The Nats fell 8-5 on Tuesday night in Kansas City in a game that saw a bizarre pitching line. Mark (From KC) & Al examine Mitchell Parker's outing where he only allowed two hits, but ultimately gave up five runs. It was Parker's 13th loss of the season and his WHIP is the worst among qualifying pitchers in all of MLB (1.46). (06:00) James Wood continued his latest surge with a RBI double and a single. The double had an exit velocity of 118MPH; one of the hardest hit balls in recorded team history. (11:45) Dylan Crews is expected to come back within the next few days and that will require someone being sent down to Rochester. Will Jacob Young's Bobblehead Night on Saturday play a factor in the decision? (19:30) Comparing Riley Adams & Drew Millas as the pair have been the two catchers for over a month. Adams had two hits on Tuesday night and his OPS is at .608. (25:00) Jake Irvin will take the mound on Wednesday to try and avoid the sweep. Will Brady House get his first start of the series?

The Nats lost 7-4 on Monday night at Kansas City as they begin a new phase of the road trip. Mark (From KC) & Al open with Cade Cavalli's first road outing where he allowed four runs in five plus innings of work. Cavalli gave up a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 6th to mar his pitching line. (12:30) Josh Bell hit his 15th homer on the season early in the game for a 2-0 Washington lead. James Wood had his 4th consecutive good game as he had a pair of singles and Paul DeJong also went deep while hitting 3rd in the order. (17:15) Daylen Lile had a single and a double while playing RF in the defeat. Lile is in danger of being sent back to AAA when Dylan Crews returns this month. (21:35) Jackson Rutledge gave up the decisive 2-run HR to Kansas City's 9th hitter, Kyle Isbel. Will Rutledge still be with the organization at Spring Training? (27:00) MLB Pipeline came out with their new rankings and Eli Willits is atop the Nats list. LHP Alex Clemmey was just promoted to AA-Harrisburg and is 5th on the list, behind Travis Sykora, Jarlin Susana, and Luke Dickerson.

The Nats cruised past the Giants 8-0 on Sunday afternoon for their first series win since the trade deadline. Mark (From San Francisco) & Al have another all positive set of topics to dissect as both James Wood & MacKenzie Gore had big days. (04:10) James Wood continued his strong weekend from the lead-off spot as he had a pair of RBI doubles. Wood however did strike out three times. (07:30) MacKenzie Gore really bounced back from Tuesday's disastrous outing. Gore struck out 10 in six innings of work and it was the first time he had threw double digits strikeouts since June 14th. (11:05) The offense was very hot with 17 hits and Josh Bell collected three of them. Bell this summer has elevated his OPS to .731, almost 100 points higher than it was at the end of June. (16:15) Luis Garcia Jr. was out all weekend due to a back issue, but it remains to be seen if he is headed to the IL. (20:00) Cade Cavalli will the take the mound on Monday in Kansas City. It will be Cavalli's first ever start on the road in the Big Leagues. (21:45) Dylan Crews played all weekend in Nortfolk for Rochester and it is unclear in when he return to the Nationals.

The Nats hit three homers in Saturday afternoon's 4-2 victory at the Giants. Mark (From San Francisco) & Al meet after James Wood leadoff the game with his first home run in a month. Wood is now up to 25 homers on the season and also added a RBI double in the top of the 6th. (07:00) Paul DeJong and Josh Bell went Back-To-Back in the top of the 3rd to put Washington up 3-0. The offense totaled 11 hits in a rare successful game against a lefty starter (Carson Whisenhunt). (11:15) Should Wood stay in the top spot of the lineup? Shoehei Ohtani & Kyle Schwarber would be comparable examples of power hitting lead-off men. (14:05) Brad Lord had another solid outing as he only allowed one run in six innings while striking out five Giants hitters. Lord's ERA this year is 3.28 while flipping back and forth between being a reliever and a starter. (21:15) Jose A. Ferrer recorded his first save of the season and second of his career. Ferrer took over the closer role after Kyle Finnegan was dealt away and this was his first save opportunity after the trade deadline. (28:30) MacKenzie Gore will take on Justin Verlander in Sunday afternoon's series rubber match. Gore is coming off a terrible start vs. the Athletics where he gave up eight runs in just three innings on the mound.

The Nats were blanked for the second straight day in Friday night's 5-0 loss at the Giants. Mark (From San Francisco) & Al examine the new look lineup that saw James Wood double out of the lead-off spot. (06:45) Brady House went 0 for 4 while slotted 3rd in the lineup, House has been up for nearly two months and his OPS so far is a disappointing .585. (09:00) Dylan Crews is with Rochester this weekend as his rehab stint continues. Will he join the Nats in Kansas City on Monday? (12:10) Jake Irvin immediately fell behind 2-0 but settled down to allow three runs in just over five innings of work. This leads to an examination of the potential Opening Day 2026 starting rotation. (21:30) Shinnosuke Ogasawara recorded seven outs and lately Miguel Cairo has been using him in a long reliever role.

