Nationals Notebook: Irvin Falls Short, Garcia Jr., Abrams, Wood Takeaways

WASHINGTON D.C. – Fans of the Washington Nationals poured back into Nationals Park for the second game of their first home series of 2026 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

The Nationals played in front of a sold-out crowd in Washington D.C. once again, with attendance peaking above 80,000 over these first two games. Following a tough 13-6 loss in Friday’s series opener, the Nationals came into the day looking to take one back.

Ultimately, the Dodgers piled on again on Saturday, and the Nationals fell 10-5 following another potent showing from the Dodgers’ offense.

“When you have a lineup this good, our pitchers are trying to probably be perfect, and when you don’t get there these guys seem to really capitalize on that,” said Nationals manager Blake Butera. “I think sometimes we can maybe try to be a little too perfect. But, it’s a good lineup.”

The Dodgers were aggressive early, putting up six runs through the first three innings. At the same time, Tyler Glasnow looked sharp on the mound throughout his adding. However, the Nationals chipped away and notched two runs between the third and fourth inning.

They put together another three runs late in the game on the back of another two-run homer from shortstop CJ Abrams and a pinch-hit RBI single from Jose Tena. Unfortunately for the Nationals, the Dodgers had put up another five runs following a home run from the scorching-hot Andy Pages and an RBI knock from Kyle Tucker.

Butera noted the prestige of the lineup they have gone up against in this series, and to the Nationals’ credit, their offense has still put up a fight against a tough Dodgers pitching staff.

A Relentless Matchup

In Friday’s game, the top of the Dodgers’ lineup, who had been relatively quiet to start the season, exploded for five home runs on the day. As such, starter Jake Irvin came into this start looking to limit damage as much as possible.

To that point, Irvin was successful in keeping the ball in the yard. While he did give up six runs, none of the damage was due to the long ball. Unfortunately for Irvin, he did seem to get a bit unlucky at times with the Dodgers plating several runs that originated from bloop singles.

Irvin’s final line was 4.0 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO over 85 pitches. His stuff looked pretty good for the most part, but he had a hard time putting batters away early.

“They were really aggressive early. I think that when [Irvin] was trying to get ahead, they definitely tried to take advantage of it. So then I think he had to try and adjust and live a little bit more around the edge,” noted Butera.

It seemed like when Irvin would get ahead, he would then pivot to chase pitches, but the Dodgers held up. Both the walks Irvin issued came during at-bats where the hitter reached an 0-2 or 1-2 count. 

Ultimately, the Dodgers worked quality at-bats against Irvin, fouling off his putaway attempts and jumping on mistake pitches. He’ll look to bounce back during his next start, likely against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, April 10.

Luis García Jr. and CJ Abrams Have a Day

While the Dodgers stymied the Nationals’ lineup for much of this game, they seemingly had no answer for Luis García Jr.

García, the designated hitter for the Nationals on Saturday, batted second and recorded a single, double, and triple on the day. His at-bats were solid, and he was able to attack Glasnow’s offerings early in counts to try and jumpstart the Nats’ offense.

He may have fallen a homer shy of the cycle, but there are far worse problems to have. His lone out on the day was a flyout to left field in the fifth inning. After Saturday’s day at the plate, García was batting .345/.345/.517 to start the season.

CJ Abrams, now just one hit shy of 500 career hits, had another great day at the plate. He worked two walks and hit another home run for his third in as many games. Abrams entered play on Sunday hitting .286/.375/.607 on the year, and his 179 wRC+ ranked first among all qualified MLB shortstops. 

“It looks nice and easy, it doesn’t look like he’s trying to overswing or do too much,” said Butera. “I think when he just lets the game come to him a little bit, those good things seem to happen.”

“I think he’s done a nice job getting in advantage counts, and when he gets a good pitch to hit, he’s barreling it up. He’s doing a lot of damage to the pull-side, and we’re just trying to lean into that.”

Abrams also stole second base following one of his walks. He ranks sixth in Major League Baseball with 110 stolen bases since the start of 2023. Abrams has been a major bright spot in this series against the Dodgers, as he has collected six of the 11 RBIs the Nationals have knocked in against them.

James Wood Continues to Struggle

Coming into Saturday’s game, outfielder James Wood had already been pressing to start the season.

Through Friday’s game, Wood was hitting .129/.229/.323 over his first first 31 at-bats. Batting leadoff on Saturday, Wood had hoped to serve as a sparkplug for the Nationals offense and get back to his former self.

The 6-foot-6 lefty launched 31 home runs in 2025, and despite striking out at a high clip (32.1%), he maintained a .256/.350/.475 line by utilizing a disciplined approach and making hard contact.

Unfortunately for the Nationals, Wood’s slow start continued through Saturday’s game. He picked up two more strikeouts, and grounded into a double play to end the game in the bottom of the ninth.

“He’s been pitched really tough. It’s been 35 at-bats, so I don’t want to overreact too much — we know James is a really good hitter. But, we are also trying to help him get back to who he is,” commented Butera. “If you talk to James, he wants to probably capitalize on some pitches earlier in at-bats.”

Pitchers have used Wood’s traditionally disciplined approach against him to begin 2026. Butera noted that he has seemed to find himself behind in counts often, putting him in a defensive position more often than he’d like. “I think he’s starting to put better swings on pitches earlier in counts, he’s just not quite in sync at this moment.”

He did end up leaving the yard for the second time this season on Sunday, so perhaps that is what Wood needed to get going and get into a rhythm at the plate.

Notables for the Dodgers

While the Dodgers were successful in kicking their offense into gear again this game, they were dealt a sizable blow early in Saturday’s game.

Betts left the game with lower back pain in the bottom of the first inning and was replaced by infielder Miguel Rojas. It was later revealed that an MRI showed a right oblique strain. Betts was placed on the IL, with hopes for him to return sometime in May. 

Betts’ injury led to the call-up of infielder Hyeseong Kim, who reporter Katie Woo noted had a locker present at Nationals Park on Saturday night. Kim, who has hit .346/.438/.385 through six games in Triple-A this year, will look to capitalize on the opportunity to earn himself further runway in the majors.

Despite losing Betts, the lineup came through in another offensive boom. In particular, outfielder Andy Pages hit another three-run home run, boosting his slash line to .500/.516/.833 heading into play on Sunday. He currently leads the National League in fWAR with 0.9, and has 16 hits in his first 34 at-bats.

Finally, pitcher Tyler Glasnow built upon his previous start and fired off six strong innings of work, with a final line of 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO. He’ll work to continue his strong start to 2026 with his next start, likely next Friday against the Texas Rangers.

All statistics compiled prior to play on Sunday, April 5.