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ATLANTA – No matter how this final week finishes, Brad Lord has already entrenched himself as one of the Nationals’ best storylines in an otherwise disappointing 2025 season.
The former 18th-round pick out of the University of South Florida spent last offseason working at Home Depot before getting himself ready for what he thought was going to be another season grinding through the minor leagues. Instead, the 25-year-old broke camp with the Nats and spent the entire season in the majors.
Even while going back and forth between the starting rotation and bullpen, Lord has been one of the most consistent pitchers for the Nats. And that stayed true tonight despite him suffering a tough-luck 3-2 loss to the Braves in front of 37,322 fans at Truist Park.
Lord also faced off against fellow rookie Hurston Waldrep last week. And although he was credited with a no-decision, the Nats fell 9-4 after Lord departed the game with 3-0 lead in the sixth.
Tonight was a similar game, although this time Lord was saddled with the loss despite once again holding the Braves mostly in check.
"I think it goes back to having a good plan. Me and Riley (Adams) being on the same page and just working ahead," Lord said of facing the Braves in consecutive starts. "I kind of like facing them back-to-back like that because it's still really fresh in my mind how to attack them and everything. So I feel like there's an advantage and disadvantage to it."
With an even mix of his fastball, slider and sinker, Lord retired 13 of the first 14 batters he faced. Only one ball left the infield against him: Jurickson Profar’s leadoff single in the first. But the second ball to leave the infield also left the yard.
Michael Harris II didn’t miss an inside fastball from Lord with one out in the fifth and tied the game at 1-1. It was just the 10th longball Lord has surrendered this season.
But then Lord gave up his 11th with another solo shot, to Ronald Acuña Jr., with two outs in the sixth. The Braves outfielder jumped on the right-hander’s first-pitch slider to give the home team a 2-1 lead.
“We were getting quick outs. We were working ahead," Lord said. "Really, I gotta tip my cap on the one to Harris. I mean, it was a good inside pitch and he hit it. And kind of the same thing with Acuña. It was just up a little bit and he made me pay. They're good hitters. They're a hot team right now. But overall, I'm pleased with how it went.”
Lord completed his six innings with four hits, two runs on two solo homers, one walk and four strikeouts on 96 pitches, 63 strikes. He finished the night with a 4.12 ERA overall on the year. Over his 18 starts, he has a 4.70 ERA.
“It was good," interim manager Miguel Cairo said. "He was throwing. Just a couple of fastballs that he left over the plate. But he was dealing. He pitched good. He threw a good fastball, a good slider, good changeups. He was attacking the zone. That's Lord right there.”
This was likely going to be Lord’s last outing of the year. But with the news today that MacKenzie Gore has landed on the 15-day injured list with a right ankle impingement, Lord could be in line to start Sunday’s season finale against the White Sox.
“That's something that we got to talk about it," Cairo said when asked if Lord will make one more start this weekend. "We're just going to talk about it to see how we're going to work it out. But he did a really good job today.”
Offensively, the Nats had little going against Waldrep. After scoring three runs in five innings against the right-hander last week, they only managed one run on five hits and four walks over six innings tonight.
The one run came in the third to give the Nats an early lead. With two outs, Nasim Nuñez and James Wood drew back-to-back walks, with CJ Abrams driving in Nuñez for a 1-0 advantage.
The Nats wasted opportunities to add more by leaving the bases loaded in the third and stranding another scoring opportunity 90 feet away from home in the fourth.
Those loomed large after Harris hit his second homer in his next at-bat after his first one. This time it came against Konnor Pilkington as Harris led off the bottom of the seventh, giving the Braves a 3-1 lead. Wood would go on to hit his 28th homer of the year leading off the top of the eighth, but that would be the last bit of offense the Nats could muster.
It was Wood’s first homer since Sept. 2 and just his fourth since July 9. He finished the night 2-for-3 with a walk, a double and the homer. But perhaps more importantly, he did not strike out despite getting to two strikes in three of his four plate appearances. He remains eight away from Mark Reynolds’ single-season strikeout record.
“It would have been nice to get the win, but it felt good," Wood said. "I've been talking to a lot of teammates just trying to find out what type of adjustments to make. So it's kind of good to see. I mean, I feel like I've tried everything. So it felt good to see some of them work.”
But Lord remained the most impressive tonight, despite the Nats’ sixth straight loss to the Braves. And if this is the last time we see him pitch this season, it leaves confidence that he could be a consistent contributor in 2026.
“It's been a season of changes. Going to the 'pen and going back to starting a couple of times," Lord said. "I'm pretty pleased with how I handled it. Obviously, there are some rough outings in there and those are always going to happen. But overall, I feel like it was a pretty good season.”
