Instant Analysis: Rangers 5, Nats 0

Jackson Kent labored again, and the Nationals lineup was completely shut down by Texas' pitching staff, falling to 5-14 over the last three weeks

Photo by Billy Sabatini / ALL-PRO REELS

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Nationals aren’t just losing games now. They’re losing games without looking competitive, a disturbing trend to say the least.

Tonight’s 5-0 loss to the Rangers might have been the new low point. The Nats trailed early and never came close to making things interesting, shut down by journeyman right-hander Cal Quantrill while falling to 5-14 over the last three weeks.

CJ Abrams, serving as DH in advance of potentially his first game at second base Wednesday, went 2-for-3 with a leadoff double. But his teammates combined for just five other hits (four singles, one double) and one walk in a tepid offensive performance against Quantrill, who departed after seven scoreless innings, and the Texas bullpen.

Jackson Kent, meanwhile, dug his team into a quick hole, giving up one run in the first, another in the second and three more in the third during another laborious start. The rookie left-hander lasted just 3 2/3 innings, throwing 84 pitches along the way. Trevor Williams did a nice job picking up the slack with 3 1/3 scoreless innings of long relief. But all that did was keep the deficit at five runs, which was far too steep for the Nationals in their current form.

HITTING LOWLIGHT: It was one thing when this depleted Nationals lineup was shut out by an All-Star like Jesus Luzardo. It was quite another thing to be shut out by a journeyman like Quantrill. The Nats never seriously threatened in seven innings against the right-hander, unless you count Abrams’ game-opening double. His teammates proceeded to strand him and then never took another at-bat with a runner in scoring position until the eighth inning. It was nice to see Abrams bounce back from an 0-for-10 weekend in New York to record two hits tonight. But it would’ve been nicer had anyone else in his lineup done anything to help him out.

PITCHING LOWLIGHT: The hope was that Kent’s nerves would diminish in his second start and perhaps allow him to pound the strike zone more like he did in the minors than last week against the Cubs. He did show some progress there, connecting for first-pitch strikes on 13 of the 22 batters he faced – he was just 3-for-19 in his debut – but he still ran through stretches where command completely eluded him, especially on back-to-back, four-pitch walks in the third. Kent gave up eight hits, and while several of those were well-placed groundballs, he still had trouble putting away big-league hitters, inducing only six swings-and-misses. All told, the rookie left-hander very much remains a work-in-progress. Through two starts, he has allowed eight runs on 11 hits and eight walks, striking out nine while throwing a whopping 162 pitches in only 7 2/3 innings.

NOTABLE: Josiah Gray pitched one inning of relief for Single-A Fredericksburg tonight in his long-awaited 2026 season debut. Making a rehab appearance nearly five months after suffering an end-of-spring setback in his already lengthy return from Tommy John surgery, the right-hander allowed one run on two singles and a wild pitch, striking out one and throwing 11-of-16 pitches for strikes.

“I feel great,” Gray said afterward via Fredericksburg’s social media account. “With my last game being in spring training, finally getting some batters in there, for me it really felt fulfilling. I was glad to be out there, and I felt great. I’m glad to get that under my belt and go from there.”

UP NEXT: Cade Cavalli looks to keep his recent stretch of success (5-1, 2.25 ERA over his last seven starts) going when he takes the mound Wednesday at 8:05 p.m. The Rangers haven’t announced their starter yet. TV: Nationals TV RADIO: 106.7 FM