After finishing last season with the worst record in baseball, the Washington Nationals enter 2023 with their sights set on continuing the rebuilding process.
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Most Nationals games this season will be locally televised on MASN or MASN 2, while others may be nationally televised on MLB Network (those ones will also be on MASN), ESPN, ESPN2, Fox or FS1. A couple may be untelevised and stream on YouTube, Apple TV+, Peacock TV or ESPN+.
If you don’t have cable and you live in the Nationals market, you can watch a live stream of every televised Nationals game on DirecTV Stream, which is the only live-TV streaming service that includes MASN, and it also comes with a free trial.
Here’s a full rundown of DirecTV Stream, as well as some ways for out-of-market viewers to watch Nationals games live online without cable in 2023:
If You’re in the Nationals Market
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” ESPN, ESPN2, Fox and FS1 are included in every one, while MASN, MASN 2 and MLB Network are in “Choice” and up, but you can pick any package and any add-ons you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch Nationals games live on the DirecTV Stream app or DirecTV Stream website.
Compatible devices for the DirecTV Stream app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
If You’re Out of the Nationals Market
Amazon Prime’s MLB.TV Channel
Amazon Prime subscribers (Prime comes with a 30-day free trial) can watch every out-of-market, non-nationally televised MLB game via Prime Channels.
The MLB.TV channel costs either $24.99 per month to watch every out-of-market game (“All Team Pass”) or $129.99 for the year to just watch out-of-market Nationals games (“Single Team Pass”), but either option comes with a free seven-day trial:
MLB.TV Amazon Prime Free Trial
Once you’re signed up for the Prime MLB.TV Channel, out-of-market viewers can watch Nationals games live on the Prime Video app or Amazon website.
Compatible devices for the Prime Video app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, various smart TV’s, Xiaomi, Echo Show or Echo Spot, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
MLB.TV
This is ultimately the same as the Amazon Prime option above, only you’ll watch games on MLB’s digital platforms instead of Amazon’s.
You can watch all out-of-market, non-nationally televised MLB games via MLB.TV. It costs $24.99 per month or $149.99 for the year to watch every out-of-market game, or $129.99 for the year to just watch out-of-market Nationals games. The monthly and yearly all-team options include a free seven-day trial (the single-team option does not):
Once signed up for MLB.TV, out-of-market viewers can watch Nationals games live on the MLB TV app or MLB.TV website.
Compatible devices for the MLB TV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, various Smart TV’s, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
ESPN+
This isn’t going to be an option to watch a lot of Nationals games, but if you’re looking for a cheap way to watch a random MLB game daily, ESPN+ includes at least one out-of-market game every day during the regular season:
In addition to one live MLB game every day, ESPN+ also has dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (or $13.99 per month for a bundle of all three of ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu).
Once signed up for ESPN+, out-of-market viewers can watch a daily MLB game live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com.
Compatible devices for the ESPN app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, Oculus Go, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Nationals Season Preview 2023
Washington finished with the worst record in baseball last year at 55-107, and things haven’t changed enough this offseason to give fans much hope.
The Nationals’ rotation took a significant blow when right handed ace Cade Cavalli injured his throwing arm, forcing him to undergo Tommy John surgery and miss his entire 2023 campaign. With Cavalli out, the Nats are going to have several question marks in their starting rotation.
The 24-year-old MacKenzie Gore and the 25-year-old Josiah Gray will try to carve out names for themselves in the league, and they will be joined by new addition Trevor Williams, an offseason acquisition. Veteran starter Patrick Corbin will also be around again, and free agent addition Chad Kuhl, who played for the Colorado Rockies last year, should help round the starting rotation out.
Corbin in particular has been garnering praise for his play so far this spring. “He has come to Spring Training a different guy,” manager Dave Martinez told MLB.com about Corbin. “He has a lot of confidence. He knows he can do this. He has had success before. He wants to put everything in the last two years behind him and just move forward. [We want him] to focus on getting one out, at all cost. Get the ball on the ground. Don’t worry about striking guys out. And that’s what he has been doing.”
There are also some intriguing players set to take the field for the Nats this year. New addition Jeimer Candelario came over from Detroit after a disappointing 2022 season that saw him hit .217 with 13 home runs and 50 RBIs. Candelario had back-to-back solid seasons the two years prior, leading the majors in doubles (42) while hitting .271, so he’ll be one to watch.
Another player to keep an eye on is outfielder Lane Thomas, who is entering his third year with the team. Thomas hit 17 homers and 52 RBIs last year while also scoring 62 runs.
“The only way to grow sometimes is by making mistakes, by going through tough times,” bench and infield coach Tim Bogar told The Washington Post about his young team. “We all grow from our trials, in my opinion. So that’s part of it. They’re going to have successes and they’ll grow from those as well. But the bottom line is: It’s really hard to say they’re not succeeding if we have one less run than the other team sometimes. Sometimes.”
Here’s a look at the projected starting lineup for the Nats on opening day:
- RF Lane Thomas
- LF Corey Dickerson
- DH Joey Meneses
- 3B Jeimer Candelario
- 1B Dominic Smith
- C Keibert Ruiz
- 2B Luis García
- CF Victor Robles
- SS CJ Abrams
- SP Josiah Gray
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How to Watch Nationals Baseball Games Without Cable 2023