‘Times have been hard’: Nats August in review

What happened to the Nationals in August? The Nats’ vaunted offense fell apart. Through July 31, the Nats had led MLB teams in runs with 602, in home runs with 164, and in stolen bases with 123. (The second-place team in each of those categories had scored 572 runs, hit 155 home runs, and stole 120 bases, so these were real leads.) But during August, the Nats were tied for 12th in runs scored (124), were 20th in home runs (28), and were tied for fourth in stolen bases (25). Not only had they traded away their third and fourth-best hitters (Luis García Jr. and Curtis Mead) at the deadline, but James Wood missed almost the entire month on the injured list with a left oblique strain, while CJ Abrams (who was hobbled by a sprained ankle for a few days but avoided the injured list) went into a slump. The relief pitching continued to be bad, ranking 26th during August in earned run average (4.75), 28th in fielding independent pitching (4.84), and first in blown saves (8). The Nats, who had been only one game below .500 at the end of July, went 11–18 and finished the month with a 66–74 record, in fourth place in the NL East and well out of wild card contention.

At the beginning of August, the Nats were in Atlanta playing the Braves, who had won the first two games of their four-game series. The Nats had also played the first eight games in a stretch of 17 games scheduled on consecutive days. The Nats lost the next two games, giving the Braves a four-game sweep. They then traveled to Philadelphia where they awaited the final trade deadline transactions, which had to be completed by 6 pm before that evening’s game against the Phillies.

Luis Garcia Jr. was traded to the Yankees, and Foster Griffin was traded to the Guardians. Abimelec Ortiz took over García’s place at first base and Andrew Alvarez took Griffin’s place in the pitching rotation. Brady House had already taken over Mead’s position at third base. In a few days, the Nats would also release Zack Littell and Miles Mikolas. Littell’s place in the rotation was initially taken by Brad Lord, though after three starts the Nats tried first Matt Waldron and then Will Dion for that spot in the rotation. Mikolas’s spot was taken by rookie pitcher Jackson Kent.

The Nats played a four-game series against the Phillies, who were tied for the second wild-card position, 4½ games ahead of the Nats (with four other teams standing between the Phillies and the Nats in the standings). In the first game, the Nats were ahead 3–0 after six innings but then gave up four runs in the 7th on a grand slam home run and two more in the eighth for a 6–3 loss. The Nats were shut out 5 to 0 in the second game, as Luzardo pitched eight scoreless innings. James Wood went on the injured list, and the Nats’ losing streak reached seven games. In the third game, the Nats were trailing 2 to 1 after six innings but scored two in the top of the seventh for the lead. They gave up a run in the bottom of the seventh, making it a 3–3 tie, where it stayed through the ninth inning. Both teams scored one run in the 10th inning, then the Nats scored six runs in the top of the 11th for 10–4 win. In that inning, Miles Mikolas appeared as a pinch hitter (his first batting appearance since 2021) and executed a squeeze bunt that drove in CJ Abrams from third base. He became only the third pitcher (not counting Ohtani) to drive in a run since the universal DH was adopted in 2022. Also, it marked the first plate appearance all season by a Nats player over age 30. The Nats went on to lose the fourth game, losing the series and giving them a 1–7 record on the road trip.

The next home stand opened with three games against the Reds. The Nats won all three games, and their record moved back up to 59–61, two games under .500. After a welcome day off, they faced the Cubs, who held the first wild-card spot. The Nats lost the first two games but won the third game with a 7–0 shutout that was started by Cade Cavalli. Their record for the home stand was 4–2.

Next came a nine-game road trip to New York, Texas, and Miami to face the Mets, Rangers, and Marlins. None of these three teams had records that were substantially better than the Nats, so it seemed like an opportunity to potentially pick up some ground in the standings, but it didn’t turn out that way. Before the first game against the Mets, Blake Butera announced that CJ Abrams was going to start transitioning to second base, with Nasim Nuñez becoming the primary shortstop. Between some reluctance by Abrams and a sprained ankle, it would be August 30 before he made his first start at second. The Mets won game one. In game two, The Nats were ahead 4 to 3 after eight innings but gave up two runs in the bottom of the ninth for a 5 to 4 walk-off loss. The Mets also won the third game by a score of 4 to 3 to sweep the series.

