The Washington Nationals will be staying out of last place in 2026! With the 7-6 win last night, the Nats officially secured 4th place in the division. While 4th place is obviously not the goal, it is a clear step forward. As long as the Nats did not get swept, they would avoid last place and that is exactly what happened last night.
One thing that made it even sweeter is the fact that it will be the Mets who finish last. Despite being a bit of a meme, the Mets actually do not tend to bottom out.
This is actually their first last place finish since 2003. Given their massive payroll, that is quite a disastrous outcome. The Nats made that outcome a reality last night.
It felt important to get that one win and stay out of last. With how the team played for most of this season, it would have been cruel to be in the basement at season’s end. Outside of a brutal 6 week stretch that basically doomed the season, this team has played inspired baseball.
The game last night was quite the whacky one. Andrew Alvarez has pitched so well this season, but he did not have it in this one. His command was all over the place from the jump. A combination of uncompetitive misses and pitches in the middle of the zone doomed the southpaw.
Alvarez settled in a little bit and Blake Butera wanted to get him through 5 innings to qualify for a win. However, Alvarez allowed two homers in the 5th and was pulled. Despite pitching very well this season, Alvarez will finish the year with a 2-6 record.
Unlike most Alvarez outings, the Nats actually gave him a lot of run support tonight. That started with a CJ Abrams two run single in the first. Abrams thought it was gone and watched the ball fly, but it hit off the wall. He has not done that since Opening Day, but it was not the best of looks for CJ. A wild third inning which saw 4 wild pitches helped the Nats cash in four more runs.
However, the deciding run in this game came in the bottom of the 7th. After Justin Hagenman blew a fastball by Dylan Crews to start the at bat, he tried to do it again. This time Crews was ready and hit an absolute bomb out to left field to make it a 7-5 game.
After Jack Sinclair allowed a run on a sac fly in the 8th, we were going to be in for a tense finish. The only question was who was going to close the game. After working 4 times in 5 days, Erik Tolman was likely unavailable even after the off day. That limited the options.
Blake Butera turned to a surprise candidate, Josiah Gray. The former All-Star just rejoined the big league club, and now he was being thrust into a massive spot. Gray did not have a save in his career entering last night. Now, he was being trusted to face Lindor and Soto in the 9th.
Things started very well for the 28 year old. He got Christopher Morel to pop up and then struck out Lindor. After pitching around Juan Soto, it all came down to Bo Bichette. While Bichette has not had a great first season in Queens, he has had a lot of success against the Nats, including a home run in this game.
After getting ahead 1-2, Gray got Bichette to chase a breaking ball that was nearly in the dirt. Somehow, Bichette made contact, but it was only a dribbler back to the pitcher. Gray picked it up and fired to first to get his first save. He bounced on the Nationals Park mound in triumph as he got his first ever save.
It was a very long road back for Gray, who was pitching at Nationals Park for the first time since April of 2024. You can tell he was very emotional, not only about the win. This was not just a feel good moment though. A performance like that also puts Gray in the mix for a bullpen, or even rotation spot in 2027.
Honestly, I quite like Gray in the bullpen. He can just spin guys to death with his slider, curve and sweeper. Gray only threw one fastball on the night, but he still had success. I think he has the chance to be a solid arm in the ‘pen.
Overall, this was a great night. It was fantastic to stay out of last place and do it in style with the Gray save. Today will be an early start at 12:45. The pun was intended there as Connelly Early will also be making his Nationals debut today. After last night, the Nats now have 10 more wins than last season. Let’s see how many more they can get.
