After taking game one of the series in Philadelphia in comeback style, the Nationals dropped the final 2 games of the series 4-6 and 2-3, ending their 10-game stand against NL East opponents at a respectable 5-5. Since the return of Dylan Crews to the lineup, the team has played with a different sort of edge, not only winning more often, but losing in much closer fashion, only getting blown out once in 10 games against the 2 best teams in their division. They will look to keep this momentum alive as they head on the road to play the New York Yankees, who have struggled in the month of August, posting a 10-11 record and coming off a series loss at home to their bitter rivals, the Boston Red Sox.
The Yankees go as Aaron Judge goes, and since his return from injury, Judge has not looked like the most feared hitter in baseball that many know him as, posting a .690 OPS in his last 7 games, and a .813 OPS in his last 30 games, a respectable number for most hitters, but not when your OPS sits around 1.100 most years. The Nationals have done a solid job in recent years of limiting Judge’s damage against them, as in 16 career games against the Nats, he is hitting .226 with 4 home runs, 3 coming in one game in August of 2023. While Judge is the heart and soul of their lineup, the rest of the order is as strong as any other unit in baseball, with 4 other qualified hitters registering OPSs over .800. One of those players, a name Nats fans are very familiar with, is center fielder Trent Grisham, who, in his last 7 games, has 4 home runs and an OPS of .956.
Despite losing their ace, Gerrit Cole, for the season due to a torn UCL in March, the Yankees’ starting rotation has been one of the better units in baseball in 2025, with their 3.84 starters’ ERA ranking 10th in MLB. They are led by free agent acquisition Max Fried, wh0’s 3.14 ERA is best on the staff, and veteran Carlos Rodon, but have been receiving quality innings from their young arms, including Will Warren, Clarke Schmidt, and Cam Schlittler. Their bullpen, despite the lackluster 4.29 ERA, is an incredibly strong unit, as they beefed it up at the trade deadline with the acquisitions of David Bednar from the Pirates and Camilo Doval from the Yankees.
Team Stats
Team OPS: .782 (1st in AL, 1st in MLB)
Team OPS Leader: Aaron Judge (1.108)
Team HR Leader: Aaron Judge (40)
Team ERA: 4.02 (9th in AL, 17th in MLB)
Team ERA Leader: Max Fried (3.14)
Game One – Monday 7:05 PM EST
WSH: RHP Brad Lord (4-6) – 96.1 IP, 3.46 ERA, 1.25 WHIP
Lord was cruising to another quality start last time out before the Mets’ bats finally got to him in the 6th inning, ending his day with 5 1/3 innings pitched and 4 runs allowed. Lord’s been the face of consistency for the Nats in 2025, posting a 2.63 ERA in his last 30 games, 6 of those being starts, but he now faces his toughest test yet against the best lineup in baseball on the road.
NYY: RHP Cam Schlittler (1-2) – 36.1 IP, 3.22 ERA, 1.32 WHIP
Schlittler made his big league debut on July 9th for the Yankees and has looked like a complete veteran ever since, not allowing more than 3 runs in any of his first 7 big league starts. He’s coming off the best start of his big league career last time out, a 6 2/3 innings, 8 strikeout, scoreless performance in one of the most offense-friendly parks in baseball at Steinbrenner Field, temporary home of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Game Two – Tuesday 7:05 PM EST
WSH: LHP MacKenzie Gore (5-12) – 142.1 IP, 4.11 ERA, 1.35 WHIP
After back-to-back strong starts against the Giants and Phillies, Gore struggled in his last start against the Mets, going just 4 1/3 innings, allowing 3 runs and, most concerningly, walking 4 batters. The strikeout stuff was there as always, but he needs to learn to avoid the occasional blowup outings he has if he wants to prevent his ERA from ballooning up above where he should be.
NYY: RHP Luis Gil (1-1) – 19 IP, 4.26 ERA, 1.68 WHIP
Last year’s AL Rookie of the Year, Gil made his season debut on August 3rd and has continued to ramp up since, going 5 or more innings in his last 3 starts now. The results aren’t quite there yet for him, but the talent is there, and the numbers will improve as he returns to 100% health.
Game Three – Wednesday 1:05 PM EST
WSH: RHP Cade Cavalli (1-0) – 22.1 IP, 2.82 ERA, 1.34 WHIP
Cavalli was so close to getting through 6 innings of 1-run ball in his last start against the Phillies before Bryson Stott got him for a 2-run homer with 2 outs in the 5th, but even then, it was still another impressive performance for him in his 4th start of 2025. He will now have to take on another high-powered offense in the Yankees, where limiting free passes needs to be a major goal.
NYY: LHP Max Fried (13-5) – 155 IP, 3.14 ERA, 1.12 WHIP
A familiar face from his time in Atlanta, Fried has continued to pitch like one of the best lefties in baseball since his move to the Bronx, including a 6-inning scoreless performance against the Red Sox in his last start. The Nationals have hit Fried harder than most teams have in his career, as he owns a 3.97 career ERA against them, including giving up 4 runs over 6 innings to them in September last year.
Can The Nats Sprint Through The Finish Line?
The Nationals are near the end of one of the most brutal parts of their schedule all year, but it hasn’t stopped them from looking like a competitive club, as they’ve clawed their way back to win some big games and even stuck around in games they had no business sticking around in. They will now look to do it against a team playing rather sloppy baseball lately, but with playoff hopes in the New York Yankees. Can the Nationals take advantage of their mistakes, or will the sheer firepower of the Yankees’ lineup and pitching staff win over? Comment your thoughts down below and let’s go Nats!
(@Iletmykpop) 
