{"id":662377,"date":"2026-04-04T06:55:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T06:55:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/662377\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T06:55:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T06:55:03","slug":"what-im-seeing-at-the-nationals-home-opener-all-kinds-of-liquid-early-pregame-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/662377\/","title":{"rendered":"What I\u2019m seeing at the Nationals\u2019 home opener: \u2018All kinds of liquid,\u2019 early pregame work"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Washington Nationals played their home opener Friday, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers 13-6. During the game, I chatted live Q&A with fans<\/a>, and you can catch-up with all of the in-game talk using that link.<\/p>\n

This team is remarkably different compared to last season. That means, even in the four hours before the start of the game, I noticed plenty of little details that seem to explain their culture, character and processes in the first season under manager Blake Butera and president of baseball operations Paul Toboni.<\/p>\n

There were also a few updates during the game that, well, were worth noting as well.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I saw:<\/p>\n

\u2018All kinds of liquid\u2019 on their shirts<\/p>\n

Players arrived at Nationals Park on Friday morning to a new shirt awaiting each of them on their folding chairs. By 9:10 a.m. ET, when reporters were allowed into the home clubhouse, most of the players had the shirts on. Really, they couldn\u2019t help themselves.<\/p>\n

They wanted to playfully rib their first-year manager.<\/p>\n

The front of the dark navy shirts featured a cartoon version of Butera in a shopping cart, wearing sunglasses and holding a beer in his right hand. Strewn along the bottom of the image were cans of beer and shaving cream \u2014 a representation of the celebration after their Opening Day win over the Chicago Cubs.<\/p>\n

Over the top, in cartoon-ish gray letters, it said \u201cBLAKE BUTERA.\u201d On the bottom, it said, \u201cAll kinds of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was a hint towards the ever-important back of the shirts and the reason they were printed \u2014 Butera\u2019s quote to reporters about the postgame welcome he received on Opening Day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got crushed. \u2026 They grabbed me, and next thing you know, there was a lot of liquids all over me in the shower. All kinds of stuff. Shaving cream, beer, you name it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blake Butera got quite the celebration after his first wins. In his words?<\/p>\n

\u201cI got crushed. \u2026 They grabbed me and next thing you know, there was a lot of liquids all over me in the shower. All kinds of stuff. Shaving cream, beer, you name it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) March 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

These are common tests for new managers, what they can take and receive. So far, Butera has more than rolled with the punches. It\u2019s early, but with a 3-3 record entering the home opener, there is a fresh feel to the clubhouse.<\/p>\n

In spite of some truly intrepid reporting, none of the players who were around in the morning were sure who made the shirts. But almost everyone was wearing one before Friday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

Infield practice after sunrise<\/p>\n

The Nationals have needed to change a lot from last season. In some areas, there has been rapid improvement, but not in the field. Luis Garcia Jr. is on the early end of the first base learning curve. There have been impressive grabs, but no one has been flawless.<\/p>\n

As such, at 9 a.m. ET \u2014 four hours before first pitch \u2014 they had their infielders roaming out in the field, getting dirt on their cleats, taking grounders.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something we\u2019ve talked about from the jump, how important defense is to me, how important it is to our whole group,\u201d Butera said. \u201cThe fact that we have guys out there at 9 a.m. before a 1 o\u2019clock game, working on their defense, hopefully shows them \u2014 and also anybody that\u2019s watching \u2014 that it is important to us. We\u2019re going to continue to work on those things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Practice was listed as optional on their schedule in the clubhouse. But all of the infielders were present.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe coaching staff has been exceptionally organized in terms of getting players the work that they need,\u201d Toboni said before the game. \u201cWe did it today. That\u2019s not something we\u2019re going to do every day, but it\u2019s not because, like, we don\u2019t want it to work. To me, some of the best coaching staffs are incredibly well organized, and they\u2019re setting up late reports on days that we should have late reports.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut they\u2019re not working for three hours to run these guys into the ground. If we\u2019re going to work for 30 minutes, let\u2019s just make sure the work is really high quality and really transfers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clubhouse TVs on a new channel<\/p>\n

