Nats Chat

Mark Zuckerman & Al Galdi, Blue Wire

A Washington Nationals podcast offering recap and analysis after every game, plus all the breaking news throughout the year. Hosted by Mark Zuckerman of natsjournal.com & Al Galdi, host of "The Al Galdi Podcast". For sponsorship opportunities, contact Tim Shovers at natschatpodcast@gmail.com.

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980 episodes
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Episodes980

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Aug 22, 2024 · 29 min
Parker Handles the Rockies
The Nats beat visiting Colorado on Wednesday 6-1 behind Mitchell Parker's superb pitching. Al & Mark examine Parker's outing, where he only needed 83 pitches to make it through seven innings. Parker has been volatile this summer as his results have been all over the map, but this was a nice bounce back start. (09:00) Tanner Rainey finished the victory on the mound after making a rare 9th inning appearance. Rainey's ERA was at 7.77 on June 27th but now is at 5.40 just under two months later. (14:
Aug 21, 2024 · 33 min
Held to 1 Run + Crews Update from Rochester
The Nats opened their brief home stand with a 3-1 loss to Colorado, who is in last place in the NL West. Mark & Al have another listless offensive performance to run through as the team returns to 14 games below .500. CJ Abrams homer was the only highlight and Luis Garcia was the lone member of the lineup to come through with multiple hits. (07:30) Joey Gallo is back in Washington after missing over two months due to a hamstring injury. It is unclear how much Gallo will play while guys such as A
Aug 19, 2024 · 31 min
Nats Homer Thrice in Win
The Nats were able to leave Philadelphia with a victory after Sunday's 6-4 triumph. Al & Tim have a mammoth James Wood homer to discuss that served as 9th inning insurance. It was the first time Wood pulled a home run since getting called up from the minors. (10:15) Keibert Ruiz continued his strong August with a game tying homer, his third of the series. Alex Call also went deep as he settles into life as the everyday RFer. (14:20) CJ Abrams was originally slated for a day off, but decided to p
Aug 18, 2024 · 32 min
Wheels Come Off for Gore in the 6th
The Nats long weekend in Philadelphia continued after their 5-1 loss on Saturday evening. Al & Tim take stark notice that the season continues to decline as they are now 14 games below .500 and there are still six weeks remaining. (09:00) The offense only mustered two hits, but one of them was an Alex Call solo HR. It was another night with no hits for CJ Abrams and he is mired in an 0 for 14 slump. (12:45) MacKenzie Gore's outing was going well as he only had given up one run through five innin
Aug 17, 2024 · 34 min
Turner Walks-Off the Nats
Trea Turner got the game winning hit against his old team as the Nats lost 3-2 in Philadelphia on Friday night. Al & Mark recap the hectic ninth inning which began by the score of 2-0 with the Phillies leading. Kyle Finnegan pitched the final frame, but was not the beneficiary of good defense behind him. (12:45) Patrick Corbin only gave up a pair of runs, but was relieved in the bottom of the 5th. Corbin's ERA this season is at 5.92, which is not as bad as his ERA in 2022 (6.31). (18:00) CJ Abra
Aug 16, 2024 · 35 min
Parker Gets Shelled in Philly
The Nats were pounded 13-3 on Thursday night in Philadelphia to open up a four game set. Al & Mark run through the grisly box score totals for Mitchell Parker who allowed nine runs in just three plus innings on the mound. The last bad outing for Parker came on July 24th vs. the Padres as part of his up and down season. Weston Wilson of the Phillies tripled off of Parker on his way to hitting for the cycle. (12:30) The Nationals committed three errors in the loss and the final one was the biggest
Aug 15, 2024 · 35 min
Entire Coaching Staff Returning Next Season
The Nats lost 4-1 on Wednesday night in Baltimore, but the news of the day came before the game. Mark (From Camden Yards) & Al react to the surprising news that this week the full coaching staff already signed their 2025 contracts. Did anyone see this coming in mid-August? (11:00) This means that Hitting Coach Darnell Coles will be coming back for a 4th season with the organization. The initial fan reaction to this was not positive on social media. How much does Victor Robles' turnaround hurt th
Aug 14, 2024 · 37 min
Chaparro Doubles 3 Times in Winning Debut
The Nats beat the Orioles 9-3 on Tuesday as Andres Chaparro and James Wood combined for seven hits. Mark (From Baltimore) & Al start with Chaparro, who gathered three doubles in his Big League debut. Chaparro has turned heads in the organization since being acquired just hours before the Trade Deadline. Last week during his brief stay with Rochester, Chaparro homered in four straight games. (08:00) Wood came through with four hits in his first game played in his native state of Maryland. Wood ha
Aug 11, 2024 · 35 min
Gore's Struggles Again But Mark Catches a Foul Ball
The Nats were unable to complete sweep as they fell 6-4 on Sunday afternoon against Anaheim. Mark & Al though begin with the first ever foul ball to reach to the Nationals Press Box and it was corralled by Mr. Zuckerman. The Shirley Povich Press Box is one of the highest perches in all of Baseball and no foul balls had reached inside that level until this game. (08:00) MacKenzie Gore was bad again and he has not pitched well since July 1st. Given his recent struggles, should his next start in th
Aug 11, 2024 · 29 min
Tena Gets Called Up and Walks It Off
