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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Sep 25, 2023 · 33 min
Rutledge Earns 1st Career Win in DH Split
On the final day of play this season at Nationals Park, the Nats and Braves split the Sunday doubleheader. Mark & Al open with Jackson Rutledge coming away with his 1st career MLB victory in his 3rd start since getting called up. Rutledge went the minimum 5 IP and is expected to face Atlanta again next weekend. (08:00) Lane Thomas reached the 20/20 plateau and is the first player in franchise history to accomplish that feat since Bryce Harper in 2016. (16:10) Jacob Young had an excellent Game 1
Sep 23, 2023 · 35 min
Doolittle Hangs 'Em Up
The Nats lost 9-6 to the Braves on what was a very busy Friday in Navy Yard. Mark & Al start with the offense somehow going just 1 for 16 with runners in scoring position. CJ Abrams paced the lineup as he had a pair of hits, 3 RBIs, and stole his 43rd base of the season. (10:40) Patrick Corbin immediately fell behind 3-0 and the game began by him surrendering Ronald Acuna Jr.'s 40th homer of the season. Acuna is only the 5th player to join the 40/40 club and is the first since Alfonso Soriano di
Sep 22, 2023 · 31 min
Game 154: Atlanta Cuts Irvin's Night Short
A day after an easy win, the Nats were smashed by the visiting Braves 10-3 on Thursday evening. Al & Tim recap Jake Irvin's short outing that ended in the top of the 3rd. It matches his shortest start of the season when he also had 2.2 IP vs. Detroit back in May. (11:00) Cory "The Janitor" Abbott struck out 8 Atlanta hitters while throwing nearly 5 innings of mop-up duty. This comes on the 14th consecutive day of play for the Nationals as they have a very fatigued bullpen. (19:45) Alex Call hom
Sep 21, 2023 · 36 min
Game 153: Thomas Hits a Grand Slam in a Rare Laugher
The Nats pummeled the White Sox 13-3 for a rare easy victory on Wednesday afternoon. Mark & Al have plenty of fun items to discuss as the offense came through with a trio of homers and 14 hits. Lane Thomas grand slam broke the game open in the bottom of the 3rd to give Washington a comfortable 8-1 lead. CJ Abrams matched Thomas' feat of reaching base four times as he was able to draw a pair of walks in the win. (16:30) Dom Smith homered for the 5th time this month after only having 6 dingers thr
Sep 20, 2023 · 34 min
Rutledge Impresses Before "Joey Four Bags" Comes Through
The Nats outlasted the White Sox 4-3 on a Tuesday evening with a lot to smile about. Mark & Al open with Jackson Rutledge's solid start after he had a disappointing debut last week. Rutledge only allowed a pair of solo homers and is the first Washington rookie pitcher to make it into the 7th of his home debut since Stephen Strasburg (2010). (10:45) Cade Cavalli talked to reporters pregame in D.C. and surprisingly revealed that he will be back on the mound in June. Mark relays his first hand acco
Sep 19, 2023 · 32 min
Game 151: Clevinger Goes the Distance in D.C.
The Nats began their final homestand with a 6-1 defeat at the hands of the White Sox on Monday night. Al & Tim wonder why Dom Smith & Mike Clevinger got into it in the moments after Smith's 9th inning solo HR that led to the benches briefly clearing. It was the only time that Clevinger was uncomfortable all evening; on his way to a complete game victory. (10:00) CJ Abrams was picked off and these sort of instances seem to be quite common. Is Eric Young JR. definitely returning as 1st Base Coach
Sep 18, 2023 · 30 min
Game 150: Skid Ends in Milwaukee
The Nats ended their 5 game losing streak by edging Milwaukee 2-1 on Sunday afternoon in extra innings. Mark (From **Miller Park) & Tim begin with Michael Chavis, who spearheaded a game ending double play to escape a bases loaded jam. Chavis was not in the starting lineup, but stayed at 1B after pinch running for Dom Smith in the 9th inning. (09:20) The Brewers are on the verge of winning the NL Central, but the numbers suggest they have a similarly modest offense as the last place Nationals. Bo
Sep 17, 2023 · 33 min
Game 149: Finnegan Gives up Decisive Grand Slam
The Nats lost again on their road trip, a 9-5 defeat on Saturday evening in Milwaukee. Mark (From Wisconsin) & Al explain how a game that seemed out of reach for awhile all of a sudden became a tied affair in the 8th inning. The Brewers struck back with a Grand Slam from Mark Canha in the bottom of the frame off of Kyle Finnegan. (04:15) Trevor Williams had an awful start and only made it 2 innings. Should Williams stay in the rotation for the final weeks? (23:00) Luis Garcia homered for the fir
Sep 16, 2023 · 35 min
Game 148: September Swoon Continues
The Nats lost 5-3 in Milwaukee on Friday night as they are now just 3-10 in September. Mark (From Wisconsin) & Al point out how the beleaguered lineup mightily struggled despite scoring 3 immediate runs off of Wade Miley. There was some brief confusion during a Miley vs. Lane Thomas at bat regarding pitch clock rules and Mark explains what the fuss was all about. (16:30) Thomas hit his 25th of the year and this includes not having any in April. The last time that a National hit 30+ homers in a
Sep 15, 2023 · 30 min
Gray Shines in Speedy Defeat
The Nats were shutout Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh, but overall it was a good day for the organization. Al & Tim rehash Gray's sterling outing where he struck out 10 Pirates; serving as his season high for Ks. He potentially has 3 starts remaining and 2 of them might come against the division champion Braves. This was the quickest game of the season; clocking in at 1 hour and 50 minutes. (19:00) A veteran listener writes in to us his strong opinion as to why he is disappointed that Mike Rizz
