Who’s up for some Sunday morning baseball? Yes, the Nationals and Pirates will kick off this NFL Sunday with a special 11:35 a.m. first pitch on South Capitol Street. But it’s not one of those early Roku games. We’ve got you covered in full on MASN for this one, which has the extra early start because it’s the annual Nats on Base Abroad game.

Two members of the 2019 World Series roster (Adam Eaton and Brian Dozier) will be watching the game from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar alongside U.S. service members stationed there. Given the time difference, the Nationals got permission to move the start time up two hours from the usual Sunday first pitch.

As for the game itself, the Nationals and Pirates square off in the rubber match of the weekend series, each of the first two games won with late offense (Friday by the Nats, Saturday by the Bucs). The Nationals hope to continue to get quality starting pitching with Cade Cavalli on the mound. The right-hander makes his eighth big league start of the season, having just faced the Marlins twice in a row and allowed two runs in five innings each time, earning the win each time.

Pittsburgh sends Mike Burrows to the mound. The rookie right-hander has solid numbers (3.99 ERA, 1.237 WHIP, 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings) but he’s been restricted to no more than five innings and no more than 80 pitches since the end of July.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 11:35 a.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 79 degrees, wind 4 mph in from right field

After the surprising brilliance of Andrew Alvarez and the clutch performances of Dylan Crews and Robert Hassell III, the Nationals found themselves in position this evening to win a game in which they didn’t put a single man on base until the sixth inning.

It would’ve made for quite the uplifting outcome at the end of what was shaping up to be a disastrous day at the plate against Pirates rookie flamethrower Bubba Chandler.

Instead, the disaster came not at the plate but on the mound in the top of the eighth when three Nats relievers combined to allow four decisive runs via a flurry of walks and well-placed singles, the difference in a 5-1 loss on South Capitol Street.

What began as a scoreless pitchers’ duel between rookie starters Alvarez and Chandler, the latter of which was perfect through five innings, turned into a late bullpen meltdown, something the Nationals’ relief corps hadn’t experienced in a while.

"You're not going to be perfect all the time," interim manager Miguel Cairo said of a bullpen that has been among the majors' best units over an extended stretch. "The bullpen has been outstanding the last 3-4 weeks. Sometimes, you're just not going to have it. And you've got to move on, come back tomorrow and be good."

The first three home runs of Brady House’s career weren’t just pulled. They were pulled straight down the left field line. Good swings, all of them. But mirror images, pretty much, in each case.

That made Friday night’s homer during the Nationals’ 6-5 win over the Pirates significant. Because it didn’t look like the other homers. This time, House drove the ball to right-center.

Leading off the bottom of the sixth, with his team trailing 3-0 at the time, House jumped on a first-pitch slider from Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller and drove it 402 feet the other way, the ball clearing the out-of-town scoreboard in right-center for a solo shot that ignited the whole lineup.

“I saw it, and I just tried to be on time that at-bat,” the rookie third baseman said. “Just happened to go out, so I’m happy about it.”

It’s been a tough rookie season in some ways for House, who was called up in June with a reputation as one of the organization’s top power prospects. He slugged .519, connecting for 13 homers, in 283 plate appearances at Triple-A Rochester. But the power has dried up in the majors: Even with Friday’s blast, he’s slugging a mere .344 with four homers in 238 plate appearances at the highest level.

Friday night’s series opener against the Pirates turned into a wild one, even though the first five innings were pretty uneventful. The Nationals came back from a 3-0 deficit to score six runs in the sixth and seventh innings, taking a 6-3 lead into the ninth. Then Jose A. Ferrer nearly blew the entire lead, only to be bailed out by James Wood’s perfect throw from left field to the plate for the second-to-last out of what wound up a 6-5 victory.

They’re back at it later this afternoon, with a matchup of rookies who have a combined six major league appearances between them.

Andrew Alvarez makes his third career start, and his first two have gone exceptionally well. The left-hander tossed five scoreless in his debut against the Marlins, then held the Cubs to two runs over 4 2/3 innings last time out. Now he faces a Pittsburgh lineup that has scored the fewest runs in baseball this season (532). (For comparison’s sake, the Nats have scored 632 runs, which ranks 20th out of 30 clubs.

