Game #154 Trevor Williams is back!

The Washington Nationals called up Trevor Williams today to face the Cubs, a team he played for in 2021. Williams had spent over three months on the IL and makes it back with a chance to pitch today and next week. Williams two-year contract is up after this season, and he can head back to free agency. What this does for the Nats is that they can go with a 6-man rotation and push back each pitcher with an extra rest day.

Last night, the Nats blew another lead and suffered another 1-run loss. They are now 14-22 in 1-run games (.389 winning %). They are 5-11 (awful .313 winning %) in extra inning games. Now consider this: four of the extra inning losses were by more than 1-run. That means the Nats have finished 40-games when tied or trailing by 1-run in the 9th inning and in those games have a 14-26 record (a pathetic .350 winning %). You flip that around to 26-14 and the Nats are 80-73. Close to a playoff team. Certainly a winning team.

The Nats need to go 4-5 or better to beat their 2023 win total. How great would that be to finish in the mid-70’s for a win total? For the remainder of the season, the Nats will face teams with winning records with postseason aspirations on the line.

The Nats are deep underdogs today, at +140 to win on the moneyline. That means if you bet $100 you would win $140. Bet $10.00 and you win $14.00.

Nats’ manager Dave Martinez has not used Kyle Finnegan since the weekend. Robert Garcia was used last night and he looked rusty after also not being used since the weekend. Of note, Zach Brzykcy was optioned back to Triple-A today and the bullpen goes back to 8 relievers.

Here is a look at the matchups:

1. Friday: Trevor Williams vs. Cubs
2. Saturday: MacKenzie Gore vs. Cubs
3. Sunday Jake Irvin vs. Cubs
4. Monday: Day-off September 23
5. Tuesday: Mitchell Parker vs. Royals
6. Wednesday: DJ Herz vs. Royals
7. Thursday: Patrick Corbin vs. Royals
8. Friday: Williams vs. Phillies
9. Saturday: Gore vs. Phillies
10. Sunday: Irvin vs. Phillies (Final Game of the Season)

Your top Washington Nationals on the FanGraphs’ WAR leaderboard has Luis Garcia Jr. at a WAR of +2.9, and Jacob Young at +2.5. CJ Abrams is at +1.9WAR. There are 30 Nats’ players in positive WAR with another 7.

“On that play, he’s got to come home. I looked back and thought he had an out. Plus the [baserunner] was running in the grass. He’s got to throw the ball home there. You can’t just give up the go-ahead run like that.”

— Nats’ manager Dave Martinez said after yesterday’s game

The Nats starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 4.46 and 23rd in MLB.

Here is how they rank:

No. 5 Starter: Patrick Corbin 5.58
No. 4 Starter: Mitchell Parker 4.44
No. 3 Starter:  DJ Herz 4.30
No. 2 Starter: MacKenzie Gore 4.17
No. 1 Starter: Jake Irvin 4.07

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Washington Nationals vs. Chicago Cubs

Stadium: Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
1st Pitch: 2:20 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. On Sirius/XM, tune to Channel 175 for the home broadcast and the road team is online only.

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Line-up subject to change (without notice):

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TalkNats is celebrating the 5 and 100 year anniversaries of World Series Wins by providing Game-by-Game Summaries.

Game 154:

The Nationals lost on 09/22 at Miami and that moved the Nats record to 84-68. The Nats were in second place in the NL East on that day. But you knew this already. Box Score / Standings
The Senators lost on 09/30 on the road against the Boston Red Sox resulting in a record of 92-62. The Senators have sole possession of first place and ahead of the Yankees. Box Score / Standings This was the final game of their season.