This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato's Nationals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
As the Washington Capitals battled in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Friday night in Montreal, massive hockey fan Jake Irvin showed his tenacity at the same time at Nationals Park.
The gritty right-hander fought back from a first-inning injury scare to hold the Mets to one run in 7 1/3 frames, amplifying his career success against the NL East foes.
"No matter the circumstance, it¡¯s still throw the ball over the plate on the next pitch and just challenge guys,¡± Irvin said. ¡°Stay in attack mode.¡±
In Irvin¡¯s last three starts, he is 2-0 with a 1.31 ERA across 20 2/3 innings. He has held opponents to a .153 batting average and .236 slugging percentage with only two extra-base hits. Irvin also has recorded 19 strikeouts to just two walks during this span.
Irvin¡¯s stretch of deep outings looked to be in jeopardy the second at-bat into Friday¡¯s game.
Covering first base on a Juan Soto grounder, Irvin was struck in his glove arm as he reached across his body to catch the throw from first baseman Nathaniel Lowe. Irvin was visited by manager Dave Martinez and head athletic trainer Paul Lessard. After throwing under supervision, he stayed in the game.
"It¡¯s a very awkward play, tough when your arm bends back like that,¡± said Martinez. ¡°We got scared because I¡¯ve seen a lot of guys really get hurt with that play. He said his arm went numb for a minute there. But then he came back out. That¡¯s two times he gave us a scare this year already. What he did after that was unbelievable.¡±
Two innings later, Irvin deflected a comebacker from Francisco Lindor with the aforementioned glove hand and made the underhand throw to nab Lindor at first.
"It was kind of like a stinger for a couple innings, and my hand felt a little bit weird,¡± Irvin said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if that was because of something that happened to the elbow or shoulder, I don¡¯t know. But it feels good now.¡±
Last Fourth of July, Irvin dazzled in an eight-inning shutout against the Mets at Nationals Park. On Sept. 16, he tossed 7 1/3 innings of one-run baseball at Citi Field.
¡°They¡¯re a division rival, these are games that we have to win,¡± Irvin said. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just digging a little bit deeper. But these are games you really, really want, and just try to give us a chance.¡±