Alvarez wasn’t considered a top prospect. Bubba Chandler definitely was, the third-round pick in the 2021 Draft entering this season as a top-15 prospect in the sport by multiple outlets. The Pirates used the right-hander in relief three times, now he makes his second start (though he got rocked by the Brewers for nine runs in 2 2/3 innings in that previous start.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 82 degrees, wind 5 mph out to left field

The Nationals knew all along James Wood was going to strike out a lot. And truth be told, when you glance at baseball’s strikeout leaderboard, you see a bunch of names with serious star power: Kyle Schwarber, Rafael Devers, Cal Raleigh and Shohei Ohtani all rank in the top 10 this season. Most high-strikeout guys are also high-production guys.

At the top of the list, though, stands Wood, who tonight tied and then broke the Nats’ club record with his 199th and 200th strikeouts of the season.

Ah, but there's more to Wood’s game than whiffs and called third strikes. He may not be producing in the second half of the season the way he did in the first, but he still has the ability to impact ballgames by impacting the baseball with extreme force. And, as it turns out, by firing baseballs to the plate from his position in left field.

Sure enough, what did Wood do tonight after striking out in his first two at-bats? He doubled twice, each of them coming in key moments that helped the Nationals rally from three runs down to take a three-run lead against the Pirates. And then, just when it looked like Jose A. Ferrer was about to blow his first save opportunity since becoming the closer more than a month ago, Wood fired a perfect strike to the plate to nail the potential tying run in the top of the ninth, helping secure the Nationals' 6-5 victory.

"He does insane things I've never seen players do before," third baseman Brady House said of his fellow 22-year-old. "It's almost like, it's awesome that he got the out, but I wasn't surprised at all. It's James. He does things that you can't imagine sometimes." 

MacKenzie Gore reported no issues with his shoulder the day after his return from the 15-day injured list, and the Nationals ace appears good to return to his regular five-day routine to finish out the season.

Gore, who missed the minimum allowable time on the IL with left shoulder inflammation, returned to start Thursday night’s game in Miami and allowed two runs over five solid innings, pulled after 78 pitches.

“He’s feeling good,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “It was good to see him come out and pitch five innings and be healthy. That’s the most important thing. But he’s feeling good.”

The left-hander was encouraged after the game, admitting he felt a little rusty in the first inning (during which both runs scored) but pleased he got sharper as the outing progressed. He retired seven of the last eight batters he faced.

“I thought we were fine,” Gore said. “Able to get through five. We knew we were going to stay around 75 (pitches). Just move forward from this. I felt much better than the last time out.”

There’s no rest for the weary. The Nationals just completed a seven-day road trip that concluded with a getaway night game in Miami. And now they’re right back to work tonight in the opener of a seven-game homestand against the Pirates and Braves that will include a day-night doubleheader Tuesday. Nobody said this would be easy.

Twenty-seven of the current 28 members of the Nationals’ active roster arrived early this morning from Miami. Brad Lord, on the other hand, flew home late Thursday afternoon, giving him a chance to get a good night’s sleep in advance of his start tonight. The rookie right-hander had a much-needed, bounceback start last weekend at Wrigley Field after back-to-back ugly outings, so hopefully he’s on track again and ready to finish the season strong. He faced the Pirates way back on April 14 at PNC Park, allowing four runs in 4 1/3 innings, taking the loss to Paul Skenes that evening.

The Nationals won’t be seeing Skenes this weekend, because he pitched Wednesday in Baltimore and will next pitch Monday in Pittsburgh. It’ll be veteran Mitch Keller, who unfortunately is best remembered around here for throwing the fastball that hit Paul DeJong in the face during that April series. Keller was quick to check on DeJong that night and apologize to him, so there’s no bad blood whatsoever between the two.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 77 degrees, wind 7 mph in from right field

PIRATES
SS Jared Triolo
1B Spencer Horwitz
RF Bryan Reynolds
DH Andrew McCutchen
2B Nick Gonzales
CF Oneil Cruz
3B Cam Devanney
LF Ji Hwan Bae
C Henry Davis

It’s been a long season, and given what occurred in July, it would be understandable if any Nationals fans out there saw their interest in the team wane in the ensuing months.

But if you’ve lost track, or have just turned your attention to football, it’s worth noting that we have now officially reached the home stretch of the 2025 season. The Nats have only 16 games left to play, which equates to one-tenth of the season.

It’s pretty much too late for anyone to change the narrative of the season as a whole, or on any individual level. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still a few things at stake over these final two weeks. Here are several to keep an eye on (when you’re not watching football) …

* James Wood’s homers and strikeouts
It’s been an incredibly disappointing second half for the young star. Go back to July 3, and he was on pace for 43 homers, 125 RBIs and 190 strikeouts. Now, he finds himself needing to homer three more times just to finish with 30, to drive in 12 more runs just to get to 100. As for the strikeouts, well, that rate has skyrocketed. He’s already at 198, well ahead of his previous pace. That means he’s only one shy of Adam Dunn’s single-season club record from 2010. More concerning, he’s only 25 away from Mark Reynolds’ major-league record of 223 from 2009 with the Diamondbacks.

