The Morning Briefing: September 6

Good morning, Washington Nationals fans.

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, September 6.

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Welcome to the Morning Briefing!

Leading this Morning's Briefing: Irvin on the Struggle Bus

Jake Irvin had an ugly second inning last night, compounded by poor defense from both Keibert Ruiz and Dylan Crews, and although he rebounded enough to finish five innings, it was another concerning start from a guy who had an ERA north of six last month. As MacKenzie Gore appears to be righting his ship, Irvin is bordering on foundering here in the last month of the season. In fairness, he is 45 innings beyond his MLB total from last year, and 22 innings past his combined total between Rochester and the majors - this could be as simple as him being tired (remember, he got a skipped start early last summer that really helped reset him).

Last Game Out

The Nats never recovered from the five-run Pirates' half of the second, after a strong first inning that saw them score three runs of their own thanks to a Juan Yepez double and an Andrés Chaparro bomb to left center. They were in fact unable to take advantage of multiple scoring opportunities for the rest of the game, and the only other run they scored was when Chaparro got hit on his protective elbow guard with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, forcing Derek Shelton to bring in Aroldis Chapman to finish the mop-up job.

Nationals Headline of the Day: Trouble with the Curve

Jake Crouse of MLB.com wrote about Irvin's struggles with his usually sharp curveball last night, which the Pirates were able to sit on and drive throughout that ugly second inning.

Down on the Farm

Rochester lost a football game to the Worcester Woo Sox yesterday 13-10, as Worcester evidently missed a point after. Jackson Rutledge gave up six runs in three and a third, and it continues to look like he should move to the bullpen next spring.

Featured Baseball Story of the Day

Mike Petriello at MLB.com asks if Bobby Witt Jr.'s 2024 is the best non-MVP season in history, since it seems a stone-cold lock that he will finish runner-up to Aaron Judge.

Former National of the Day

Since a branch of his trade tree is still on the team, let's remember Cristian Guzmán, who played for the inaugural Nats in 2005 and again from 2007-10 (he was injured for the entirety of the 2006 season) before he was traded to Texas - in what turned out to be the final season of his career - for an obscure AA pitcher named Tanner Roark. Roark begat Tanner Rainey, who remains a National to this day. Aren't trade trees fun? Anyway, Guzmán hit .282/.317/.389 with 23 home runs and 23 stolen bases in his Nats tenure across 550 games.

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