Category: Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals are off to an expected start this season. The playoffs are starting to seem out of reach, but that does not mean the season is a failure for the team. The Nationals have an excellent group of young core players. James Wood is projecting to be an All-Star this July, C.J. Abrams is playing a great shortstop, while top prospects Brady House and Robert Hassell III have made their debuts this year.

Washington Nationals right-hander Jake Irvin managed to figure his way around the mound in Los Angeles once and will be out for a repeat result when he faces the Dodgers on Saturday night in the middle game of a three-game series. On April 17, 2024, Irvin went six scoreless innings with six strikeouts in the Dodgers’ home ballpark while starting the Nationals toward a 2-0 victory. Irvin (5-3, 4.23 ERA) is back this weekend, set to make his 16th start of 2025, and will look to regain the form he showed when delivering eight scoreless innings in a win against the San Francisco Giants on May 24.

It’s hard to find many silver linings for the Washington Nationals in 2025, as the team has once again found itself unable to get over the preverbal hump in what is now year five of their long-term rebuild. One of the few bright spots that Nationals’ faithful have been able to enjoy amidst the overall poor showing their favorite team has put on display has been the promising group of young players that have finally broken through at the MLB level. Guys like James Wood and MacKenzie Gore have become legit star players this season, and several other budding stars seem poised to make the same jump for the team very soon. While this young core has undoubtedly been the highlight of what’s become a pretty dreadful year in Washington, there’s also been another budding star who has broken out in his own right despite being overshadowed a bit by his younger teammates.

Dylan Crews isn’t ready to play yet, but he cleared a significant hurdle in his recovery on Friday in Los Angeles. Washington Nationals rookie outfielder Dylan Crews took light swings during pre-game workout before Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Being cleared for baseball activities also means that Crews is on the road trip, which is the first time he’s gone on the road with the team since he went on the IL.

Washington Nationals (31-45, fourth in the NL East) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (47-30, first in the NL West) Los Angeles; Saturday, 10:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Nationals: Jake Irvin (5-3, 4.23 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 59 strikeouts); Dodgers: Dustin May (4-4, 4.46 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 67 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Dodgers -275, Nationals +222; over/under is 9 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals hit the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers looking to stop a five-game road slide. Los Angeles is 47-30 overall and 29-13 at home. The Dodgers are 37-5 in games when they scored five or more runs. Washington has gone 15-21 in road games and 31-45 overall. The Nationals have a 20-9 record in games

Miguel Rojas hit a two-run home run and Clayton Kershaw inched closer to 3,000 career strikeouts as the Los Angeles Dodgers earned a 6-5 victory over the visiting Washington Nationals on Friday. Kershaw (3-0) gave up two runs on five hits and two walks in five innings.

In a clash of formidable left-handers, MacKenzie Gore allows six runs in 5 2/3 innings as Nationals suffer 6-5 loss to open nine-game road trip out West.

Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024. NEW YORK — The Yankees activated reliever Luke Weaver from the injured list Friday, sooner than initially anticipated, to bolster the back end of their bullpen.

Former MLB GM’s trade idea sends a top Boston Red Sox prospect to the Washington Nationals in exchange for a power-hitting first baseman to boost the lineup.

The Washington Nationals weren’t expected to do much in 2025. While there was anticipation based on what their young stars could do with another season of Major League Baseball under their belts, everyone knew that this would be another year in the rebuilding process of the franchise. Because of that, the Nationals were always circled as a team that would sell ahead of the deadline.

After a successful, tension-filled run through a pair of opponents from their own division, the Los Angeles Dodgers will move out of what they considered a “gauntlet” of the schedule when they welcome the Washington Nationals on Friday night. The Dodgers went 7-3 against the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants, who are their top competition in a chase for their 12th National League West title in the past 13 seasons. Los Angeles fell 5-3 to San Diego on Thursday, when benches cleared without incident after the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch for the third time in seven games between the teams.

Juan Soto was once the most brilliant of lights shining in the nation’s capital. When it was time for Soto to be traded away, the Nats called up the San Diego Padres, and the return they got for Soto is looking like one of the best returns for a superstar in the history of sports. Headlined by James Wood, that return is worth revisiting as Wood and the other young stars who came to the Nationals have shown that this next era of Nats baseball is going to be pretty special, too.

The Washington Nationals have an impressive group of young players emerging at the Major League level making up what they hope is the next championship core to build around. Left fielder James Wood, shortstop CJ Abrams and starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore are an excellent trio as the foundation of the team presently and moving forward. The Nationals are hoping some of the other young players they have in the organization can follow suit and start developing to become foundational pieces as well. Center fielder Jacob Young and starting pitchers Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz also contributed as rookies last year.

The Washington Nationals haven’t had very many bright spots in 2025 thus far, with the team finding themselves near the bottom of the National League table once again. Chief among this promising group of youngsters has been phenom James Wood, who is quickly evolving into the star slugger the Nationals have been looking for over the past several years. As of this writing, Wood owns a .284/.380/.564 slash line and has racked up 56 RBI and 20 home runs, putting himself in the running to make next month’s NL All-Star squad. Wood has also quietly become elite in clutch situations, a fact that was illustrated yet again on Thursday night against the Colorado Rockies when Wood slugged a monster walk-off blast to secure a much-needed win for the Nationals.

Washington Nationals (31-44, fourth in the NL East) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (46-30, first in the NL West) Los Angeles; Friday, 10:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Nationals: MacKenzie Gore (3-6, 2.89 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 119 strikeouts); Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw (2-0, 3.25 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 20 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Dodgers -197, Nationals +163; over/under is 8 1/2 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Los Angeles Dodgers host the Washington Nationals on Friday to start a three-game series. Los Angeles has gone 28-13 at home and 46-30 overall. The Dodgers have a 34-7 record in games when they have more hits than their opponents. Washington is 31-44 overall and 15-20 in road games. The Nationals are 18-11

Wood blasts a pair of two-run homers, the second a walk-off, in Washington’s 4-3 win over the Rockies in 11 innings, ending the team’s longest losing run in 17 years.

James Wood has officially arrived. If every superstar needs a moment in which they state their case as one of the best players in baseball, the Washington Nationals’ second-year slugger now has his. On Thursday afternoon, with two outs and a runner on base in the bottom of the 11th, with the Nationals facing the prospect of extending their losing streak to 12 games, Wood seized the stage. The 6-foot-7 masher unloaded on the second pitch he saw, clobbering it beyond the centerfield fence for his first career walk-off home run.

Wood continued his breakout season with a pair of home runs Thursday, including a walk-off in the 11th inning.

The Washington Nationals have a solid core that has developed with a few bright spots on their roster. Left fielder James Wood, shortstop CJ Abrams and starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore are foundational pieces that the future will be built around. There are several candidates who can achieve that, such as right fielder Dylan Crews, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft, and the recently promoted third baseman, Brady House. Outfielders Daylen Lile and Robert Hassell III also have potential.