Today marks the 20th Opening Day of Washington Nationals baseball. From those immortal words from 20 years ago from former D.C. Mayor, Anthony Williams, “Baseball is back in Washington D.C.” to the present, this marks another milestone of two decades of Nationals baseball. This season also coincides with the 100th anniversary of Washington’s first World Series win in 1924, and the fifth year since the Nationals won their World Series in 2019.
With three games under our belts, and a gut-punch blown-save-loss yesterday, we are seeing what the personality of this team is in the here-and-now. The Nats are in second place in the NL East, and will have a chance to get back to .500 today.
Honors for this Opening Day, with all the pomp and circumstance, LHP MacKenzie Gore was named to start this game. The Nationals will start the day much like the previous 19 Opening Days in a tried and true fashion by melding baseball and American patriotism of the Red, White, and Blue together with welcoming families to Nationals Park. Arrive early as gates are set to open at 2pm with a giveaway of cherry blossom bucket hats to the first 20,000 fans sponsored by PenFed, and if you are watching on TV, the MASN pregame is an hour long today.
From the patriotic bunting, to the unfurling of the largest American flag, to D.C. Washington singing the Star Spangled Banner, and a military flyover by the 7th Fighter Training Squadron, this is Opening Day in the nation’s capital.
There will be Clydesdales parading around Nationals Park in the pregame along with the Blue Styles NOLA 2nd Marching Band, and music blaring over loudspeakers from Navy Yard bars and restaurants, and even activities for the children on the concourse inside Nationals Park. Inside Nationals Park, fans will be treated to live music from 19th Street Band and DJ Stylus Chris, caricature artists, face painters, balloon twisters and photo ops.
Former D.C. mayor, Anthony Williams, the recipient of the 2024 Power of Baseball Award, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Current D.C. Mayor, Muriel Bowser, will give the official call to “Play Ball!” First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m.
Happy Hour at Nationals Park begins when gates open and goes until first pitch at the Budweiser Brewhouse, Budweiser Terrace and ULTRA Loft. On Happy Hour specials are 12-oz. cans of Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob Ultra are just $5, and 12-oz. cans of Bud Light Seltzer are just $6.
“We are coming off one of the best Spring Training camps that we have had since I became the manager. I truly believe that. This group worked as hard as any club out there every single day, and they pushed each other to be their absolute best every time they took the field.”
— manager Dave Martinez said in a statement
This will be the Nats first game facing a lefty starter as the Pirates will go with Marco Gonzales who pitched 10 games last year to a 5.22 ERA. The 32-year-old veteran pitcher was with Seattle last year. It is hard to believe, but Gonzales has only faced the Nats one time, and that was back in 2015 and he got hit hard with a 13.50 ERA.
We will see the lineup that manager Dave Martinez puts together facing a lefty today. Expect that Victor Robles will be in center field for his first start of 2024.
Game time temperature for first pitch is forecasted to be around 59 degrees which will be the high temp for today. The rain is supposed to end before first pitch.
The Nats could have chosen to pitch Josiah Gray on one day of extra rest or go with their No. 5 starter Trevor Williams Wednesday, and they decided to stick with Williams. The second turn in the rotation starts on Thursday with Gray. Expect Patrick Corbin to start on Friday against the Phillies followed by Jake Irvin on Saturday, and Gore on Sunday.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 4:05 pm EDT
TV: MASN
Radio: 106.7 The Fan radio and via the MLB app; In Spanish on DC 87.7 FM and La Pantera 100.7 FM/1220 AM. Sirius/XM The Nats will be on Channel 177 and online for the opposing team
Line-up subject to change (without notice):
TalkNats is Celebrating the 5 and 100 year anniversaries of World Series Wins by providing Game-by-Game Summaries.
Game 4:
The 2019 Nationals lost on 04/2 at home against the Phillies by the score of 2-8 in a Max Scherzer start and a bullpen collapse resulting in a record of 1-3. Box Score / Standings
The 1924 Senators won on 04/19 at home against the Yankees by the score of 8-2 resulting in a record of 2-2. Box Score / Standings
