Brad Ciolek, the senior director of amateur scouting for the Nationals, is leaving to join the Detroit Tigers, per source. First was TalkNats. This comes a few weeks after Danny Haas left his role as scouting director to join the Orioles.

The Washington Nationals appear to some as “directionless,” with too many hands on the wheel. From @barrysvrlugawp.bsky.social, @andrewgolden.bsky.social and @chelseajanes.bsky.social: www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/...

An important read ahead of an important offseason:

FINAL: Braves 5, Nationals 0. No one scored through nine. Then, the Braves scored. Get some sleep.

The Nationals had runners on the corners w/one out in the ninth. Daylen Lile popped out to shortstop. Luis García Jr. hit a line drive to the warning track but Ronald Acuña Jr. made a leaping catch. .580 xBA, HR in 3/30 parks. To extras we go. The first game started at 1:05.

Chris Sale has nine strikeouts through eight innings. The Nationals have seen just two three-ball counts all night. That's a product of Sale being in/around the zone. But the Nationals aren't helping themselves either. 0-0, top 9.

MacKenzie Gore exits in the sixth inning after walking Ronald Acuña Jr. He was at 92 pitches. Jackson Rutledge will enter. Seems like Acuña said something to Gore after he threw a fastball up and in earlier in the at-bat. Gore didn't respond. 0-0, top 6.

Also: Gore is through five innings. He's allowed two hits. Andrés Chaparro thought the inning was over with two outs. He ran to the dugout and his teammates had to tell him to turn around. A few laughs from Gore and Chaparro.

MacKenzie Gore's changeup has been really good tonight. Seven whiffs on 10 swings so far including three strikeouts with the pitch. He throws it 10% of the time. It's up to 21% tonight.

Can confirm Grant Paulsen's report that Carter Hawkins is no longer in the running for the Nationals' GM job. He's staying in Chicago as the Cubs' GM.

MacKenzie Gore loaded the bases in the first but got Michael Harris to ground out to second. Andres Chaparro went after the ball and was out of position, so Gore covered first. Score that a 4-1 to end the frame.

The MASN rain delay game cut off with Jordan Zimmerman taking a no-hitter into the top of the ninth. I wonder what happened? Anyway, we're underway at Nationals Park in Game 2. MacKenzie Gore on the mound.

Tonight's game will begin at approx. 8:45 pm

The start of tonight's game is delayed.

First version of today's story on the Nationals' loss in Game 1 of the doubleheader. Jake Irvin allowed five in the fourth inning: “It’s been kind of a microcosm of the season,” Irvin said. “Trying to limit that damage and not being able to do it.”

FINAL: Braves 6, Nationals 3. Jake Irvin allowed five runs in the fourth and that was the difference. Game 2 at 6:45.

Daylen Lile just set the team record for most triples in a rookie season with 10. He did it in 81 games.

Jake Irvin allowed a two-run HR to Jurickson Profar. Matt Olson followed with a solo shot. The Braves now lead 5-2. Things have turned quickly. Both homers came in 1-2 counts. Profar homer? Irvin buried a curveball but he hit it out anyway. Olson homer? Sinker down the middle.

And Vidal Brujan just tied this one up with a sinking RBI double that landed just in front of the outstretched glove of Jacob Young. It's a testament to Young's defense in center the last two years that I was shocked he didn't catch that. We have a tie ballgame.

A really nice diving stop by Brady House to rob Eli White of a RBI single. Instead, it's an RBI groundout. The Nationals lead 2-1 in the fourth inning.

CJ Abrams tacks on a sacrifice fly in the second so the Nationals double their lead to 2-0.

Jacob Young gets the Nationals on the board with a RBI single. Three straight Washington hitters have reached and now the top of the order is due up. 1-0 Nationals, bottom 2.

Sean Doolittle will be the Nationals' pitching coach for the day. Jim Hickey underwent a minor medical procedure today and isn't with the team.

Sean Doolittle will be the Nationals' pitching coach for the day. Jim Hickey underwent a minor medical procedure today and isn't with the team.

The Nationals lost 11-3 on Monday night. But win or lose, Daylen Lile continues to hit. Wrote about the 22-year-old who opened the season buried on the outfield depth chart. As the year ends, he’s near the top:

FINAL: Braves 11, Nationals 3. Atlanta had a lot of hits. Washington did not.

