WASHINGTON -- Right-hander Cade Cavalli had never faced the Phillies.

He, of course, was familiar with them as a divisional opponent since he was drafted by the Nationals in 2020. But a near three-year recovery from Tommy John surgery had kept him sidelined from seeing live action against the NL East foe.

Cavalli introduced himself to the Philly faithful by hurling seven scoreless innings in the Nationals’ 2-0 win Saturday at Nationals Park.

Cavalli allowed seven hits, but did not issue a walk and recorded five strikeouts while keeping his pitch count to an efficient 90 (63 strikes) in his first career big-league win.

Saturday’s dazzling performance against the Phillies was the fourth career MLB start for Cavalli, who turned 27 on Thursday. Your browser does not support HTML5 vi

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