* CJ Abrams’ push for 20-30
Abrams is sitting on 17 homers, so he needs three more to match last season’s total of 20. He’s already got 30 stolen bases, so he just needs to hit for some power to join the 20-30 Club for the second straight year.

MIAMI – MacKenzie Gore did his part in his return from the 15-day injured list. His teammates didn’t exactly do their part to help give their ace a chance to win in his return to the mound.

Despite getting five solid innings of two-run ball from Gore in his first start back from a mild case of shoulder inflammation, the Nationals again didn’t play clean baseball in the field and did precious little of consequence at the plate during a 5-0 loss to the Marlins.

And what a few days ago looked like a rousing road trip to begin September finished as something far less. With back-to-back losses to close out this four-game series at loanDepot Park, the Nats now head home having gone a respectable-but-not-dominant 4-3 on this trip to Chicago and Miami.

"We had a good road trip, a winning road trip," interim manager Miguel Cairo said. "The guys are playing hard. They keep fighting. But it was a good road trip in general."

Tonight’s finale, played before an announced crowd of 10,110 that brought the total paid attendance for the four-game series up to 35,774, saw the Nationals get shut out for the 12th time this season. It saw Cairo’s lineup manage seven hits, all of them singles, while drawing zero walks.

MIAMI – James Wood is getting a rare day off, the Nationals slugger finding himself on the bench for tonight’s series finale against the Marlins.

It’s only the fourth time in his big league career Wood hasn’t been in the Nats’ starting lineup. All four have come within the last two months, since interim manager Miguel Cairo replaced Davey Martinez.

Why tonight? Cairo described the decision as involving a combination of Miami’s starting pitcher (left-hander Ryan Weathers) and the artificial turf at loanDepot Park.

“We’re playing on turf, and I want to make sure,” Cairo said. “He’s been DHing, playing the outfield. I told him whenever Ryan Weathers was going to pitch, I was going to give him a little break for his knees and his body. Believe me, he’s been playing a lot, and he’s been unbelievable. One day won’t be bad for him.”

Wood started the first 174 games of his career before sitting July 13 in the Nationals’ first half finale in Milwaukee. He also was held out of the lineup July 28 in Houston and Aug. 17 against the Phillies (though he came off the bench for one at-bat in that one).

MIAMI – We have reached the end of the road trip at last. The Nationals and Marlins square off one final time tonight at loanDepot Park, the Nats seeking to head home with a 5-2 record on the trip through Chicago and Miami and improve to 8-2 overall in September. And they’ve got their ace back on the mound after a two-week layoff.

MacKenzie Gore has been activated off the 15-day injured list, his left shoulder feeling fine after missing a couple of starts. He’s raring to go and looking to close out his season on a better note after struggling since the All-Star break. If all goes well, Gore would be on track to make four starts down the stretch, so tonight’s outing against the Marlins provides a good first step toward a good finish.

Fellow left-hander Ryan Weathers starts for Miami, and he’s been quite good when healthy. He’s made only five major league starts this season, with two IL stints sprinkled in there (one for a flexor strain, one for a lat strain). This will mark his return after a three-month layoff. It’s also his first appearance against the Nationals since April 2024 (when he allowed six runs over four innings).

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MIAMI MARLINS
Where: loanDepot Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Dylan Crews
C Riley Adams
LF Daylen Lile
1B Andrés Chaparro
3B Brady House 
DH Paul DeJong
2B Nasim Nuñez
CF Jacob Young

MIAMI – You would think three night games at loanDepot Park in front of announced crowds under 10,000 would be enough. But guess what, there's still one more game to be played in this four-game series, and it's yet another night game!

The Nationals saw their winning streak against the Marlins end at five with Wednesday night's ugly, 8-3 loss. That was only their second loss in nine total games so far in September, so the unsightly performance wasn't consistent with the quality of play we had seen over the majority of the last week and a half. And tonight's game sees the surprise return of MacKenzie Gore to the mound exactly 15 days after he landed on the IL with left shoulder inflammation.

It's been a while since we did one of these Q&A's. And since there wasn't really anything else to follow up on from Wednesday's game, let's open the floor this morning to your questions. Please leave them in the comments section below, then check back throughout the morning for my responses ...