They traveled to Arlington, Texas where, after a day off, they started another stretch of games on 17 consecutive days. The Texas Rangers had a losing record (61–64) but were actually in a three-way tie for the third wild-card spot in a weak American League. In the first game, the Nats were shut out 5 to 0 as Quantrill pitched seven scoreless innings. In game two, it was the Nats turn to shut out the Rangers 6 to 0 as Cade Cavalli pitched six scoreless innings, striking out 11 and allowing three hits. The third game gave us yet another shutout as deGrom pitched six scoreless innings, striking out 10 and allowing one hit in a 2 to 0 win by the Rangers.

Facing the Marlins in Miami, the Nats were ahead in the first game 1 to 0 after seven innings but gave up two runs in the bottom of the eighth. They scored a run in the top of the ninth to tie the game, but Clayton Beeter, who had already given up the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth, gave up the go-ahead run again in the ninth for another walk-off loss. The Nats went on to lose games two and three for another sweep and finished the road trip with a 1–8 record, 10 games below .500. Their bats had gone almost entirely silent as they averaged just 2.2 runs per game on the road trip. And according to Fangraphs, their playoff odds, which had been 6.6% at the beginning of the month, fell to 0.0%, indicating that there was essentially no chance of a late season return to relevance.

Returning home, the Nats began their home stand with a four-game series against the Rockies. The offense regrouped to win the first game 13 to 3 as Cavalli pitched his ninth consecutive quality start—the longest such streak by a Nats pitcher since Max Scherzer accumulated 14 consecutive quality starts in 2019. But the offense disappeared in games two and three, which the Nats lost by scores of 3 to 1 and 13 to 1. At that point, the Nats had won only three of their last 15 games, with all three victories coming in games that Cavalli started. The Nats were finally able to win game four and split the series.

The month concluded with a four-game series against the Marlins. The Nats won the first game 9 to 2 behind a good pitching performance by Jackson Kent. Going into the second game, the Nats were the only MLB team without a walk-off win this season. (Their opponents had walked off the Nats four times.) The Nats had a 4–0 lead after six innings but surrendered four runs in the top of the seventh for the Marlins to tie it. The game remained tied until the bottom of the 10th when a single by Dylan Crews gave them their long-awaited walk-off win. In game three, the Nats were ahead 2–0 after eight innings, and they appeared to be headed for another win, but a major bullpen meltdown resulted in the Marlins scoring six runs and winning 6 to 2. In game four, the Nats were behind 3–2 after six innings but scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the game 6 to 3 and win the series three games to one.

Roster moves:

Trade deadline day, August 3, featured two major trades:

• Luis García Jr. was traded to the Yankees for four pitchers including Yovanny Cruz and Jake Bird. García was the Nationals’ longest tenured player, having signed with the team in 2016 as a 16-year-old and made his major league debut as a 20-year-old on August 14, 2020. In 708 games over seven seasons with the Nationals, he hit .268/.301/.431 with 81 home runs and 345 RBI.
• Foster Griffin was traded to the Guardians for an outfielder and three pitchers including Will Dion. In their deadline trades, the Nats focused on acquiring pitchers and seemed to favor quantity over quality of their acquisitions. During Griffin’s four months with the Nats, the lefty became perhaps the team’s most reliable starter. In 22 starts he pitched 129⅓ innings with a 12–3 record, 116 strikeouts, 30 walks, a 3.06 ERA, and a 1.07 WHIP.

