Cavalli allowed two runs on four hits and a hit batsman while striking out eight and walking none over six innings in a no-decision versus the Dodgers on Saturday.
Cavalli returned to form after his last start versus Miami was cut short after four scoreless innings when he was struck on the calf by a batted ball. The right-hander has logged quality starts in 10 of his last 11 outings. Cavalli now has a 3.12 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 185:46 K:BB through 158.2 innings over 30 starts in a breakout campaign. He'll look to keep rolling at home versus the Angels in his next start.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Ready to roll for Saturday's start
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Cavalli (calf) is listed as the Nationals' probable pitcher for Saturday's game against the Dodgers.
Cavalli was removed from his last start Saturday versus the Marlins after four innings when he was hit in the calf by a comebacker. However, he checked out fine after the contest and handled his normal between-starts throwing routine with no concerns. Cavalli will enter Saturday's start having gone 7-1 with a 1.83 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 67:14 K:BB over 54 innings covering nine outings in the second half.
Manager Blake Butera said Sunday that Cavalli is "fine" after being struck in the calf by a comebacker during Saturday's game against the Marlins, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
The right-hander was forced to depart Saturday's contest after four scoreless frames since he was hit by a 93-mph comebacker, but it appears he's avoided a serious injury. Cavalli lines up to take the mound next weekend on the road against the Dodgers, but he'll likely need to come through his between-starts bullpen session with no issues to gain full clearance.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Hit by comebacker
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Cavalli was removed from Saturday's game against the Marlins after getting hit on the leg by a comebacker, Danielle Allentuck of The Washington Post reports.
Cavalli limped off the field after taking a 93-mph comebacker off his lower leg at the end of the fourth inning and didn't come back out for the fifth. He'll likely be sent for imaging to determine whether he suffered a fracture, and the Nationals may provide more information on his status in the near future. The 28-year-old righty gave up no hits and three walks while striking out eight batters in four shutout innings before his premature exit.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Records another quality start in win
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Cavalli (12-5) earned the win Monday against the Rockies after allowing two runs on five hits and one walk through six innings. He struck out seven.
Cavalli made just two mistakes, allowing solo home runs to both Ezequiel Tovar and Willi Castro. The 28-year-old recorded his ninth consecutive quality start, earning the win in seven of the last eight. This year, the right-hander owns a 3.21 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 169:43 K:BB over 148.2 innings. Cavalli is next slated to pitch Saturday against Miami.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Dominates Cubs over eight innings
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Cavalli (10-5) earned the win Thursday against the Cubs, allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out 10 over eight scoreless innings.
Cavalli set a career high with 103 pitches and reached double-digit strikeouts while delivering the longest outing of his career. The right-hander carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Michael Busch broke it up with a two-out single. Cavalli has now recorded seven consecutive quality starts, posting a 2.25 ERA with 46 strikeouts across 44 innings during that stretch. He has won seven of his last eight decisions and his season ERA is down to 3.36 alongside a 1.24 WHIP and 151:41 K:BB across 136.2 innings. Cavalli will seek to carry Thursday's dominance into his next scheduled start Wednesday against Texas.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Fans nine in win over A's
Rotowire
Cavalli (6-4) earned the win Friday over the Athletics, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out nine over six innings. He did not issue a walk.
Cavalli gave up a two-run homer to Tyler Soderstrom in the bottom of the fourth inning, but that would be all the damage he'd allow en route to his fourth quality start in his last five appearances. In that five-game stretch, Cavalli owns a 2.96 ERA and 0.88 WHIP with a 12.2 K/9 across 27.1 innings. He'll aim to keep it going in his next start, scheduled against the Rockies at Coors Field.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Fans five in quality start
Rotowire
Cavalli took a no-decision Sunday against the Yankees, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out five.
