Stay Classy San Diego!

Tonight, the Washington Nationals begin the second half of their West Coast road trip with a three-game series against the San Diego Padres after being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend.

To kick off the three game series the Washington Nationals are scheduled to send right handed pitcher Jake Irvin to the mound who has a 2-8 record and an 5.57 ERA entering tonights game.

The Padres are scheduled to send to the mound right handed pitcher Nick Pivetta which has a 1-2 record and an ERA of 4.50 entering tonight’s game.

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On Deck…

Tomorrow night the Washington Nationals will play game two of their series against the Padres with first pitch at 9:40 p.m. EDT. The Nationals have yet to announce their starter for the game however, the Padres have scheduled right hander pitcher Casey Mize who has a 5-9 record and an a 3.64 ERA to take the mound.

In the hole…

On Wednesday, the Nationals will wrap up their series against the Padres and their West Coast road trip with first pitch at 4:10 p.m. EDT. The Nationals are scheduled to send left handed pitcher Jackson Kent who has a 1-3 record and an ERA of 5.55 entering the game. The Padres are scheduled to send right handed pitcher Walker Buehler to the mound who has a 8-6 record and an a 4.56 ERA entering the game.

CJ Abrams’ 95 RBI this season are the most by a shortstop in Nationals history (2005–present), surpassing Ian Desmond’s 91 RBI in 2014. With five more RBI, Abrams will become the 12th player in Nationals history to record 100 RBI in a season and the first to do so since Anthony Rendon (126) and Juan Soto (110) in 2019.

Abrams joins Alfonso Soriano, who hit 40 home runs and stole 41 bases in 2006, as the only players in Nationals history with at least 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases in a season. He and Pete Crow-Armstrong are the only two players in MLB this season to reach the 25-homer, 25-steal mark.

Abrams leads National League shortstops and ranks among the league leaders in several offensive categories. He was named the National League Player of the Month for July after batting .348 (31-for-89) with 10 home runs, 23 RBI, five doubles, 11 walks, six stolen bases and 17 runs scored. He led MLB in home runs and slugging percentage (.742), while ranking third in the NL in RBI, third in batting average, tied for third in extra-base hits and sixth in on-base percentage.

Abrams set the Nationals’ record for home runs by a shortstop when he hit his 26th and 27th homers of the season on July 26 against Arizona. He has stolen at least 25 bases in each of the last four seasons, joining José Caballero, José Ramírez and Bobby Witt Jr. as the only four players to reach that mark in every season since 2023.

Abrams hit a career-high 21st home run on July 19 at Athletics in his 96th game of the season. He also became the first National to reach base in each of the team’s first 10 games of a season since Josh Bell reached safely in 12 consecutive games from April 7–19, 2022. Abrams’ 14 RBI over the Nationals’ first 10 games were the most by any player in franchise history during the opening 10 games of a season.

Yohandy Morales went 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter in his last game on Sept. 5 at Los Angeles. During the road trip, he is batting .333 (1-for-3) with a double. The Nationals’ second-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft had his contract selected on Sept. 1 and made his Major League debut that day against Atlanta. He became the eighth player in Nationals history to hit a home run for his first Major League hit.

In the Nationals’ minor-league system, Morales ranked third in home runs (25) and runs scored (82), fourth in batting average (.286), hits (116) and RBI (76), fifth in extra-base hits (44), and sixth in slugging percentage (.519) and OPS (.882). He recorded multi-hit games in four of his final eight games with Rochester and homered in his final game with the Red Wings. From April 1 through June 9, Morales batted .350/.419/.611 with 11 doubles, 14 home runs and 38 RBI. He was also named the Puerto Rican Winter League Finals MVP and a Caribbean Series All-Star during the 2025–26 offseason.

With runners in scoring position, Morales is 0-for-1 with no home runs or RBI. His last home run came on Sept. 1 against Atlanta, off Spencer Schwellenbach, and he has one career Major League home run.

“Notes from the Washington Nationals Dugout” compiles key game notes, recent performances and notable milestones from across the roster.

Below is a quick snapshot of standout trends and individual highlights during the current stretch.

Right-hander Jake Irvin pitched 4.0 innings of two-run ball in his last start, allowing five hits and one walk while striking out five against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park on Sept. 1. He received a no-decision in Washington’s 9-5 victory.

Irvin is scheduled to make his second career start against the San Diego Padres and his first appearance at Petco Park. He posted a 4.50 ERA (two earned runs in 4.0 innings) with four strikeouts in his only previous start against San Diego on May 25, 2023.

Over his last eight starts, opposing hitters are batting .224 (32-for-143) with a .321 on-base percentage against Irvin across 39.0 innings. His curveball has been particularly effective, limiting opponents to a .105 average (8-for-86). He has allowed only two extra-base hits on the pitch this season.

Irvin also performed well during his rehabilitation assignment, allowing just two hits in 38 at-bats while recording 12 strikeouts and one walk over 11.1 innings in three appearances with the FCL Nationals and Double-A Harrisburg. In two outings with Harrisburg, he surrendered one hit over 8.1 innings, striking out nine and walking one.