MIAMI – The Nationals’ first loss to the Marlins in six head-to-head matchups this month came amid a flurry of ground ball singles, defensive gaffes and red-hot emotions that may have gotten the best of them.

During the critical sequence of events that led to tonight’s 8-3 loss at loanDepot Park, both interim manager Miguel Cairo and starting pitcher Jake Irvin were ejected by crew chief Laz Diaz, Irvin shortly after he had been pulled from the game.

The ejections were a direct result of a controversial call made by Diaz’s crew during the decisive bottom of the sixth, but it would be understandable if both Cairo and Irvin’s emotions were so high because of their own team’s shaky play in the moments that preceded the actual controversial call.

This, to be sure, was an ugly game, not to mention a winnable game until Miami blew it open late. The Nationals did not win because they gave up four runs in the sixth and another in the seventh despite very little loud contact off Irvin and the bullpen, but rather a series of ground balls that either found holes or were misplayed by defenders.

"We could've been sharper," Cairo said. "Irvin was pitching really good, and I kind of feel bad for him, because he was dealing. We could've been sharper."

MIAMI – When MacKenzie Gore said Tuesday he planned on pitching again this season, he actually meant he planned on pitching again this week.

Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo announced today that Gore, having recovered from left shoulder inflammation, will be activated off the 15-day injured list Thursday and start his team’s series finale against the Marlins.

“I think it was good to just let him make sure his shoulder was fine, and it wasn’t that bad,” Cairo said. “I’m glad that he’s back, and he’s going to start tomorrow.”

It’s a rapid return for Gore, who was placed on the IL on Aug. 30 (retroactive to Aug. 27). He expressed optimism all along the move was only precautionary and that he’d back pitching for the Nats as soon as possible.

Turns out he’ll be pitching on the first day he’s eligible to return, having completed a bullpen session Tuesday at loanDepot Park with no issues and declaring himself ready to go.

MIAMI – The Nationals’ September to remember continues, the team having now opened this final month of the season 7-1, including five straight wins over the Marlins. And there are still two more games to go in this series at loanDepot Park, where they’ll try to do it again tonight and move to within 4 1/2 games of third place in the NL East.

This hot streak has been sparked by good offensive production from up and down the lineup. As a team, the Nats boast an .825 OPS through the first eight games of the month, blasting 14 homers (four of those by Josh Bell over the last three days). And they’ve already done damage to the guy they’re facing tonight: Eury Perez, who allowed seven runs in four innings last week at Nationals Park, with Nasim Nunez and Brady House each homering off the young right-hander.

Jake Irvin, remarkably, has not faced the Marlins yet this season. And he only faced them once in 2024, way back in April when he allowed two runs over six innings. As such, only one current member of Miami’s active roster has ever stepped into the box against Irvin in the big leagues: Joey Wiemer, who went 0-for-2 while playing for the Brewers in July 2023. Perhaps unfamiliarity will play into Irvin’s hands tonight as he tries to extend the Nationals’ winning streak.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MIAMI MARLINS
Where: loanDepot Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
DH James Wood
1B Josh Bell
2B Luis García Jr.
C Jorge Alfaro
3B Brady House
RF Dylan Crews
CF Robert Hassell III

MIAMI – The situation was almost comical, until you realized how painful it also was and how upsetting it must have been for everyone associated with the Nationals who nearly ran out of catchers during Tuesday night’s 7-5 win over the Marlins.

Riley Adams had already been forced to leave the game after taking a foul ball off his groin in the bottom of the second. Now, seven innings later, Jorge Alfaro had the exact same thing happen to him, leaving the veteran stunned and trying to walk it off as interim manager Miguel Cairo rushed from the dugout to check on him.

Keibert Ruiz and Drew Millas were already on the injured list. Adams was out of the game. What would the Nats have done if Alfaro had to depart as well?

Hey, Andres Chaparro, how about you try on a catcher’s mask and mitt and see how it goes.

Chaparro, a first baseman and designated hitter who has never caught as a professional ballplayer, did indeed don the bare minimum tools of ignorance to catch Mitchell Parker’s warm-up pitches prior to the bottom of the third Tuesday night while Alfaro put his gear back on after batting in the top of the inning. Chaparro didn’t exactly look comfortable back there, but he would’ve been the guy if the team needed an emergency catcher.

MIAMI – The National League East standings still show the fifth-place Nationals trailing the third-place Marlins by 5 1/2 games. If you’ve watched the five games played between these two clubs over the last eight days, you would never believe that.

Based strictly on these recent head-to-head matchups, it’s impossible to view the Nats as the inferior team. They have so thoroughly dominated Miami while winning five straight, it doesn’t compute that they’ve got the lesser record over the entirety of the season.

