The Washington Nationals are enjoying a big boost from the first free agent signing of the Paul Toboni era
The Washington Nationals first free agent signing of the Paul Toboni era is making a statement through his first three starts with the organization.
Left handed pitcher Foster Griffin's debut with the Nationals came back on March 30 when he allowed a pair of earned runs, including a home run, and five hits in five innings in an eventual 13-2 road win against the Philadelphia Phillies.
He followed it up with one of the few highlights in the home opening series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with five hits allowed and a solo home run in an eventual 8-6 loss, yet Griffin left the mound with the Nationals ahead before the bullpen suffered a late game meltdown.
Yet the "tactician," as manager Blake Butera described him, is now fresh off what has proven to be the best start by any Nationals pitcher to start the 2026 season.
Against Milwaukee on Saturday, Griffin took a no-hitter through five innings before giving up a leadoff single, then walking his next batter to put a pair of runners on. He managed to get Luis Rengifo to pop out to shortstop CJ Abrams to record the first out of the inning before Butera turned to his bullpen with Brad Lord stepping in with a pair of ground outs ending the inning.
Griffin ended the night with one strikeout and three walks to go with one hit allowed through 5.1 innings. He did so while turning to seven different pitches while eclipsing 40% on his CSW% (called strikes + whiffs percentage) on both his cutter and curveball, per Pitcher List Stats.
Through three starts, Griffin now holds a 1.76 ERA and 1.109 WHIP after Butera noted he was "keeping guys off balance" to pick up his second win of the season.
"Foster was outstanding. It's a lot of fun watching him pitching right now, the way he's able to mix speeds, the way he's able to just control the game. You just feel a lot of confidence out there when he's on the mound," said Butera postgame.
Griffin admitted postgame that he was aware of the no-hitter that was brewing, but shrugged it off while trying to stay focused on the start.
“I was like, ‘Whatever, it is what it is. It’s only through four.’ So I was aware of it, but it wasn’t going to [change] the way I was going to throw or not," said Griffin postgame.
Griffin's strong start with the Nationals adds confidence to the starting rotation with Cade Cavalli filing the shoes as the Nationals' ace, an encouraging sign given both Miles Mikolas and Jake Irvin have struggled in their limited outings.
Griffin made his MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals back in 2020 before closing out the season with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2022, then inking a deal to head to Japan in what proved to be a three year stint.
Yet now in Washington, Griffin pointed to him doing his homework as reason why he's found early success as he looks to become an asset ahead of the trade deadline.
"You’ve still got to do your homework and prepare well for that game," said Griffin.