Nationals Look Flat in Motor City…Detroit 9 – Washington 2

Coming off their three-game series with National League rival St. Louis, the Nats looked a

little downtrodden while starting another three-game series in Detroit, Michigan. Just as an

aside…why are we playing the Tigers in the last week of the season? Who okayed that

schedule?

Detroit started fast and then activated the cruise control. Gleyber Torres led off the bottom

of the first with a walk. Hao-Yu Lee then doubled to right field scoring Torres. Eduardo

Valencia singled to left field sending Lee all the way home with the help of James Wood’s

fielding error. 2-0 Detroit.

Detroit doubled their run total in the bottom of the fourth. Dillon Dingler walked and came

home on Javier Baez’s home run to left field, his third of the year. 4-0 Motor City.

The Tigers scored a bunch in the bottom of the fifth. With one out Rilen Greene drew a base

on balls. Greene then advanced to third base on a double courtesy of Eduardo Valencia.

Ben Malgeri then smacked a three-run homer to left field, his 4th. Dillon Dingler then

doubled to left field and came home on Spencer Torkelson’s two-run homer, also to left

field. That was Torkelson’s 25th dinger of the season. 9-0 Detroit.

The Nationals did get a couple runs across in the top of the eighth. James Wood singled to

center field. With two outs Yohandy Morales hit his 3rd home run of the season to right field

scoring Wood. 9-2 Tigers.

And that’s how it ended…

In tonight’s game the Nationals gave a couple of their younger pitchers a chance to show

what they could do.

DJ Herz started for the Nats. Herz has been with the team since 2023, but has had some

trouble staying with the big club. Having Tommy John surgery in April of 2025 sure didn’t

help. Most of this season, Herz has been on the injured list due to a flexor muscle strain.

He was activated from the injured list today for his season debut. DJ went four innings

giving up four runs on five hits with four strike outs.

Herz was replaced by Luis Perales who came to the Nationals in 2025 due to a trade with

the Red Sox. He was called up from Rochester this past August for his major league debut.

Tonight Perales threw two innings giving up five hits and five runs.

And then veteran Josiah Gray got his chance in the bottom of the seventh. Gray has been

around awhile, being drafted in 2018 by the Cincinnati Reds before being traded to the LA

Dodgers later that year. He finally made his ML debut on July 20, 2021.

Ten days later, Gray was traded to the Nationals. He was actually Washington’s lone

representative to the 2023 All-Star game.

Gray only made a couple starts for the Nats in 2024 before undergoing season ending

surgery for a partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament. That hurt just saying it. This

specific injury forced him to miss the entire 2025 season. Gray started 2026 with

Rochester. He was later diagnosed with a flexor strain and placed on the 60-day injured

list. He finally returned to the Nats’ active roster last month.

Tonight he went the final two innings for Washington, pitching two shutout innings while

allowing two hits and striking out one. He deserves a ton of credit for fighting through his

multiple setbacks.

River Ryan made his season debut tonight for the Tigers. He was part of the trade that sent

Tarik Skubal to the Dodgers back on August 2nd. Ryan’s another one of those guys who’s

had some injury problems, but he did look good tonight, going three innings while allowing

two hits, no runs, and striking out three Nationals. Cudos to you as well, River.

Game two of the series is tomorrow night at 6:40 ET.

Dave’s Dime…priorities for the off-season

Well, the Washington Nationals now sit with 73 wins and 84 losses with five games to go.

As we discussed earlier, the Nationals were predicted to win around 65 to 68 games this

year, so I guess we showed them. But after threatening for a wild card spot back in July,

winning a possible 75 games just doesn’t feel that satisfying.

So, what should the Nats do to try and improve their record and possibly make the playoffs

in 2027?

1. I think management made a great start with the signing of ace pitcher Cade Cavalli

to a new four-year contract. After sending Foster Griffin to the Guardians at the

trade deadline, signing Cavalli gives us fans something to feel good about. But we

need more!

2. Outfielder Dylan Crews had a somewhat disappointing season with the Nats. Right

now, Crews is sitting with a .223 average with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs. But the

experts still believe Crews has the tools to be a quality player. The Nationals just

need to find a way to unlock that talent. It’s too early to give up on the former

number two overall draft pick.

3. Third baseman Brady House has had a tough time staying in the majors, but he’s

another young prospect that will hopefully see better days very soon. Remember,

he’s only 23 years old. He currently is sitting with a .241 batting average,10 home

runs, and 45 runs batted in. His big problem is making consistent contact in the

batter’s box. Another work in progress.

4. Daylen Lile has had a solid 2026 season. He’s hitting .249 with 22 home runs and 88

RBIs. His continued development in the field and at bat will certainly add another

big piece to the Nationals’ outfield.

One of the most interesting things I read while checking some sources is that the Nationals

have been implementing something that turned the Chicago White Sox from a 102-game

loser last year to a probable wild card team this season.

It’s something called the air-pull rate, which leads to changes in a battler’s swing path that

transfers to more balls being hit in the air, which bumps a batting average. The Pull Air Rate

is calculated by dividing pulled batted balls hit in the air by total batted balls hit anywhere.

“Air” is defined as any battled ball that’s not a grounder. We’re talking about line drives and

fly balls hit to the pull side. That would be left field for a right-handed batter and right field

for a left-handed batter.

It’s a whole new science thing that also talks about “out front” mechanics that help a hitter

achieve a higher pull rate by hitting the ball farther out in front of home plate.

If it worked for the White Sox, why not continue its implementation in Washington? I’m

excited to see what the future brings.

Remember the good old days when you just picked up that piece of lumber, no gloves, no

padding, no jewelry around the neck, nothing but pine tar, and just went up to home plate

and swung out of your shoes? That doesn’t work anymore.

So, let’s play out the season the best we can. Tonight’s game didn’t go so well, but there’s

always tomorrow. Well, at least for five more games.

Keep a positive attitude. It makes for a better day.