The Nats were pounded 8-1 by the Padres on Sunday afternoon to drop the rubber match. Al & Mark convene after MacKenzie Gore got roughed up in his first start after the All-Star Game. Gore immediately gave up a 1st inning Grand Slam to Xander Bogaerts and then was pulled in the top of the 3rd.

(10:30) James Wood singled to end an 0 for 20 stretch. Wood has struck out in 40% of his at bats this month and had 5 Ks over the weekend series.

(16:30) Nick Pivetta dominated the Washington offense for the 2nd this summer. Pivetta is having a very good season and his ERA is below 3.00 (2.81).

(19:00) The bullpen ironically had a great afternoon as three pitchers combined for over six scoreless innings. Jackson Rutledge pitched the most on Sunday as he almost lasted four innings; while striking out a trio of Padres.

(22:10) Yohandy Morales has been hitting well in AAA and the hosts wonder if he will get called up this season. Morales primarily plays 1B and was drafted in the 2023 2nd round.

The Nats topped the Padres 4-2 on a busy Saturday in Navy Yard. Mark & Al begin with Mitchell Parker's victorious effort after six innings of work. Parker only needed 82 pitches to reach that point and his biggest moment of the night came when striking out Manny Machado in thev bottom of the 5th with the bases loaded.

(11:00) Jacob Young slammed into the wall while in CF in the top of the 3rd, but remained in the game. Young was unable to pull off the catch and San Diego cut the Nationals lead to 2-1.

(12:45) The bullpen combined for three scoreless frames. Kyle Finnegan bounced back from Friday's nightmare with a his first Save in over a month.

(18:15) Nathaniel Lowe slugged his 15th homer, but yet his OPS remains below .700 (.697). We continue our friendly debate on whether or not Lowe is having a good season.

(21:30) Eli Willits, the number one overall pick in last week's MLB Draft, was officially introduced after signing with Washington. Willits broke the salary record for a high school prospect, but it is well below the slot value.

(26:00) Hear what Interim GM Mike DeBartolo answered in response to Mark's questions about the upcoming Trade Deadline. Is he open to trading MacKenzie Gore?

The Nats opened the 2nd half much with a 7-2 loss to the Padres after Kyle Finnegan made a mess of a tied game. Mark & Al recap the closer falling apart in the top of the 9th while other teams keep a close eye on the right hander ahead of the Trade Deadline. Finnegan only recorded one out while giving up a grand slam to Manny Machado and his ERA is now up to 4.37.

(14:30) C.J. Abrams 2-run homer tied the game in the bottom of the 8th, but the Nats ran themselves out of a chance to the take lead. Josh Bell was picked off while curiously taking off for 2nd base with James Wood standing on 3rd.

(19:30) Wood struck out three times and has the 3rd most Ks in all of Baseball.

(23:00) Michael Soroka had a decent outing as he lasted five innings. Is he someone that can be dealt at the Deadline?

(25:30) Brad Lord has been moved back into the starting rotation as Shinnosuke Ogasawara is remaining in AAA. Why Is Cade Cavalli still in Rochester and not in the Washington rotation?

(32:45) Analysis of the team's draft approach. Eli Willits will be introduced on Saturday afternoon shortly after he is expected to sign.

The Nats drafted Eli Willits, a high school shortstop out of Oklahoma, with the number #1 overall pick in Sunday night's MLB Draft. Mark & Al react to the selection that surprised most prognosticators. Ethan Holliday, the other highly touted high schooler from Oklahoma, was picked by Colorado at #4 overall.

(08:30) Willits is just 17 years old and has stated that he would like to be in the Big Leagues by when he turns 20. Willits had an eye opening OPS of 1.514 this past high school season.

(15:15) Handicapping the SS depth within the organization. Last year Washington drafted Seaver King, a shortstop from Wake Forest, who currently is playing with AA-Harrisburg.

(22:00) The Nationals were swept in Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon hours before the MLB Draft began. The 8-1 loss sends the team 20 games under .500 into the All-Star Break. For comparison sake, the organization was just two games below .500 entering June.

(27:45) C.J. Abrams was a late scratch due to shoulder soreness. This was significant because his injury info was released mid-game; a strong departure from protocol under Mike Rizzo. James Wood was given is first gever ame off on Sunday as he prepares for Monday night's HR Derby in Atlanta.

