Cavalli looked every bit like a pitcher Washington can build around Saturday night at Dodger Stadium, even if the result came up short.
Six days after a comebacker off his right leg forced him out of his previous start early, the Nationals right-hander came back with six innings of work, eight strikeouts and no signs that the earlier scare had slowed him down. He still took the loss in Washington’s 6-5 defeat to the Dodgers, but the outing kept him at the top of the National League second-half strikeout leaderboard with 75.
The first inning could have gone sideways fast. A defensive miscommunication on what should have been an inning-ending double-play ball led Cavalli into first baseman Abimelec Ortiz at the bag, and the Dodgers cashed in with back-to-back RBI singles from Teoscar Hernández and Hunter Feduccia.
Cavalli didn’t let it snowball. He settled in and allowed just one hit over his final five innings.
"That's 100 percent on me," Cavalli said of the first-inning collision. "I should have said 'I got it, I got it.'
I just assumed, and there's an issue when you assume. That's my fault.
It's something we can learn from, something I can for sure learn from and communicate better."
That kind of response drew praise from manager Blake Butera.
"He's done a really good job of just stopping that momentum and not letting it continue to roll south," Butera said. "I think that comes from having gone through it, staying healthy like he has this year, and being able to go out there every fifth day to learn. He's done a nice job with that mindset."
Washington’s lineup gave Cavalli support in the middle innings. José Tena drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the second, Keibert Ruiz added an RBI single in the fourth, and Dylan Crews followed with an RBI double to push the Nationals in front 3-2. Daylen Lile later tacked on an RBI double in the seventh to make it 4-2.
But the bullpen couldn’t protect it.
Clayton Beeter issued a walk and a single in the bottom of the seventh, then Tommy Edman jumped on a 2-1 slider and sent it out for a three-run homer that flipped the game. The sequence again put Washington’s relief problems in the spotlight, especially the way walks keep opening the door for bigger damage.
"When we look at run-scoring, a lot of times it's hard to have multiple hits in an inning," Butera said. “It usually needs some walks mixed in there, and then when you get guys on base, the home run ... it killed us tonight, of course, and it feels like that's been the theme."
Butera said the staff still believes Beeter can straighten things out.
“I think he's going to be able to get the command better,” Butera said. “Whether it's a mentality piece, that's the part that we have to figure out."
Beeter didn’t hide from the outing afterward.
"It's hard to do. It sucks doing what I did out there tonight," Beeter said.
"The guys in here are really, really special and they make sure they let me know how much they believe in me. I try to put my faith in God and just trust that His plan is the right one."
Washington had one more push in it, too. For the second straight night, the Nationals threatened late against the Dodgers’ bullpen in the ninth.
James Wood started it with a two-out single, Lile knocked him in to make it 6-5, and Andrés Chaparro doubled to put the go-ahead runs on base. Tanner Scott then finished it off by striking out CJ Abrams.
In Other News...
CJ Abrams Still Has One Big Nationals Question Hanging Over Him
The Nationals have spent the last couple of weeks testing a new path for CJ Abrams, and the latest update suggests they are willing to keep experimenting. After moving him off shortstop in mid-August because of defensive issues, Washington had him debut at second base, where the early looks have been encouraging. It is part of a broader late-season evaluation for a club that is still sorting out pieces for the future, while also tracking the progress of pitchers Connelly Early, Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli as they work through injury recoveries and recent game activity.
Abrams next step is still the interesting one, because the Nationals are not treating this as a simple one-position answer. The more they see him handle the middle infield, the more they can weigh what fits best for him and for the roster, and that decision carries plenty of implications beyond the final weeks of this season. For now, Washington has at least given itself a useful look, and Abrams has given the club reason to keep the conversation going. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Bullpen Suddenly Has Homegrown Arms Fans Need To Watch
A sudden wave of homegrown relief help has given the Nationals bullpen a different look, with Erik Tolman, Jared Simpson and Jack Sinclair all getting their first extended taste of the majors after being developed inside the organization. For a club that always has an eye on whether its pitching pipeline is producing real depth, the early returns have been encouraging, especially since all three arrived as late-round draft picks and have shown sharper command than many expected.
Tolman has been the most eye-opening of the group, working into high-leverage innings and missing bats without giving much away, while Simpson handled his debut like a pitcher who belonged in the moment. Sinclair has also made an immediate impression with a confident first outing, giving the Nationals a trio of young arms worth tracking as the season unfolds. The bigger question now is how long this burst of poise and control can hold once opposing lineups get a second look. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Got An Intriguing Look At Two Very Different Young Arms
A game against the Dodgers gave the Nationals a useful snapshot of two young arms at different points in their development. Jackson Kent was on the mound for his fifth big league start, and the rookie left the outing having worked five innings as Washington tried to see how his stuff would hold up against a lineup with real postseason-level teeth.
The more immediate spark came from Jack Sinclair, who was called on for his Major League debut and handled the eighth inning cleanly. Washington ended up on the short end of a 5-3 loss, but nights like this still matter for a club sorting through its pitching future, especially when one arm is trying to settle in and another is just arriving on the scene. [Read more 🡒]