Nationals Explode on Offense to Secure Opening Day Win

It was an offensive explosion for the Washington Nationals on Thursday.

Washington Nationals outfielders Jacob Young and James Wood | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals got their 2026 season underway on Thursday, and despite being heavy underdogs against the playoff-hopeful Chicago Cubs, it was the Nationals who came out on top in the opener 10-4.

Following a spring training showing where major concerns developed about Washington's offense, it was the performance at the plate that powered them to a 1-0 record to start the year. And it was the catalysts behind this effort that were perhaps the biggest surprises.

Instead of James Wood, CJ Abrams, Daylen Lile or the hot-hitting Brady House putting up the team's first home run of the season, it was Joey Wiemer who got things going in the top of the second when he hit a solo shot 398 feet to left field. Then, as part of the a six-run fourth inning that gave the Nationals the lead again after the Cubs went up 2-1 following their frame in the third, it was the much-maligned Jacob Young who put one into the right field seats for his first blast of the year.

Making proclamations after the first game of the season is never a wise idea. But there were some things that stood out during Thursday's contest. Below are three things that caught my eye during the opener.

Hard Hit Balls

Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Hitting the ball hard should improve the offensive numbers for the Nationals this year, and that was on display throughout Opening Day. Per Statcast, what's classified as a hard-hit ball is anything above an exit velocity of 95 mph. Washington hit 14 of those balls on Thursday. They also had nine at 100 mph or higher, with three exit velocities reaching above 110 mph.

That is huge for this lineup, and it was a major reason why they were able to put 10 runs up on the board. Power and extra-base hits have been hard to come by for this entire group over the years, so seeing them have this type of performance was encouraging, even if it was a one-game sample size.

Too Many Whiffs

Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

There was the good that came with the hard-hit balls and runs scored, but there was also the bad that came with the whiffs. Washington's hitters combined to swing and miss 26 times against Chicago, with 20 of them coming against starting pitcher Matthew Boyd across only 3 2/3 innings of work.

That is an alarming number, and it's something that will need to be addressed going forward. While it's hard to argue with the success that was on display from a results standpoint on Thursday, it's going to be hard to consistently put up runs when they are swinging and missing at so many pitches.

Strong Pitching Performance

Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Nationals didn't get the length they might have wanted from starting pitcher Cade Cavalli, but the rest of the staff picked things up. Coming into the year, there were major concerns about this unit. And while this was just a one-game showing, there was a clear improvement when it came to getting through the middle innings and shutting down a game.

After Cavalli left following 3 2/3 frames pitched, PJ Poulin didn't allow a run in his inning of work. Brad Lord -- who was the winning pitcher on the day -- went 2 1/3 innings where he allowed just one earned run on four hits. Then, Clayton Beeter and Cionel Perez came in and shut the door by not allowing a run during there combined two frames pitched.

Washington got into a bit of trouble at times throughout the contest, but they were able to battle out of it, which is not something that happened very often last year. Overall, it was a good showing from a pitching staff that was a concern coming into the season. And the hope is they can keep up this level of play going forward.