Nationals part ways with ex-Rays, Twins veteran starter after trade deadline originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Washington Nationals have parted ways with a nine-year Major League veteran starter.
On Wednesday, the NL East club announced that right-hander Brad Lord was reinstated from the 15-day injured list.
Lord will replace fellow righty Zack Littell, who was designated for ***** ignment by the Nationals.
Littell has made 23 appearances with Washington this season, including 13 starts. His 14.6% strikeout rate is a career low, as he's totaled just 70 punchouts in 112.1 innings.

#littell #twins

Offense was somewhat surprisingly at a premium last night in DC after the two-hour rain delay, as the Yankees couldn't do more than hit register two solo shots against the Nationals' Carson Palmquist/Zack Littell combo across the first seven innings. They weren't dominating by any stretch; it just felt like the Yanks weren't landing that key hit. So when Tim Hill coughed up back-to-back homers to Keibert Ruiz and James Wood to put the Nats ahead 3-2, there was a legitimate fear that Ryan Weathers' work would go to waste.
Thankfully, the Nats' weak relief pitching finally made a true appearance in the ninth. A few minutes later, the save was blown behind the bats of Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Austin Wells, two dudes who needed some big swings. Final score: 5-3, Yanks. Phew!
Here's what else was going on in some of the notable American League action yesterday. Note that we've shaken up the teams covered again for this final series of the first half, focusing solely on those presently in playoff position. As always, these are subject to change! It's just who's getting the shine at the moment.*
*Although I will note that all of the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Tigers, and Orioles won, moving the middle tier of the Wild Card race all up a game. Minnesota is one back of Seattle for the last Wild Card; Houston, Toronto, and surging Boston are 1.5 behind; Detroit is within 2.5 and Baltimore is three back. Oh, and none of these teams are over .500. What a jumbled mess.
It was a great Friday for Rays starter Nick Martinez, who was chosen as a replacement for Boston's Ranger Suárez on the All-Star roster and then went out and recorded a win over the Mariners. Named an All-Star for the first time at age-35, Martinez threw 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk, giving up a homer to Cole Young and not much else. It wasn't as shiny as some of his early regular-season starts, but the W's all count the same.

The Yankees are looking to end their first half on a high note this weekend in Washington, DC, when they face the upstart Nationals. Said Nats have been better than expected in their first full year with a new front office and skipper, which hadn't been changed since their 2019 World Series-winning team fell apart. Ryan Weathers, Cam Schlittler, and Will Warren have a tough lineup facing them this weekend, and Weathers is slated to be the first to get a shot at them tonight. The Nats are sending out lefty Carson Palmquist as an opener with familiar starter Zack Littell likely to follow as the "bulk guy."
However, we'll have to wait a bit. The Nationals announced that there is "inclement weather" in the area and that first pitch—which had been scheduled for 6:45pm ET—was delayed. They put the news out there at 6:07pm ET and as of just a few minutes ago, the tarp was still on the field. ******* mer.
We'll keep you all posted with any updates on the first pitch time.

After a big win last night, the Nats celebrate this Independence Day by playing an 11:05 game against the Pirates. They will look to secure a 3rd straight series win on the 250th anniversary of this great country. It will be tough with the Pirates throwing out a hard throwing righty.
The Nats will make a few tweaks to the lineup. Jacob Young was supposed to be back in the lineup, but he was a late scratch. That means it will be the same outfield as last night. Curtis Mead will be back in there at third base. Drew Millas will also be catching in this one. Carson Palmquist will be opening for Zack Littell.
The Pirates are making some changes at the bottom of their lineup Tyler Callihan, who pitched yesterday, will be in the game at first base. Former first overall pick Henry Davis will also be doing the catching here. Besides that, it is a similar lineup to last night. Braxton Ashcraft has had a great season and he will be on the mound in this one.
Game Info:
Stadium: Nationals Park

With how this month of May went for the Nats, it was only fitting that they finished it off by taking a series against a team above .500. That is what this team has been doing all month, and it is why they had a 16-12 record in May. It is even more fitting that the battery of Zack Littell and Keibert Ruiz led them to this win.
Both Ruiz and Littell had tough starts to the season, but really turned things around in May. Ruiz hit .379 with a 1.107 OPS on the month, while playing great defense. Meanwhile, Littell posted a 2.35 ERA in 30.2 innings, after having an ERA over 8 in April. For Ruiz, he needed to find his confidence and Littell just needed to get back up to speed after signing late in the offseason.
It also appears that the two have developed a mutual respect for each other. After the game, Ruiz credited Littell for “attacking hitters and getting quick outs”. Littell seemed very impressed with Ruiz, especially on the defensive side of the ball. He admitted that prior to playing here, he knew that Ruiz was not exactly known as a defensive minded catcher. After working with him though, Littell said that Ruiz has been “Unbelievable” and says that he “loves working with him”.
Littell also credited Ruiz’s work ethic, which has been a common theme this year. In Spencer Nusbaum’s great piece about Ruiz, it talked about how the work ethic has always been there for him. The difference this year is that Ruiz is working smarter as well.
While the Nats catcher went 2 for 3 today, his biggest contributions were on the defensive end. He gunned down three runners today including two huge strike em out throw em out plays that ended stressful innings. Ruiz got the Nats out of a nervy 7th by gunning down a runner, and did the same to end the game in the 9th.