Postgamer #51: Nats fall just short, split the series versus New York: A recap

The Nationals have got to be anxiously awaiting the day David Peterson retires. Besides one rocky start against Washington earlier this season, Peterson’s track record of terrorizing the Nationals has been a legacy he’s carried on over multiple seasons now.

Even in the midst of what’s been a brutal start to the season for Peterson, he found it in himself to toss five innings of one-run ball this afternoon to keep the Nats from bringing their record back above .500. In his own right, Cade Cavalli was awesome today, going a full seven innings of two-run ball today on just 84 pitches, in the latest of what’s been a strong stretch for him of late. At the end of the day, when you only allow the other team to score two runs, you should win the game, and the Nationals’ offense wasn’t able to make that happen today.

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Game #51 Nats want a happy flight!

Photo by Marlene Koenig/TalkNats

The Washington Nationals played good fundamental baseball last night and won a key game to get back to .500. A win by the Nats today would give them a series win and put the team above .500 and the best record they’ve had at this point in the season since 2018 — a year when there wasn’t a third Wild Card. The playoffs feel like a long-shot — but as Jacob Young said today on the radio, ❝WHY NOT US.❞

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Getting back to .500 is an accomplishment!

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Through the first 50-games of the 2026 season, the Washington Nationals are sitting at 25-25 and in second place in the NL East. Per BaseballReference.com, the Nats have playoff odds are 3.8 percent to make the postseason.

This is the Nats best start to a season at the 50-game mark since 2018. All of that is great in a year that was supposed to be a rebuild of the failed rebuild. The team spent under $20 million in new acquisitions, but they spent on coaches, analysts, player development personnel, and upgraded technology.

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How to Read MLB Lines and Spot Value Early

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A Washington Nationals fan has probably seen this kind of game before. The game opens with the Nationals sitting at +140 in the morning, only for the number to shrink by the afternoon after a pitching update or lineup announcement. Then the total moves from 8 runs to 9, and suddenly the game feels completely different without a single inning being played.

That is what MLB lines really are. They are not just betting numbers sitting on a screen. They are a live reaction to information. Pitching changes, weather reports, injuries, lineup news, and public opinion all shape the market throughout the day. Understanding how to read those movements makes baseball easier to follow because you start seeing what the market is actually responding to.

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Game #50 Nats hoping for another good Littell

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The Washington Nationals will have to deal with another iffy forecast on storms threatening to pass through the region near game time. The Nats have Zack Littell going, and he pitched a scoreless game his last time out. Can he repeat on that success? The Mets have a callup for his MLB debut, Zach Thornton. He is a left-handed pitcher.

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Postgamer #49: Nats erase early deficit, come back to take game 2 versus Mets: A recap

The Nationals put themselves behind the eight ball right out of the gates in last night’s game, as the Mets got out to an early 5-0 lead in the second inning. With the all-world pitcher on the mound against them in Nolan McLean, things seemed bleak until James Wood came up to bat in the bottom of the second inning with the bases loaded. All he did was hit a ball off the wall in left field and run all the way around the bases for an inside-the-park grand slam, just your everyday occurrence, right? The Nats got a homer from Jose Tena, some big contributions from other hitters, and a lights-out job by the pitching staff over the final seven innings en route to a win on Tuesday night to even this four-game series up at a game apiece.

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Incremental change vs. Developmental change vs. Analytics

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Game #49 Nats are making changes

Photo by Sol Tucker/TalkNats

The Washington Nationals problems this season were all on display yesterday. Bad defense, bad decisions, and struggles with a runner at third base. Even with four defensive errors, the Nats were in a position to walk-off as winners — and couldn’t even make contact for a productive out.

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Postgamer #48: Errors and poor execution lead to disastrous 12-inning loss on Monday night: A recap

There are some games that we get to leave thinking, “Man, that was just a well-played baseball game.” Last night’s game between the Mets and Nationals was not one of them. The Nats committed four errors, a few mental mistakes, and allowed five unearned runs en route to dropping this one 16-7 after running out of pitching and surrendering 10 runs in the top of the 12th inning.

This one stings a little extra when you think about the Nats having golden opportunities in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh innings to win this game, but could not execute any of them beyond keeping the game tied. Just not a game that frankly the Nationals deserved to win, but the opportunities were certainly there.

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Game #48 A 4-game series with the Mets

Photo by Marlene Koenig/TalkNats

The Washington Nationals haven’t had any very long winning streaks this season. However, winning series is a good goal. Winning a 4-game series against a division rival, New York Mets, would be incredible if the Nats could accomplish that.

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