Cavalli tips cap after HR derails follow-up to strong debut

KANSAS CITY -- Cade Cavalli rehabbed relentlessly for 1,076 days between his MLB debut and second career start. To take the mound for his third outing, he needed just five days, putting himself in position to earn his first big league win in the process.

Two mistakes spoiled that opportunity for the Nationals’ No. 10 prospect, but Cavalli’s stuff and composure was more than enough to ensure the 26-year-old righty will get plenty more starts down the stretch.

Cavalli allowed four runs on seven hits with three walks while striking out three over five-plus innings in the Nats’ 7-4 loss to the Royals in the series opener on Monday night at Kauffman Stadium. But Cavalli’s line doesn’t quite do his night justice.

Cavalli entered the sixth inning having set down 12 of his previous 14 batters, running back out to the bump with a two-run lead at 75 pitches.

A leadoff walk and a low-and-in sinker that stayed up enough for Salvador Perez to send it to the left-field bullpen flipped the game in a hurry, but to get to that point -- and earn the trust of the staff to go out for another inning -- encapsulates how far Cavalli has come to get back on a Major League mound.

“ … I wouldn’t even think about taking him out [after] the fifth inning. He was pitching good. Just one pitch,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said.

That pitch -- a 95.8 mph sinker -- was called by catcher Riley Adams to induce a ground-ball double play, but Perez turned on it for the first home run off Cavalli in the big leagues.

“I thought I executed it well, and that’s the game of baseball,” Cavalli said. “He’s a Hall of Fame catcher for a reason. He got me tonight, and I wish I could have that back now knowing that, but I executed it with my full conviction. And that’s what I’m going to live on.”

It’s essentially the first big league learning moment for Cavalli, who has now tossed 13 2/3 career frames in the Majors.

After a rocky debut in 2022, Cavalli missed the rest of the season with right shoulder inflammation. He entered Spring Training in ‘23 aiming for a rotation spot, but a Grade 3 sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament forced Cavalli out until late ‘24. And even then, the flu and “dead arm” held him to just three appearances last season.

Normalcy returned in 2025, but Cavalli struggled to a 6.09 ERA across 15 starts with Triple-A Rochester before his MLB debut on Wednesday. But in front of his home crowd at Nationals Park, Cavalli dealt 4 1/3 scoreless frames, exiting to a standing ovation.

The emotions were still present against Kansas City in Cavalli’s second start, but he said his focus was just on giving his team a chance to win.

“I think Cade’s showing up and doing his job. The way he has that hunger in his eyes, I can see it,” said Paul DeJong, who hit a two-run homer in the fifth to give the Nationals a 4-2 lead. “He’s been out for so long, kind of using that negativity. All that energy he had stored up being on the IL, being hurt, all that pain, and just kind of flipping it 180 into his performance.”

That was most evident in the second inning, when Cavalli fell behind hitters and allowed three singles and one walk to begin the frame. Instead of letting the inning snowball, however, he got a sac fly before a popup and a strikeout stranded runners on second and third.

“It was really impressive,” Cairo said. “I was hoping that he’d just keep the damage down, and he did. It was awesome to see him come out of there. And this is his second start, coming back to the big leagues. [So] to do that, it was nice to see.”

Cavalli topped out at 99.4 mph with his fastball on Monday, and 99.1 mph on his sinker. The swing-and-miss stuff wasn’t as present in the hot and muggy weather as it was on Wednesday, but Cavalli will get the opportunity to prove he’s capable of locking down a spot in the rotation for this season and beyond.

And he’ll get that chance every five days.

“He’s worked incredibly hard to be back here. Obviously he has the stuff for it,” reliever Jackson Rutledge said of Cavalli. “He’s out there throwing 98, 99 [mph], putting it where he wants to. Just really happy to see him get that experience, and going forward, he’s just going to get better.”