The Nats dropped Sunday's rubber match to the visiting Rangers by a score of 4-2. Mark & Al begin with the scuffling offense, which only scored 10 runs in the six game homestand.

(02:00) Help might be on the way as Nasim Nuñez was sent to AAA shortly after the defeat. As of our taping time, the corresponding move is expected to be either Brady House or Andres Chaparro from Rochester. House was the franchise 1st round draft choice from 2021 and did not play for the Red Wings on Sunday afternoon, which was quite noticeable given the circumstances.

(14:10) Keibert Ruiz only played in one game this weekend, the one time they faced a RHP. Davey Martinez pregame cited a troubling stat in terms of the constant chase rate for the veteran catcher. Ruiz's WAR is a very poor 0.1 so far this season.

(20:40) Trevor Williams only lasted 4.1 IP and gave up two runs off six hits. This came the same day that Cade Cavalli tossed five shutout innings for AAA Rochester. Is it time for Cavalli to take Williams' spot in the rotation?

(30:00) The short outing for Williams led to the need for five relievers. Jose A. Ferrer nailed down five outs and wiggled out of a jam in the top of the 6th. Cole Henry gave up a homer, his 2nd straight day of not pitching well.

(33:10) The Nationals open a three game series on Tuesday at the Mets, who have the best record in the NL.

The Nats got a taste of their own recent medicine as Texas blanked them 5-0 on Saturday afternoon on South Capitol Street. Al & Mark run through some of the recent offensive slumps as the team has only scored nine runs in their past six games.

(05:00) Nathaniel Lowe went 1 for 3 in facing his former team. Lowe's OPS is a troubling .650, much lower than when it was .785 at the end of April. His last homer came on May 16th in Baltimore.

(09:45) Jacob deGrom was dominant on Saturday in seven shutout frames and looked like the pitcher we remember from the Mets. The two-time Cy Young winner has undergone a pair of Tommy John surgeries.

(15:40) Mitchell Parker continued his trend of struggling in the 1st inning, but then settled in from there. Hear what Davey Martinez said when asked by Mark about the possibility of using an "Opener".

(24:00) It was not Cole Henry's day as he issued three walks and a balk. Eduardo Salazar has the roughest afternoon as he allowed three runs in the top of the 8th to let the game get out of reach.

The Nats blanked the visiting Rangers 2-0 on Friday night in the quickest game in stadium history. Mark & Al begin with a familiar name as Patrick Corbin returned to D.C. and only allowed a pair of runs in eight innings of work. Corbin needed just 89 pitches and the last time he tossed eight innings was May 4th, 2022 in Colorado.

(4:15) The official scorer determined the game length as 1 hour, 50 minutes and Mark feels that it should be one minute shorter. The official start time was 6:45PM and Mark says the final out came at 8:34PM. The official time ties the fastest game in franchise history as opposed to it being the stand-alone record.

(14:35) Jacob Young singled in his return to the lineup and Daylen Lile was sent back to AAA to make roster space. Lile hit .194 in 31 at-bats in his brief stint in Washington.

(18:20) Michael Soroka ended his outing well unlike previous ones as he struck out seven Rangers in six scoreless innings of work.

(22:45) Brad Lord tossed another scoreless inning in a high leverage spot in the top of the 7th. Kyle Finnegan notched his 18th save of the season; which is tied for the 2nd most in all of MLB.

(25:40) An update on Josiah Gray, who had surgery last summer. Gray only made two starts season and his last appearance on the mound came on April 4th, 2024.

(31:00) Arizona Ace Corbin Burnes will need "Tommy John" surgery after injuring his elbow last weekend vs. the Nats. Burnes is in his first year of a six year/ $210 Million contract.