Washington Takes Down the Braves and it Feels so Good

A couple of newcomers made auspicious debuts in tonight’s game against the division leading Atlanta Braves. And we loved every minute of it.

The Braves started the scoring in the top of the 2nd as Ozzie Albies hit his 21st home run to center field. 1-0 Atlanta.

The Nats took the lead in the bottom of the 2nd. With one out, Harry Ford walked and advanced to 3rd base on a double by Jorbit Vivas. With two outs, CJ Abrams singled in Ford and Vivas. Dylan Crews walked, advancing Abrams to 2nd. Brady House then doubled to right field, scoring Abrams and Crews. 4-1 Washington.

The Braves got one back in the top of the 3rd. Brewer Hicklen walked and went to 3rd off a single by Ha-Seong Kim. Drake Baldwin doubled to left, scoring Hicklen. 4-2 good guys.

The Nats added a run in the bottom of the 3rd when Yohandy Morales led off with his 1st career major league home run. 5-2 Washington.

The Nationals scored again in the bottom of the 6th. Jacob Young led off the inning with a single to center. CJ Abrams walked. Young took 3rd off a fly out to deep right field courtesy of Dylan Crews. Young then scored when Brady House hit a sacrifice fly to center field. 6-2 Washington.

The Nats added 2 more runs in the bottom of the 7th. Yohandy Morales doubled to center and advanced to 3rd on a ground out from Harry Ford. Jorbit Vivas walked. Morales scored on an errant pickoff attempt. Jacob Young then singled home pinch-runner Nasim Nunez. 8-2 Washington.

Atlanta made it a little closer in the top of the 8th. Ha-Seong Kim led off with a single. He then advanced to 3rd base on a pair of ground outs. He then scored on a wild pitch. Matt Olson doubled to center field and came around to score off Michael Harris’ 24th home run to center field. 8-5 Nats.

Washington tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th. With 2 outs, Daylen Lile walked and advanced to 2nd off a single from Yohandy Morales. Andres Chaparro then singled to right, scoring Lile. 9-5 Nats.

And that’s how it ended. A great victory for the Nationals.

A couple of firsts took place in tonight’s game for the Nationals. Yohandy Morales made his major league debut as a designated hitter. He went 3 for 5 while smacking the 1st big league home run of his career. What a great debut. Morales was one of two call-ups this morning after the active rosters were allowed to add a couple players.

And Washington reliever Jared Simpson got his first career win in his MLB debut. He was the other call-up today and looked great while throwing 3 perfect innings in relief.

Jake Irvin started tonight’s game for the Nationals and went 4 innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 5. Then Simpson followed with his impressive first outing as a major leaguer.

The Nationals have won 5 out of their last 6 games. Let’s keep it up, guys.

Tomorrow’s rematch starts at 1:05 ET.

Dave’s Dime…Grading the Trades.

I thought today we’d see how the players received in our three big trading-deadline deals are performing with their new organization.

In the Louis Garcia Jr. trade to the Yankees, the Nats received RHP Jake Bird, RHP Jack Cebert, RHP Yovanny Cruz, and RHP Ben Grable. A quartet of right handers. Let’s see how they’ve done since their acquisition:

Jake Bird joined the Nationals on August 2nd. He originally performed quite well. In his first eight relief performances Bird went 8 1/3 innings, striking out 10 while walking only 2. However, a rough patch toward the end of the month resulted in Bird being sent down to Triple-A Rochester on August 26th. Bird is 30-years-old and made his major league debut back in 2022 with the Rockies. Let’s hope he can get back to the Nationals in the near future.

Jack Cebert was sent to Double-A Harrisburg after being obtained from the Yankees. As soon as he arrived, he was placed on the 7-day injured list. That was on August 3rd. He pitched in three games for the Senators upon his return before being promoted to Triple-A Rochester on August 25th. He’s appeared in only a single game for the Red Wings. Jack had a decent college career with South Florida and Texas Tech. In his senior year with Texas Tech, Jack led the Red Raiders with seven wins as a reliever. Cebert is 24-years-old, so let’s hope he continues his climb toward his ultimate goal.

Yovanny Cruz has struggled since his trade to the Nats. In four innings with the team, Cruz gave up 9 hits, 5 earned runs, 5 walks and struck out 4. His ERA stood at 11.25 upon his demotion to Rochester on August 19th. He has a plus 100 Mph fast ball but problems with his control. He may have jumped to the major leagues too soon and needs to iron out a few things back in Triple-A. Cruz is 27 years-old so he needs to get it together soon.

Ben Grable was sent to Double-A Harrisburg on August 3rd, after his trade from New York. On the 25th of August, Ben was sent up to Rochester. He’s 24 years-old and has played for four minor league teams this year with a combined ERA of 2.15. Looks like he has a future with the team.

When Curtis Mead was sent to Boston, the Nationals acquired left-handed pitcher Connelly Early.

Early was already on the 15-day injured list when the trade was made. While trying to get back in game shape, Early had a set-back and was then transferred to the 60-day injured list. Not good. Early is only 24 years-old so let’s hope he can work his way back from his injuries.

In return for Foster Griffin, the Cleveland Guardians sent left-handed pitchers Josh Hartle and Will Dion, right-hander Kendeglys Virguez, and outfielder Nick Mitchell to Washington.

Hartle was sent to Double-A Harrisburg and made his debut with the Senators on August 6th. His first appearance with the club went well, as Hartle threw 5 1/3 innings giving up 1 hit while striking out 7. He has continued to perform well for Harrisburg and looks like he has a bright future with the organization. Hartle is 23 years-old and stands 6’6” tall.

Will Dion has done a great job since joining the Nationals on August 3rd. He has a 2.45 ERA in 14 2/3 innings. He’s 26 years-old. Dion got his first career big-league win on August 9th in relief. Actually, Dion was the starting pitcher in last night’s game against the Marlins. He went the first 3 innings, giving up no runs on 2 hits. Like I mentioned in yesterday’s review, Dion was on a strict pitch-count but did look good. Keep up the excellent work, Will.

Kendeglys Virguez was activated by the Harrisburg Senators on August 5th. Virguez has pitched a total of 8 innings with the Senators, giving up 7 hits and 4 runs while surrendering 7 walks and striking out 5. His ERA stands at 4:50. Virguez has been in the minors since 2022. The Nationals’ scouts state his fastball can hit 101 Mph, and he’s working on a slider. His command is what’s holding him back. He’s only 22 years-old so there’s still time for improvement. Good luck, Kendeglys!

Nick Mitchell has been with the Harrisburg Senators in Double-A since the trade with Cleveland. He’s appeared in 22 games with the Senators and has a .261 batting average, no home runs and 9 RBIs. Nick is a 22-year-old outfielder and has some time to hopefully work his way up the ladder.

For those of you who stuck with me through all these stats, thank you.

So, let’s see. Out of the nine players we received from the Yankees, Red Sox, and Guardians for Mead, Garcia Jr., and Griffin; one has been with the Nationals all month, two started with the team and were sent down to Triple-A, one has been promoted from Double-A to Triple-A, four have been in Double-A since the trade, and one has been on the injured list since his acquisition.

Hmm…I don’t know exactly what to think. However, I’m going to stay positive and say it’s too early to give any meaningful input toward what we received in those three trades. In the meantime, we’ll give the team an “I” for Incomplete.

Go Nats!

Dave Carter