The Washington Nationals might still be a step or two away. We had a pretty good feeling that this was the case already, but after watching them lose a pair of games to the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday night, it appears as if the team still has a little bit to go until they can compete with the premier teams in baseball.
This does not really come as a surprise, but given the buzz in the air for the MLB debut of Nationals' #8 prospect Jackson Kent, you would have hoped for the league's best offense could have given the rookie some legitimate run support. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and the Nationals ended up having Kent eat a no-decision in his first start in the majors.
Jackson Kent impresses in MLB debut despite Nationals' loss
The top healthy pitching prospect of the Nationals, Kent showed a lot of upside in his first start, but also showed some room for improvement as well. He managed to get through 4.0 innings and manager Blake Butera left him out there to start the 5th, but he was soon pulled after allowing a pair of baserunners to start the frame.
Kent's control was a bit erratic, which can likely be chalked up more to nerves for his first start, but obviously the 5 walks issued will be a number that needs to come down. However, he did strike out 6 Cubs hitters as well, including a first inning in which he struck out 3 Cubs, but also allowed a pair of walks in the inning to make it interesting on himself.
jackson kent first mlb inning .......... strikeout strikeout strikeout !!! pic.twitter.com/2LL9vxNczn
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 12, 2026
He did a good job of inducing a lot of swing and miss within the strike zone, which is a skill you need to have if you are going to be successful for a long time at the big-league level. However, the offense failed to score more than 1 run with the bases loaded multiple times, and of course, Nat killer Alex Bregman did what he loves to do in Nationals Park and had a historic game.
The veteran Bregman finished the game 3/3 with 3 homers, 7 RBIs, and a pair of walks, single-handedly outscoring the Nationals as the final score of the game was 12-6. He was once a dream free agent pipeline dream of the Nationals not too long ago in free agency, and he continues to torment fans who ever had any belief that signing him could actually happen. Perhaps the Nationals can salvage the series with a victory in today's finale against the Cubs.
What did you think of Jackson Kent's MLB debut yesterday? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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