Cavalli cruised through four scoreless innings initially Sunday, but the Yankees were able to tag the hurler for a pair of runs in the fifth frame. It was still the third quality start in the 27-year-old right-hander's past four outings and eighth of the campaign overall. Cavalli has put together a solid first half of play, posting a 3.83 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 110:32 K:BB over 98.2 innings (20 appearances).
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Suspension reduced to five games
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Major League Baseball announced that Cavalli's seven-game suspension has been reduced to five games following an appeal, Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic reports. The right-hander will begin serving the ban in Monday's series opener versus the Astros.
During his start last Tuesday against the Red Sox, Cavalli made a remark to Boston's Willson Contreras after striking him out, which instigated a benches-clearing brawl between the two clubs. As a result of getting his suspension reduced to five games, Cavalli will lose out on some salary but isn't expected to miss out on any starts. He's now lined up to take the ball Sunday against the Yankees in his final start of the first half.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Battles dehydration during start
Rotowire
Cavalli acknowledged after Sunday's 11-5 loss to the Pirates that he dealt with dehydration during his start, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal reports. "It was a weird thing," Cavalli said. "I knew it was going to be hot. These last two or three days, I've been trying to prepare my body as best I can for it. Drinking a lot of fluids, the right kind of fluids. I don't know why my body reacted the way it did to it."
After turning in a 13-strikeout gem over seven innings in a win over the Red Sox on Tuesday, Cavalli was unable to maintain that dominant form in his second start of the week. The high temperatures in Washington, D.C. appeared to take an early toll on Cavalli, who saw his fastball velocity drop from 97.6 mph in the first inning to 96.1 mph in the second inning and 94.2 mph in the third. Cavalli was able to stay in the game after a visit on the mound from manager Blake Butera and a team trainer, but he was pulled after walking the next batter he faced. The right-hander ended up taking a no-decision, finishing the afternoon with four runs allowed (three earned) on six hits and two walks across 2.1 innings and 63 pitches. While Cavalli should be rehydrated and ready to go when his turn in the rotation comes up again during next weekend's series against the Yankees, he's still awaiting the results of his appeal of the seven-game suspension he received last week for his role in the benches-clearing incident that took place during his start against Boston. If the appeal process is completed within the next few days and the ban is upheld, Cavalli wouldn't pitch again until after the All-Star break.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Velo down, leaves start early
Rotowire
Cavalli was lifted midway through the third inning of his start Sunday against the Pirates due to an apparent injury, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports. He allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out three over 2.1 innings prior to departing.
Fresh off striking out a career-high 13 batters while yielding just one hit over seven innings in his previous start Tuesday in Boston, Cavalli was unable to keep the momentum going. He needed 63 pitches to record his seven outs, and seemed to be pitching through an injury during the start. His velocity was down from its usual levels throughout the afternoon, and he was visited on the mound by the Nationals' athletic trainer at one point during the second inning before leaving the game one frame later. Expect manager Blake Butera to shed light on Cavalli's condition when he address the media following Sunday's game.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Next start coming Sunday
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Cavalli will start Sunday against the Pirates in Washington, Kyle Williams of TheBanner.com reports.
Cavalli was initially expected to make his next turn in the rotation Monday against the Astros, but he will take the mound for the Nationals on Sunday instead of Miles Mikolas, who will likely start in the series opener against Houston. Cavalli is appealing a seven-game suspension that he received Thursday for his involvement in a bench-clearing incident with the Red Sox on Tuesday. Cavalli has a 3.69 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 102:29 K:BB across 90.1 innings this season.
Cavalli received a seven-game suspension Thursday for his actions initiating and during the benches-clearing incident Tuesday versus the Red Sox, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.
The benches-clearing incident Tuesday was sparked when Cavalli struck out Willson Contreras. On the Nationals' side, Miles Mikolas also received a five-game ban. For the Red Sox, Contreras received a seven-game suspension and Nate Eaton three games. Unless Cavalli appeals, he won't be able to return until July 11.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Settles for no-decision
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Cavalli took a no-decision Thursday against the Phillies, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out seven.
