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Here are your Washington Nationals Morning headlines, news, analysis, and more for Wednesday, April 29, 2026
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GAME RECAP
🔥 HEADLINE
Nats Drop Series Opener in Shutout
Final Score: Nationals 0, New York Mets 8
Date: Tuesday, April 28th, 2026
Location: Citi Field
⚾ DUGOUT DISPATCH
The Nationals lost a rough first game at Citi Field, being shut out by the New York Mets 8-0. A bright side to the game was the performance of the bullpen, which collectively went for four and one-third innings and only gave up one hit and two walks while striking out two with no runs scored.
📊 THE BOX SCORE
Winning Pitcher: Clay Holmes ([3–2], 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K)
Losing Pitcher: Zack Littell ([0–4], 3.2 IP, 5 H, 8 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K)
Key Hitters:
CJ Abrams: 1-for-4, H
Jorbit Vivas: 1-for-3, H
Drew Millas: 1-for-3, H
Team RISP: [0-for-1]
Errors: Nats 1, Mets 0
Attendance: 33,622
🎙️ LOCKER ROOM LORE
“I think there’s always a few games you point back to, like gosh, we should’ve won those. But on the whole, I think the team really competed during a stretch where we didn’t have any off-days. We had to be pretty aggressive bringing guys up. On the whole, I thought we played fine. But hoping we can continue to push forward here in the coming weeks,” said president of baseball operations Paul Toboni on the team’s recent performance.
📅 NEXT AT BAT
Next Game: vs. New York Mets, April 29th, 7:10 PM ET, Citi Field
Probables: Nats — Cade Cavalli, Mets — David Peterson
Key Storyline: Can the Nats’ offense find a way to bounce back after a rough opener in New York?
💬 FAN’S CHOICE
Who was tonight’s MVP?
✅ Abrams
✅ Vivas
✅ The Bullpen
📬 SUBSCRIBER CTA
Be sure to check out the Nats Report’s game notes for more insight on yesterday’s matchup.
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Shining Offseason Additions
Via Washington Nationals
⚾ DUGOUT DISPATCH
The Nationals’ new front office made a number of key moves over the offseason despite not being major spenders, more focused on resetting the rebuild. These under-the-radar acquisitions have paid off in dividends for the team at this point in the season, on both sides of the ball.
📊 THE BOX SCORE:
Left-handed pitcher Foster Griffin, after being signed in late December, has become a key piece of the Nats starting rotation, recording a 2.67 ERA across six starts, which includes his latest game against the Chicago White Sox, in which he recorded his MLB career-high in strikeouts with eight across seven innings
Acquired in a trade from the New York Yankees, third baseman Jorbit Vivas has been key both offensively and defensively, with a .286 batting average and .388 on-base percentage across 23 games this season, as well as three doubles and three RBIs, and 11 putouts and 27 assists so far on the defensive side of things
Right-handed pitcher Gus Varland, after being designated for assignment by the Arizona Diamondbacks and not playing all last season due to injury, has had a solid start to the season, recording a 3.18 ERA in 12 outings, striking out 13 and walking just three across 11 1/3 innings
After being designated for assignment by the San Francisco Giants and not being expected to make the roster, right fielder Joey Wiemer got off to a hot start, making MLB history by tying the record for the longest on-base streak to start a season, and, despite cooling off, he’s still batting .320 with a .414 on-base percentage
🗣️ LOCKER ROOM LORE
“It’s great to have that trust in your manager. But just as much I want to do it for our offense and for Blake, I want to do it for the bullpen as well. Especially [because] we're at the last game of the 17-game stretch. This bullpen’s been worked and worked and worked. So each extra inning I can get is great for them,” said Foster Griffin on his recent performance.
💬 FAN’S CHOICE
Who do you think is the standout from the Nats’ offseason moves? Which under-the-radar player do you think has the most promise for the rest of the season?
📬 SUBSCRIBER CTA
For more on potential future Nats players, be sure to check out this profile on Eddy Yean.
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theFUTURE
Via Washington Nationals
⚾ DUGOUT DISPATCH
The Nationals’ bats over the start of this season, in both the minors and the majors, have been quite focused on swinging less and being more intentional about at-bats. This is a process that has taken shape from the bottom up, starting with multiple minor league teams and having an impact there, and now slowly starting to show and pay off in the majors.
📊 THE BOX SCORE:
The Harrisburg Senators’ Seaver King is a prime example of the Nats farm system’s new approach to plate discipline and how often a player swings, in particular, with his swing rate decreasing nearly 15% from last season, going from 53.1% to 39.8% while still doing damage as he has four home runs so far this season which is two away from matching his total from all of last season
King is also walking far more in comparison to last season as well, as his walk rate has nearly tripled from last season, going from 5.8% to 17.2% so far this year
There are a number of other players whose swing rates have also decreased, particularly those from the Fredericksburg Nationals—Yeremy Cabrera’s cut from 45% to 41%, Eli Willits’ has gone from 46.4% to 44.1%, and Luke Dickerson’s has decreased from 46% to 40%
Other key players like Devin Fitz-Gerald for the Wilmington Blue Rocks and Abimelec Ortiz for the Rochester Red Wings have also seen their swing rates decrease since last season
🗣️ LOCKER ROOM LORE
This change in plate discipline, a skill far harder to teach in baseball, happening just over the offseason shows the clear plan that this was a key piece of the new front office’s plan coming into this year. Implementing this plan from the bottom up, from the farm system to the majors, is proving to have a real benefit as it is showing management that not only does this strategy have its merit, but it is actively beneficial to the teams who have seen players be able to implement it. This has, of course, led to it being seen more and more at a major league level as the season has continued, with players like CJ Abrams and Brady House seeing more walks than previously.
💬 FAN’S CHOICE
What do you think of this strategy for the Nats long-term? How beneficial do you think starting the strategy across the farm system can be?
📬 SUBSCRIBER CTA
For more on the Nats’ minor league teams, make sure to check out this Harrisburg Senators weekly recap.
Want the full breakdown before anyone else? 🔔 Subscribe to The Nats Report Morning Briefing — exclusive access, deep dives, and insider audio drops every weekday morning.
WHAT WE THINK THE NATIONALS FRONT OFFICE IS READING
Speed Reads
📌 How Manager Blake Butera won respect, and some games, in his first month (Washington Post)
📌 These prospects weren't in the discussion for the Top 100 entering the season ... they are now (MLB)