The Nats 8 game losing streak ended on Labor Day as Andrew Alvarez tossed five shutout innings in his MLB debut in Navy Yard. Mark & Al throw plenty of flowers to the lefty who earned the 2-0 victory over Miami. Alvarez was called up from AAA-Rochester and was drafted out of Cal Poly in the 12th Round of the 2021 Draft. (08:45) Alvarez's battery mate was also making his MLB Debut in catcher C.J Stubbs, who was teammates with him as recently as last week in Rochester. Stubbs was promoted after Drew Millas landed on the IL. (14:10) The bullpen stepped up again as four arms combined for four scoreless frames. Clayton Beeter struck out a pair of Marlins and has registered eight Ks in his past five appearances. (18:00) James Wood went 0 for 4 in the leadoff spot and struck out three times. He leads Baseball with 185 strikeouts and continues to approach Mark Reynolds' dubious 2009 record of 223Ks in a single season. (22:10) CJ Abrams committed his 17th error of the season, which equals his total from last year. Is it possible his true role is at 2B instead of SS? (28:05) Nasim Nunez was also called up from AAA as roster sizes increase to 28 in September. Nunez was sent down on June 10th and stole 16 bases in August for the Red Wings.

August concluded at Nationals Park with a Rays sweep and an 8th consecutive loss for the home team. Mark & Al spend plenty of time sorting through another awful month and what this means big picture for the organization. If you've taken some time off from the podcast due to the rough state of affairs, this is a good one chance to check back in. (08:00) Jarlin Susana was removed from his AA-Harrisburg outing on Saturday due to right triceps soreness. What does that mean for the righty? (12:10) When will the decision be made on who is in charge of Baseball Operations on a permanent basis? (21:45) Washington has not held a lead since the top of the 3rd on Monday in Yankee Stadium. James Wood struck out three times and will enter September with 182 strikeouts; 12 more than Detroit's Riley Greene. (30:00) Brad Lord has his 3rd straight bad start and only lasted three innings. Lord gave up seven runs including a Grand Slam by Brandon Lowe to make it 6-0 Tampa Bay. (36:15) Andrew Alvarez will make his MLB debut on Monday afternoon vs. Miami on Labor Day. Alvarez has been with AAA-Rochester this season and was Organizational Pitcher of the Year in 2023 while with Wilmington & Harrisburg.

It was a not so fun Saturday in Navy Yard as the Nats dropped their 7th consecutive game. Mark & Al react to the 4-1 loss to the visiting Rays that bizarrely saw multiple instances of fans running onto the field during play. (05:30) MacKenzie Gore was placed on the 15-Day IL prior to the game due to left shoulder inflammation. Gore told reporters that he is aiming to return to the mound in mid or late September. (13:40) Another putrid performance by the offense as they only scored one run for the second straight day. James Wood had the lone RBI and his OPS this month is at .738, which is much better than his July. (18:45) WHY IS PAUL DeJONG STILL PLAYING INSTEAD OF BRADY HOUSE?! (22:50) Jake Irvin continued to struggle in the 1st inning, but the team's pitching was outstanding afterwards. Washington retired 24 of their final 25 batters faced despite never really being in the game. (31:15) Who will pitch on Monday vs. Miami instead of Gore?

The Nats losing streak was extended to six after Friday night's 4-1 defeat by the visiting Rays. Al & Tim begin with the offense going 0 for 12 w/ RISP and not taking advantage of opportunities to score. The two worst offenders were Riley Adams (0 for 4) & Robert Hassell III (0 for 3). (06:25) Chris Johnson, Assistant Hitting Coach, was surprisingly ejected for barking at the umpire following an early crucial CJ Abrams strikeout to end a rally. (11:15) Drew Millas had season ending surgery (finger) on the same day that the organization announced that Keibert Ruiz will begin a minor league rehab assignment. Ruiz hasn't played since July 5th and has been on the 7-Day IL for a concussion ever since. (16:00) Mitchell Parker had one of his better outings in awhile. Parker allowed two homers and three runs in just over six innings of work. It is the deepest that Parker has pitched since all the way back on April 22nd. (24:05) Reading a recent email that reminds us just how disappointing this season has been. Send in your thoughts to natschatpodcast@gmail.com (30:15) Weekly update from Josh Whetzel, the Voice of the AAA-Rochester Red Wings.

The losing streak is extended to five after the Nats were crushed 11-2 on Wednesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. New York hit six homers in the series finale and out-homered Washington 10-2 in the three game series. (06:30) Cade Cavalli fell apart in the bottom of the 3rd as he gave up a trio of homers and seven earned runs in his outing. The Yanks scored nine runs in that frame, which is more than the Nationals scored all series. (11:15) Drew Millas fractured a finger mid-game and Riley Adams had to move from DH to behind the plate. This led to Shinnosuke Ogasawara batting for himself and keeping the bat on his shoulder for three straight pitches. (20:00) Despite Thursday being a day off, the next two starters will be Mitchell Parker & Jake Irvin this weekend vs. Tampa Bay. (26:25) Miguel Cairo was asked point blank if the team has hit "rock bottom".