On August 5, three players made their debuts with the Nats, one returned, and another departed the team:

• Will Dion, a 26-year-old left-handed relief pitcher. Acquired in the Foster Griffin trade, Dion had been drafted by Cleveland in the ninth round of the 2021 draft. In 12 games for the Guardians, he pitched 19⅔ innings with 25 strikeouts and 3 walks while recording a 4.58 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. His first month with Washington went well.
• Yovanny Cruz, a 26-year-old right-handed relief pitcher. Acquired in the Luis García Jr. trade, Cruz had been signed as a 17-year-old by the Cubs in 2016. He also played in the minors for the Padres and Red Sox organizations before finally making his major league debut with the Yankees on May 20 of this year. In 4 games for the Yankees, he pitched 5⅓ innings with 6 strikeouts and 1 walk with a 1.69 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP. His record with the Nats wasn’t as good, starting with a blown save in his Nats debut. In 6 games he pitched 4 innings with an 11.25 ERA and a 3.50 WHIP, and by August 19 he had been optioned to Rochester.
• Andrew Pinckney, a 25-year-old right-handed outfielder, made his major league debut as a pinch runner. Pinckney was drafted by the Nats in the fourth round of the 2023 draft. With the Rochester Redwings he had a .271 batting average with 13 home runs and 51 RBI. Debuting as a pinch runner in the 10th inning, he scored a go-ahead run, though the Nats’ game-winning run would come later in the 11th inning. In the next game, Pinckney got the start in left field. In the fourth inning, in his second major league plate appearance, he hit a home run to deep center-right field, becoming the seventh player in Nationals history to hit a home run for their first major league hit.
• Brad Lord was activated after four weeks on the injured list.
• Zack Littell was designated for assignment. A couple of days later, the Nats released Littell, and he was quickly signed by the Diamondbacks (though they also wound up releasing him after he pitched in three games). In 23 games with the Nats including 14 starts, Littell pitched 112⅓ innings with 70 strikeouts, 35 walks, and 25 home runs allowed, a 7–8 record, a 4.97 ERA, and a 1.34 WHIP.

On August 9, right-handed relief pitcher Jake Bird made his debut with the Nationals. Acquired from the Yankees in the García trade, the 30-year-old was the one veteran major league pitcher acquired at the deadline. Drafted by the Rockies in the fifth round of the 2018 draft, he pitched for the Rockies from 2022 to 2025 before being traded to the Yankees at the 2025 trade deadline. In 227 games over five seasons, Bird pitched 262⅔ innings and had a 12–12 record with 247 strikeouts, 111 walks, a 4.90 ERA, and a 1.48 WHIP. He had been a reliable part of the Rockies bullpen, but his performance flagged in New York. After joining the Nats he pitched in eight games with a 3.24 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP, but before the month ended, he had been optioned to Rochester.

On August 12, one pitcher made his debut while another departed the team:

• Jackson Kent, a 23-year-old left-handed starting pitcher, made his major league debut against his hometown Cubs. The Nats drafted him in the fourth round of the 2024 draft. In 20 starts this season in Harrisburg and Rochester he had 105 strikeouts and 30 walks in 94⅓ innings, a 4.10 ERA, and a 1.12 WHIP. His first three starts with the Nats were rough, but in his fourth start he got his first major league win, giving up only 1 run and 3 hits in 7 innings.
• Miles Mikolas was designated for assignment and was released a couple of days later. In 25 games with the Nats including 11 starts, he pitched 116 innings with 58 strikeouts, 23 walks, 27 home runs allowed, a 5.82 ERA, and a 1.38 WHIP.

On August 22, 27-year-old left-handed relief pitcher Erik Tolman made his major league debut. The Nats drafted him in the 14th round of the 2021 draft. He had Tommy John surgery twice, then in 2023 suffered a right knee injury so severe that the doctors were considering amputation. He now wears a leg brace known as an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) that has helped him come back from the injury. He persisted in his pitching, finally made it to the majors, and over five relief appearances with the Nats in August did not give up a run.