The Nats were blanked 6-0 on Thursday afternoon by the Athletics to end a dismal 1-5 homestand. Al & Tim convene to marvel at how bad Washington has been in day games this year; a starling 14-34 thus far. (06:30) James Wood struck out twice and went 0 for 4 in the loss. Wood only gathered two hits all homestand and his OPS this season has dipped to .832. (14:05) Mitchell Parker gave up four runs in just five innings of work. Parker's ERA is an alarming 5.43 and his 1.48 WHIP is the worst in the majors among all qualified pitchers in the majors. Should the Nationals send Parker down to Rochester? (24:20) We respond to listener emails. Please send your thoughts to natschatpodcast@gmail.com if you would like for us to read it on air. (33:45) It is unclear when Dylan Crews will end his rehab stint in AAA, but there is a decent chance it could come during the upcoming two city/ six game road trip.

The Nats got a much needed feel-good win on Wednesday to snap their six game skid. Al & Mark gather after the 2-1 walk-off victory over the Athletics where Cade Cavalli took the Navy Yard mound for the first time in almost three years. Cavalli did not allow a run in just over four innings of work where he had six strikeouts. (11:00) Jose A. Ferrer pitched the top of the 9th and after the game Miguel Cairo declared him the closer for the rest of the season. (16:15) CJ Abrams committed a throwing error, but came through with a walk-off single to score Robert Hassell III. The ball beat Hassell home, but was misplayed by the Athletics catcher Tyler Soderstrom. Mark had the perfect vantage for the final sequence and gives his opinion on the decision by Ricky Gutierrez to send Hassell in to score. (22:45) Riley Adams homered in the bottom of the 6th to break up Jeffrey Springs' Perfect Game bid. The conversation leads to Keibert Ruiz, who has been on the Concussion IL since for over a month now. (28:00) We had a successful Nats Chat Hangout at Walter's prior the game. Stay tuned for info on the End of Season Party in October. (30:30) Josh Whetzel, the Voice of Rochester, gives his weekly update from AAA. Dylan Crews is currently rehabbing with the Red Wings.

The Nats were crushed by the visiting Athletics 16-7 on Tuesday night for their 6th consecutive defeat. Mark & Al run through all the awful totals as the Nationals were routed by the last place team in the AL West. (03:20) MacKenzie Gore had a nightmarish start that only lasted three innings. Gore immediately fell behind 5-0 in the top of 1st and ended up giving up eight runs. Gore's ERA is now 4.29 and he did not record any strikeouts in the outings. The lefty's ERA was at 2.89 back on June 15th when he was on his way towards the All-Star Game. (16:00) The bullpen had to go six innings and allowed eight runs in the process. Andry Lara had a brutal outing as he allowed six runs in his two innings of work. The 'pen has an unthinkable 5.98 for ERA this season. (21:05) The offense has been outscored 54-20 in this homestand. Eleven of those 20 runs have come in the bottom of the 9th when the game is already well out of hand; including four in the bottom of the 9th on Tuesday. James Wood had another game without a hit, but did not strikeout in the loss. (22:45) Cade Cavalli will return to the Navy Yard for the first time in three years on Wednesday evening. Cavalli has struggled mightily in Rochester, but there are not seemingly any better options. Cavalli's only Nats start came in August 2022 before he got hurt for the rest of the season.

The Nats were clobbered by the Brewers 14-3 on Sunday afternoon for their 5th straight loss. Mark & Al point out that Milwaukee is an organization worth emulating as they continue to win every year despite not having a high payroll. (09:00) What is the bigger need for the organization? Pitch depth or offensive firepower? (13:30) James Wood's summer swoon continued as he went 0 for 3 w/ 2 Ks while in the DH spot. Wood's slugging percentage has now dipped below .500 for the season. (16:05) Brad Lord gave up three runs in just five innings of work. Lord lasted 92 pitches and his ERA this season now sits at 3.42. (19:20) The bullpen was torched, including allowing seven runs in the top of the 7th. Zach Brzykcy was responsible for six of them and Ryan Loutos after the game was sent down to AAA. (27:45) Who will start for the Nats on Tuesday vs. the Athletics? Could it be Cade Cavalli?

The Nats lost 8-2 to the visiting Brewers for their fourth consecutive defeat. Al & Tim dig into another rough start for Jake Irvin where he allowed five runs in four innings. Irvin immediately allowed three runs; continuing his recent trend of not pitching well in the top of the 1st. (08:30) Shinnosuke Ogasawara tossed three scorless innings before giving up a pair of runs in the top of the 8th. It is unclear if the lefty will stay in the bullpen or move into the starting rotation. (11:45) Robert Hassell III got the start in CF and promptly homered to cut the early deficit to 5-2. Hassell spent the past month and a half in AAA-Rochester. (15:00) Wood went 0 for 4 with a pair of controversial strikeouts in the loss. Wood had a brutal July as he struck out in 46% of his at-bats last month with only two homers. (24:05) We read your emails, please send your thoughts to natschatpodcast@gmail.com.