Nationals Give Up 15 Runs in First Two Yankees Games to Ensure Series Loss
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The Washington Nationals dropped game two of their series against the New York Yankees on Tuesday, ensuring that they will lose the series as they extended their losing streak to four games. It is going to take a much better showing from their pitching staff on Wednesday to avoid a sweep.
Monday's game was the fifth time this month the Nationals had allowed double-digit runs scored against them. Washington lost the game, 10-5, in New York, with starting pitcher Brad Lord allowing seven of those runs.
Lord barely finished four innings before he was removed from the game. It was easily one of his worst outings as a starter. He had primarily been used out of the bullpen until the trade deadline when he moved into the rotation to replace Michael Sokora. Before Monday, he was starting to find some rhythm as a starter.
The 5-1 loss in game two on Tuesday was a better showing, but starter MacKenzie Gore didn't necessarily look like himself. Three of the five runs that the Yankees scored came at the expense of Gore, Washington's top starter.
Washington looked great a week ago when the Nationals took down the New York Mets, but since then the team has dropped four of its last five with a pair of series losses to the Philadelphia Phillies and now the Yankees.
Even though the Nationals cannot walk away with a series victory they still have a chance to avoid a sweep (which hasn't happened since the first of the month). Their (probable) starting pitcher for the finale is 27-year-old Cade Cavalli.
Cade Cavalli tosses 7 scoreless innings against the Phillies in just his 3rd start since coming off the IL 👏 pic.twitter.com/f86f0wFthB
— MLB (@MLB) August 16, 2025
Cavalli might have made his debut back in 2022, but he just claimed his first Major League victory recently after he missed 2023 and 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Cavalli was recalled from his rehab assignment with Rochester earlier this season and the Nats have started him in four games. He is 1-0 with a 2.82 ERA and 18 strikeouts. There is definitely hope that the Nationals can avoid a sweep.
Problems in the Starting Rotation this Year
The Nationals have struggled all year with their pitching. The only team that has performed worse on the mound is the Colorado Rockies. That isn't a good staff comparison given the Rockies have won fewer than 40 games.
Washington finds itself second-to-last in nearly every category including ERA, hits allowed, runs allows and opponent batting average. Since the trade deadline the Nationals has looked better. Washington traded for some good prospects, held onto Gore, and are seeing great things from Cavalli, giving them some hope for next season.
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Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.