Washington Nationals at Athletics

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
WSH	0	0	3	1	4	6	4	0	5	23	21	1
ATH	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	4	9	1

Cade Cavalli takes the ball for Washington off a no-decision against the Yankees where he went 6.0 innings and struck out 5, and he draws Gage Jump, who's been quietly effective for Oakland even in a loss to the White Sox where he punched out 7 over 5.2 frames.

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ML

Total

Nationals(48-49)

LLLWL

23

-1.5+130-122o9.5-122

Athletics(41-55)

LLLLL

4

+1.5-133+120u9.5+117

Best BetNationals -112

Pregame

Washington's the pick here even after a rough final week before the break, because Oakland's lineup is missing its best player in Nick Kurtz and its DH in Brent Rooker for good. A team that's dropped 9 in a row and fired its pitching coach is not the side to trust right now, regardless of price. Cavalli's control has been solid enough recently to keep this winnable for the Nats.

The bigger story in Oakland is who's not in the lineup. Nick Kurtz, who was actually the AL's starting All-Star first baseman before his thumb injury, is out, and Brent Rooker is done for the year after a knee procedure. That's the middle of the order gutted heading into a stretch where the A's have been outscored badly and dropped their pitching coach along the way.

Cade Cavalli

(8-4)·3.55 ERA

Jul 12 vs Yankees

ND

6.0IP

2ER

5K

1BB

85P

07/17 Lineup

Gage Jump

(4-6)·4.00 ERA

Jul 11 @ White Sox

L

5.2IP

1ER

7K

2BB

86P

07/17 Lineup

Washington isn't exactly rolling either — 1-4 in its last 5 with three straight losses to the Yankees before the break — but the Nationals still have more intact pieces than Oakland does right now. Jacob Young's day-to-day with a sore hand and the rotation is missing Jake Irvin, Josiah Gray and DJ Herz to injury, so it's not a clean bill of health in D.C. either.

Washington Nationals

(48-49)

Jul 12Lvs Yankees3-5

Jul 11Lvs Yankees2-4

Jul 10Lvs Yankees3-5

Jul 8Wvs Astros8-2

Jul 7Lvs Astros3-6

Athletics

(41-55)

Jul 12L@ White Sox1-9

Jul 11L@ White Sox0-1

Jul 10L@ White Sox1-14

Jul 9L@ Tigers1-4

Jul 8L@ Tigers1-6

The gap shows up in the injury reports side by side. Oakland's list reads like a lineup card — Kurtz, Zack Gelof and Rooker are three of the more productive bats on the roster, all shelved within a couple weeks of each other. Washington's absences skew more toward the pitching staff, which stings, but a team can scrape by patching a rotation easier than replacing its middle of the order.

Washington Nationals

(11)

• Day-To-DayJacob Young (CF) — Manager Blake Butera said Young was unavailable for Sunday's game against the Yankees since his left hand remains sore, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.07/12
• 10-Day-ILDrew Millas (C) — Milias went 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored in Wednesday's win over the Red Sox.07/15
• 15-Day-ILRichard Lovelady (RP) — Lovelady (triceps) began a throwing program shortly after landing on the injured list June 29 and had thrown off flat ground out to 60 feet as recently as July 3, MLB.com reports.07/13
• 15-Day-ILJake Irvin (SP) — Irvin (shoulder) struck out three and gave up one hit and no walks over three scoreless innings Monday in a rehab start in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.07/13
• 15-Day-ILBrad Lord (RP) — The Nationals placed Lord on the 15-day injured list Thursday with left side tightness.07/09
• SuspensionMiles Mikolas (SP) — Major League Baseball announced that Mikolas will begin serving his five-game suspension Sunday, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.07/12
• 60-Day-ILTrevor Williams (SP) — Williams (elbow) struck out five and allowed one unearned run on one hit and one walk across two innings Tuesday in a rehab start in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.07/15
• 60-Day-ILMitchell Parker (RP) — The Nationals transferred Parker (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Wednesday.07/02
• 60-Day-ILDJ Herz (SP) — Herz (elbow) was diagnosed Monday with a left flexor strain, Kyle Williams of TheBanner.com reports.06/22
• 60-Day-ILKen Waldichuk (RP) — Waldichuk (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery and an internal brace procedure April 21 and is hopeful to return to game action at some point early in the 2027 season, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.06/11
• 60-Day-ILJosiah Gray (SP) — Gray (elbow) has resumed a throwing program, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.05/08

Athletics

(7)

• 10-Day-ILNick Kurtz (1B) — The Athletics placed Kurtz on the 10-day injured list Saturday, retroactive to Friday, with a right thumb capsule sprain.07/11
• 10-Day-ILZack Gelof (3B) — Gelof exited Thursday's contest against the Tigers in the third inning with a right knee injury, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.07/10
• 10-Day-ILBrent Rooker (DH) — Rooker will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a cartilage tear in his left knee, Jason Burke of Roundtable.io reports.07/01
• 60-Day-ILDenzel Clarke (CF) — Clarke (hamstring) has started to play catch and has also begun a swinging progression, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.06/23
• 60-Day-ILLuis Severino (SP) — The Athletics transferred Severino (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Sunday.06/21
• 60-Day-ILBrooks Kriske (RP) — Kriske (shoulder) began a throwing progression Thursday, MLB.com reports.06/16
• 60-Day-ILGunnar Hoglund (SP) — Hoglund (knee/back) will be sidelined for the rest of the 2026 season after undergoing surgery on his left hip Monday.05/20

Cavalli's control has been the encouraging sign in his recent outings — just 1 walk in that last start against a stacked Yankees lineup — while Jump's strikeout stuff has stayed sharp even as the results haven't always followed for a team that can't buy a win right now. Whichever bullpen blinks first probably decides this one, and neither pen is walking into Friday with much margin for error.