The Washington Nationals lost two of three to their division rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies, to begin the 2025 season. The games featured strong starting pitching performances, including MacKenzie Gore’s brilliant six-inning, 13-strikeout gem in the opener, and Mitchell Parker’s 6.1-innings of shutout work in Sunday’s 5-1 victory.
Bell and Lowe go yard in win
Parker earned the Nats’ lone win in the series, thanks to homers by Josh Bell and Nate Lowe, and a capable performance by the bullpen – the same pen that failed to keep the Phillies at bay in the first two games. Over the three games, the Nats were pretty evenly matched with last year’s division winners. Each team enjoyed a relatively comfortable win, and the opener was tied at 3 after nine innings.
Who’s hot, and who’s not
A three-game sample size isn’t much to go on, but a few Nats have charged out of the gate. Keibert Ruiz (.500) and Nate Lowe (.462) have a pair of homers each, and Paul DeJong went three-for-three Sunday to raise his average to .333. None of the Nats’ other hitters has shown much at the plate. Dylan Crews, in particular, struggled against Philadelphia, with eight strikeouts and a .000 batting average.
As noted, the bullpen struggled Thursday and Saturday, but allowed a lone run over 2.2 innings Sunday. Eduardo Salazar and Kyle Finnegan have two appearances each with no runs allowed, and Finnegan earned his first save of the season Sunday.
What’s next
The Nationals hit the road to Toronto to face the 2-2 Blue Jays in a three-game series beginning Monday. The opener will feature a pair of right-handers making their first starts of the season: Michael Soroka for the Nationals, and Bowden Francis for the Jays. Trevor Williams and Gore are expected to take the mound for the Nats in the second and third games.
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