Picture of the Weekend

Richard’s son hit his first home run EVER in his Little League game!

 Washington Nationals 2025 Season

THE LEAD

At least the weather was pleasant (if a bit chilly on Friday) for the weekend series against the Cardinals and their self-important “best fans in baseball,” in which the Nationals got swept by a cumulative score of 20-3 (10-0, 4-2, 6-1). Not only did the offense fail to show up, it wasn’t like the Cardinals were throwing Bob Gibson, Dizzy Dean, and Adam Wainwright out there to pitch against the young Nats - they shut down Washington at home behind Erick Fedde (first ever CGSO), Andre Pallante, and Miles Mikolas. It was a flat, lifeless series in which only on Saturday did the Nats show any semblance of fight, not just from their bats but from manager Davey Martinez, who did little to support his players against some pretty poor strike zones (Laz Díaz, now probably the worst umpire in MLB, was part of this crew and behind the plate on Saturday).

As for pitching, the Nats had to wait until Sunday to get a solid performance from a starting pitcher (MacKenzie Gore), but then Davey left him in two or three batters too long in the seventh, costing him two extra runs in the end. The bullpen was atrocious on Friday, good on Saturday, and mediocre on Sunday, and mercifully for Nats fans, Lucas Sims was given his unconditional release Friday night (more on that below). All in all, a very poor homestand for the Nats, who are visiting Atlanta and Baltimore for the next week.

Related Article: Nationals’ Slide Continues: Is Change on the Horizon?

 Washington Nationals 2025 Season

Game Recap

Gore gave up a couple of solo home runs yesterday afternoon but otherwise was pretty good through six innings, finishing an out short of seven innings with seven strikeouts and three walks - but four runs because Davey is either too terrified to go the bullpen until the last possible moment or because he had checked out. Brad Lord struggled in his first bullpen appearance in a month, allowing two insurance runs in the eighth, but Zach Brzykcy at least had a solid garbage time inning in the ninth, walking a batter but recording three outs. At the plate the Nats scraped together five hits and a couple of walks, but the only hit of consequence was Nathaniel Lowe’s solo home run off of Mikolas in the fourth.

Jake Irvin will try to stop the bleeding tonight in Atlanta, with first pitch scheduled for 7:15 PM. Jake Irvin owns a 1.59 ERA (2 ER/11.1 IP) with 13 strikeouts and a .194 opponents' average in two starts at Truist Park.

 Washington Nationals 2025 Season

Another One Bites the Dust!

Despite the 13.86 ERA and 2.27 WHIP and the MLB-leading seven hit batters, what brought Lucas Sims’ time with the Nationals to a close was a failure to hustle, as Sims was slow to cover home on a wild pitch with a runner on third base (the catcher, no less) late in the 10-0 loss on Friday. The Nationals announced that they had requested unconditional release waivers on Sims less than an hour after the game, and I am willing to bet my bottom dollar that Mike Rizzo was waiting in the clubhouse to tell Sims to pack his belongings right then and there once Davey finally lifted him for Andrew Chafin. Had Sims hustled, they might still have released him, but would have waited to make it public until Saturday morning when the clubhouse opened to media. I am also willing to bet that Rizzo’s conversation with Sims during the bottom of the eighth was heard up the tunnel in the dugout, and that contributed directly to the sight of Chafin sprinting from the mound to the dugout rail - through a stop sign from Josh Bell - for a foul pop that reached the seats in the top of the ninth. There are few things that Rizzo hates more than showing up the name on the front of the jersey. Just ask Shawn Kelley.

On the other side of that Friday night whupping, how good must Erick Fedde feel? Non-tendered by the Nats after the 2022 season, Fedde wound up in the KBO because nobody else was interested in signing him. He made the most of his opportunity there, winning league MVP and getting a two-year contract from the White Sox in December 2023. He shut down the Nats for seven innings last year at Rate Field (the worst-named ballpark in the majors), and Friday was the first complete game of his entire career - KBO included - and was a shutout against his original team in their yard to boot.

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