Cade

Cavalli

It was Cavalli’s first start since he served a five-game — originally seven-game, but reduced on appeal — suspension for his involvement for the scuffle against the Red Sox the previous week. He exited with a lead, but as has been the case many times for the Nationals in 2026, the bullpen did not get the job done. Cavalli struck out five against one walk while allowing four hits. It seems likely Cavalli will start one of the first games after the break for the Nationals.

Cavalli is eligible to start Sunday’s first-half finale against the Yankees following the five-game ban for his on-field actions against the Red Sox last week. The 27-year-old’s velocity was down and he dealt with some dehydration issues during Sunday’s start against the Pirates where he allowed four runs over 2 1/3 innings of work. The rough outing came on the heels of a brilliant 13-strikeout effort against Boston. There are likely to be fluctuations from a results standpoint with Cavalli, but he’s shown enough upside to merit consideration for a roster spot in most fantasy leagues heading into the second half.

Cavalli also issued two walks while striking out three in the ballgame. After a scoreless inning, the Pirates got to him for three runs in the second, then Bryan Reynolds added a solo shot in the third. He got nine whiffs on 63 pitches in the contest, posting a CSW of 22 percent. He’ll now serve his seven-game suspension and won’t make another start until after the All-Star break.

It sounds like the Nationals are going to take a chance that the appeal on Cavalli’s seven-game suspension for his actions against the Red Sox earlier this week won’t be heard until after the holiday weekend, which is why he’s being moved up to take the ball against the Pirates. They’re ostensibly going to have Cavalli take the ball on regular rest and skip Miles Mikolas, who is also facing a suspension. There’s always the possibility that the league decides to jump in at the last minute, but it appears that Cavalli is going to start later this weekend. He struck out a career-high 13 and allowed one run over seven innings against Boston earlier this week.

Cavalli was expected to make two starts next week, with the first coming on Monday against the Astros. That no longer appears to be the case. Of course, Cavalli could appeal the suspension and have it reduced, but we’d imagine it will cover Monday’s game since the league cited Cavalli for “initiating” the incident when he shouted at Contreras and called him “Boy” after striking him out. Even without a two-start week, Cavalli looked so good in that Red Sox start that he should be added in more leagues as a potential second-half breakout candidate.

Cavalli was also suspended for seven games, while Miles Mikolas got a five-game ban and Nate Eaton was levied a three-game suspension and all were handed undisclosed fines for their roles in the fracas. All of the suspensions will start on Friday unless they are appealed. Even if Contreras does have his suspension reduced by a game or two, he’s still going to miss at least a handful of games, much to the detriment of fantasy managers.

Cavalli authored one of the most dominant outings of the season, retiring the final 19 batters he faced after Willson Contreras reached on a fielding error in the opening frame. A leadoff double from Anthony Seigler was the only hit he allowed. He was at the epicenter of a bench-clearing donnybrook a couple frames later that resulted in Contreras being ejected, while Cavalli avoided a similar fate despite appearing to spark the incident. The 27-year-old former top prospect generated an eye-popping 25 swinging strikes, including 15 on his four-seamer alone, and touched 99.6 mph in an otherworldly performance. He’ll face the Astros at home on Monday.

Cavalli struck out seven batters on the night while issuing only one base on balls. All of the damage done against him came in his final inning of work on a two-run blast by Brandon Marsh. Cavalli then exited with a 5-2 advantage and in line for a victory, but the Nationals’ bullpen couldn’t hang on for him. He got 15 whiffs on 97 pitches in the ballgame, registering a CSW of 31 percent. He’ll bring a 4.00 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and an 89/29 K/BB ratio (83 1/3 innings) into Tuesday’s matchup against the Red Sox in Boston.

Cavalli loaded the bases with three straight hits in the first inning. One run would come in on a sacrifice fly before he escaped the jam with a ground ball double play. He then stranded the bases loaded in the second before giving up a run in the third. Cavalli’s day would be done early as he was pulled with two outs in the third inning at 68 pitches. He gave up six hits and three walks in all and struck out just one batter. The 27-year-old right-hander will take a 4.07 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, and an 82/28 K/BB ratio across 77 1/3 innings into a home start against the Phillies on Thursday.

PJ Poulin will open for the Nationals. It’s plausible that Cavalli has his turn pushed back rather than outright skipped given it’s an illness, but we’ll probably get more guidance on that later tonight.