Folks, the time has finally come. The 2026 Washington Nationals season is here. I am so excited that baseball is back and I cannot wait to watch the boys play. They will have a tough test on Opening Day, facing off against the Cubs in Wrigley Field. The games really begin for Blake Butera and the 2026 Nats.
Butera put out an unexpected lineup to start the season, and I expect that to be a trend. There will be a lot of mixing and matching this year. James Wood hitting leadoff is not a massive surprise,
but there are some interesting decisions after that. While Andres Chaparro can really rake against lefties, seeing him in the two hole on Opening Day is a surprise.
Another shocker is seeing CJ Abrams in the 6 hole. He has mostly been the Nats leadoff hitter the last few seasons, and I don’t think I have ever seen him below the cleanup spot in years. I assume he will hit higher against righties, but with a lefty on the mound, he will be in the 6 spot. Joey Wiemer will also get an Opening Day start, due to his solid numbers against lefties. Luis Garcia Jr. has always struggled against lefties, so seeing him out of the lineup is not much of a surprise. As we have known for a couple weeks now, Cade Cavalli will be your Opening Day starter in only his 12th career big league outing.
The Cubs lineup is filled with bigger names than the Nats. They feature the likes of Alex Bregman, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Dansby Swanson. Michael Busch is the leadoff man, and he is one of the most underrated hitters in the sport. The Cubs have a strong and deep lineup which will be tough for Cade Cavalli to navigate. Matthew Boyd had a late career resurgence last year and he was rewarded with an Opening Day start.
Game Info:
Stadium: Wrigley Field
Time: 2:20 PM EST
TV: Nationals.TV
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
Baseball is back ladies and gentleman, and I am fired up. The Nats may not be good, but it is still better than no baseball. Also, the season is still in its infancy. Who is to say the Nats won’t surprise. We have 162 games to find that out. Follow along down below in the comment section and let’s go Nats!
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
- New, improved notifications system!
