James Wood, slowly coming alive after a rough start to the season, came up and blasted a game-tying three-run shot to center field to even the game at six. Two batters later, Brady House picked a great time to hit his second home run of the season, a go-ahead two-run shot to make it 8-6. CJ Abrams would follow with a solo shot, giving the Nationals a 6-run eighth inning — and a 9-6 lead that would be the final count in tonight’s game.

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Game #10 Let’s Get Down To Business

Photo by Sol Tucker/TalkNats

The Washington Nationals went from a promising 3-1 start to their 2026 season into a 5-game losing streak to put themselves in a 3-6 hole. Two games with 5-run leads were blown during the losing streak. The new guy, Zack Littell, will be tasked with stopping this losing streak. And manager Blake Butera, who had brilliantly made moves until yesterday, kind of made a mistake or two. After Saturday’s lapses of hustle, his team played hard Saturday — but it was some poor bullpen work that sunk the ship.

Manager Blake Butera‘s promise that his players would run a Hard-90 and do the little things right as a fundamentally sound team has not gone that way. It feels sort of like the slop we saw in 2025 where players would wave the white flag and give up. This is a new series to turn it around. When Butera was hired he talked a big show with, “We’re going to play hard. We’re going to do the little things right. … Control the things we can control — running a Hard-90,” but that clearly has not been the case in this 9-game sample size so far.

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Postgamer #9 Another win turned into a loss in the bullpen!

Photo by Marlene Koenig/TalkNats

The Washington Nationals 5-game losing streak includes two blown saves as the team had 6-1 leads in both games, and the bullpen couldn’t close the door. Today, manager Blake Butera left Cionel Perez out there with a 3-run lead after he allowed the first three runners on-base. He gave him more rope and Perez put two more on-base and was finally pulled when it was too late. Another questionable move was using Cole Henry, part of the “A” bullpen, in a blow-out yesterday. That forced Butera to try to get a save by using PJ Poulin for 2.0 innings and pushing Clayton Beeter into work two innings.

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Game #9 Nats trying to avoid a sweep!

Photo by Jake Stephens/TalkNats

The Washington Nationals went from a promising 3-1 start to their 2026 season into a 4-game losing streak. Today is one of those pivotal games where you either go into tomorrow at 4-5 or 3-6. The Dodgers are a behemoth when their offense is hot — and they are red hot.

Speaking of “red hot,” where has Joey Wiemer been? He hasn’t been seen since April Fool’s Day except for cameos in the dugout. For that matter, where has the real James Wood been? For a player who needs offense, a TV replay showed that Wood jogged out of the box on a grounder up the middle that he had a legit chance for an infield single. What happened to manager Blake Butera‘s promise that his players would run a Hard-90? “We’re going to play hard. We’re going to do the little things right. … Control the things we can control — running a Hard-90,” Butera said at the time. So far, Wood has been a -0.4 WAR and a -2.0 on his OAA which are both the worst on the team. While the stats are small sample sized, the effort has to be there in what you can control.

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The 2026 “Value” Roster: How the Nats’ Payroll Flexibility Impacts World Series Odds

While having the best team on Opening Day is ideal, World Series winners also need top-rated players. In 2026, the Washington Nationals took a different approach. The Nats put together a “value” roster that avoided heavy spending on superstars with a top salary of $7 million plus incentives. As a result, their low, flexible payroll allows for midseason changes if the team miraculously was contending. The Nats’ increased adaptability makes them a serious contender for the championship. As for bettors who place bets on platforms like Betway, it’s important to understand how the roster impacts World Series odds.

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Game #8 Jake Irvin tasked as the stopper

Photo by Andrew Lang/TalkNats

The Washington Nationals went from a promising 3-1 start to their 2026 season into a 3-game losing streak. Not optimal, even though we knew that the first three series of the season would be a tough task to face the three top teams in the NL from last year that included the Los Angeles Dodgers, the reigning two-time World Series champs. Nats’ starter Jake Irvin is tasked today with being the stopper.

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Postgamer #7: Nats drubbed by Dodgers in home opener: A recap

Well, I think congratulations are in order for Miles Mikolas, who is already in the Nationals’ record books after just two starts with the team. Unfortunately, the record he broke today is one that I’m sure he’d have rather stayed far away from. The game got off to a fast and opportune start, with Mikolas breezing through the first two innings without any damage allowed. Those innings were punctuated by a two-out three-run homer by CJ Abrams that put the Nationals ahead 3-0, and sent what was a tremendous crowd into a raucous frenzy. That would be the end of the good vibes on this particular afternoon for the Nats fans in attendance.

In his shortened outing, Mikolas would proceed to allow 11 earned runs and four home runs, setting a new Nationals team record for most runs allowed in a single appearance. This was all the Dodgers needed en route to a 13-6 victory.

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Game #7 Nats Home Opener!

Photo by Sol Tucker/TalkNats

The Washington Nationals are home, and will celebrate their Opening Day in Nationals Park — not in a traditional first game of the season — just the home opener! The team welcomes in the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

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