Washington Nationals 2025 Season

House Call?

José Tena has been hitting well of late - including cracking another double and drawing a four-pitch walk to raise his season OPS to .720 with much better defense than 2024 - but Brady House hit his eleventh homer yesterday (a 411-foot oppo taco) and is rapping rather heavily on the door these days. Do the Nats wait for their next “easy” stretch of opposing pitchers at home (seven games against the Marlins and Rockies starting next Friday)? Or do they continue to ride Tena’s hot hand beyond that? House could also spend some time as the right-handed designated hitter to balance out the at-bats. Either way, he should be arriving soon.

 Washington Nationals 2025 Season

Game Recap

Well, the Nationals struck first behind a single from Luis García Jr. to plate CJ Abrams, but the Cubs punched back harder, forcing the Nationals to use three pitchers in a four-run fifth that put them up 7-3 as they shut down the Nats for the final six innings, eventually winning 8-3. James Wood hit a 116-mph double towards the Red Porch seats that only failed to leave the yard because of its 15-degree launch angle - but it still surprised Pete Crow-Armstrong (the best defensive centerfielder in baseball) to scream over his head and thud off the wall. It was probably the highlight of the game for the Nats. On the pitching side of things, Trevor Williams struck out the side after a leadoff walk in the first but started to give up some loud contact the second time through the order, eventually getting lifted in the fifth for Andrew Chafin, who failed to record an out before Cole Henry was summoned to stop the bleeding (he did after allowing an inherited runner to score). The game was a general reminder that the Cubs - who started their rebuild at the same 2021 trade deadline as the Nationals but did better earlier, getting for example Crow-Armstrong, now an MVP candidate. The series continues tonight with MacKenzie Gore taking on Matthew Boyd.

 STORY TYPE

MacK Attack

Tonight should be a good test of mettle for MacKenzie Gore, an elite strikeout pitcher who nonetheless can give up some loud contact (witness his 10-hit, 9-strikeout performance against the Orioles a couple of weeks ago. If Gore is able to pitch like he did against the Mariners in his last start or the Phillies on Opening Day or the Dodgers on April 7th, he could go a long way towards making a clearer case for an All-Star nod. Yes, he leads MLB in strikeouts, but he has not been as good at run prevention as several other pitchers in the National League, ranking outside the top ten in ERA.

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 WHAT WE THINK THE NATIONALS FRONT OFFICE IS READING

Speed Reads

📌 Arizona Rotation In Trouble (Fangraphs)

📌 Raleigh An MVP Candidate (The Athletic)

📌 Passan Trade Intel (ESPN)