Good Morning Washington Nationals Fans,

Today, we have a special Saturday Edition of the Morning Briefing. Please consider contributing to independent sports journalism if you enjoy the Morning Briefing Monday - Friday.

Upcoming Nationals schedule:

• Saturday, August 27, 2022: Cincinnati Reds vs. Washington Nationals; 7:05 p.m. EDT
• Sunday, August 28, 2022: Cincinnati Reds vs. Washington Nationals; 1:35 p.m. EDT
• Monday, August 29, 2022: DAY OFF
• Tuesday, August 30, 2022: Oakland Athletics vs. Washington Nationals; 7:05 p.m. EDT

Leading today’s Morning Briefing: Cade Cavalli K's 6 in MLB debut

The highly anticipated major league debut of Cade Cavalli finally happened Friday night at Nationals Park. Nationals fans were treated to a glimpse of the future with Cavalli, Abrams, Garica, Ruiz, and other prospects at the major league level all playing simultaneously.

Cavalli ranked as the Nationals’ No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline, pitched 4 1/3 innings on Friday in the Nationals’ 7-3 loss to the Reds. The 24-year-old right-hander allowed seven runs, six hits, and two walks, struck out six, and hit three batters across 99 pitches.“I put myself on that mound plenty of times before I got there,” Cavalli said. “So I felt like I had already been there. It was really cool.”

“There was no panic,” Cavalli said to reporters after last night’s game. “I felt very composed. But I’ve got to execute more; it comes down to that. You’ve got to execute pitches, and I didn’t do that tonight. I didn’t put my team in a position to win a ballgame. I’ve got to be better.”

“It was talked about for a while,” Cavalli said of his debut. “That’s something that’s very hard to ignore as a player because it’s popping up and your teammates and everyone’s talking about it. But the biggest mental challenge for me was being able to just stay present.”

“It was a blessing that I got to be able to do that mental exercise. Every single day, I had to wake up and just be like, ‘I’m going to be present here in Triple-A and get better so that if I do get the opportunity to get here, I want to make a statement.’ That’s what I’m trying to do.”

“He repeated his mechanics really well, which was really nice,” manager Dave Martinez said after the game. “That’s something that when he left Spring Training, we wanted him to do. We added the changeup and he worked on it, and his changeup will play here. I mean, it really will. He threw some good ones, so that to me is exciting. Moving forward, I’m actually really excited to see him go out and compete again in five days.”

Cavalli will get the second start of his career this Wednesday when the Nationals host the Oakland Athletics.

Video Highlight: Cade Cavalli’s first major league baseball strikeout

Happening down on the farm

Here is the latest news and more on what’s happening around the Washington Nationals farm system.

Triple-A Rochester Red Wings

The Rochester Red Wings dropped their Friday night matchup to Indianapolis by a 9-1. With the loss, the Wings can now, at best, tie the series vs. Indy, not having won a series in Indy since 2005.

Click here to read our game recap.

In other news, the Rochester Red Wings, RIT/NTID, and Rochester School for the Deaf partner for Deaf Culture Day. The Rochester Red Wings, in partnership with Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf and Rochester School for the Deaf, will host the third Deaf Culture Day at Frontier Field on Friday, September 16. The 6:05 p.m. game is against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. [Click here to read more]

[The latest news, headlines, and more about the Rochester Red Wings on the Nats Report]

Double-A Harrisburg Senators: Young and Garcia Homer, Again, in Senators 5-2 Win

The Harrisburg Senators fell Friday night 4-1 to the Erie SeaWolves at FNB Field in front of 4,890 fans. Erie hit three home runs in the game, all solo shots, in three of the first five innings. The lone Senators' run came on a solo home run off Andrew Young. Andrew Young has homered in three straight games with his solo home run in the fourth. Erie kept pace with Bowie with the win and remains a game out of first place in the Southwest division.

Click here to read the full game recap.

[The latest news, headlines, and more about the Harrisburg Senators on the Nats Report]

High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks

In the Wilmington Blue Rocks’ first game in Deleware for their home and home series against the Aberdeen IronBirds, the IronBirds dominated in a 9-2 to keep their series lead of 3-1.

Click here to read the full game recap.

[The latest news, headlines, and more about the Wilmington Blue Rocks on the Nats Report]

Single-A Fredericksburg Nationals

The Fredericksburg Nationals scored a franchise record 23 runs and racked up 20 hits – including five home runs – in a 23-8 bashing of the Down East Wood Ducks on Friday night in Fredericksburg. The team also set another franchise record with 13 runs scored in the 7th inning tonight.

Will Frizzell homered three times, Cortland Lawson hit a grand slam for his first professional home run, T.J. White homered and drove in four runs, and James Wood had four hits and four RBIs in the win.

Click here to read the full game recap.

[The latest news, headlines, and more about the Fredericksburg Nationals on the Nats Report]