The Washington Nationals handle business on the road, winning two-of-three against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Cade Cavalli continues his dominant second half of the season after becoming the Nationals' newest extension.
The Washington Nationals won two of three in a road series against the St. Louis Cardinals, continuing their hot finish to 2026. The Nationals have now won six of their last eight games.
Cavalli set the tone with a scoreless outing in Friday’s 9-1 win. He allowed four hits and no walks in five innings. His ERA now sits at just 3.02 as his pitching record reaches 13-5.
On the other side, Jorbit Vivas had one of the best series of his season, and Dylan Crews continues to work towards a solid September.
Vivas finished Saturday’s extra-innings win 4-for-6 from the plate, including a go-ahead RBI in the 10th inning. He finished with two walks in Friday’s win and was 0-for-1 in a pinch-hit at-bat on Sunday. Crews was 2-for-5 with a home run on Friday and is now batting .246 in September.
The Nationals have three spots secured in 2027’s starting rotation
Andrew Alvarez and Cavalli have looked amazing in the second half of the 2026 season. Alvarez has a 2.15 ERA since the start of August, and Cavalli has a 2.27 ERA since the beginning of July.
Cavalli was named the 2026 Opening Day starter and recently signed an extension through 2031, after his first full year in the Major Leagues.
Alvarez was called up permanently to the Major Leagues on May 15 and filled in for Jake Irvin in the starting rotation after he suffered a right shoulder injury.
During the MLB trade deadline, the Nationals traded infielder Curtis Mead to the Red Sox for Connelly Early. Early is tracking to make his first start for the Nationals on September 26 after suffering elbow inflammation.
The 24-year-old had a 3.44 ERA in 2026 and started in the Red Sox wildcard game in 2025.
The last two spots will be harder decisions for the Nationals as there hasn’t been a clear candidate to step up yet.
Three more blown saves raise the question of what the Nationals could have looked like if the bullpen was just average
The Nationals led 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning on Saturday before relief pitcher Erik Tolman allowed the game-tying run and recorded the Nationals' 40th blown save of the season.
After Vivas brought in a run in the top of the 10th inning, relief pitcher Riley Cornelio allowed a game-tying run and recorded the Nationals' 41st blown save. They won in the 11th inning, but the bullpen terrors wouldn’t stop there.
The Nationals led 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning of Sunday’s loss, but the Cardinals would storm back with three runs. Trade deadline acquisition Yovanny Cruz and Tolman allowed three earned runs and recorded the Nationals' 42nd blown save.
The Nationals have rostered a historically bad bullpen in their 2026 season. No other team in MLB history has recorded over 38 blown saves.
With the Nationals offense producing the third-most runs in MLB, it will always haunt Nationals fans that it had to be paired up with a disastrous bullpen.
What do the Nationals do at first base?
The Nationals have had Yohandy Morales, Andrés Chaparro and Abimelec Ortiz all making starts at first base after Morales was called up on September 1.
The Nationals have opted to keep all three first basemen on the roster, which has kept them from giving younger prospects Major League reps to end the season.
Shortstop Seaver King was a call-up candidate many fans expected to see when rosters expanded in September.
But all three first basemen have shown potential. Morales has appeared in 12 games with a .286 batting average, two home runs, and a .857 OPS. A concerning stat for the 24-year-old is that he hasn’t been walked once in his 35 at-bats.
Chapparo has appeared in 79 games this season and has put together a strong September. The 27-year-old has a .257 batting average, 11 home runs and a .870 OPS this season.
Ortiz was shot out of a cannon after getting called up to the Major Leagues on August 3. He had five home runs in 13 games following the call-up. Since then, he has slowed down and struggled to maintain his power, with no home runs in his last 27 outings. The 24-year-old is batting just .198 on the season with a .606 OPS.
The Nationals will now look to their last road series of the season in Detroit. They will start the three-game series on Monday, September 21, at 6:40 p.m. EST.
