Jake

Irvin

Irvin is coming off a brutal season that saw him post a 5.70 ERA in 33 starts, but he’s proven durable, throwing 327 2/3 innings the last two years, and quantity is just as important as quality for the Nationals right now. He probably will need to bounce back some in order to avoid being non-tendered next winter.

Irvin held the White Sox scoreless through three innings before giving up a two-run blast to Colson Montgomery. Brooks Baldwin followed with another two-run homer off Irvin. The 28-year-old right-hander tossed two more scoreless frames, ending his day with six strikeouts over six innings for a no-decision. Irvin ends his season with a 5.70 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and a 124/62 K/BB ratio across 180 innings.

The Nationals pulled off a bit of stunner today while using the two pitchers with the highest ERAs among qualified starters. Irvin lowered his mark from 5.76 to 5.69 today, while Mitchell Parker, in his first relief appearance, went from 5.85 to 5.72 by pitching 3 2/3 scoreless innings for the save. Irvin will likely make his final start Saturday against the White Sox.

Irvin, who actually managed to go 8-5 through the first four months, has lost six straight starts and is 0-8 in his last nine turns, leaving him 8-13 with a 5.76 ERA overall. With Jurickson Profar and Matt Olson taking him deep today, he’s the major league leader with 35 homers allowed, one more than Zack Littell. No one else has given up more than 30. Irvin will likely face the Braves again next week, probably on Monday.

Irvin kept Miami hitless into the fourth inning before rookie standout Jakob Marsee poked a ground-ball single into right field. He was technically ejected from the contest after allowing four consecutive batters to reach to open the sixth inning. Unfortunately, all four wound up crossing the plate following his departure. He struck out four and didn’t hand out a free pass. He’ll face Atlanta on Monday in his next outing.

It’s not always this bad, but this just sort of is what Jake Irvin is. He allowed five hits — two of them going over the fence — and he also issued four walks with two strikeouts. It’s a hard pass from us. Irvin now has a 5.71 ERA, and even against a less-than-spectacular Miami lineup, he cannot be trusted as a streamer. The question is what kind of role Irvin will have in 2026.

Irvin surrendered a three-run homer to Josh Lowe in the first inning. Josh Lowe got to him again in the fourth with a solo blast. Irvin would give the Nats two more scoreless innings, ending his day with three strikeouts over six frames. The 28-year-old right-hander will take a 5.42 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, and a 102/53 K/BB ratio per 154 1/3 innings into a start against the Cubs in Chicago on Friday.

Parker has a 12.00 ERA in four starts this month and is up to 6.01 overall. Irvin has a 9.55 ERA this month, putting him up to 5.40 for the year. The Nationals, though, don’t see any better options in the system, which is a pretty obvious failure on their part.

It could have been worse, given that a 405-foot fly from Kyle Schwarber and a scorching liner from Bryce Harper both turned into outs in the first. The latter required a great catch from a diving Jacob Young. The Nationals had to talk about potentially pulling Mitchell Parker from the rotation after Saturday’s game. Irvin has earned the same treatment; he has an 8.35 ERA in seven starts since the break. He’ll probably face the Rays next weekend anyway.

Irvin is 1-3 with an 8.10 ERA and just 14 strikeouts in six starts since the break, pushing his season ERA up to 5.30. It’s probably time to for the Nationals to try him as a reliever, even if they don’t have any great choices to replace him in the rotation (Andrew Alvarez is probably the best option in Triple-A). Most likely, he’ll stay in the rotation and pitch in Philadelphia on Sunday.