The Nats lost 6-2 on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium as Mookie Betts went 5 for 5 against Patrick Corbin and the bullpen. Mark (From LA) & Al discuss Corbin starting the season at 0-3 as he gave up nine hits and five runs in 6.1 IP.

The Nats bounced back with a 6-4 series opening victory on Monday night at Dodger Stadium on Jackie Robinson Day. Mark (From LA) & Al begin with praise for Mitchell Parker, who won his MLB debut while facing the loaded Dodger lineup. It is shockingly the first Nationals pitcher to win his debut since Stephen Strasburg back in 2010. Mark runs through the laundry list of past pitchers who could not pull the feat in the past 14 years.

The Nats led 6-1 in Oakland but it all fell apart in the 6th inning and they ultimately lost 7-6. Mark (Live from the Oakland Coliseum) & Al recap the disappointing series finale.

The Nats beat the Athletics 3-1 in California on Saturday afternoon as MacKenzie Gore tied a career high with 11 strikeouts. Mark (Live from Oakland Coliseum) & Al discuss the southpaw's sterling outing that lasted five innings on 90 pitches.

The Nats lost 2-1 in Oakland on Friday evening in 10 innings of play. Mark (Live from Oakland Coliseum) & Al begin by noting that this is the final season of play in this particular stadium as the team will temporarily relocate to Sacramento for a few years starting next Spring.

The Nats lost 7-1 on Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco, ending their three game win streak. Al & Mark (Live from Oracle Park) recap a quiet day for the bats as they only mustered four hits in defeat. The only run came from Joey Gallo, who now has a trio of homers on the young season.

(05:30) Catcher Drew Millas was called up and started behind the plate, replacing Joan Adon on the roster. Millas took the place of Keibert Ruiz who wasn't feel, but immediately was sent back down to the minors after the game. Since Adon is not with the Nats, who will take that rotation spot on this road trip?

(13:00) Patrick Corbin took the loss as he allowed seven runs off 11 hits. Corbin's ERA after three outings is 8.44.

The Nats held on 5-3 in San Francisco on Tuesday night for their 3rd straight victory. Mark (Live from SF) & Al though begin with the news from pregame that Josiah Gray is headed to the 15 day IL with a right elbow/ forearm flexor strain.

The Nats crusied to an 8-1 victory on Monday night in San Francisco to begin their west coast road trip. Mark (Live from Oracle Park) & Al begin with the Nationals offense knocking Blake Snell out of the affair after just three innings of work with his new team. The reigning NL Cy Young winner did not sign with the Giants until mid March and therefore missed the bulk of Spring Training.

From the Nats Chat Archives:

Stephen Strasburg’s final carer start

The Nats ended their three game skid with a 3-2 victory over the visiting Phillies on Sunday afternoon. Al & Tim start with MacKenzie Gore's solid performance as earned his first win of 2024 in 5.1 IP of work. A trio of bullpen pitchers (Weems, Harvey, and Finnegan) then combined for ten scoreless outs.

(11:15) Lane Thomas had his best game of the season as he had a pair of hits, stole three bases, and scored the final two runs. The negative for the offense was that CJ Abrams missed a second straight game to a bone bruise in his pinky finger, which is believed to have happened on a Friday night slide.

(16:00) Jesse Winker had an excellent catch in the top of the 9th to avoid a lead-off double in what has been a strong start to his time in Washington. Luis Garcia Jr. had a RBI double and is hitting .333 thus far on the season after being sent down to the minors for portion of 2023.

(25:00) On Sunday Nationals ownership released a statement about the retirement of Stephen Strasburg, which became official on Saturday. Strasburg himself released a statement and Mike Rizzo also met with reporters before the game. Al & Tim then wonder if he is the biggest "Star" in franchise history?

The Nats lost 5-2 to the Phillies but afterwards in a very subtle manner, it came across the MLB.com's transactions log that Stephen Strasburg is retiring. Mark & Al react to the news that the Strasburg saga has finally been wrapped up. The next homestand will serve as the 5th anniversary celebration of the World Series title as Houston will be in town and they wonder if the timing of that weekend played a role in the eventual resolution.

(15:40) CJ Abrams was a late scratch due to a bone bruise in his pinky finger. Lane Thomas was moved up to the lead-off spot and responded with his first multi hit game of the season.

(20:00) Joey Gallo homered for the 2nd time this week and it is the 200th of his career.

