Forgive Washington Nationals fans if they’re a little giddy after the team that has posted six straight losing seasons began 2026 by taking two of three at Wrigley Field from the Chicago Cubs.
The Opening Day 10-4 win gave the team its first winning record since May 10 … of 2024.
And the series victory was the Nats’ first to start a season since 2018.
“There’s still things we can work on and get better, and that’s the fun part of this,” manager Blake Butera said after Sunday’s 6-3 victory. “Our team’s so young, they’re hungry and they’re still learning as we go day in and day out. We can still play better baseball but not take away anything, we’re leaving very happy taking two out of three against this really good team.”
Keep that in mind as they play another really good team this week — Philadelphia — before hosting a really great team — the Los Angeles Dodgers — this weekend.
Digesting the division: Miami (3-0) is the early leader in the NL East thanks to three straight one-run wins over Colorado. The New York Mets and Atlanta are tied for second with the Nationals at 2-1, taking different paths to get there: the Mets averaged six runs against Pittsburgh while the Braves held Kansas City to two runs per game. Philadelphia began the season by dropping two of three to Texas, but the Phillies play 12 straight against clubs with non-winning records in 2025 — starting with Washington.
Break up the birds: The Orioles also began the season by taking two of three games from Minnesota, with Tyler O’Neill’s three-run homer helping them push past the Twins in Sunday’s series finale. Baltimore wades into the season softly, avoiding teams that posted a winning record last year, until April 16 when the Orioles visit Cleveland.
Diamond king: Joey Wiemer is off to a monster start, going 6-6 with two homers and four RBI. How hot does he stay as the season progresses? His career bests for homers and RBI are 13 and 42, set in his rookie season of 2023.
There was initial surprise when Robert Hassell III and then Dylan Crews were sent down to the minors late in Spring Training. Not anymore.
Last week’s heroes: Keibert Ruiz homered while driving in three, while Brady House’s hot Spring Training carried into the first weekend of the season as the third baseman hit .308 with a team high four runs scored. Jake Irvin tossed five scoreless innings to secure the series win Sunday, while Clayton Beeter posted a save in his first appearance of the year.
Last week’s humbled: Andre Granillo had a rough outing Saturday, allowing two runs over two thirds of an inning. Miles Mikolas had a less-than-ideal debut as well, coughing up four runs over five frames. James Wood homered over the weekend but is off to a 1-13 start from the leadoff spot.
Game to watch: On Friday, the Nats play their home opener against the defending two-time World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who began their season by sweeping Arizona despite Shohei Ohtani batting 1-8. Buckle up!
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