Tonight the Washington Nationals will kick off a three game series against the Seattle Mariners at Nationals Park. The Nationals just finished up a six game West Coast road trip. The Nationals are planning on sending right handed pitcher Zack Littell who has a 6-4 record and a 4.76 ERA entering tonight’s matchup. The Seattle Mariners are planing on sending right handed pitcher Bryce Miller who has a 2-0 record and a 1.33 ERA.

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On Wednesday, the Washington Nationals were defeated by the San Francisco Giants 10-11 thanks to a walk off home run by DMV native Bryce Eldridge.

On Deck…

Tomorrow the Nationals will play game two of three against the Seattle Mariners with the first pitch scheduled for 4:05 p.m. EDT. The Washington Nationals are scheduled to send right handed pitcher Cade Cavalli who has a 3-4 record and an 3.88 ERA. The Mariners are scheduled to send right handed pitcher Luis Castillo who has a 2-5 record and an ERA of 5.16.

Right handed pitcher Cade Cavalli will face the Mariners for the first time in his career. This season, he has pitched to a 3.50 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 36.0 innings.

In the hole…

On Sunday, the Nationals will finish up their three game series against the Mariners with first pitch scheduled to be at 1:05 p.m. EDT.

Daylen Lile is heating up at the plate, going 13-for-34 (.382) with a triple, a home run, seven RBI, four walks, a hit-by-pitch, three stolen bases and five runs scored over his last nine games since June 1. He punctuated that stretch with a career-high four-hit performance on June 10 in San Francisco.

On the season, Lile leads the Nationals with 72 hits, while his 15 doubles are tied for the team lead and rank tied for second among National League outfielders.

Lile’s recent surge is more than a hot streak it’s a sign of growing consistency and impact at the top of the Nationals’ lineup. His ability to generate both contact and extra-base power, while contributing on the bases, gives Washington a dynamic offensive spark. With his hit total and doubles production already among the league’s best for outfielders, Lile is emerging as a foundational piece in the Nationals’ lineup and a player capable of driving run production on a nightly basis.

Since May 20, the Washington Nationals starting pitchers have combined for a 2.61 ERA, the second-best mark in Major League Baseball during that span, trailing only the Los Angeles Dodgers (2.37). Opponents are hitting just .217 against Washington starters with a 1.10 WHIP, both ranking fourth in the Majors.

Washington has also deployed an opener six times in that stretch, with those pitchers allowing just two earned runs and one home run across 8.0 innings (2.25 ERA). Behind them, a mix of traditional starters and bulk arms including Andrew Alvarez (5 G/2 GS, 4.24 ERA), Cade Cavalli (4 G/4 GS, 3.52 ERA), Foster Griffin (4 G/4 GS, 2.05 ERA), Jake Irvin (1 G/1 GS, 0.00 ERA), Zack Littell (4 G/3 GS, 2.35 ERA) and Miles Mikolas (4 G, 3.72 ERA)—have combined for a 3.26 ERA (36 ER/99.1 IP) over that span.

This stretch highlights a staff that’s not only producing elite results, but doing so with flexibility. Whether through traditional starts, openers, or multi-inning bridge roles, the Nationals are getting consistent run prevention from a variety of arms. That adaptability stabilizes the pitching staff, keeps games manageable for the offense, and signals meaningful progress in developing both rotation depth and in-game strategy.

Since May 22, Washington’s corner infielders — Luis García Jr. (5 HR, 19 RBI), Curtis Mead (6 HR, 13 RBI) and Jorbit Vivas (1 HR, 4 RBI) — have combined for 12 home runs and 34 RBI, the most in Major League Baseball over that span. Luis García Jr. is slugging .621 with three doubles, a triple, five homers and 19 RBI, and he’s coming off a strong series in San Francisco in which he went 4-for-9 with two doubles and a home run. Curtis Mead has been just as productive, slugging .587 with two doubles, six home runs and 13 RBI, with his six homers tied for fifth-most in MLB since May 22.

Production from the corner infield is a major sign of lineup depth, and Washington is getting real power from spots that are often expected to drive run production. When García Jr. and Mead are both hitting for power, it gives the Nationals more middle-of-the-order threat and makes the offense tougher to pitch around.

Zack Littell was sharp in his last start, allowing one earned run on two hits with four strikeouts and one walk in a win on June 6 at Arizona. He did not allow a baserunner until a hit-by-pitch in the fourth inning and didn’t surrender his first hit until a leadoff single in the fifth.

Against Seattle, Littell is slated for his third career start and fourth career appearance. He is 0-1 with a 1.93 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 14.0 innings against the Mariners.

Littell enters the matchup riding a six-game winning streak since May 3, tied for the second-longest active streak in Major League Baseball. During that run, he is 6-0 with a 2.27 ERA, a .197 opponents’ average and just two home runs allowed across seven games. His six wins during the stretch are tied for the most in MLB, and among National League pitchers with at least 35.0 innings since May 3, he ranks among the league leaders in opponents’ slugging, home runs per nine innings, ERA and opponents’ average. He also went 5-0 in May with a 2.35 ERA over six appearances..

Littell has been one of the most consistent starters in baseball over the last month, giving Washington both quality innings and dependable run prevention. That kind of stability matters because it helps the Nationals shorten games, protect the bullpen and stay in position to win even when the offense is not at its best.

The Mariners fell to the Orioles, 7-5, last night, splitting the four-game series 2-2. Even with the loss, Seattle is 11-5 since May 25, tied with the Dodgers and Brewers for the third-best record in Major League Baseball over that span.

Seattle remains in first place in the American League West at 36-34, holding a one-game lead over the second-place Rangers, who are 34-34.

Dominic Canzone has also been a bright spot early in June, batting .393 (11-for-28) with five runs scored, two doubles, two home runs and three RBI across 10 games. He has reached base at a .414 clip and slugged .679 for a 1.093 OPS in 29 plate appearances.

During Seattle’s current 11-5 stretch, the pitching staff ranks tied for first in the Majors with a 3.36 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP, matching the Dodgers in both categories. The offense has also been productive, ranking sixth in batting average (.273), fifth in slugging (.469), ninth in OPS (.795) and second in home runs (30) during that span.

The 27-year-old right-hander is set to make his sixth appearance and fifth start of the season, and the 80th appearance and 79th start of his career. This will be his first career start against the Nationals.

Miller is in his fourth season with Seattle after being selected by the Mariners in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He signed with the organization on July 20, 2021, after being drafted by scout Derek Miller. Before turning pro, he spent three seasons at Texas A&M from 2019-21 and attended New Braunfels High School in New Braunfels, Texas.

In his last outing, Miller earned the win on June 6 at Detroit, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit, two walks and nine strikeouts. He threw 94 pitches, 64 for strikes, and has now posted back-to-back outings with one or fewer hits allowed and two or fewer walks over 5.0-plus innings. He is the only pitcher in Major League Baseball to do that this season, and the only Mariners pitcher in team history to do it in consecutive starts.