Today, the Washington Nationals look to avoid a sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees and end the first half of the 2026 season with a Curly W this afternoon at Nationals Park. First pitch is at 1:35 p.m. EDT. Scheduled to get the start for the Nationals is right-handed pitcher Cade Cavalli who has a 5-4 record with an 3.88 ERA. The Yankees are scheduled to send right-handed pitcher Will Warren who has a 7-4 record and a 4.15 ERA.

The Nationals have 48 wins, tied for the most by a Nationals club prior to the All-Star break with the 2018 Washington Nationals. The next highest win total belongs to the 2017 Nationals (52 wins).

On Deck…

Welcome to the All-Star Break! Well, we finally have finished the first half of the 2026 season. The Nationals will have the next few days off until Friday night where they kick off the second half of the 2026 out in Sacramento, California.

We hope that you enjoy the All-Star Break, See you next Monday! When we will start our coverage of the second half of the 2026 Washington Nationals season.

James Wood is red-hot, going 19-for-44 (.432) with a .576 on-base percentage (15 BB, 8 SO) and a 1.023 slugging percentage (3 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR) over his last 12 games. He’s reached base safely in 30 of his last 45 plate appearances (17 H, 13 BB, 3 SO).

Wood also launched his MLB-leading ninth leadoff home run on Saturday vs. New York, tying Alfonso Soriano (2006) for the most leadoff homers in a single season in Nationals history (2005–present).

James Wood isn’t just producing, he’s setting the tone at the top of the lineup at an elite level. His combination of power, plate discipline, and consistency is giving Washington early leads and signaling the emergence of a true impact bat in the Nationals’ long-term core.

Daylen Lile is bringing the offense for Washington. He has shown real impact with power, speed, and consistent production, and his recent numbers make the case that he’s becoming a key part of the Nationals’ future.

Lile homered four times in a four-game span from May 12-15, driving in nine runs and scoring four times, including his first career multi-homer game on May 12 at Cincinnati and a two-run go-ahead homer in the 10th inning on May 13 at Cincinnati.

He opened the season hitting .296/.356/.444 over his first 26 games from Opening Day through April 24, and he has hit .281/.331/.457 across 169 games since June 21, 2025, a major jump from the .152/.200/.326 line he posted in his first 15 career games.

Lile also led all MLB rookies with 11 triples in 2025 and paced National League rookies in batting average (.299), slugging percentage (.498), and OPS (.845).

Here are a few quick hits on the Washington Nationals:

Cade Cavalli last pitched July 5 against the Pirates, allowing three earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out three over 2.1 innings in a no-decision. He is slated to make his second career start against the Yankees after surrendering a career-high seven earned runs in his first appearance against New York on August 27, 2025.

Cavalli has been strong at missing bats this season, ranking seventh in the National League among pitchers with at least 90.0 innings at 10.20 strikeouts per nine innings. He also ranks just outside the top 10 with a 3.39 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

He has limited the long ball well, allowing just eight home runs this season, tied for the second-fewest among NL pitchers with at least 90.0 innings. That also ranks seventh in the NL with 0.78 home runs allowed per nine innings.

Cavalli did not allow a home run through his first six starts of the season and gave up only one through his first nine. Opposing right-handed hitters are batting just .224 against him this year, with only six extra-base hits.

Entering today, the Yankees are 53–43 (.558), the second-best record in the AL and tied with the Cubs for the fifth-best mark in MLB. Only the Dodgers (61–35), Brewers (59–36), Rays (56–37), and Braves (54–40) own better records.

New York’s +89 run differential leads the American League and ranks fourth in the majors.

The Yankees have hit at least three home runs in three straight games, their longest such streak since July 22–25. They also lead MLB in home runs and the AL in stolen bases—putting them on track to become just the third team in franchise history to top the league in both categories at the All-Star break (joining 1955 and 1956).

Will Warren will make his 18th start of the season in today’s series finale at Washington, pitching on regular four days’ rest. The 27-year-old last started Tuesday at Tampa Bay, taking the loss after allowing six earned runs over 4.0 innings.

He enters today at 7–4 with a 4.15 ERA (93.1 IP, 43 ER) across 18 starts, with the Yankees winning 12 of those outings. He has limited opponents to two earned runs or fewer in 13 starts, tied for the fifth-most in the American League.

Since the start of 2025, he has recorded 35 starts of two earned runs or fewer, tied for second in the AL and fourth in the majors, while the Yankees’ 29 wins in his starts during that span rank second in the AL.

Last season, he went 9–8 with a 4.44 ERA in 33 starts, including 22 outings of two earned runs or fewer—the second-most by a Yankees rookie in a single season (per Elias), behind Stan Bahnsen (25 in 1968).

Over his last 30 starts (since July 25, 2025), he is 10–7 with a 3.96 ERA and has held opponents to two earned runs or fewer 22 times. That follows a 6–8, 5.92 ERA start to his career over his first 27 games (26 starts).

He made his Major League debut with the Yankees in 2024, going 0–3 with a 10.32 ERA in six appearances (five starts). He was selected in the eighth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Southeastern Louisiana University.

Day: 19-15 | Night: 34-27 | Home Record: 23-20 | Road Record: 30-22

Current Streak: W2 | Series Record on the Road: 11-5-1

A.L. Teams: 44-34 | N.L. Teams: 9-8 | N.L. East: 5-3