On a chilly Friday night in the District, the Nats were blanked 4-0 by the Phillies. Mark & Al start with the struggling offense as they only totaled two hits on the evening. One of those was squandered by poor base running as CJ Abrams tried to stretch an early single into a double.

(06:25) Lane Thomas was hitless and is mightily slumping this season. So far he is just 2 for 28 at the plate and has not had a hit since the home opener.

(10:00) Trey Lipscomb was charged with his 2nd throwing error of the year after airmailing a throw way over 1B. He also has skipped a few throws thus far and has at times been bailed out by Joey Gallo's glove work. During pregame workouts, Lipscomb was also seen getting reps in the outfield. What to make of it?

(15:00) Patrick Corbin's pitching line: 6 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 6 K on 93 pitches. He had the unusual modern feat of facing the top of the Phillies order for the fourth time. The bullpen followed up with three scoreless innings despite combining to issue six walks.

(24:30) A listener submitted email asking about the scarcity of consistently great relief pitchers.

The Nats lost 7-4 to Pittsburgh in D.C. to drop a 2nd straight rubber match as they are now 2-4 on the season. Al & Mark recap another bad outing by Josiah Gray as he gave up four runs in the opening inning. His ERA so far this season after a pair of starts is 14.04.

(14:00) The offense totaled eight hits after trying to dig themselves out from the early deficit. Lane Thomas was for 0 for 4 and so far he is hitting just .179 on the young season.

(18:00) Joey Gallo doubled and drew a walk in what ended up being a solid series for the new National. Jacob Young started in CF shortly after being called up from Rochester as earlier in the day Victor Robles was placed on the IL due to a hamstring strain.

(20:20) A recap of the bullpen's performance and five arms were needed on Thursday. Tanner Rainey allowed two hits but didn't give up any runs for the first time this season in three appearances.

(31:00) The Phillies come to town this weekend and the hosts ends the show by noting how mediocre the division has been thus far.

Wednesday was filled with rain in the DMV, but the skies were clear enough in the early evening for a 5-3 Nationals victory over Pittsburgh. Mark & Al start with Joey Gallo as his first hit with the franchise was fittingly a solo HR. He then later added two more hits after beginning the season 0 for 12.

(08:00) Luis Garcia Jr. doubled three times and knocked in a run. It is the first time in Garcia's career that he pulled off that feat.

(11:40) CJ Abrams had another impressive performance as he had a pair of hits and knocked in two runs. His RBI single was the capper to the four runs that Washington scored in the bottom of the 2nd.

(14:30) Victor Robles exited the game early due to a left hamstring injury and will receive a MRI on Thursday. If he lands on the IL, this would mean the team needs to likely call up another outfielder to fill his spot.

(20:15) Trevor Williams threw the best outing of any Nats starting pitcher so far this season and was rewarded with a victory. He allowed two runs in 5.1 IP and it is his first victory since August 20th of last season.

(24:30) A very encouraging sign was how effective Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan were in preserving the victory after some rough moments so far this season. Finnegan impressed many with his new "sweeper" pitch while notching the Save.

(30:30) The series wraps up on Thursday afternoon as Josiah Gray will take mound. Gray did not pitch well on Opening Day in Cincinnati as the Nationals seek their first series victory of the season.

The Nats lost 8-3 to the Pirates in their sold out home opener to begin the season 1-3 for the sixth consecutive year. Mark & Al recap a second straight day filled with bullpen struggles as the game was tied at 4 entering the top of the 8th. Matt Barnes and Tanner Rainey shared responsibility for the four late Pirates runs. Overall the quartet of Nats relievers gave up ten hits in the afternoon.

(12:00) MacKenzie Gore threw a so-so start as he gave up a trio of runs in 5.1 IP on 101 pitches. His pitch count was immediately high as it took over 40 pitches to get through innings #1 & #2. Thus far this season, it seems like the Nationals starters are having slugging beginnings to their outings.

(17:20) The offense overcame a slow start and their performance was highlighted by Riley Adams' longest HR of his career. Adams got the start behind the plate as Keibert Ruiz served as the DH.

The Nats came one out shy of winning the opening series of the season as they lost 6-5 on Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati. Mark (Live from Cincy) & Al recap the loss where a 5-3 lead with two outs in the 9th quickly turned into a Reds walk-off HR given up by Kyle Finnegan.

(07:30) Trey Lipscomb homered in just his 2nd career game and continues to impress at 3B.

(11:00) CJ Abrams also homered on Sunday, but Al takes issue with a decision for him to attempt a sacrifice bunt despite it working out.