Tonight’s 7-5 victory, featuring yet another Josh Bell homer and one of Mitchell Parker’s best starts of the year before things got a bit hairy during the bottom of the ninth, was the latest example. The Nationals have now won these five consecutive head-to-head matchups by the combined score of 39-19. They’re also now 7-1 in September, having also taken two of three from the playoff-contending Cubs over the weekend in Chicago.

"It's not always going to be a masterpiece," interim manager Miguel Cairo said. "But they battled. We got good at-bats. We scored some runs. The most important thing is we got a W. We've just got to keep going and keep playing the way we've been playing."

Offense has been at the forefront of this recent surge, but tonight the Nats also got a long-awaited pitching gem from Parker.

MIAMI – Keibert Ruiz rejoined the Nationals today, though not under the circumstances he or the club preferred.

After taking another foul ball off his facemask and experiencing a recurrence of concussion symptoms, Ruiz was pulled off his rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg and flown down to Miami to meet with team doctors and determine the next course of action.

“It’s really frustrating that I’ve been dealing with this for what, two months?” said Ruiz, who has been on the 7-day concussion injured list since July 6. “But I feel obviously better than the first time I got hit. I’m just trusting in god that everything’s going to be alright.”

Ruiz, who initially was struck by a foul ball June 23 while in the dugout in San Diego, then again while behind the plate July 5 in Washington, began his minor league rehab assignment one week ago. He successfully caught five innings in Tuesday’s debut with Harrisburg, then served as designated hitter Wednesday, then caught six innings Thursday.

He took another foul ball off his mask during the bottom of the second Thursday, though he remained in the game and finished out his planned six innings behind the plate before departing. He said he felt fine throughout that game and didn’t experience any concussion symptoms until the following day, which he reported to the team.

MIAMI – The Nationals and Marlins have played each other a lot over the last week, and there’s still three more games to go in this series. That familiarity means a lot of familiar pitching matchups. We saw Cade Cavalli face Miami for the second straight outing Monday night. And tonight we’ll see both Mitchell Parker and Adam Mazur face these opposing lineups for the second straight time.

Parker had his best start in weeks when he faced the Marlins on Wednesday afternoon in D.C. He carried a shutout into the fifth before allowing four runs (only two earned). It was an important step forward for the struggling left-hander, who managed to get his ERA back under 6.00. Now, can he continue that positive trend tonight against the same opponent?

Mazur started for Miami the previous night and took the loss to Cavalli. The rookie right-hander, in his 11th career start, gave up five runs (four earned) on 10 hits in six innings, giving up a homer to James Wood and doubles to CJ Abrams, Daylen Lile, Riley Adams and Dylan Crews. The Nats would love to keep that kind of offensive production going, especially after exploding for 15 runs here Monday night.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MIAMI MARLINS
Where: loanDepot Park
Gametime: 6:40 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Indoors

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
1B Josh Bell
DH Daylen Lile
2B Luis García Jr.
C Riley Adams
3B Brady House
RF Dylan Crews
CF Jacob Young

MIAMI – Cade Cavalli had been in the visitors’ clubhouse at loanDepot Park several times previously. Not because he was a member of the Nationals’ big league roster, but because he had been rehabbing from injuries in nearby West Palm Beach and drove down to Miami when the Nats were in town playing the Marlins to meet with coaches and trainers and feel like part of the roster for at least a few days.

When he entered Monday afternoon, Cavalli recognized the difference. This time, he was on the active roster. This time, he wasn’t just throwing a bullpen session. This time, he was starting that night’s game for the Nationals.

“I felt that exact emotion when I walked in here,” the right-hander said. “I was like: Dang, it was three years in a row of checking in with people, from 2022 up til now that I’ve been here as a rehabber. And now I’m in here as a player. It just takes me back through the journey that I’ve been on. I’m really grateful that god has given me the health to be here and to be a teammate with these guys and be able to go compete for them. It’s really good emotions that came through.”

Cavalli would have felt that way regardless of the results of Monday night’s game. The fact he also pitched well over five efficient innings and emerged with his third career win only sweetened the deal.

It’s taken a lot longer than anyone would have expected, but the Nationals’ 2020 first round pick is finally a healthy, productive member of the big league rotation. Monday represented his seventh start of the season, the eighth of his career. He’s now 3-1 with a 4.67 ERA that’s a bit misleading because of one blowup start at Yankee Stadium two weeks ago that skewered his stats. Throw that one out, and Cavalli is 3-0 with a 3.06 ERA.