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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May 22, 2024 · 31 min
Minnesota Crushes Corbin
The Nats were shutout 10-0 on Tuesday night by visiting Minnesota and it is the 3rd time in the past week that they didn't score a run in defeat. Al & Mark begin with a familiar refrain, the one where they recap terrible start by Patrick Corbin. He allowed eight runs and his ERA is now at 6.29. Mark does explain though why he feels Corbin's time might actually be running out in the starting rotation. (10:00) A look at where both Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli are in their rehabs. (15:00) Tanner Ra
May 21, 2024 · 30 min
Bats Wake Up to End the Skid
The Nats routed the Twins 12-3 on Monday night in Navy Yard to end their five game losing streak. Mark & Al have a lot of positive offensive statistics to sift through for a change as they collected fourteen hits and hit a pair of homers (Luis Garcia Jr. & Jesse Winker). (04:30) Eddie Rosario continued his hot May as he had two hits, scored three runs, stole a base, and scored all the way from 1B on an errant throw to the outfield. (10:30) Keibert Ruiz singled and doubled in the victory while hi
May 19, 2024 · 35 min
Swept in Philly
The Nats lost 11-5 on Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia for their fifth consecutive defeat. Mark (From Philly) & Al discuss the Nationals being on the wrong end of a sweep and a disappointing 2-7 road trip. (05:00) One positive of the day was that the offense ended their almost week long homer drought as Eddie Rosario and Jesse Winker each cleared the fences. The team has left the yard very few times in the past couple of weeks, but Rosario has nonetheless done so five times. (12:00) Lane Thomas
May 19, 2024 · 35 min
One Out Away But a Loss in Extras
The Nats led 3-2 in the bottom of the 9th but ultimately lost 4-3 in ten innings in Philadelphia on Saturday evening. Mark (From Philly) & Al examine the final two frames that saw Kyle Finnegan blow the save in the 9th and take the loss in the 10th. Finnegan retired the first two batters in the bottom of the 9th, but then gave up a game tying solo homer to Kody Clemens (yes, he is Roger Clemens' son). (07:00) The game ended on a Bryce Harper sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th . There were r
May 18, 2024 · 37 min
Nats Drop Their 3rd Straight
The Nats fell 4-2 in Philadelphia on Friday night and have dropped three straight games on the road trip. Mark (From Citizen's Bank Park) & Al yet again go over a struggling offense that only collected four hits. Oddly enough, all four hits were doubles. One of them came from Joey Gallo, who was just called up from AAA following his rehab stint. (12:30) Trey Lipscomb was the player sent down to AAA make room for Gallo on Friday afternoon. It is the second time this season that Lipscomb has demot
May 16, 2024 · 33 min
Blanked Again by the White Sox
The Nats dropped the rubber match in Chicago as they were shutout for the second straight game in a 2-0 defeat on Wednesday afternoon. Mark (From the South Side) & Al discuss the batting order, which did not include many regulars and had Ildemaro Vargas hitting 3rd. Among those not in the starting lineup were CJ Abrams, Jesse Winker, Luis Garcia Jr., and Eddie Rosario. (06:00) Keibert Ruiz went 0 for 4 and struck three times. This season has been a rough one for Ruiz and his OPS is at a startlin
May 15, 2024 · 38 min
Fedde Shutout Caps the Doubleheader Split
The Nats and White Sox split their doubleheader on Tuesday in Chicago. Mark (From the South Side) & Al begin with Game 2, where former National Erick Fedde threw seven scoreless innings in the 4-0 shutout vs. his old team. Fedde pitched in South Korea in 2023 and was non tendered by Washington in November of 2022. (07:00) The Nats registered ten hits in their 6-3 victory in Game 1 as Joey Meneses had four of them. The last time he had that many hits in a game was September 1st, 2022 when he hit
May 13, 2024 · 33 min
Robles' Miscues Lowlight the Loss
The Nats lost 3-2 in Boston on Sunday afternoon to lose the weekend series. Al & Tim scratch their heads at the mistakes made by Victor Robles as he dropped a routine fly ball and the next inning had inexplicable base running that led to a crucial out. Davey Martinez noted afterwards that he considered removing Robles from the game. (13:00) Robles was not the only cuprit on the bases as the Nats made multiple outs that way on Sunday. Nick Senzel was picked off in the top of 7th and Jacob Young w
May 12, 2024 · 22 min
A Loss in Boston but Impressive Outing by Irvin
The Nats lost 4-2 in Boston on Saturday afternoon to return to .500 through 38 games. Al begins with Davey Martinez's decision to pitch Robert Garcia for the entirety of the bottom 8th as a tied game became 4-2 before the end of the frame. (05:00) Jake Irvin lasted a career high seven innings and exited the game when it was tied 2-2. Irvin struck out six and threw 103 pitches in the outing. Al notes how big it is that it seems that Irvin can be a long term rotation piece as it shows the improvem
May 11, 2024 · 33 min
Corbin Earns the Win in Fenway
The Nats are back above .500 as they began their road trip with a 5-1 victory in Boston on Friday night. Al & Mark have a Patrick Corbin vwon to open with as he only allowed one run five innings of work. Corbin gave up seven hits, but was the beneficiary of great defense by Victor Robles early in the affair. (10:00) It was another busy night for the bullpen as five arms came on in relief to toss four shutout frames. Harvey made his 19th appearance of the season, which is more than half of the te
