The Washington Nationals are set for the first meeting the 2026 regular season when they face the Tampa Bay Rays for a weekend series
After taking four of six games during the homestand, the Washington Nationals are set to kick off the weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays beginning Friday night.
This marks the first series between the two teams this season with the Nationals entering the meeting with 23 road wins this season, tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second-most across baseball.
Tampa Bay sits second in the AL East and heads into the weekend with a six-game lead in the wild card chase. Washington, meanwhile, is in a three-way tie with the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs for the final wild card spot. And after dropping the chance at a sweep at home, the Nationals will look to prove themselves against a playoff contender, while manager Blake Butera put a premium on all 162 games available to his team after noting "every game matters" in Wednesday's postgame press conference.
Of course, the weekend series will also mark a reunion for Butera, who joined the organization after previously serving as the senior director of player development in Tampa Bay for four seasons before becoming the Nationals' new manager. Butera was also drafted by the Rays back in the 35th round of the 2015 MLB Draft before a short stint in the minors set up the transition to become a coach in their farm system.
General manager Ani Kilambi also returns to the city where he began his MLB career. After first serving as a research and development intern in 2015, Kilambi spent the next five seasons climbing the ladder before becoming the director of decision science. A four year stint with the Philadelphia Phillies began in 2021 before Kilambi teamed up with fellow Cal grad Paul Toboni in DC.
Tampa Bay is also where Curtis Mead spent the first three seasons of his MLB career, though he was traded midway through his third season after landing with the Chicago White Sox ahead of the 2025 deadline where he appeared in 41 games and batted .240.
In Washington, he's been one of the success stories in 2026 after notching 11 home runs and 34 RBIs, both figures eclipsing his career totals heading into the 2026 season, while also batting .233.
Cade Cavalli was set to start Friday before Butera noted he was scratched due to food poisoning with PJ Poulin now set to open and Miles Mikolas to follow.
Probable Pitcher Schedule:
Friday, June 19: PJ Poulin (3-0, 3.29 ERA) vs. Griffin Jax (1-5, 3.68 ERA)
Saturday, June 20: Cade Cavalli (4-4, 3.98 ERA) vs. TBD
Sunday, June 21: Andrew Alvarez (1-0, 3.49 ERA) vs. Nick Martinez (6-2, 2.60 ERA)
Nationals Roundtable also offers a fan community. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Nationals. Create an account, click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our free community and follow for all of our coverage, analysis and more!