On August 26, two pitchers made their debuts with the Nats, and another pitcher departed the team:

• Right-handed pitcher Matt Waldron made his debut with the Nats. The 29-year-old is best known for throwing a knuckleball as part of his arsenal. Drafted by Cleveland in the 18th round of the 2019 draft, he was traded to the Padres after the 2020 season and eventually made his major league debut with the Padres in 2023. In early August this year, he moved to the Blue Jays on a waiver claim and pitched four games for them. On August 22, the Nats claimed him off waivers from the Blue Jays. In 50 games (including 36 starts) over four seasons with the Padres and Blue Jays, Waldron went 9–17 in 229⅔ innings with 198 strikeouts, 68 walks, a 5.29 ERA, and a 1.34 WHIP. In two games with the Nats in August (including one start), he pitched 5 innings and did not give up a run.
• Right-handed pitcher Luis Perales made his major league debut. The 23-year-old was signed by the Red Sox at age 16 in 2019. In December 2025, Paul Toboni traded Jake Bennett to the Red Sox for Perales in one of his first trades as president of baseball operations. Perales had missed most of the 2024 and 2025 seasons with recovery from Tommy John surgery, but he pitched well at Rochester in 2026. In the minor leagues, Perales mostly worked as a starter, but with the Nats he has been working from the bullpen.
• Trevor Williams was designated for assignment and was released a few days later. Over four seasons (2023 to 2026), Williams appeared in 68 games for the Nats, starting 60 of them. He pitched 310⅔ innings, going 15–21 with 257 strikeouts, 98 walks, a 4.81 ERA, and a 1.44 WHIP. He was having a special season in 2024 before he missed most of the summer with a right flexor strain. In 2025 he suffered a partial UCL tear that led him to undergo an internal brace procedure in July that sidelined him for the next 12 months. He returned to the Nats bullpen in late July this year and pitched well in eight relief appearances before being released. He has now signed with the Rangers.

The Nats organization also bid adieu to Joey Wiemer, who was released August 5. Wiemer last appeared with the Nationals on May 18 and had been playing for Rochester since then. He will be best remembered by Nats fans for his incredible hitting streak in the first four games of this season when he reached base in all of his first 10 plate appearances, including 8 hits, 2 walks, 2 home runs, a triple, 4 RBI, and 4 runs scored; in those first games his OPS was 2.446. Sadly, after his torrid start in those first games, his hitting wasn’t very good; in his next 29 games his OPS was only .648. Shortly after his release by the Nats, he signed a minor league contract with the White Sox.

Record:

11–18 (.379)

Pythagorean Record:

14–15 (4.28 R/G – 4.41 RA/G)

August MVP:

• Cade Cavalli (4–1, 2.00 RA/9, 6 GS, 36 IP, 11.8 K/9, 0.89 WHIP, 8.85 RE24, 1.6 RA9-WAR, 0.6 fWAR). It’s great seeing him emerge this season as an ace pitcher.
• Honorable mention goes to the less heralded Andrew Alvarez (0–3, 2.45 RA/9, 6 GS, 33 IP, 7.6 K/9, 0.97 WHIP, 10.25 RE24, 1.3 RA9-WAR, 0.6 fWAR), who put together a superb performance despite a lack of offensive and bullpen support. (The offense scored 2.5 R/G in his August starts, and the bullpen allowed 4 of the 6 runners they inherited from him to score.)

Position player of the month

• Daylen Lile (.292/.350/.547, 7 HR, 17 R, 26 RBI, 3 SB, 117 PA, 140 wRC+, 0.9 fWAR). He was named National League Player of the Week for the week of August 24 to 30 after going 11 for 24 (.458) with 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 10 RBI, 5 walks, 1 stolen base, and 7 runs scored in 7 games played.

Relief pitcher of the month:

This one is a tie between two pitchers who are new to the Nats bullpen:

• Will Dion (1–1, 2.04 RA/9, 7 G, 17⅔ IP, 8.7 K/9, 0.85 WHIP, 5.42 RE24, 3 shutdowns, 1 meltdown, 0.6 RA9-WAR, 0.2 fWAR).
• Erik Tolman (0–0, 0.00 RA/9, 5 G, 6⅔ IP, 10.8 K/9, 0.75 WHIP, 5.04 RE24, 2 shutdowns, 0 meltdowns, 0.4 RA9-WAR, 0.3 fWAR).