May 9, 2024 · 35 min
Outlasted in Extras
The Nats rallied in the bottom of the 9th and 11th, but came up short on Wednesday night in a 7-6 loss to the Orioles in 12 innings. Al & Mark catch their breath after one of the best ever "Battle of the Beltways" as the Nationals held their own this week against the top record in the American League. (08:00) Eddie Rosario homered in the 9th and had two hits in the loss. Rosario only had three hits in all of April, but already has six hits thus far in May. (16:00) Keibert Ruiz has been scuffling
May 8, 2024 · 29 min
Over .500 in Shutout Fashion
For the first time in almost three years, the Nationals are over .500 on the season as they now are 18-17 after shutting out the visiting Orioles 3-0 on Tuesday night. Mark & Al put in perspective just how long it has been since the team has had a winning record, which is all the way back in early July 2021. (05:10) Trevor Williams continued his excellent start to the season as he struck out eight O's in his 5 IP. His ERA is 1.96 after seven starts in 2024 and Williams has not surrendered a home
May 6, 2024 · 37 min
Nats Overcome an Early Five Run Deficit
The Nats beat the Blue Jays 11-8 in a wild affair to capture the weekend series on a Sunday afternoon in Navy Yard after trailing 6-1 early in the game. Mark & Al have a lot to get to, but begin with Luis Garcia who had three crucial hits and knocked in four runs. Garcia homered twice in the series and is now hitting .337 so far this season. (12:00) Jesse Winker slugged a 3 run HR to put Washington ahead 7-6 in the bottom of the 4th. Winker also doubled on Sunday for his first multi hit game sin
May 5, 2024 · 19 min
Sloppy Defense in Loss to the Jays
The Nats lost 6-3 to visiting Toronto on a soggy Saturday afternoon. Al recaps the defeat as the Nationals yet again miss an opportunity to move above .500. The defense was bad as they committed four errors and all four runs that Jake Irvin allowed were unearned. Nick Senzel had two throwing errors in the loss and Trey Lipscomb also struggled at 1B. (10:00) Tanner Rainey tossed a scoreless top of the 9th inning. It ends a string of three consecutive outings of giving up at least one run. (13:10)
May 4, 2024 · 36 min
A Rally Turns Into a Rout
The Nats beat the visiting Blue Jays 9-3 on Friday night after initially trailing 3-0 in the 2nd inning. Al & Mark begin with Luis Garcia Jr., who did not start but flipped the game with a pinch hit 3 run HR in the bottom of the 7th to grab the lead. Garcia has been platooned as of late, but he is hitting .300 on the season. (13:30) Jacob Young exited the evening early due to back spasms. Young hit lead-off as Davey Martinez decided to tinker the lineup after the series loss in Texas. (18:45) C
May 3, 2024 · 33 min
Blanked in Texas
The Nats were shutout 6-0 in Thursday afternoon's rubber match in Arlington to return to a game under .500. Mark (From Texas) & Al discuss the Nationals bats staying cold as they only scored two runs in the entire series. The offense collected just four hits in the loss and Eddie Rosario (.086) was one of the starters that did not get one. (17:00) Mitchell Parker took his first MLB loss as he gave up three runs off of six hits in 5.1 IP. Mark explains that Parker did not get all the help possibl
May 2, 2024 · 32 min
Williams & 'Pen Shutout the Rangers
The Nats blanked the Rangers 1-0 on Tuesday night to return to .500 through 30 games. Mark (Live from Texas) & Al start with Trevor Williams, who is now 3-0 on the season in six outings. Williams lasted 5 IP and did not allow a run despite loading the bases in multiple innings. (12:30) The bullpen tossed four scoreless innings and it included Dylan Floro taking the mound in the 7th. Is he the new 7th inning guy in the "A Bullpen?". Kyle Finnegan notched his tenth save of the season, which is tie
May 1, 2024 · 35 min
Only 3 Hits in Defeat to Close Out April
The Nats four game win streak came to a halt on Tuesday night in Arlington as they fell 7-1 at the Rangers. Mark (From Texas) & Al begin with the slumping Eddie Rosario, who went 0 for 3 in the loss and is hitting just .088 so far this season. Rosario was signed during Spring Training to a minor league deal after playing the past few years in Atlanta. (9:30) Keibert Ruiz also went 0 for 3 and is hitting .143 so far. Ruiz does not have a hit since returning the lineup last Thursday vs. the Dodger
Apr 30, 2024 · 35 min
Nats At .500 After the Sweep
The Nats beat the Marlins 7-2 on Monday night to complete the four game sweep on the road and they are now exactly at .500 for the season. Mark and Al begin with CJ Abrams who slugged his 7th homer of the year, rare territory for this franchise. This leads to a conversation on whether or not a long term extension with the shortstop is in the works. (15:30) The Nats had a trio of doubles and Nick Senzel was one of them as he continued his scorching stretch. He came very close to going deep again
Apr 29, 2024 · 33 min
Senzel Homers Twice in the Comeback Win
The Nats beat the Marlins 12-9 on Sunday afternoon after falling behind 6-0 in the 1st inning. Al & Tim recap the big comeback on what is fittingly the ninth anniversary of the famous "Dan Uggla Game", one of the more memorable rallies in team history. It was the Nationals third straight victory and they go for the sweep on Monday night. (05:00) The scoring for Washington began in the 4th and that is when Nick Senzel hit the first of his two homers in the game. Senzel has homered four times in t