Monday was a pretty uninspiring loss for the Washington Nationals. While vibes around DMV sports teams seemed to be on the upswing following the Nats picking up their first win of the season on Sunday, and the Washington Capitals signing 2023 1st round pick Ryan Leonard to his entry-level contract, it seemed that the Nats were in perfect position to get a little winning streak going.
Instead, they mustered just 5 hits and 2 runs against the Toronto Blue Jays, with them coming courtesy of CJ Abrams and James Wood, who hit back-to-back home runs in the 6th inning to make it a 4-2 game. Yesterday's starter for the Nationals, Michael Soroka, was okay in his debut for the club, scattering 5 hits over 5.0 innings while allowing 4 earned runs and 1 walk. He did strike out 3 batters as well.
The issue for Soroka arose when he fired his 83rd pitch, and immediately knew something was wrong. Davey Martinez and the Nationals' head trainer Paul Lessard came out to check on Soroka, who seemingly knew something was off with his right arm. This was especially concerning for the righty, who has had quite the extensive injury history in his past.
I immediately assumed the worst, as although most of Soroka's major injuries have been lower-body, when a guy who is injury-prone starts grabbing at his arm, I just thought it was going to be bad. After seeing that DJ Herz is likely headed for Tommy John Surgery, I was not optimistic in the moment that Soroka was able to avoid the same fate. Luckily for both Soroka and the Nationals, it appears as if he managed to avoid the major injury scare.
It was confirmed after the game that Soroka's diagnosis was listed as a right biceps cramp, and he even mentioned that he's hopeful he will not have to have his next turn in the rotation skipped in 5 or 6 days. We should know more about his condition either later today or at some point this week, but for now, we can all thank our lucky stars that our new free agent acquisition is seemingly fine.
As for the Nationals, who are now 1-3 on the young season, they will send righty Trevor Williams to the mound on Tuesday night to make his 2025 debut against the Blue Jays and their ace, Jose BerrĂos. Williams was fantastic in limited action in 2024, and was re-signed to a 2-year deal this offseason, occupying the #5 spot in the rotation. Hopefully for Williams, the Nationals' bats will be able to wake up and get the club back into the win column.
Do you think Michael Soroka will make his next start? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.