The Nats went to extra innings for the third straight day on Saturday and emerged with a 5-4 victory over the visiting Angels. Al & Tim begin with James Wood, who homered and doubled in the win. Wood is hitting .344 this month, which is much better than the .245 he sported in July. (08:30) Prior to the game Jose Tena was called up from AAA-Rochester and immediately started at 3B. Tena ended up the hero as his 10th inning hit brought in CJ Abrams for the winning run. Tena was recently acquired in
Aug 10, 2024 · 34 min
Rendon Ovation Precedes Walk-off Nats Win
Friday night was a banner evening for the Nats organization, capped off with a 3-2 win in extras over the visiting Angels. Al & Mark begin by updating you on the highlights that occurred across the team's minor league affiliates on Friday. They then shine a spotlight on Alex Call, who had walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th; his 3rd hit of the day. (08:00) The Nationals past met its future when James Wood had an infield single at the expense of Anthony Rendon. It seemed like Rendon did
Aug 9, 2024 · 32 min
Nats Commit 4 Errors in Rainy Loss
Thursday was a long afternoon in Navy Yard that featured a pair of rain delays before the Giants outlasted the Nationals 9-5 in extra innings. Mark & Al parse through the terrible Washington defense late in the game, which was due to more than just the wet field conditions, evidenced by San Francisco not committing any errors on their end. (09:00) James Wood misplayed a ball in the top of the 4th and his defense has been disappointing so far in LF. Why does he look so uncomfortable out there? (1
Aug 8, 2024 · 34 min
Irvin Allows 3 Giants Homers in Defeat
The Nats lost 7-4 to the Giants on Wednesday night as the rain mostly held off. Mark & Al though begin with the announcement that the Annual Nats Chat Podcast Party will be at Walter's Sports Bar in Navy Yard on..... Friday October 4th from 6:30-8:30pm. (04:00) Emblematic of the organizational decline in pitching, Jake Irvin did not pitch well for the fourth time in his past six starts. Irvin gave up three homers and he has allowed a startling ten homers in the past month. (17:00) Alex Call was
Aug 7, 2024 · 34 min
Wood, Abrams, & Ruiz All Go Deep in Win
The Nats overcame an early four run deficit to knock off the Giants 11-5 on Tuesday evening in Navy Yard. Mark & Al have plenty of praise to shower on James Wood as he homered and scored four times in the victory. Wood already has 23 RBI since getting called up to the majors, which is five more than Nick Senzel had in his time with Washington, despite Senzel having almost one hundred more at-bats than the rookie this season. (11:30) CJ Abrams' 3-run HR gave the Nationals the lead for good at 5-4
Aug 6, 2024 · 32 min
Another Low Scoring Loss
The Nats lost 4-1 to the visiting Giants on Monday night to begin the four game series. Mark & Al point out how the offense has scored less than two runs in 22 of their 62 defeats thus far this season. The Nationals have hit the fewest homers in all of MLB this year, even less than the woeful White Sox. (06:00) CJ Abrams went 0 for 5 in the leadoff spot and his August is off to a slow start. Abrams' OPS was at .857 at the end of June, but it now currently sits at .769. (17:10) Is Hitting Coach D
Aug 4, 2024 · 32 min
Parker & Garcia Jr. Fuel the Win
The Nats held off the Brewers 4-3 on Sunday afternoon to take the series. Mark & Al have more praise for Luis Garcia Jr. who homered for the second straight day. Garcia Jr. had to fight for the starting 2B job in Spring Training, but at this point seems to be a lock for Opening Day 2025. (10:30) James Wood came through with a 3-run triple to give Washington a 4-0 lead. Wood has only been with team for a month, but already has 20 RBIs. For comparison's sake, Wood has 9 more RBIs this season than
Aug 4, 2024 · 34 min
Garcia Jr. Homers in Skid Snapper
The Nats scored four runs right away and rode the momentum towards a 6-4 victory over the Brewers on Saturday afternoon to end their five game losing streak. Al & Mark convene after the weather surprisingly held off and the game was able to played on time and without any delay. (06:00) Luis Garcia Jr. hit third and rewarded Davey Martinez with a big afternoon. Garcia had three hits including a solo homer to give his team a five run lead as he was a triple shy of the cycle. The hosts use this opp
Aug 3, 2024 · 30 min
Nats Drop Their 5th Straight
The Nats lost 8-3 to the Brewers on Friday night to start their ten game home stand. Al hosts solo after the Nationals fifth consecutive defeat, which puts them at a season worst 12 games below .500. Jake Irvin pitched into the 6th and was charged with four runs after giving up six hits. Five relievers were needed to cover the final 10 outs and Jose A. Ferrar gave up a pair of runs in less than an inning of work. (06:00) There was more bad news about Cade Cavalli as he has yet to ramp up in West
Aug 1, 2024 · 29 min
Swept in Arizona
The Nats lost 5-2 on Wednesday afternoon in Phoenix for their fourth consecutive defeat. Mark (From Arizona) & Al dig into MacKenzie Gore's so-so start where he gave up three runs in just five innings of work. Gore's ERA is at 4.54, which is much higher than the 2.91 ERA that he brought into June. (12:00) Keibert Ruiz exited the game early after getting hit in the groin while behind the plate. Ruiz flew home with the team, which is noteworthy because in 2022 he was unable to travel with his team
Jul 31, 2024 · 37 min
Finnegan Stays & Nats Embarrassed in Arizona
The Nats made one final trade in the closing minutes of the trade deadline on Tuesday evening. Mark (From Phoenix) & Al though begin with a player not dealt away, All-Star closer Kyle Finnegan, and react to Mike Rizzo's comments on why the right-hander stayed in Washington. The hosts layout the potential scenarios that are next for Finnegan as he is under team control in 2025. (14:00) Dylan Floro was sent to Arizona in exchange for corner infielder Andres Chaparro as their final move before the