The quality start was the first of the month for Cavalli, whose seven punchouts also marked his highest total in June so far. The 27-year-old right-hander was in line for the win, exiting the game with a 5-2 lead before the seventh inning, but Washington's much-maligned bullpen blew its 24th save of the season Thursday. Cavalli will take a pedestrian 4.00 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 89:29 K:BB over 83.1 innings into his next scheduled outing in Boston against a Red Sox team that's struggled mightily at home in 2026.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Scratched Friday
Rotowire
Cavalli was scratched from his scheduled start against the Rays on Friday due to an illness.
Cavalli was penciled in to start Friday's series opener but instead won't be available due to food poisoning, per Andrew Golden of TheBanner.com. The Nationals are hopeful Cavalli will be ready to start Saturday. PJ Poulin will start in Cavalli's place with Miles Mikolas set to follow in the bulk role.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Strikes out five in fourth win
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Cavalli (4-4) notched the win Saturday against the Mariners, allowing three runs on four hits and no walks in five innings. He struck out five.
Cavalli cruised through four scoreless innings but stumbled in the fifth, when Seattle tagged him for three runs. The 27-year-old right-hander has now fired at least five frames in seven straight starts, and he's given up more than three runs just twice all season. Cavalli will carry a decent 3.98 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 81:25 K:BB across 74.2 innings into his next scheduled start in Tampa Bay.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Takes fourth loss Sunday
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Cavalli (3-4) took the loss Sunday against Arizona, surrendering four runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out two across five innings.
Cavalli was undone by the long ball Sunday, serving up homers to Corbin Carroll in the first inning and Gabriel Moreno in the fifth that accounted for a majority of the damage. More concerning for fantasy managers was the lack of swing-and-miss stuff, as he managed just two strikeouts across five innings after entering Sunday with 74 punchouts across 64.2 innings. Cavalli now owns a 3.88 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 76:25 K:BB across 69.2 innings and is scheduled to face Seattle in his next start.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Keeps piling up punchouts
Rotowire
Cavalli (2-3) took the loss Thursday against the Mets, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk in seven innings. He struck out nine.
The Mets did all their damage in the third inning, scratching across a pair of runs in the frame, but Cavalli otherwise cruised Thursday. The 27-year-old right-hander surrendered no extra-base hits and fanned at least eight batters for the fourth time in his past six starts. The 2020 first-round pick is coming into his own a bit in 2026, posting a 3.86 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 61:19 K:BB across 53.2 frames. Cavalli will be hoping to keep up his recent hot streak in the strikeout department his next time out versus Cleveland.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Unravels in fourth, takes loss
Rotowire
Cavalli (1-2) took the loss Tuesday against the Twins, allowing six runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks while striking out two over four innings.
Cavalli unraveled in the fourth inning, when he threw 40 pitches and struggled badly with his command. The right-hander opened the frame yielding a single and issuing back-to-back walks to load the bases before mishandling a weak grounder from Brooks Lee, allowing a run to score on the error. Later in the inning, Trevor Larnach delivered a two-run double that extended Minnesota's lead. Entering Tuesday, Cavalli had limited opponents to two or fewer earned runs in six of his seven starts and had struck out 10 batters in each of his previous two outings. He now owns a 4.15 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and a 40:17 K:BB across 34.2 innings and is set to face Miami in his next scheduled start.
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Nationals' Cade Cavalli: Strikes out 10 in no-decision
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Cavalli did not factor into the decision Thursday against Atlanta. He allowed two runs on seven hits and no walks while striking out 10 over five-plus innings.
While Cavalli failed to get in the win column Thursday, the right-hander turned in one of his better starts of the season, setting a career-high with 10 strikeouts. Still, the right-hander has struggled to go deep into games early in the season, completing at least six innings just once in six outings. Overall, Cavalli sports a 4.01 ERA with a 1.66 WHIP and 28:12 K:BB across 24.2 innings this year. He's currently slated for a road matchup with the Mets his next time out.