Bases were loaded in the 4th for Dylan Crews. He grounded into a double play on a ball he hit right in front of home. 2-1 Braves, top 5.

Another person who has interviewed for the Nationals’ GM job, per sources: Cleveland Guardians EVP and assistant GM Matt Forman. Forman started as a director of baseball operations for Cleveland.

Jose A. Ferrer always wanted to be a closer. So over the last two seasons, he’s sought advice from some of the best. On the conversations he’s had with Edwin Díaz, Aroldis Chapman, Devin Williams and Kyle Finnegan that are helping him now:

In a game between two teams that don’t score in bunches, a few feet or inches often can be the difference between victory or defeat. That’s exactly what happened in the Nationals’ 5-1 loss to the Pirates:

FINAL: Pirates 5, Nationals 1. The Nationals walked three hitters in the eighth inning and that cost them 4 runs. Neither offense was great but the Pirates did enough when it mattered.

The Nationals do not have a hit through three innings. The Pirates have two hits -- a 52 mph single and a 31.1 mph bunt.

CJ Abrams made a nice backhanded stop on a grounder through the hole and we're underway at Nationals Park.

The Nationals’ Friday night comeback had everything. A go-head homer by Dylan Crews. A game-saving throw by James Wood. And a homer by Brady House that started it all. On House’s aggressive approach that paid off in the Nats’ 6-5 win:

FINAL: Nationals 6, Pirates 5. Jose A. Ferrer allowed two runs in the ninth. He should've allowed a third, which would've tied the game. And then James Wood threw out a runner at the plate. What a throw. Brady House and Dylan Crews homered.

And Josh Bell just hit a two-out, two-run single. Advanced to second on a Oneil Cruz fielding error. Bell put his finger up in the air when the ball went through the middle. The vibes are much different than they were a few innings ago. 6-3 Nationals, botom 7.

Dylan Crews hits a two-run homer and the Nationals lead 4-3. Crews is pretty hyped. Let out a yell when he rounded first base.

Spencer Horwitz just hit a two-run homer off Brad Lord in a full count. Both the hitter and pitcher knew it as soon as Horwitz connected. A changeup right down the middle. It's 3-0 Pirates. Pittsburgh has seven hits. Washington has 1.

James Wood just struck out for the 200th time this season, passing Adam Dunn (2010) for most in club history.

Brady House, despite his struggles offensively, has still played a strong third base. Started a 5-4-3 double play. And then Dylan Crews just made a leaping catch at the wall in right field to end the inning. That'll work.

Robert Hassell had Washington's first hit of the game in the third, but that's all so far through three innings against Mitch Keller.

Brad Lord has allowed three straight hits. The last was a Bryan Reynolds RBI single. The Pirates jump ahead 1-0.

The Nationals had an opportunity for an inning-ending double play. Josh Bell threw the ball away to put two runners in scoring position. But Brad Lord got out of the frame with a strikeout and a groundout. 0-0, bottom 2.

Robert Hassell III’s solo HR in the ninth was a product of advice from assistant coach Chris Johnson. Josh Bell’s three-run HR was a product of prepping in the batting cage and knowing his own scouting report. Inside the Nats’ comeback against the Cubs:

FINAL: Nationals 6, Cubs 3. An amazing comeback started by Robert Hassell III's solo homer. Josh Bell followed with a three-run homer. Washington steal a series from the Cubs, who lead the NL Wild Card.

Miguel Cairo brought in Clayton Beeter to face Seiya Suzuki. Suzuki hit a RBI single and the Cubs led 2-1 in the 5th. First hit Beeter has allowed in nine innings.

Ian Happ hit a grounder to CJ Abrams with the infield in and runners on the corners. Kevin Alcantara went home. Abrams threw it to Riley Adams to nail Alcantara. Even after the review, the call stands. Nice play by Abrams, who didn't rush the throw.

Luis García Jr. hit a double that would've scored Daylen Lile, but Seiya Suzuki put his hands up and claimed it was stuck in the ivy. (It wasn't, ball immediately fell out). Brady House hit a sacrifice fly to score Lile and we have a tie game.

The Nationals have one hit through three innings against the Cubs, a Dylan Crews single hit at 63.7 miles per hour. Crews was caught stealing to end the frame.

Andrew Alvarez gives up his first run in the big leagues: a solo homer to Carson Kelly in the bottom of the second. The Cubs have the lead.