Notes and quotes on the Nationals being no-hit for the 2nd time in Washington’s franchise history (2005-present)... NO-NO IN D.C.: San Diego Padres’ starter Dylan Cease held the Washington Nationals hitless through 4 2⁄3 innings when he faced the club in Petco Park back on June 26th, before now-former-Nats’ infielder Nick Senzel singled to break up Cease’s bid for the second no-hitter in franchise history. Going into his second start of the year against Davey Martinez’s crew, the 28-year-old right-hander was coming off back-to-back, one-hit outings in which he gave up early hits, but did pile ..read more

Notes and quotes from Wednesday’s game in Nationals Park... PITCHING WOES: Mitchell Parker’s final pre-All-Star break start was something of a disaster, an abbreviated 2⁄3 of an inning outing in which the 24-year-old left-hander gave up three hits, two walks, and a total of five earned runs. Parker got up to 47 pitches, 28 of them strikes, before his manager, Davey Martinez pulled the plug on the 17th start of the year by the rookie. “It was the pitch count,” Martinez told reporters after the club picked their pitcher up and rallied from an 5-0 deficit for a win. “And — uncharacteristic to hi ..read more

Notes and quotes from the Nationals’ loss to the Padres in the series opener on Tuesday... DJ HERZ IS BACK: Washington’s Nationals optioned 23-year-old southpaw DJ Herz to Triple-A Rochester earlier this month, after Herz’s seventh start in the majors and 17th start overall this season. “He’s another young pitcher that we’re really trying to take care of and keep him healthy,” Nationals’ skipper Davey Martinez explained.“We’ll give him a few days off here, but he’s got to be ready to pitch again. So, we’re going to look at the schedule, we’re going to get him going, and hopefully in the secon ..read more

Notes and quotes on Jake Irvin’s solid start and James Wood’s oppo blast… IRVIN RETURNS TO FORM: Jake Irvin gave up 18 hits, five walks, and 13 runs, 12 earned, in 10 innings over his final two pre-All-Star break outings, with the four home runs he allowed in those starts matching the total he gave up in his previous eight starts and 49 IP. “He was pitching really well,” before the two rough starts, Nationals’ manager Davey Martinez said before Irvin took the mound on Sunday afternoon for his first outing out of the break. “I think the rest definitely helped him, not more physically, but ment ..read more

Notes and quotes from the Nats’ three-game sweep of the Reds... Washington Nationals’ rookie James Wood was 8 for 25 (.320/.452/.480) with a double, one home run, six walks, and seven strikeouts in his first seven games in the majors, but going into Saturday night’s matchup with the Cincinnati Reds in the nation’s capital, the 21-year-old slugger was 6 for 32 (.188/.212/.188) with no walks and 16 Ks in his previous eight games and 33 PAs. “We got to get him back in the zone,” manager Davey Martinez said before the second game of the three-game series. “[Get him] again to understand that hey ..read more

Notes and quotes on the Nationals’ second straight win over the Reds... GORE AGAIN: “I’m capable of doing much better than what I just put together in the first half,” MacKenzie Gore said, as quoted by MASN’s Bobby Blanco of his 19-start first-half, which he finished with a 4.01 ERA, a 3.08 FIP, 37 walks (3.38 BB/9), 116 Ks (10.58 K/9), and a .268/.341/.387 line against in 98 2⁄3 IP. “His stuff is electric,” Nationals’ manager Davey Martinez said when he too was asked about Gore’s pre-All-Star Game outings. “He’s still learning. We’ve got to get him to understand, that hey, four pitches or le ..read more

Notes and quotes from a news-filled day in Nationals Park... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CORBIN: Patrick Corbin celebrated his 35th birthday with one of his best starts of the season, going six innings on 104 pitches on Friday night, in which he gave up just three hits and one run. Corbin held the Cincinnati Reds in check in the series and “second-half” opener in Nationals Park, striking out six without issuing a walk in an 8-5 win for Washington, in which he had 16 swinging and 12 called strikes. “Corbin was good. Corbin was really good,” Nats’ skipper Davey Martinez said after the win in the nation’s c ..read more

Notes and quotes on the Nationals heading into the second-half of the 2024 season… Davey Martinez delivered a simple but important message to his players with the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline only two weeks away (July 30th). Martinez talked with his team about the additional changes likely to come after the club traded Hunter Harvey to Kansas City this past weekend. “We’re building a team here to win not only next year, but for many years to come. That’s the goal.” - Davey Martinez To the players still in the clubhouse, the manager said, “It’s very simple for me: ‘Hey, be where your feet are. Righ ..read more

Notes and quotes from the 2024 MLB All-Star Game... CJ Abrams represents. On the day he was named an All-Star for the first time, the Nationals noted in a press release, CJ Abrams led all NL shortstops, “… with a .506 slugging percentage … [and] ranked second in extra-base hits (40), OPS (.859), RBI[s] (46), and triples (5).” “Advanced metrics,” they added, “… according to Baseball-Reference.com, placed him second in wins above replacement (3.5) and OPS+ (146), and he ranked second in wRC+ (138), according to FanGraphs.com.” Abrams, 23, “… also ranked in the top 10 among all National League h ..read more

Notes and quotes on an off-day during the All-Star break... 2024 MLB DRAFT RDS. 1-3: With their first three picks of 2024’s MLB Draft (Nos. 10; 39; and 44), Washington’s Nationals selected infielder/outfielder Seaver King (10), catcher Caleb Lomavita (39), and then shortstop Luke Dickerson (44). King, 21, hit 14 doubles, three triples, and 16 home runs, with 64 RBIs, 25 walks, 11 stolen bases, and 59 runs scored in 60 games for Wake Forest in 2024. He posted a .301/.377/.577 line on the year. Lomavita, 21, hit 13 doubles, a triple, and 15 home runs, with 52 RBIs, 12 walks, 12 stolen bases, an ..read more