The Washington Nationals came crashing back down to earth a little bit on Wednesday afternoon. After a 4-game winning streak by the club in which the team had both swept the Los Angeles Angels in comeback fashion and shockingly took the series opener from the Philadelphia Phillies on the back of Daylen Lile's heroics,
There have been a lot of storylines worth following as it relates to the 2026 Nationals, but perhaps none have been more encouraging at the major league level than the overall emergence of their new ace, Cade Cavalli. His breakout has put him on track to potentially earn some down ballot National League Cy Young votes this year, and he is the leader of the club on the pitching side for the future.
That is probably a major reason why the team is being extra cautious with their righty, who has dealt with a ton of injury troubles throughout his career and is finally healthy for the first time. The latest move by the team showed just how much they are prioritizing his long-term health despite the Nationals still fighting to win as many games as possible.
Nationals push back Cade Cavalli's next start to Friday vs Cardinals
While the Nationals are still fighting to win more games to end this season, with 71 wins currently, they will need to hit a little bit better than they did on Wednesday night. The team was shut out by the Phillies en route to a 3-0 loss, a game that was originally supposed to be started by Cavalli. However, the team decided on Tuesday night to push back their ace to later in the week.
Cade Cavalli is being pushed back to Friday, giving him extra rest at the end of his first full MLB season. Jared Simpson will start a bullpen game tomorrow.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) September 16, 2026
Cavalli will instead toe the rubber on Friday night in St. Louis to face the Cardinals, a little of an easier matchup for him on paper rather than him facing a desperate Phillies club that is jockeying for playoff positioning. Not that it really matters at this point, as Cavalli has been truly elite enough in the second half to be trusted against anyone, as his start against the Dodgers showed as well.
He is a true quality start machine at this point, and has cemented himself as one of the game's elite starting pitchers. Cavalli will likely have one more start after Friday that will come next week, and it could be pushed back again depending on how the team feels about his stamina to end his first full season.
What did you think of the Nationals' decision to postpone Cade Cavalli's next start from Wednesday to Friday? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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