The Washington Nationals suffered another defeat on Thursday afternoon, and unfortunately for us fans, it was a familiar feeling that we have grown accustomed to over the last few seasons. Between Thursday's loss to the Philadelphia Phillies and Wednesday's defeat to the New York Yankees, the Nationals might be revealing some true flaws that have yet to be ironed out.
On Wednesday night, when the Nationals lost to the Yankees in embarrassing fashion, it had resembled a lot of previous losses from previous seasons as well, but for different reasons. In that game, it was the abysmal defense that hurt the team, especially when it came to pitchers being able to field their position, something the Nationals' arms have inexplicably struggled with.
The Nationals have seen pitchers mess up a lot of the fundamentals so far this spring, whether it be failing to cover a bag or making simple throwing errors, it simply is something that is not sustainable if the club wants to be respectable in the field. Given the team's defensive struggles at most other positions on the club as well, the pitchers have to figure it out.
One other problem area as related to pitchers has been controlling the strike zone, as far too often the Nationals have just struggled to throw strikes consistently. Whether it was someone like MacKenzie Gore, a guy who had all the talent in the world but struggled with high walk rates, or lesser pitchers like Mitchell Parker and Jake Irvin who can become erratic, the Nationals must turn it around here.
On Thursday, the Nationals' pitchers issued 8 walks while striking out only 6 Phillies hitters, and for the second straight game the Nationals were unable to draw even a single walk at the plate. Between not taking their walks, giving up too many walks, and making too many errors, the early returns for the 2026 Nationals squad do not seem very promising.
Obviously, it's early, and this young coaching staff and front office seemingly has a firm plan in place to help get the organization to a better position long-term, but hopefully for the sake of the fans it at least becomes a little bit more fun to watch. Hopefully the Nationals, now sitting at 4-2-1, can bounce back with a victory over the Astros again on Friday night.
What do you think of the Nationals continuing to see a lot of the same issues as last season? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.