WASHINGTON (AP) — It took Cade Cavalli nearly three years to make it back to a major league mound after his debut.
He needed just three starts after his return to earn his first victory.
The Washington Nationals’ first-round pick in the 2020 amateur draft pitched seven innings in , scattering seven hits while allowing just one runner to reach third base.
“I’ve been wanting to get this win since 2020, and just contribute to a win,” Cavalli said two days after his 27th birthday. “I’m very pumped about it.”
Cavalli debuted on Aug. 26, 2022, a little more than two years after being selected out of Oklahoma. He lasted 4 1/3 innings in that start against Cincinnati and missed the rest of the season with shoulder inflammation. He underwent Tommy John surgery the following year and missed the entire season, then made only three minor league rehabilitation appearances in 2024.
The right-hander struggled in the minors this season, posting a 5.35 ERA in 17 starts over three levels. But after the Nationals dealt Michael Soroka to the Chicago Cubs at last month’s trade deadline, they recalled Cavalli from Triple-A Rochester to give him an extended look in the rotation.
Cavalli (1-0) got out of his biggest jam in the fourth inning Saturday. With runners on the corners and one out, he got Max Kepler to hit into a double play to end the threat.
“I’m so happy for him,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “For so long with all the injuries, and to perform against that team like that? It’s amazing.”
Cavalli needed only 90 pitches to navigate nearly three full trips through Philadelphia’s order and threw out two runners early in the game. Trea Turner doubled to lead off the game, but Cavalli caught him taking off for third. The next inning, Cavalli got Brandon Marsh at third on Harrison Bader’s comebacker.
He was particularly sharp at the end of his outing, requiring only seven pitches to get through the sixth and 12 to complete the seventh.
“Staying in attack mode,” Cavalli said. “They are an aggressive team. I just wanted to go get quick outs.”
The Nationals (50-73) are mired in last place and in a protracted rebuild that started at the trade deadline in 2021. But the franchise can find some hope on days like Saturday, when Cavalli’s breakthrough combined with 22-year-old All-Star James Wood delivering a two-run double in the fifth.
“He was great,” Wood said. “He was getting swing-and-miss on the fastball, getting chase on the curveball. When you have those two going and you have two pitches as good as he’s got, he can be like that on any given day.”
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