The Washington Nationals came into Sunday's game with a chance to do something they have not done very often in the 2026 season: finish off a series sweep. They took the first 2 games of their weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds, and were able to actually finish off the series in dominant fashion on Sunday.
While life since the All-Star break has been pretty brutal for Nationals fans, watching them sell off at the deadline yet again by dealing guys like Luis Garcia Jr. to the Yankees and Foster Griffin to the Guardians, Sunday was proof that the season it not yet over. Obviously, the Nationals will have a lot of work to do to dig themselves out of the hole they put themselves into, but this team is showing a ton of fight still.
Nationals' bullpen carries team to series sweep of Reds at Nationals Park
If you had told me on Thursday afternoon before the first game of the series that the Nationals would be headed for a sweep in large part due to the oustanding performance of their bullpen, I would definitely have not believed it. Based on how this entire season has gone for the Nationals, you would not have expected that unit to drive a team to a victory.
However, after these past 3 games against the Reds, you could almost argue that the Nationals have a good to very good bullpen, especially with their newcomers taking the lead of the unit overall.
Lefty Will Dion has appeared in 2 games since coming over from the Guardians in the Griffin deal, and has yet to allow a run. On Sunday, Dion threw 3.0 shutout innings in relief, allowing just 1 hit in the process. Righty Jake Bird, the oldest player acquired in the deal from the Yankees, made his Nationals debut today, pitching a perfect inning with a pair of strikeouts to finish off the sweep of the Reds.
Righty Yovanny Cruz, also acquired in the Yankees deal, has flashed some of his elite stuff, notching a pair of scoreless appearances over the weekend. Since coming over to the Nationals, Cruz has pitched to a 3.86 ERA, but has also pitched to a 2.57 WHIP, showing that there is still some room for improvement. Still, with a fastball that easily touches triple digits and a slider that sits in the low 90s, Cruz should be a truly elite piece in the Nationals' bullpen for years to come.
Overall, this weekend sweep of the Reds should put the rest of the league on notice that the Nationals finally have a bullpen, and if they can get some better starting pitching and more consistent hitting for the rest of the season, we could be looking a team that makes things very interesting for the NL Wild Card race.
What did you think of the way the Nationals were able to sweep the Reds behind their strong bullpen? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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