Nats Outlast the Cardinals in the 11th

The Nats prevailed in St. Louis 8-5 on Saturday night in a four-hour affair that lasted 11 innings. Al & Mark convene after Washington grabbed their sixth win the past seven games.  The Nationals won their 73rd game of the season; guaranteeing that they will avoid 90 losses in 2026.

(06:00) Andrew Alvarez was fantastic as he tossed six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. Alvarez's ERA is at 3.17 this season and it seems for almost certain that he will part of the 2027 rotation.

(12:00) The offense plated right runs off of dozen hits and a pair of Cardinals errors. Jorbit Vivas had a big night as he went 4 for 6 with a RBI single in extras. Vivas' OPS in his solid September is at .807.

(17:00) James Wood was removed from the game when Jacob Young took over for him in RF in the top of the 9th.

(20:00) Dylan Crews made an incredible catch against the wall and later had an outfield assist.

(25:00) Six relievers combined to allow five runs and blow the save twice along the way. Riley Cornelio took over in the 11th, but needed Will Dion to come in and notch the final out. The defense didn't help at all as four errors were committed on Saturday night.

(30:00) Returning to the conversation about James Wood's hustle as Blake Butera later admitted that he partially removed Wood for not running out an 9th inning grounder.  

(33:00) Dion is the 14th pitcher to earn a save this season for the Nationals.