Nats Chat Mark Zuckerman & Al Galdi, Blue Wire

The Nats beat the Diamondbacks 3-1 on Wednesday afternoon in D.C. Mark & Al break down a good start from Patrick Corbin and question if it might be his last start for the Nats. They also discuss the stellar performance from the bullpen this season (7:26). On the offensive side, they talk about Jesse Winker's great season and why he is the most likely player to be traded ahead of this year's deadline (10:51) as well as dissect the important role Ildemaro Vargas has held for the 2024 Nats (16:05). They end the show by discussing a rare starting lineup appearance for Rule 5 draftee Nasim Nunez (18:40).
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The Nats lost to the Diamondbacks 5-0 on Tuesday evening as James Wood returned to the AAA lineup while Dylan Crews made his Rochester debut. Mark & Al discuss the prospects' progress so far and break down when we might see them in the majors. They also discuss a bad offensive performance from the Nats (13:45) and what might have been Jake Irvin's worst start of the season (17:01). They end the show by talking about updates on Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli's rehab assignments and touching on the passing of baseball legend Willie Mays (21:55).
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The Nats defeated the Marlins 3-1 on Sunday afternoon to complete a three game sweep and move to 7-0 this season vs. their divisional foe. Al & Mark have another dominant outing from a young pitcher to dissect as Mitchell Parker only allowed one run in six innings of work. So far during this solid stretch of pitching, Parker's biggest issue seems to be fielding as he misplayed an infield hit that led to Miami's lone run.
(10:30) Who has the biggest upside between Jake Irvin, DJ Herz, and Parker? The organization is in a rare position right now of quality starting pitching that came from within the organization.
(20:00) The bullpen also was in control all weekend and Kyle Finnegan tossed a scoreless top of the 9th for his 20th save of the season.
(23:00) Lane Thomas homered every game during the sweep and Jacob Young joined the party on Sunday as he clubbed his first career HR. However, it was another game with multiple outs made on the bases by Washington.
(37:00) Jim Callis, Senior writer for MLB.com, gives a few names the Nationals might consider in next month's draft.
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The Nats blanked the Marlins 4-0 on Saturday afternoon for their seventh win in the past eight games. Mark & Al dive into DJ Herz, who in his third ever MLB start, had one of the best pitching performances in franchise history. The lefty lasted six innings, fanned 13 hitters, issued zero walks, and only allowed one hit in is first career victory.
(07:00) Washington has had four young pitchers perform well at the Major League level this season in Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker, MacKenzie Gore, and now DJ Herz. Al points out how important this is in terms of the rebuild.
(18:00) Jesse Winker left the game early after hurting his right knee and will get a MRI. It is likely that his roster replacement will be Harold Ramirez, recently claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay.
(26:00) Joey Meneses and Lane Thomas each homered on Saturday. The Nationals is 11-8 since Thomas returned to the lineup and the conversation leads to seeing just how valuable he is to the team.
(37:00) Josh Whetzel, the Voice of the Rochester Red Wings, gives an update from AAA.
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The Nats routed the last place Marlins 8-1 on Friday evening in D.C. Al is solo behind the mic and gives a detailed analysis of what happened in the dugout between Nick Senzel and MacKenzie Gore. It did not escalate to the same level as Jonathan Papelbon/ Bryce Harper, but was reminiscent of the 2015 incident.
(09:30) Gore dominated Miami as he struck out ten batters. Gore was able to complete seven innings on 103 pitches as he earned his sixth victory of the season.
(12:30) The Nationals scored seven runs in the bottom of the 3rd just one inning after the dugout fracas. Washington had eight hits in their big inning including a 3 run HR by Lane Thomas and a pair of hits by CJ Abrams.
(19:30) DJ Herz will stat vs. the Marlins on Saturday afternoon for his third career MLB start. Herz is auditioning to stay in the rotation ahead of Patrick Corbin.
(25:00) An update from Terry Byrom, the Voice of the AA-Harrisburg Senators.
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The Nats lost 7-2 in Detroit on Thursday afternoon to end their five game winning streak. Mark (From Comerica Park) & Al begin with the faltering bullpen as they allowed five runs in the bottom of the 7th. Derek Law and Robert Garcia combined to give up six runs while recording just four outs.
(12:00) Patrick Corbin had a no decision and was only charged with one run in just over five innings of work. This leads to a discussion on the rehab for both Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli. Gray is taking the mound on Friday for AA-Harrisburg and Cavalli is currently on pause.
(17:00) The Nationals tied a franchise record with six sacrifice flies in a three game series. Ildemaro Vargas on Thursday had two of them, which were the only runs that the team scored in defeat.
(24:00) Lane Thomas was ejected in the middle of an at-bat and it seems like Thomas got a raw deal from the home plate umpire.
(30:00) All three Washington starting pitchers this weekend vs. Miami will be lefties.
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