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The Morning Briefing: Nationals Fall to the Mets but Pitching Prospects Rutledge and Cavalli Shine

March 05, 2021 • Reading Time: 9 minutes

Good Friday Morning, Washington Nationals Fans. TGIF!! Who's ready for the weekend FINALLY!

Today's Game Time Forecast West Palm Beach via the National Weather Service:g

Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. East wind around ten mph.

Upcoming Games:

  • 3/5/2021 vs. St. Louis 6:05 pm EST

  • 3/6/2021 at Marlins 1:05 pm EST

Make sure to follow The Nats Report on Twitter for updates on the latest Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball during the day!

Countdown Clock:

Opening Day: 27 Days

MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta, GA: 130 Days

Today's Morning Briefing was written by Richard

Today's Top Story: Max Scherzer Set to Make His Spring Training Debut

Tonight, Washington Nationals Ace Pitcher Max Scherzer is set to make his 2021 Spring Training debut as the Nationals take on the St. Louis Cardinals. The first pitch is at 6:05 pm EST. To follow along, you have to have the MLB TV app and listen to the St. Louis Cardinal radio feed.

Make sure that you follow us on Twitter to see if anything changes during the day.

Notes from Yesterday's Spring Training Game

Even though the Washington Nationals lost to the New York Mets 4-8, there were a few highlights from the game:

  • Looking towards the Future: Yesterday, we saw the pitching debuts of Washington Nationals Pitching Prospects Cade Cavalli and Jackson Rutledge. Both pitching prospects looked good, actually really good. Both prospects faced legit New York Mets starters such as James McCann, Jonathan Villar, Luis Guillorme, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, and Dominic Smith. The two of them combined for 2.0 innings, an ERA of 0.00 with four strikeouts. Rutledge even picked off Brandon Nimmo at first base in an impressive move. Now, we see why these two pitching prospects are "un-touchable" and are the future of the Nationals moving forward.

  • The Capitan Is back:  It is so nice to see Ryan Zimmerman back in a Washington Nationals uniform, and I think that the team can agree. Zimmerman unloaded a 2-0 bomb to right-center field during yesterday's game that yielded the Nationals three runs. Too bad for the Met fan who almost came up with a nice catch. Zimmerman has played in two Spring Training games and has hit home runs in both games. Even though this is a small sample size, Zimmerman is nice back in the lineup and on first base. For the home run in the fifth inning, the ball left his bat at 102.3 mph and sailed over the fence in right-center some 402 feet away.

  • ESPN: I am not usually a person who likes to trash others for the work they do, but after watching the game on ESPN, I feel the need to share that yesterday's broadcast was horrible. It was so bad that, at times, I had to turn the telecast off. I didn't mind the interviews during the game because it provided some laughs, but the number of interviews was way too much. I get that it is a Spring Training game, but some of us and those who are tunning into the game want to see the game's play-by-play; that's why we watch. If ESPN doesn't want to invest in their top-tier talent calling a Spring Training game, then they should look to give those broadcasters and commentators who want the experience or exposure the opportunity to call these games. I am sure that ESPN could have easily found a team to call the game.

Podcast Alert: In the Clubhouse with the Nats Report

Richard sat down with Washington Nationals Pitching Prospect Cade Cavalli back in January to talk about his Washington Nationals organization experiences so far. It was a great interview, and if you want to learn more about Cavalli, this is the interview for you.

On Monday, we are doing our first ever Mailbag episode for In the Clubhouse with the Nats Report! Reply to this tweet to ask any question about the #Nationals! Tune on Monday to hear your question answered by either Richard or Byron Kerr.

Four Remarkable Women who had an impact on Major League Baseball

March is International Women's month, and at the Nats Report, we will be spotlighting four women from the past who had a major impact on Major League Baseball.

From the special report: "Mamie Johnson was one of the first women to pitch in the Negro Leagues. Johnson's nickname was "Peanut" during her career due to her small height of 5 feet, 3 inches. According to history, she earned the nickname after an at-bat where she faced Hank Baylis of the Kansas City Monarchs."

Perspective: Juan Soto Extension Dreams

What would it take for the Washington Nationals to lock up Right fielder Juan Soto? We came up with a couple of ways that the Nationals can make it happen.

MLB News: Inaugural Lou Gehrig Day set for June 2

The Annual Lou Gehrig Day set for June 2 will be one of the three days throughout Major League Baseball to honor former baseball players. MLB will raise funds for ALS.

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