PJ Poulin
Breakdown
Performance
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April 19, 2026
Opening Sunday's game
Poulin will serve as the Nationals' opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Giants, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
Analysis
Poulin will draw his third start of the season as an opener, again working in front of Miles Mikolas. The Nationals rode the Poulin-Mikolas pairing to a win over the Pirates on Tuesday, though the two pitchers combined to allow four earned runs over 4.1 innings. Poulin is unlikely to pitch more than an inning or two Sunday before turning the game over to the veteran right-hander.
April 14, 2026
Drawing opener assignment
Poulin will serve as the Nationals' opening pitcher for Tuesday's game in Pittsburgh, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
Analysis
Miles Mikolas had been in line to start Tuesday, but after he allowed 19 runs (17 earned) in 12.1 innings through his first three outings of the season, the Nationals will instead deploy him in bulk relief behind Poulin with the hope that the arrangement yields better results. Poulin will be opening a game for the second time this season, after he previously tossed a scoreless frame March 31 against the Phillies. Like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh typically features two left-handed batters (Oneil Cruz and Brandon Lowe) in its top three lineup spots, so having the left-handed Poulin open the game could help the Nationals avoid falling into an early hole.