Washington

Nationals

House drove home the Nationals’ lone one when he roped a single to the opposite field in the third inning. In fact, he had two of their five total hits here. After mostly only starting against left-handed pitchers for the last few weeks, this was his second straight start against a righty as he could be getting a solid audition during the last chunk of the season.

It was a shame Alvarez couldn’t finish off the sixth inning in this game. He breezed through the middle frames retiring 10 consecutive batters before there were two outs in that sixth. Then, Francisco Lindor got him for a game-tying, solo home run on a hanging slider that may as well have been on a tee. Even more frustrating, Alvarez struck out Bo Bichette to follow, but it came on a pitch in the dirt that Keibert Ruiz couldn’t keep close enough and Bichette scampered to first. Alvarez was pulled there and to make matters worse, Daylen Lile then misplayed a blooper in left field and a two-out single by Carson Benge put Alvarez on the hook for the loss. An absolutely brutal chain of events that shouldn’t overshadow a solid start from the young lefty. His next start is scheduled to come on the road against the Rangers.

The plan is for Nasim Nunez to take over as the team’s primary shortstop. Butera noted that he already talked to Abrams about it last week and that the All-Star infielder was completely on board with the change. He’s still in there at shorstop on Friday night, so expect it to be a gradual transition. The move will add to Abrams’ already sky-high fantasy value as he’ll add second base eligibility to his repertoire at some point during this season and for the 2027 campaign as well.

Ortiz smacked a one-out single off of Kevin Gausman in the fourth inning and scored the game’s first run on an RBI double by Dylan Crews. He then broke the game open as he ambushed a first-pitch fastball from Gausman for a 414-foot (105.2-mph EV) three-run shot in the fifth inning. The 24-year-old is taking advantage of his opportunity here, slashing .333/.355/.767 with four homers and eight RBI in his first 31 plate appearances with the Nationals. He could be worth a look in deeper mixed leagues until he shows any signs of cooling down.

Lile capped off a five-run uprising in the fifth inning with a run-scoring single that chased Kevin Gausman from the ballgame. He also singled in the eighth inning and raced around to score on an RBI single by Jorbit Vivas. The 23-year-old outfielder has been swinging a hot bat in recent weeks and is now slashing .249/.298/.418 to go along with 15 homers, 65 RBI and 12 swipes on the season.

Crews opened the scoring in the ballgame with an RBI double off of Kevin Gausman in the fourth inning that plated Abimelec Ortiz. He also singled with two outs in the fifth inning, swiped second base and scored on an RBI single off the bat of Daylen Lile. With his two-hit attack, the 24-year-old outfielder is now hitting .218/.290/.372 with 10 homers, 27 RBI and eight stolen bases in his first 293 plate appearances with the Nationals on the season.

Cavalli also walked two batters in the ballgame. He retired the first 15 batters he faced until Dansby Swanson worked him for a walk to open the sixth inning. Cavalli’s no-hit bid was then spoiled by a two-out single from Michael Busch in the seventh. The 27-year-old right-hander got 14 whiffs on 103 pitches on the afternoon, posting a strong CSW of 34 percent. He’ll carry an impressive 3.36 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and a 151/41 K/BB ratio (136 2/3 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Rangers in Arlington.

It looks to be nothing more than a routine day of rest for the 27-year-old center fielder. Andrew Pinckney will start in his place and will bat ninth against Cubs’ right-hander Kevin Gausman on Thursday afternoon in Washington.

Susana had lat surgery in September of last year and has just begun his rehab assignment. His command was a bit iffy, walking two in the outing, but he also struck out two and touched 103 mph on the radar gun, which is great to see after such a long layoff. The oft-injured 22-year-old was at Double-A when his injuries began last year, so he may return there early in 2026 or perhaps get a chance to start the year at Triple-A.

Morales had been sidelined for three weeks with an undisclosed injury, but he has gone 7-for-21 with two home runs and four RBI in his five games since returning. The 40th-overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft is hitting .297/.374/.544 in 89 Triple-A games this season with 23 home runs, 66 RBI, and five steals. He should get a shot with the Nationals at some point to end the year.