Two clubs with nothing left to play for but reps meet in the nation's capital, though a pair of Nationals sluggers are still making this one worth the tune-in.
+Abrams and Wood both topped 30 homers, rare franchise feat
+Both outfielders were All-Stars in July
−Lost 5 straight, bullpen keeps blowing leads
−Nearly the entire projected rotation on extended IL
−On pace for a seventh straight losing season
Los Angeles and Washington open a two-game set Friday, September 11 before running it back Saturday, with first pitch at 4:05 PM ET. Neither club has named a starter for this one yet, and with both rotations picked apart by injury all year, a call-up or a bullpen day wouldn't surprise anyone in either dugout.
The injury list explains a lot about how each team got here. Washington is already without Josiah Gray, DJ Herz, Mitchell Parker, Ken Waldichuk and Connelly Early — all long-term rotation options — with reliever Orlando Ribalta and starter Matt Waldron banged up behind them. The Angels have their own pile: George Klassen and Jack Kochanowicz are done for the year, and the bullpen is thinner without Sam Bachman and Robert Stephenson. Whatever number the market eventually posts for this game is being built on a lot of names who won't actually take the mound.
Neither team is playing for a spot anywhere. The Angels were the first American League club eliminated from playoff contention this year, stretching the franchise's postseason drought to 12 seasons — the longest active streak in the league. Washington isn't chasing anything either, and is on track for a seventh straight losing season. What's actually worth watching is what each front office does with the reps left on the schedule.
That form picture will look different by first pitch — both clubs still have games left before this one, including the series opener in Washington on September 11. What's already true: the Angels' two wins this week were blowouts, 6-1 over both Pittsburgh and Boston, while Washington's bullpen has been the story of its skid, giving back leads the offense worked to build. Neither trend needs three more days to be worth knowing walking in.
The reason to watch anyway sits in the middle of Washington's lineup card. CJ Abrams and James Wood have both cleared 30 home runs this season, the first Nationals duo to do that since 2019, and both were All-Stars in July — Wood a back-to-back selection, the franchise's first since Juan Soto. That's a real reason to tune into a game between two teams with nothing else on the line.
