How about the Joey Wiemer led Washington Nationals! The Nats secured a series win in Chicago thanks to the efforts of a new cult hero. Joey Wiemer got on base four times again, and has yet to get out this season. The Nats have now won their first season opening series since 2018.
After yesterday’s sloppy and lopsided loss, I would not blame you if you were pessimistic about the Nats chances today. The homer prone Jake Irvin pitching in Wrigley while the wind was blowing out also felt like an ominous sign. However, the Nats showed up and Irvin looked very good.
Irvin was a victim of the wind when he gave up back to back homers in the fourth. Outside of that, the Nats big righty was in command. His four seam fastball velocity was up over a tick from where it was last year and that paid off for him. Irvin got four whiffs on ten swings against the four seamer and hitters had trouble reacting to the pitch.
He got into a lot of deep counts, which meant he threw 93 pitches through five innings. However, the righty did his job and looked very sharp. Last season, Irvin only struck out 6.20 batters per nine innings, but today he fanned seven in five frames. The long ball will always be an issue for him, but his stuff looks more in line with how it did in 2024.
The Nats bullpen was also very good today. PJ Poulin, Gus Varland, Cionel Perez and Clayton Beeter combined to only allow one run in four innings. Varland was the best of the bunch today, showing off a dynamic fastball. The Nats may not have big names in the bullpen, but I think the unit will be better than expected.
However, I think we may be burying the lede here a little bit. The star of the show this afternoon was Joey Wiemer. He has already made himself into a bit of a cult hero in just two games. The 27 year old is 6-6 with two walks. He has yet to make an out this season and is just totally locked in. Wiemer started the party this afternoon with a 3-run homer in the top of the first off a Shota Imanaga splitter.
The athletic outfielder was not done though. He finished the day just a double shy of the cycle. Wiemer was one batter away from getting the chance to hit for that cycle. If only Victor Estevez did not wave Luis Garcia Jr. in the top of the ninth.
Joey Wiemer has been one of the stories of baseball through the first few days of the season. Right now, he is the front runner for NL MVP. Seriously though, this guy is taking amazing at bats. I know the plan has been to play him only against lefties, but with the way he is hitting, you need to get his bat in the lineup every day until he cools off.
Wiemer was not the only Nat to hit a big home run though. Keibert Ruiz’s game got off to a rough start with a pop up in a bases loaded situation and a throwing error. However, he redeemed himself late in the ball game. Ruiz hit a sac fly in the sixth and gave the Nats more insurance in the 8th with a big home run.
That was Ruiz’s first home run since March of 2025. Ruiz has shown flashes with the bat in the past, but has never put it all together yet. This is likely to be his last chance to prove himself as a starting catcher. If Ruiz can hit like he did today, that would go a long way.
Overall, this was a super fun start to the season. The Nats bats have been lively to start the season after a rough spring. They have been led by unexpected heroes, but there are a lot of hitters seeing it well right now. Brady House and Daylen Lile are two other guys who were in the middle of the action for the Nats today.
The boys head to Philly where they will face off against a familiar foe. Will this be a flash in the pan or can the Nats keep the momentum rolling against the Phillies? Foster Griffin will be making his Nats debut tomorrow and hopefully he can keep the good times rolling. It is so much fun to have baseball back, especially with the Nats winning and looking like a fun group.
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