The Nats dropped their 4th straight on Tuesday night in New York. Mark & Al have even more instances of poor base running decisions by Washington in their 5-1 defeat. James Wood didn't strike out in the affair, but he was egregiously thrown out at the plate in the top of the 5th inning. (10:20) The coaching staff will likely almost completely turn over after the season. Will that apply to franchise legend/ 1B Coach Gerardo Parra? (15:10) MacKenzie Gore threw 99 pitches and gave up all three runs on a bases clearing double by Giancarlo Stanton in the bottom of the 5th. Gore lasted five frames and his ERA slightly rose to 4.15. (25:00) Cade Cavalli will take the mound on Wednesday afternoon at 1pm as Washington looks to avoid being swept. (27:30) Daylen Lile missed his 3rd straight game due to illness. Lile's absence has been felt during this losing streak, but it is unlikely he will start anyhow on Wednesday against the lefty Max Fried. (28:45) Caleb Lomavita, the catcher drafted in the 2nd round last summer, was promoted to AA-Harrisburg.

The recent three game Nats win streak has morphed into a three game losing streak after Monday night's 10-5 defeat in Yankee Stadium. Al & Mark begin with Jacob Young's eventful evening that saw him get picked off and also hit a 9th inning Grand Slam. (06:15) Young getting picked continues a recent pattern for him. His base running deficiencies are additionally magnified due to his poor bat (.584 OPS). What does his future hold? (14:00) The bad base running continued into the next inning as Josh Bell botched a designed play to bring in CJ Abrams from 3rd with runners on the corners. Why even try it in the first place when only down 2-0? Why do it with Bell? (18:30) Brad Lord allowed six earned runs in just four innings on the mound. It was an uncharacteristic outing for Lord as it was his worst start since mid April vs. Pittsburgh. (23:15) The Yankees have hit 218 homers this season, far more than the Nats' 125 homers. This is reflected in the fact that Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Trent Grisham each surprisingly have 25 taters this year. (28:00) MacKenzie Gore is starting on Tuesday night vs. Luis Gil, who won the AL Rookie of the Year last season. Gore is looking to bounce back as he has pitched poorly in five of his past seven outings.

The Nats held another late rally that came up short on Sunday afternoon on Broad Street. Mark (From Philadelphia) & Al note how the team continues to lose when either Jake Irvin or Mitchell Parker take the mound. (05:10) James Wood went 0 for 4 with 3 Ks and hit into a costly double play in the top of the 8th. Wood has astonishingly struck out 35 times this month while only drawing six walks. (11:05) Riley Adams hit 3rd and went 1 for 4 in the 3-2 loss. His OPS for the month of August is .856, much higher than his season's total of .638. (16:45) Jake Irvin was yanked in the bottom of the 3rd after giving up three Phillies runs. He was replaced by Shinnosue Ogasawara as Miguel Cairo showed a short leash for his struggling right-handed starter. Irvin's ERA this month is 9.55 through five starts and his season total sits at 5.40. (21:15) The bullpen is...... good right now?!? The 'pen was unscathed in over five innings of work between five relievers. Konnor Pilkington struck out the side while tossing the bottom of the 7th. (27:00) Washington's top three pitchers take the mound this week at Yankee Stadium. New York is surprisingly in 3rd place in the AL East and are fighting for a playoff spot.

The win streak ends at three as the Nats lost 6-4 on Saturday night in Philly. Mark (From Philadelphia) & Al have another busy top of the 9th to discuss, but this time Washington's rally came up short. There were runners on the corners with one out, but both James Wood & CJ Abrams could not come through. (07:45) James Wood struck only three times in Saturday night's loss. Wood leads MLB with 171Ks and Mark Reynolds record 223 whiffs feels relevant with 33 games remaining. (10:45) Luis Garcia Jr. took grounders at 1B in pregame before getting a trio of hits. Could he switch from 2B to 1B at some point? (16:00) Mitchell Parker's evening started off on the right foot through three innings. The wheels came off in the bottom of the 4th as he gave up five runs in that frame. Parker has allowed 28 earned runs in five outings this month. (25:45) James Wood, CJ Abrams, & Drew Millas teamed up for a great relay play to throw out Alec Bohm out at the plate in the bottom of the 8th. Abrams was the middle man in the encounter and made a perfect throw to the plate in order to beat Bohm home.

The Nats won their 3rd in a row on Friday night in Philadelphia. Mark (From Philly) & Al speak after the 5-4 victory that saw Washington score a pair of runs in the top of the 9th. (03:30) Dylan Crews had a pair of hits and scored the tying run on a tight play at the plate. The team has a winning record this year with Crews in the lineup at 27-26. (10:15) Daylen Lile knocked in Crews and then scored via nifty base running for the go-ahead run. Lile's stolen base attempt drew a poor throw by JT Realmuto down the 3rd base line that brought Lile home. (13:30) Riley Adams crushed a 3-run HR in the top of the 1st out of the cleanup spot. Adams' OPS for August is a scorching .884 with two homers. (20:00) Cade Cavalli tossed a quality start that ended on a downer as he gave up a 2-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 6th. Cavalli has made four starts this month and his ERA is at 2.82. (25:00) PJ Poulin retired the final six Phillies batters to earn his first career win. Poulin remarkably was in the Tigers minor league system a few weeks ago and one of the reason Detroits let him go was due to their acquisition of Kyle Finnegan. (31:25) The win streak is in jeopardy on Saturday as the scuffling Mitchell Parker takes the mound. (35:05) A first-hand account of Eli Willits debut on Thursday night with the Low-A FredNats.