For the first time in who knows how long, the Nationals dominated the opponent in a baseball game, handling the Giants easily, 8-0. The offense got going in the 2nd inning with a 2-run James Wood double, followed by a 2-run home run from CJ Abrams, and coasted to the finish with 4 additional runs. Perhaps most exciting of all was a return to ace form for MacKenzie Gore, who went 6 scoreless innings and struck out 10 while only allowing 3 hits and 1 walk. The Nationals now look to carry this momentum into their 3 game series against the 58-60 Kansas City Royals, a squad led by one of the best players in all of baseball, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.

The Royals’ pitching staff is one of the strongest in baseball, with their 3.62 team ERA ranking 2nd in both the AL and MLB behind the Texas Rangers. They will be without one of their aces in Kris Bubic for the rest of the season since he suffered a shoulder injury, but they have plenty of firepower in that rotation to make up for it. The lineup has been what has held back this Royals squad in 2025, as they rank 26th in baseball with a .686 team OPS and have hit the 3rd least home runs as a team in baseball with 103. Part of the problem has been regression with the bat from their superstar Bobby Witt Jr, dropping from a .977 OPS in 2024 to .833 OPS so far in 2025, but primarily, it’s just been a lack of quality bats in the lineup, with third baseman Maikel Garcia and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino being the only other hitters on the roster with an OPS above .750.

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Team Stats

Team OPS: .686 (12th in AL, 26th in MLB)

Team OPS Leader: Maikel Garcia (.837)

Team HR Leader: Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez (20)

Team ERA: 3.62 (2nd in AL, 2nd in MLB)

Team ERA Leader: Michael Wacha (3.36)

Game One – Monday 7:40 PM EST

WSH: RHP Cade Cavalli – 4.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.92 WHIP

Cavalli’s return to the bigs was everything I could’ve hoped for and more, as he gave the Nats 4 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out 6 Athletics hitters. Stamina will likely continue to be an issue for Cavalli, but as long as the innings he does pitch are efficient like they were his last time out, he will be one of the most valuable Nats starters in a long while. Pitching on the road in the big leagues for the first time in his career, tonight will be very telling of what we say out of him in his last start was a fluke, or what to expect moving forward.

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KC: LHP Bailey Falter – 117.1 IP, 4.14 ERA, 1.23 WHIP

Acquired from the Pirates at the trade deadline, Falter’s first start in a Royals uniform didn’t go quite as well as he would’ve hoped, allowing 7 runs over 4 innings of work against the Red Sox. Even with the hiccup, Falter has been one of the most reliable lefty arms in baseball in 2025, posting a 3.34 ERA in his last 15 starts.

Game Two – Tuesday 7:40 PM EST

WSH: LHP Mitchell Parker – 122.2 IP, 5.43 ERA, 1.48 WHIP

Parker has been roughed up in his last 2 starts, allowing 12 runs over 9 combined innings of work against the Athletics and Brewers. With a 6.28 ERA over his last 15 starts, it’s hard to imagine a world where Parker is in the Nationals rotation in 2025 if he closes out the season on this pace. Still, he’ll be given every opportunity to try and turn it around, as there are no clear alternatives at this point.

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KC: RHP Michael Wacha – 131.1 IP, 3.36 ERA, 1.15 WHIP

When I think of Michael Wacha, I think of him coming 1 out shy of a no-hitter against the Nats back in 2013 as a rookie, so it’s pretty cool to see him still doing his thing all these years later, especially at such a high level. Wacha has been the model of consistency for the Royals in 2025, giving up just 4 runs combined over his last 3 starts. He has a career 3.02 ERA against the Nationals, but the Nats had the upper hand in their last matchup, scoring 4 runs, 3 earned, versus him in September of 2024.

Game Three – Wednesday 2:10 PM EST

WSH: RHP Jake Irvin – 136 IP, 4.90 ERA, 1.34 WHIP

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Irvin got knocked around a little but avoided too much damage in his last start against the Giants, giving up 8 hits but only 3 runs in 5 1/3 innings of work. Like Parker, Irvin may need to show more consistency than he has so far this season if he’d like his rotation spot to be safe heading into 2026.

KC: RHP Seth Lugo – 127.1 IP, 3.46 ERA, 1.20 WHIP

While the overall body of work has been excellent for Lugo in 2025, he has been getting hit around in his last few starts, posting a 5.12 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in his last 7 starts, including giving up 7 runs over 4 innings of work against a depleted Twins lineup in his last start.

Can James Wood And Offense Stay Hot?

Hitting leadoff has seemingly unlocked something for James Wood that had been missing for the last month or so, and now with him heating up, the offense has a much higher floor night in and night out than before. With Dylan Crews’ return on the horizon, the Nats’ lineup has a chance over the next 2 months to show off what it can look like at full strength heading into 2026.