The good, the bad, and the indifferent from the Nationals' opening weekend series win

The 2026 opening weekend series at Wrigley Field between the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs was the definition of whiplash. We went from a record breaking 10-4 offensive explosion on Thursday to a demoralizing 10-2 blowout loss on Saturday, and capped it off with a surprising 6-3 victory for the Nationals in the rubber match.

In between, we saw an absence from our shortstop and a veteran signing that looked exactly like the red flag we feared. If you’re looking for the pulse of this team after three games, here is the biggest winner and the biggest loser from the opening series.

The Good: Cade Cavalli & Joey Wiemer

If you were looking for a reason to believe in the Paul Toboni "process," look no further than Cade Cavalli. After two years of "ifs" and "whens," Cavalli stepped onto the mound as the Opening Day starter and looked like the ace we were promised.

He only went 3.2 innings, but that was by design. He struck out five, touched 99 MPH, and utilized a nasty new sweeper to keep the Cubs off balance. But the real "win" wasn't just the stuff... it was the tone he set. Cavalli’s post-game quote "We’re going to win" is the kind of leadership this young roster has been starving for. With MacKenzie Gore gone, Cavalli didn't just take his spot, he took the mantle.

Joey Wiemer was the other major winner, as he has still yet to record an out as of the time of writing. He is now 6/6 with 2 walks, 2 homers, a triple, and 4 RBIs through his 2 games played so far. While this will obviously not be sustainable, the Nationals don't win the series in Wrigley without Wiemer, and perhaps his resurgence will become more than just a feel good early season story.

The Bad: Miles Mikolas

We have to mention the "other" loser of the weekend: the Miles Mikolas signing. In his first start for the Nats on Saturday, Mikolas looked exactly like the "dead weight" veteran we warned about all offseason. He surrendered 6 runs (4 earned) in 5 innings, getting tagged early as the Nats’ offense went silent.

While following up the brilliance of Cavalli all season is probably going to be a challenge for Mikolas, you would at least have liked to see him perform a little bit better than how he did. Hopefully, the Nationals get an opportunity to shuffle their rotation around at some point to get guys like Jake Irvin and Zack Littell more opportunities to follow Cavalli moving forward.

The Indifferent: CJ Abrams and James Wood

CJ Abrams started the season with a solid Opening Day, including a massive 110 MPH go-ahead single, but by Saturday, the narrative shifted from his talent to his "hustle," or lack thereof.

Abrams was reportedly addressed by manager Blake Butera for a lack of hustle in the opener after watching what should have been a stand-up double in the batter's box and getting thrown out at second, a moment that stands out as a major "negative" in an otherwise historic win. In a year that is supposed to be about his "All-Star" jump, this was a rocky start for the team's franchise shortstop overall.

James Wood also struggled outside of an awesome opposite-field home run that he hit under the wind on Saturday, and the swing-and-miss concerns that arose in the second half of last season have not subsided at all. Wood will still be fine in all likelihood, but he very clearly has some major work ahead of him to be able to return to his previous form before he started prepping for last year's Home Run Derby.