The Washington Nationals have a full baseball day ahead of them, but the immediate job is simple: beat the Tigers and get this series back to even.
Washington is set to play at 6:40 pm, while the first pitch for the best-of-3 game in the Triple-A International League playoffs for the Nats’ affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings, comes at 7:45 pm in Memphis. Rochester will send reliever Matt Krook to the mound in that game.
For the Nationals, the pitching plan starts with Riley Cornelio as the opener, followed by Jackson Kent as the bulk starter. Tomorrow is listed as a TBD, and it could be a Brad Lord opener game.
The Nats come in with 73 wins, already more than the 66 they finished with in the 2025 season. That puts them ahead by more than 11 percent year over year, a meaningful step as they keep stacking wins and looking ahead to next season.
Offensively, Washington has been one of the most productive teams in baseball. The Nats rank third in MLB with 800 runs scored, a mark that works out to 5.10 runs per game.
On the other side, the pitching staff has allowed 4.69 earned runs per game, and the gap has been narrowed by unearned runs tied to errors. Even with that, Washington’s run differential sits at +5.
Manager Blake Butera’s bullpen chart is in place, and the sample size is now large enough to start drawing real conclusions from the numbers. FanGraphs WAR is beginning to tell a fuller story, while OAA is also giving a clearer look at what this Nationals defense has - and what it doesn’t.
In Other News...
Astros Just Lost A Key Voice In A Critical Talent Pipeline
The Nationals are looking to add a familiar name from one of baseballs more respected talent pipelines, planning to bring in Brian Rodgers from Houston to help steer their international scouting efforts. For a Washington organization trying to deepen and sharpen its farm system, the move would be a meaningful one, especially at a time when clubs increasingly lean on the international market to find impact talent before it gets expensive.
Rodgers has been running that part of the Astros operation, and Houstons track record in that space has made his role one worth watching. His work has helped the Astros land several of their top prospects, giving Washington a potential boost not just in personnel but in the kind of eye for talent that can change a system over time. [Read more 🡒]
James Woods Late-Season Slide Is Raising A Bigger Nationals Concern
James Woods bat has gone quiet at exactly the wrong time for a Nationals lineup that has leaned on his power for much of the season. Since the All-Star break, the slug has faded, his production has dipped and the burst that made him such a force in the first half has not carried over into the stretch run. A month lost to an oblique injury only complicated the picture, interrupting a season that had already started to feel uneven.
James Woods late-season slide also comes with a broader concern for Washington, because this is not the first time his second half has looked different from his first. The drop-off last year followed a similar pattern, and the frustration around his recent play has gone beyond the box score. For a club trying to see what kind of cornerstone it has in him, the issue is no longer just whether the power returns, but whether the consistency and urgency do too. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Make Cade Cavalli Decision Fans Will Be Debating All Winter
Cade Cavallis season has already done plenty to restore the buzz around his future, and the Nationals are choosing to treat that progress with caution rather than chase every last inning. The right-hander put together a strong year, working his way into a meaningful role in the rotation while giving Washington the kind of consistent production it has been looking for on the mound.
Even with Cavalli healthy and having reached 200 strikeouts, the Nationals decided to cap his workload and keep his innings in check for the bigger picture. It leaves the club with one of those decisions that can make sense in October and still be debated all winter, especially after a season that ended with a 3.02 ERA across 32 starts and 169 2/3 innings. [Read more 🡒]