Sep 14, 2023 · 41 min
Rizzo Officially Agrees to Extension
The Nats lost 7-6 in Pittsburgh, but on Wednesday morning the news became official that GM Mike Rizzo agreed to an extension with the franchise. Mark & Al spend plenty of time dissecting all facets to the news and what it means for the Rebuild. Hear what Rizzo had to say for the next phase, why Davey Martinez's deal got done first, and his commentary about the Lerner's. Is extending Rizzo the right call long-term? (29:00) The Nationals turned an early 7-2 deficit into 7-5 entering the top of the
Sep 13, 2023 · 31 min
Jackson Rutledge, Former 1st Rounder, Getting Called Up
The Nats lost 5-1 in Pittsburgh on Tuesday evening for their 80th loss of the season. Mark & Al begin with the news that Jackson Rutledge, RHP selected in the 1st Round of the 2019 Draft, will make his MLB debut on Wednesday night. His ERA this season is 3.71 and it comes through stints at Harrisburg and Rochester. His road to "The Show" has been a bumpy one, but lets see how beautiful it turns out. (11:15) Joan Adon had another no so good outing as he allowed 4 runs in as many innings on 93 pit
Sep 12, 2023 · 32 min
Game 144: Abrams Homers Twice in Win
The Nationals began this week's road trip on the right foot with a 6-3 victory on Monday night in Pittsburgh. Al & Tim dive into CJ Abrams' big evening as he had his 1st multi HR game of his career. Abrams is 5th in the NL among shortstops with 18 career HRs. (15:00) Patrick Corbin took home the W for his 6.2 IP effort where he only allowed a pair of runs. Corbin leads the team with 158.1 IP, which is 17 innings more than Josiah Gray. (25:00) Al points out that the Nats have never had a close Se
Sep 11, 2023 · 27 min
Game 143: Williams Allows a Hit Parade
Amid yet another rain delay, the Nats lost 7-3 to the Dodgers on Sunday in the series rubber match. Al & Mark start with Trevor Williams. who had another poor outing in a season where his ERA sits at 5.44. Williams has given up 14 earned runs in just 2 September starts. (13:00) Joe LaSorsa performed yeoman's effort as he came up just shy of pitching all of the final 4 innings. LaSorsa joined the team on Friday after his recent stint in Rochester. (21:30) A check in on Carter Kieboom who has been
Sep 10, 2023 · 38 min
Game 142: Chavis Scores on Wild Pitch to End Marathon Day
The Nats outlasted the 1st place Dodgers in extra innings for a 7-6 victory on Saturday afternoon following a 4+ hour rain delay. Mark & Al wonder if Jake Irvin is sneakily the best story of the franchise's season after he threw another solid outing on the mound. His ERA is at 4.20; which is a far improvement from when he last faced LA in late May (5.67 ERA). (13:40) Lane Thomas returned after sitting out all week due to an ailing back and homered for the fourth consecutive game that he's played
Sep 9, 2023 · 52 min
Strasburg Drama Amid Defeat
The Nats lost 8-5 on Friday night vs. the visiting the Dodgers, but that was hardly top of mind locally. Mark & Al sift through all the busy back drop currently involving the organization as it seemed like there was an endless avalanche of news reports involving the Front Office during Thursday's day-off. (04:00) As for the game, MacKenzie Gore struggled and only lasted 4 IP as he returned from the Beareavment List. This is the 3rd consecutive outing that he did not exceed 5 innings of work and
Sep 7, 2023 · 40 min
Game 140: Young Walks-Off the Losing Streak
The Nats ended their 6 game skid by edging past the Mets 3-2 in a Wednesday evening walk-off victory. Al & Mark start with Jacob Young's decisive single over New York as he owns an 8 game hitting streak; which commenced shortly after his MLB debut. (07:20) CJ Abrams swiped 2 more bases and joins rare franchise territory with 40+ stolen bases on the season (Trea Turner 2x, Alfonso Soriano). The most impressive part is his success rate as he only has been thrown out 3 times this season. (16:20) Jo
Sep 6, 2023 · 34 min
Game 139: Corbin Clobbered as Skid Reaches 6
The Nats lost 11-5 to the visiting Mets on Tuesday; in a game in which they immediately trailed by 4 runs. Mark & Al sing a familiar song, which is recapping a rough outing by Patrick Corbin. He has now given up 30 homers this season and the only NL pitcher who has allowed more this season is his teammate Trevor Williams (33). (13:00) Andres Machado immediately gave up a homer to Pete Alonso upon taking the mound. Hear the jarring stat of how many times that has occurred among Washington relieve
Sep 4, 2023 · 36 min
Game 138: Gray Only Lasts 4 Innings
The Nats were swept for the third time this season by Miami and on Sunday they fell 6-4. Mark & Al note the 5th consecutive loss and that they finally will get an off-day on Monday. (04:00) Josiah Gray had a short outing and had a nightmarish opening inning. This included allowing a solo HR, issuing 3 straight walks, and jawing at Jacob Young at the end of the frame for misplaying a fly ball in the sun. He ultimately only lasted 4 IP and it casts doubt on when he next take the mound. (14:00) The
Sep 3, 2023 · 38 min
Longtime International Scouting Director Resigns
The Nats rough stretch continued as they were flattened 11-5 by the Marlins on Saturday afternoon. They have dropped 6 of their past 7 and are a wretched 2-10 this season vs. the Marlins. Mark & Al though begin with the big organizational news that came pregame as Johnny DiPuglia, veteran Director of International Scouting since 2009, is resigning from his position. Is this related to the ongoing contractual negotiations between Mike Rizzo and the franchise? (17:00) Trevor Williams had an awful