Worst month:

Again, I’m calling this one a tie:

• Nasim Nuñez (.124/.188/.135, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R, 5 SB, 98 PA, –10 wRC+, –0.9 fWAR). His good defense and baserunning can’t compensate for batting that is this bad.
• Tom Cosgrove (1–2, 14.46 RA/9, 11 G, 9⅓ IP, 9.6 K/9, 1.71 WHIP, –9.46 RE24, 2 shutdowns, 5 meltdowns, –1.4 RA9-WAR, –0.4 fWAR). On September 2, he was designated for assignment.

Best start:

• Cade Cavalli (August 13, 7–0 win over the Cubs at home) pitched 8 scoreless innings, giving up 1 hit and 2 walks while striking out 10 for a game score of 88. It was the best game score by a Nats pitcher since Stephen Strasburg pitched 8 scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts for a game score of 92 on August 31, 2019.

Worst start:

• Miles Mikolas (August 6, 7–3 loss to the Phillies in Philadelphia) gave up 6 runs on 12 hits and 1 walk in 5 innings with 1 strikeout for a game score of 19.

Tough losses:

• Cade Cavalli (August 2, 4–2 loss to the Braves in Atlanta) pitched 6 innings and gave up 3 runs (2 earned runs) on 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3 for a game score of 52. He left the game with the Nats trailing 3–2.
• Andrew Alvarez (August 14, 4–1 loss to the Mets in New York) pitched 5⅔ innings and gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 4 for a game score of 60. He left the game with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, a runner on first, and the score tied 1 to 1. The reliever, Jake Bird, gave up two singles to allow the inherited runner to score, and Alvarez was charged with the loss.
• Andrew Alvarez (August 20, 2–0 loss to the Rangers in Texas) pitched 5 innings and gave up 1 run on 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5 for a game score of 57. His opposing pitcher, Jacob deGrom, gave up just 1 hit in 6 scoreless innings.

Cheap win:

• None

Biggest shutdowns:

We have two that are essentially tied:

• Orlando Ribalta (August 29, 5–4 win over the Marlins in 10 innings at home). Ribalta got the call to pitch the top of the 10th inning in a game that was tied 4 to 4. He got the first batter on a flyball to short left field and struck out the second batter. The third batter, Otto Lopez, reached on an infield single, advancing the automatic runner to third base. Ribalta then struck out Jakob Marsee for the third out, having held them scoreless. (Win probability added/WPA +.313). The Nats scored in the bottom of the 10th for their first walk-off win.
• Erik Tolman (August 31, 6–3 win over the Marlins at home). When Tolman got the call in the top of the eighth inning, the Nats were ahead 6 to 3, but with the bases loaded and no outs, the lead was in jeopardy. Tolman got out of the jam by striking out the first batter, then getting the second to ground into a double play. Then he was asked to come back out in the top of the ninth to complete the save, and he did so by striking out the side. (WPA +.310)

Worst meltdown:

• Yovanny Cruz (August 15, 5–4 loss to the Mets in New York). When Cruz got the call to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning, the Nats were ahead 4 to 3. Cruz gave up a walk and a single to the first two batters. Then Francisco Alvarez hit a double down the left-field line to drive in the tying run, with runners on second and third and no outs. Cruz then got a strikeout for the first out. But the next batter, Francisco Lindor, hit a single to right field, giving the Mets a walk-off win. (WPA -.800)
• The runner-up is Tom Cosgrove (August 30, 6–2 loss to the Marlins at home). When Cosgrove got the call in the top of the ninth inning, the Nats were ahead 2 to 0, but the bases were loaded with one out. He hit the first batter he faced, allowing the first Marlins run to score. The second batter hit a sacrifice fly, scoring the runner from third. But then Cosgrove failed to back up the throw to third base, so when Jorbit Vivas let the throw get by him, it went into the dugout, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Cosgrove walked the next batter, putting runners on first and third. Then both runners took off for a double steal, and Cosgrove froze, allowing both runners to advance and another run to score. The next batter, Otto Lopez, then hit a two-run homer and the Nats were behind 6 to 2, before a ground out finally retired the side. (WPA –.700)