(36:00) Jackson Rutledge struggled by allowing four Brewer runs while recording just one out. The 2019 1st Round pick's ERA has a reached a scary 6.92 as the team decides what to do with the righty.

The Nats let it slip it away on Saturday afternoon in their 6-5 walk-off loss in Milwaukee. Al begins with a quick preview of Sunday night's MLB Draft where the Nationals hold the #1 overall pick. Kade Anderson, pitcher from LSU, is the likeliest selection in the top spot.

(04:00) Kyle Finnegan inherited a 5-3 lead, but very quickly allowed three Brewers runs. The final blow came on a Caleb Durbin single after Andrew Vaughn's 2-run double tied up the affair.

(07:00) Shinnosuke Ogasawara only lasted four innings and shortly after taping was optioned to AAA-Rochester.

(10:10) Finnegan's blown save ruined the intial storyline that belonged to Brady House. The rookie hit his first two career MLB homers and the 2nd one gave Washington a 4-3 lead in the top of the 8th.

(13:15) MASN reports that James Wood & MacKenzie Gore will fly to Atlanta on a team provided private jet for the All-Star festivities. This recalls a brief controversy involving Juan Soto a few years back.

The Nats lost 8-3 on Friday night in Milwaukee as the road trip moved to its second leg. Al quickly circles back to the curious comments made by Davey Martinez just a few days prior to his firing. Following the Nationals win on Thursday July 3rd, Davey made a specific point to thank the organization. It was Martinez's 500th and final win as Washington's skipper.

(05:15) Brady House had a RBI double while continuing to play good defense at 3B. Riley Adams, who likely will start most days for the time being, homered in the defeat.

(07:45) Mitchell Parker did not pitch well as he allowed seven runs in less than five innings of work. Through 19 stats this season, Parker will enter the All-Star break with a 5.12 ERA.

(11:00) Al opens up the mailbag, send in a question to natschatpodcast@gmail.com

(18:30) Hear about how to get a free drink on Monday at Walter's courtesy of Mike Rizzo.

(20:45) Ben McDonald tells Tim his scouting report on Ethan Holliday.

The Nats were trounced by the Cardinals 8-1 in Thursday night's rubber match. Mark (From St. Louis) & Al convene after the Cards' Miles Mikolas continued his dominance over Washington's offense.

(05:30) C.J. Abrams lost track of how many outs there were in the top of the 8th and it led to an inning ending double play. Abrams apologized afterwards and took the responsibility.

(11:00) Michael Soroka only lasted four innings and allowed a pair of runs. Soroka will enter the All-Star break with an ERA of 5.35.

(15:45) The game got away from Washington after Mason Thompson gave up five runs in the bottom of the 6th. To be fair, Thompson was plagued by sloppy defense behind him.

(22:35) A preview of this weekend's MLB Draft as the Nats have top pick. The most likely options come from both college and high school.

The Nats gave Miguel Cairo his first win as interim Manager with an 8-2 thrashing of the Cardinals. Mark (From St. Louis) & Al recap the victory that saw three homers, including the 24th of the season by James Wood.

(05:30) MacKenzie Gore earned the win as he only allowed one run in six innings of work. Gore will be able to pitch in the All-Star Game since he will not take the mound this Sunday in Milwaukee.

(12:45) Six of the Nats nine hits were for extra bases on Wednesday night. Nathaniel Lowe gave Gore an early cushion by hitting a 3-run HR in top of the 1st. Amed Rosario also went deep and he is worth monitoring as a potential trade chip at the end of the month.

(19:00) Luis Garcia, the newly signed reliever and not to be confused with the 2B, made his first appearance with the team in the bottom of the 9th.

(24:10) Trevor William's season is over and is to be determined which kind of surgery he will have due to his partial UCL tear. It is possible that he will undergo "Tommy John" surgery, which would put his 2026 season in doubt.

(27:00) A discussion about Keibert Ruiz's 2nd trip this summer to the concussion IL.

(30:30) Reaction to Mike Rizzo's Wednesday morning radio appearance on 106.7 the Fan. Did he refuse to fire Davey?

(38:15) Josh Whetzel, the Voice of the Rochester Red Wings, gives his weekly update from AAA. Hear about Cade Cavalli's recent outing and Nick Schnell's continued power surge.