The Nationals head into Sunday night’s finale against the Dodgers trying to put one more competitive game on the board before the season keeps moving. After nearly stealing Saturday night’s game, Washington gets Andrew Alvarez on the mound at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Alvarez has quietly turned his season into one of the more encouraging stories heading into the offseason, and this start gives him another chance to prove it on a bigger stage. It’s a good test for him, and it comes with the Nationals still sorting through the bigger picture of where this team stands with 18 games left in the 2026 season.
Since the World Series season of 2019, Washington has not won more than 71 games in a year. The Nationals need five more wins to get there, six more to avoid a 90-loss season by reaching 73, and 15-3 to finish above .500. After this game, the team will travel by bus to San Diego for a three-game series starting Monday.
Manager Blake Butera pointed to the different paths some of the club’s recent arrivals have taken to reach the majors. “They’ve all gotten here in different ways, and I think that’s the case with almost all Major League players.
You learn when times are tough, how did you respond vs. the guy that maybe had the clear path up here? And I don’t think any of the ones that we have really gotten recently have had a clear, easy path the way up here.
You look at Erik Tolman, just given the injury history and the stuff that he’s had to do. The Jared Simpsons, of course, the Jack Sinclairs, as you mentioned, have taken a long time.
They all have unique trials and tribulations they’ve gone through to get here.”
The offense has been one of the louder parts of Washington’s season. The Nationals are second in MLB with 743 runs scored, a 5.17 runs per game clip.
Their pitching has allowed 4.70 earned runs per game, and the difference has largely come down to the unearned runs created by errors. Even so, Washington sits at plus-11 in run differential.
Butera’s bullpen chart is in place for the night, and the FanGraphs WAR chart has now grown enough to start carrying real full-season weight. The OAA defense stat is also beginning to show what the Nationals have - and what they still don’t.
In Other News...
Nationals Just Got A Key Arm Back With Big Questions Ahead
Connelly Early is back on the mound for the Nationals, beginning his return from injury with his first rehab start in the Bridge League, a controlled setting the club uses to help develop pitchers while keeping a close eye on workload. For Washington, it is another encouraging step for a left-hander whose stuff and trajectory have made him worth monitoring, especially after a year in which his progress has been slowed by injuries.
The timing, though, still leaves plenty unsettled. Early had initially been lined up for a Low-A playoff appearance before the Nationals shifted him to the Bridge League to better manage how much he throws, a small but telling sign of how carefully they are handling him now. Even with the setback in the rearview, there remains real uncertainty about whether he will make it to the majors before seasons end, and the most optimistic path still looks limited. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Fans Got A Notable Roster Hint In Tuesdays Notes
Rochester kept rolling with a 3-1 win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, getting useful innings from Andry Lara, Kyle Nicolas and Gus Varland while Sam Petersen and Leandro Pineda supplied the offense. The lower levels kept giving Washington reasons to pay attention, too, as Harrisburg gets set for a trip to New Hampshire with a chance to finish above .500 and Fredericksburg heads into the playoffs on a seven-game winning streak before opening a best-of-three series in North Carolina.
There was also a small roster note tucked into Tuesdays updates that stood out to Nationals followers, especially with the big league club always looking for help from within. The move adds another arm to keep an eye on, and it comes as the organizations affiliates continue to sort out late-season roles, momentum and possible next steps with the year winding down. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals May Have Found A Bullpen Piece Fans Didn't See Coming
The Nationals added a quietly intriguing bullpen name just before the trade deadline, sending outfielder Christian Franklin to Baltimore in a deal for reliever Joe Glassey. The move did not land with the kind of fanfare that usually follows a late-July swap, but Glassey has already started to make his case in the organization, moving from Double-A Harrisburg to Triple-A Rochester while putting together a string of scoreless appearances.
For a Washington club still sorting through the edges of its relief picture, that kind of quick rise matters. Glasseys arsenal has drawn enough attention to keep him on the radar, and the early returns suggest the Nationals may have found a pitcher who can push for real bullpen consideration sooner rather than later, even if the next step in his path is still the part everyone wants to see play out. [Read more 🡒]