Walk off:

• Dylan Crews (August 29, 5–4 win over the Marlins in 10 innings at home). The score was tied 4 to 4 in the bottom of the 10th inning. The Marlins pitcher, Michael Petersen, had gotten the first two batters on a strikeout and a pop fly, but he then issued two walks to load the bases, bringing Crews to the plate. He hit a line drive single to right-center field, driving in the winning run and giving the Nats their first walk-off win in more than a year. (WPA +.339)

Clutch hit:

• Brady House (August 15, 5–4 loss to the Mets in New York). When House came to bat in the top of the sixth inning, there were runners on first and second with one out, and the Nats were trailing 2 to 1. House launched the ball down the left field line, and it bounced off the foul pole for a three-run home run, putting the Nats ahead 4 to 2, (WPA +.381) See the section, “Worst meltdown,” for the story of how the Nats went on to lose the game.
• For a clutch hit in a game the Nationals won, we have CJ Abrams (August 5, 10–4 win over the Phillies in 11 innings in Philadelphia). Coming to bat in the top of the 11th inning with the score tied 4 to 4, runners on first and second, and no outs, Abrams hit a triple off the center field wall to put the Nats ahead 6 to 4. (WPA +.355)

Choke:

• Harry Ford and Jorbit Vivas (August 30, 6–2 loss to the Marlins at home). In the bottom of the fifth inning, it was still a scoreless tie with no outs, and Vivas was at third base after drawing a walk, stealing second, and advancing to third on a throwing error. Ford smashed a ground ball down the third base line, and Vivas didn’t get back to the base quickly enough, allowing the third baseman to tag him out and throw to first for a double play. (WPA –.177)

Memorable fielding plays:

• Nasim Nuñez makes an incredible diving play.
• Dylan Crews makes a 4-star diving catch.
• Andrew Pinckney and CJ Abrams make a great throw and relay to gun down a runner at home.
• Nasim Nuñez and CJ Abrams team up to turn a great double play.
• Jacob Young has scaled center field walls before, but this Spiderman-style catch may be his best.
• Erik Tolman chases down a foul ball and makes an athletic catch.

Leaderboard watch:

The following Nationals players ended the month of August ranked among the top five players in the National League in the specified statistical categories. I also indicate where any player is ranked first in MLB.

• James Wood – first in on-base percentage (.393), third in slugging percentage (.535), second in on-base plus slugging (.928), tied for first in runs scored (MLB) (100), second in bases on balls (90), second in adjusted OPS+ (154), tied for third in runs created (101), second in offensive winning percentage (.739), tied for second in intentional bases on balls (9), fifth in AB per home run (14.6), fourth in isolated power (.270), second in weighted on-base average (wOBA) (.395), second in weighted runs created, wRC+ (150), first in walk percentage (16.8%), second in win probability added (3.27), third in RE24 (36.20)
• CJ Abrams – fourth in runs batted in (92), tied for fourth in hit by pitch (12), second in power-speed number (27.4), tied for second in errors committed (19)
• Nasim Nuñez – first in stolen bases (MLB) (44), tied for third in sacrifice hits (8), tied for fourth in caught stealing (8), second in assists (360)
• Drew Millas – tied for fourth in passed balls (5)
• Keibert Ruiz – tied for second in stolen bases allowed as catcher (61)
• Cade Cavalli – tied for fourth in strikeouts (177), tied for first in games started (MLB) (29), tied for third in hit by pitch (13)
• Clayton Beeter – first in wild pitches (10)