The Washington Nationals now rank among the best pitching staffs through spring training after beating the Miami Marlins, 1-0.
The Washington Nationals picked up their second consecutive spring training win after downing the St. Louis Cardinals, 1-0, in an afternoon affair, picking up their fourth win in five meetings between the two teams this spring.
But maybe the most encouraging part of Tuesday's win was the showing from Jake Irvin, who tossed five strikeouts and one walk while allowing three hits across five innings, the most any starter has thrown this spring for the Nationals.
Across four appearances and 11.2 innings in spring training, Eder has now tossed 15 strikeouts and ten hits allowed in 13.1 innings with now a 1.35 ERA. He has also tossed at least four strikeouts in each of his last three appearances, all three extending beyond three innings.
Irvin also tossed 42 strikes on 66 total pitches, adding to the early confidence in the Nationals' 2026 rotation.
Irvin becomes the latest to shine on the mound for the Nationals with Cade Cavalli, already named the team's Opening Day starter, allowing just one hit in nine combined innings and three appearances. Jake Eder has also managed to stick out thanks to two strikeouts in each of his three appearances so far this spring.
Gus Varland would add to it in Tuesday's win after finishing with three strikeouts against just one hit allowed in a pair of innings, good enough to cement the low scoring spring training win.
Through three weeks, the Nationals have allowed the third fewest hits (141) while tossing the fifth most strikeouts (225) across the MLB, an encouraging sign under new pitching coach Simon Matthews.
The Nationals would get on the board first after Nasim Nunez opened the order with a walk before reaching second then third after consecutive groundouts. Brady House would answer with two outs after a double into right field brought in the game's first and last run.
Washington was held to just four hits in the win with Jose Tena accounting for half of those thanks to his two at bats, but St. Louis was also held to the same after the Nationals' bullpen combined for nine strikeouts.
Now sitting 13-7-3 ahead of the start of the regular season, the Nationals will return to action on Wednesday, March 18 against the Miami Marlins with opening pitch set for 6:05 PM. This marks the fifth meeting between the two teams with each winning two, including Miami's 4-1 win back on March 14.