Why the Nationals, who lead MLB in errors, now address their mistakes in the open

The Washington Nationals keep making mistakes.

But what is the actual fallout when that happens, and how does that differ from previous seasons?
www.nytimes.com/athletic/721...

Final: Braves 9, Nationals 4

The Nats did not play clean baseball in a five-run sixth. That turned the tides.

Record: 10-13

It's been about a month since I first asked you all about your experience w/ the Nats' new streaming and cable options.

Following up: How are you watching games now? How has it changed, if at all, from past years or even from Opening Day? Let me know: www.nytimes.com/athletic/mlb...

Nationals throw their first shutout of 2026 in the weirdest way imaginable It took three arms, including a waiver claim and a starter by trade to complete the shutout, but the Nationals made it happen Sunday.

They used a reliever as a starter and two starters in relief.

They acquired the trio via waivers, free agency and the 12th round of the MLB draft.

They have used 20 arms so far. It’s April 19.

Welcome new era Nats, one shutout in:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/721...

Final: Nationals 3, Giants 0

The Nats opted for an opener and two bulk arms. It worked perfectly. Really nice effort from PJ Poulin, Miles Mikolas and Andrew Alvarez, who combine to throw the first shutout of the Nats season.

Record: 10-12

The Nationals are recalling Andrew Alvarez from Triple-A Rochester, per sources.

The lefty has 25 strikeouts over his last three starts and a 4.66 ERA on the season. Made five starts with the Nats last year.

Final: Giants 10, Nationals 5

Washington (6.12 ERA) has allowed 10+ runs in 5 of its first 20 games. Zack Littell allowed 8 ER for the second time in his career. James Wood hit the longest opposite field HR by a hitter since 2023.

Record: 9-11

Nationals cap impressive roadtrip with wild win + Kevin Frandsen makes District Territory debut! Podcast Episode · District Territory · April 17 · 36m

Apple pods: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...

Nationals cap impressive roadtrip with wild win + Kevin Frandsen makes District Territory debut!

Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0Wj6...

Nationals cap impressive roadtrip with wild win and Kevin Frandsen joins | District Territory YouTube video by District Territory

YouTube: youtu.be/WGqRccwvoeY?...

Huge addition to the pod: We’ve got 3 hosts now.

@kevinfrandsen19.bsky.social joins Eric Shellhouse and me as a full-time host on District Territory. Game changer. First episode with the 3 of us is out now!

Final: Nationals 8, Pirates 7 (10)

Many, many lead changes. 4 times on base for CJ Abrams. Go-ahead RBI from James Wood. First career save from Orlando Ribalta. 5-2 road trip.

Record: 9-10

Hey Bob! Indeed, was battling hotel WiFi, so it cut out… was Jacob Young!

Final: Pirates 2, Nationals 0

Washington is shut out for the first time this year. Pittsburgh scored both runs with two outs in the first with a walk and three soft singles. Jake Irvin and Brad Lord pitched well.

Record: 8-10

Nationals’ CJ Abrams looks like a top-5 hitter in MLB. He’s determined to maintain it For as hot as Abrams has gotten before, he has never been this incandescent to start a season.

CJ Abrams looks like a top-5 hitter in MLB. He’s determined to maintain it this year.

On what makes this hot start different from the other ones, and which details suggest he could keep it up:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...

Six Nationals stats that might actually matter from K/9 to in-zone rates Though a 16-game sample is still too small for absolutes and conclusions, there are meaningful metrics to extract from these Nationals.

The sample is too small for absolutes and conclusions.

But there are numbers — some predictive, others significant — that have defined this Nationals season and are worth watching moving forward:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...

Final: Pirates 16, Nationals 5

Paul Skenes allowed one hit, a homer to CJ Abrams. Cade Cavalli's command wavered. Six pitchers, one of whom was actually just Joey Wiemer, allowed 16 hits.

Record: 7-9

As Skenes vs. Cavalli is about to begin, had yet another hypothetical I wanted to open up to the live chat. Pop in throughout the game, but mostly to answer this:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/mlb...

The Nationals have added lefty Mitchell Parker to their taxi squad, per source.

Out of nowhere, the Nationals offense looks like a juggernaut | District Territory New show alert! Welcome to District Territory: A Washington Nationals Podcast. @batboysbaseball Eric Shellhouse and The Athletic's Spencer Nusbaum host. The hosts talk about James Wood raking atop the lineup, the revived pre-game preparation and share our thoughts on CJ Abrams, the bullpen and the upcoming matchup between Paul Skenes and Cade Cavalli. Subscribe on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts! District Territory is your Foul Territory Network home for in-depth Natitde year-round.

Fired up to launch a Nats podcast!

Make sure you subscribe / follow / etc. as we cover what has become a fascinating org.

Subscribe: bit.ly/3QB1LXf
Listen: bit.ly/4tIlse4

The Nationals modernized their meetings. It’s produced one of MLB’s best offenses The Nationals now have the second-best offense in MLB on a per-game basis, trailing only the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“In years’ past … it felt like we were going through the motions a little bit in terms of the meetings.”

That’s no longer the case in D.C.

How the Nationals manufactured one of the best offenses in MLB, one PowerPoint at a time:
www.nytimes.com/athletic/719...

Final: Nationals 8, Brewers 6

The two best offenses in MLB belong to the L.A. Dodgers and the Washington Nationals. No Nats team has ever scored this many runs (89) over its first 15 games. Today, 3 players had an RBI off the bench. Survived 4 HRs. Swept Milwaukee.

Record: 7-8

Final: Nationals 3, Brewers 1

Foster Griffin carried a no-hitter through five. Clayton Beeter stranded the bases loaded in the ninth. Series win with a chance to sweep in MIL.

Record: 6-8

Final: Nationals 7, Brewers 3

They out Milwaukeed Milwaukee with small ball. James Wood outdid himself yet again with four hits. Jake Irvin and the bullpen figured it out after the first.

Record: 5-8

Answers on that last question ranged from Max Scherzer to Andrew Stevenson.

Got one more for you that I’ve been thinking about… tell me what you think in here: www.nytimes.com/athletic/mlb...

Nats Bluesky!

Been chewing on this hypothetical myself and figured I’d open it up to the live chat. If you’ve got a take, drop it here: www.nytimes.com/athletic/mlb...

The Nats have had a top-5 offense and a bottom-5 pitching staff in 2026.

If you have Qs about why this is or what comes next, I’ll be live chatting during tonight’s game (7:40 ET) w/ sourced insight.

Let’s ride! Link if you’ve got early Qs: www.nytimes.com/athletic/mlb...

Three Nationals takeaways: Pitching woes, roster construction, team philosophy Wednesday’s 6-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals marked the seventh straight game in which Washington has allowed at least six runs.

The Nationals have the highest ERA in MLB. With that, I tried to answer the following:

Why are other teams teeing off? Why did the organization construct the pitching staff this way? And how are they handling it psychologically?
www.nytimes.com/athletic/718...

Final: Cardinals 6, Nationals 1

The Nats have lost seven of their last eight. This was the first time in a while that the offense didn't execute.

Record: 4-8

Final: Cardinals 7, Nationals 6 (10)

They led again in the eighth and couldn't close it out. The Nationals have seven hitters with an OPS over .800, but also have the highest ERA in baseball.

Record: 4-7