Going Deep with The Nats

The Washington Nationals finish their final road game of the season today as the Nats go for a split in Chicago. The team will fly back to Washington, D.C. after the game and have a day-off tomorrow. Yesterday, the team had a decisive win with MacKenzie Gore on the mound in the backdrop of the news of the demotion of CJ Abrams for off-the-field issues.

Today, Jake Irvin will try to replicate his success of Monday when he had 7.0 scoreless innings but was brought back out for the 8th inning and the 1-0 lead turned into a tie game. Irvin will go up against the Cubs’ Shota Imanaga, and Irvin needs to control what he can control and put up zeroes on the board. By the way, the Cubs were officially eliminated from the playoffs by the Nationals yesterday. At 79 wins, the Cubs are trying to win to finish with a winning record.

The Washington Nationals called up Trevor Williams yesterday to face the Cubs, a team he played for in 2021, and Williams went 5.0 innings of 1-run baseball to lower his season ERA to 2.19. That should have been enough to win the game — but Williams got no offensive support.

In yesterday’s 1-0 game, the Cubs pulled their starter, Jameson Taillon, at 80-pitches with 6.0 innings completed. He did not go to the mound for the 7th inning to risk anything. On Monday in a very similar situation, Jake Irvin was beating the Mets 1-0 at 90-pitches and was sent out for the 8th inning and the lead was given up quickly. Some said, “managers don’t pull a strong starter in that situation.” Well, Craig Counsell did — and he got the win. The Nats haven’t won a game since the day before Irvin’s start on Monday.

The Washington Nationals called up Trevor Williams today to face the Cubs, a team he played for in 2021. Williams had spent over three months on the IL and makes it back with a chance to pitch today and next week. Williams two-year contract is up after this season, and he can head back to free agency. What this does for the Nats is that they can go with a 6-man rotation and push back each pitcher with an extra rest day.

The Washington Nationals are happy to leave Flushing, New York, and hope that the Windy City blows some hits the Nats way. These are the final 10-games of the season with 4 in Wrigley, and then back home for the final 6 games split between the Royals and Phillies.

The Washington Nationals got pummeled last night, and all you can do is turn the page. After tonight, there are just 10-games remaining for the Washington Nationals. This is the series finale for the Washington Nationals with the Mets, and this is a salvage game for the Nats.

The Washington Nationals got a gem from Jake Irvin and wasted it. In a long season, games like last night happens. It felt like a playoff game. The Nats were winning 1-0 until they lost 2-1 in extra innings. Their 1-for-10 in RISP situations was just part of the problem. Today’s a new day to get a Curly W.

The Washington Nationals arrived in New York City for a 3-game series against the Mets with the third and final Wild Card spot up for grabs between the Mets and Braves. Those two teams enter play today tied with 81-68 records. Unless the Padres or Diamondbacks fall apart — it looks like the Mets or Braves will take the final spot in the NL Wild Card. For all intents and purposes, the Nats are in the spoiler’s role. Basically, a Nats win helps the Braves, and a Nats loss helps the Mets and hurts the Braves.