(20:00) Jake Irvin allowed 3 runs in 5 IP in his first start of the season. This leads to a discussion of what to expect from the rotation in early April.

(25:00) The weather forecast this week in D.C. is not great for Opening Day and Monday could potentially be a long one at the ballpark if Tuesday's forecast does not improve.

The Nats scored 3 runs in the 9th to escape with a 7-6 victory on Saturday afternoon. Mark (From Cincinnati) & Al discuss the comeback, which involved a lot of "Small Ball". Keibert Ruiz tied the game by getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Eddie Rosario continued his strong start to the season with the go ahead sacrifice fly. CJ Abrams had a excellent game as he scored a trio of runs and also stole 3 bases in the win.

(11:00) Trey Lipscomb made his Major League debut as the starting 3B and came through with his first career single and flashed the leather too. Lipscomb is the first prospect from the next wave to join the Big League team and was called up after Nick Senzel's Opening Day injury.

(16:00) Jesse Winker had a productive Saturday as the #3 hitter, coming through with a pair of hits, a run scored, and an outfield assist to throw out a runner at the plate.

(23:20) Patrick Corbin lasted 4.1 IP in allowing 4 runs and 7 hits in the final season of his long term contract. His outing began with 3 scoreless outings before the Reds offense awoke.

The Nats were routed 8-2 on Opening Day on Thursday afternoon in Cincinnati . Mark (Live from Cincy) & Al recap the defeat that got off to an immediate negative tone as third baseman Nick Senzel broke his thumb while fielding a ground ball in warmups. Then Josiah Gray allowed seven runs before the 3rd inning was over, including allowing a pair of HRs to Nick Martini, who entered the game with only 8 career HRs.

(16:20) The offense was very ineffective as only one runner reached scoring position and zero walks were drawn. The only source of offense came from Eddie Rosario who hit a 2 run HR while starting in CF.

(23:00) It didn't take long for our first "TOOTBLAN" on the season as it came in the top of the 1st.

(29:10) Stephen Strasburg was officially placed on the 60-day IL on Thursday. Any update on a potential resolution?

Mark is back from Florida and so are the Nats as Opening Day is Thursday in Cincinnati. He & Al begin start with the prospect likeliest to begin in Ohio this week and it's not James Wood or Dylan Crews. Hear all the factors that led to Trey Lipscomb escalation up the depth chart within the organization. Lipscomb is an infielder and was drafted by Washington in the 3rd round of the 2022 Draft after playing at the University of Tennessee.

(12:00) An update on the starting rotation which will include Trevor Williams and not Zach Davies. Why is Jackson Rutledge beginning his season in Triple A Rochester?

(19:00) Bullpen Roll Call. Mark explains how competitive spots were for relievers this Spring. As of now, Robert Garcia is the only lefty on the roster.

(22:00) An evaluation of where the Rebuild stands.

(29:00) Davey Martinez is entering his his 7th season at the helm for the Nats. What sort of pressure is there on Davey for this season or none at all? He signed a two year extension in August that runs through the 2025 season.

(34:15) Al poses the question - who most needs to show improvement this season?

(38:30 Both hosts give their official season prediction for the 2024 Washington Nationals.

As Opening Day approaches next week, Mark (From West Palm) & Al react to Davey Martinez giving Josiah Gray the nod to take the mound on March 28th in Cincinnati. Patrick Corbin, who started Opening Day the past two seasons, will get the ball in Game #2. MacKenzie Gore is expected to be the starting pitcher for the home opener on Monday April 1st.

(15:20) An update on the bullpen and which arms are healthy as the regular season approaches.

(19:15) A look at the outfield and first base from a defensive perspective. Eddie Rosario was recently signed to play left field and now Joey Gallo is the primary plan at 1st Why Gallo over Meneses at that spot?

(25:25) Mark runs through why he thinks there might be a defensive regression this season in the infield. Nick Senzel is expected to begin the season at third, but the long term answer at the hot corner remains in flux.

(29:00) Davey publicly scolded Luis Garcia Jr. for a base running miscue, is it indicative of how many chances he's running out of in D.C.?

(32:00) "Robo Umps" has been experimented with in Spring Training and is referred to as the ABS (Automated Balls and Strike System). This has been used recently in minor league games so many of the younger players are familiar with it. Will this be instituted at the Major League level?

(38:00) It is unclear if final cuts will be made before or after the team flies north from Florida. The final Grapefruit League game is Sunday and then on Tuesday in D.C. will be the inaugural futures game featuring prospects at 12:05pm.