Well, that felt much better. For the first time in a while, the Washington Nationals actually delivered a feel good factor. Those good vibes came from a pair of newcomers in Andrew Alvarez and CJ Stubbs. They were the stars of the show and led the way in a 2-0 win.
It is very rare for a pitcher and catcher to make their debuts in the same game. In fact, the last time that happened for the Nats was all the way back in 2008. The last time it has happened in the MLB was 2023.
Let’s start with CJ Stubbs. The 28 year old took the long road to the MLB, but he is finally here after being drafted back in 2019. He did not get a hit today, but he did make an impact. Stubbs looked great behind the plate and guided Alvarez through his start. He called a great game and did a good job controlling the staff.
However, the real star of the show was Alvarez. Before the game we wrote about how the southpaw needed to have pinpoint command and he did just that. He did a great job mixing and matching, while also hitting his spots. Alvarez was unpredictable and always one step ahead of the hitters.
He primarily threw his slider, four-seamer, and curveball, while mixing in a sinker and changeup. What I loved is that the usage was really balanced. He threw the slider 33% of the time, the heater 27% of the time and his curveball 26% of the time. Other guys on the pitching staff could learn from that.
We talked about how the curveball is his out pitch. It is his best offering and a pitch he really leans on. As you would expect, he got the first strikeout of his career on the hook. It was a great moment for the 26 year old rookie.
Alvarez was brilliant throughout. He held the Marlins hitless through the first four innings before finally surrendering a knock in the fifth. Before then, it was mostly smooth sailing for Alvarez, but after a hit and a walk, he found himself in a jam. Alvarez got out of it by striking out Joey Wiemer with runners on first and third.
After that, Miguel Cairo decided to play it safe and pull Alvarez before the Marlins got the chance to see him a third time. Thankfully, the bullpen did an outstanding job and delivered four scoreless innings.
Clayton Beeter, Konnor Pilkington, Cole Henry and Jose A. Ferrer were all outstanding. Despite the team struggles, the bullpen has been the one unit that has been good for the Nats lately. If someone told me that in April, I would call them crazy.
On offense, the Nats did just enough to get over the line. It was not pretty, but a second inning rally got the Nationals the two runs they needed. The big blow came when Daylen Lile hit an RBI triple that scored Luis Garcia. After that Andres Chaparro brought Lile home with a sac fly.
Overall, it was a fun day, which has been a long time coming. There have not been many fun days for Nationals fans this summer, but that was one of them. Andrew Alvarez got the win, making him only the third Nat to get a win in their MLB debut since 2010.
As the season comes to a close, hopefully we can see more days like that. The fans deserve better than what they have gotten this season. When the pitching is not totally off the rails, you can compete in ball games. We have seen that recently. When the Nats are competing, it is due to pitching and when they get blown out, it is because the pitching staff gets blown up early. As we head into 2026, pitching needs to be the priority.