The Nationals have always had the televisions on in their clubhouse before the game. Usually, it\u2019s on MLB Network or ESPN. Before Friday\u2019s game, they had a rotating set of slides and videos of their \u201cvisual scoreboard,\u201d or the items they\u2019re trying to attack as a pitching staff.<\/p>\n

They showed, for instance, the team leaders of \u201cfree throw percentage,\u201d which is their representation of who throws the most early-count strikes. Those who performed in that facet better than MLB average were in green; those who had not were in red.<\/p>\n

After that slide passed, a montage appeared of three or four times from the past week that someone on the team threw an early-count strike. On the bottom, in big lettering, it featured a message in bold.<\/p>\n

For free throw percentage: MAKE YOUR FREE THROWS
For battle count win percentage: BATTLE EACH PITCH
For kill percentage: KILL EM<\/p>\n

Just in case players needed another reminder of how important these items were \u2014 and how they fared in each category \u2014 printouts were also in their lockers before the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did something very, very similar towards the end of my time in St. Louis \u2026 They just never really printed them out and put them on our chairs as much as they do here,\u201d reliever Andre Granillo said. \u201cEverybody looks at ERA and kind of says, like, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s like a gauge of how good he is, or how good he\u2019s doing.\u2019 If I could see my paper and it\u2019s all green, but my numbers aren\u2019t reflecting green, I know that I don\u2019t really need to change anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miles Mikolas sets the wrong kind of club record<\/p>\n

The vibes, though, changed rather quickly by the time the game started.<\/p>\n

Mikolas was cruising early in his second start as a National. Then came a weak ground ball. Then came a walk. Then came the second time through the Dodgers\u2019 lineup.<\/p>\n

As Shohei Ohtani crushed his first home run of the season<\/a>, Mikolas grabbed his knees with both palms and hunched over. The final 15 batters he faced managed 10 hits, including four homers. Mikolas ducked his eyes toward the dirt and was booed by fans upon his exit.<\/p>\n

He conceded 11 earned runs, which set a club record.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love a flyover. It gets me pumped. Maybe if we had a flyover like every inning, I would have been a little bit better, being so pumped up to get out there,\u201d Mikolas said. \u201cThe fans showed up. It was great. I wish I had done a better job for them, better job for the offense and defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the game, Butera said that he appreciated Mikolas\u2019 willingness to learn and adapt. But he could not flummox the Dodgers on his second time through the order. There wasn\u2019t a location or pitch in particular that did him in \u2014 the Dodgers seemed to have an answer for each one. Which is why, early and often, he found himself staring beyond the stands.<\/p>\n

Butera said they would review the tape to see if it was an issue of sequencing or execution.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started to catch a little bit too much plate there in the later innings.\u201d Mikolas said. \u201cMaybe not mixing in some pitches off the plate, maybe not pitching in enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brady House keeps on walking<\/p>\n

One of the most encouraging sights for the Nats so far this season: Brady House, standing in the right-handed batter\u2019s box, refusing to swing his bat. In the first, he hardly lifted the lumber off his shoulder while drawing a five-pitch walk.<\/p>\n

In the seventh, he followed with a nearly identical deal: Four pitches, four balls, almost no indication that he was going to swing. It wasn\u2019t a perfect day (he chased two pitches well outside the zone in a sixth-inning strikeout) but it was a better one than he had in years\u2019 past.<\/p>\n

House has worked on his plate discipline in back-to-back offseasons, but this year, it\u2019s really clicking. When I talked to him this spring, he said he finally learned that he didn\u2019t have to choose between patience and aggression in an at-bat \u2014 he figured out how to meet in the middle.<\/p>\n

Through seven games, he has four walks. Last year, in 73 games, he had eight.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to go into this season to not lose my aggressiveness, but kind of become patient and be aggressive for the pitches that I want to hit \u2014 not necessarily swinging at every strike that\u2019s thrown,\u201d House said. \u201cBeing aggressive (in the locations) where I\u2019m looking for that pitch that day.\u201d<\/p>\n