The Washington Nationals are in the midst of another lost season. After getting dominated by the New York Mets in a three-game series sweep, Washington is now on the verge of being swept by the Miami Marlins. With the season spiraling, the Nationals called on a very good boy to help turn things around.

Bruce the Bat Dog made his debut fur the Nationals Saturday. The pup participated in a ceremonial pregame “bat retrieval.” And although he took a circuitous route, Bruce got the job done, per the Nationals’ official account on X.

Bat dog wins hearts, Nationals lose game

Jun 14, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Bruce the Bat Dog, from the Washington Nationals Triple-A affiliate Rochester Red Wings, retrieves a bat during pregame festivities prior to the Nationals' game against the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park.
Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The pup was even in uniform, decked out in his own Nationals bandana. After being introduced, Bruce (eventually) sniffed out the bat and returned it to the dugout as the tens of people in attendance cheered.

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Bruce is carrying on a proud tradition of dogs doing stuff before baseball games. Last season Shohei Ohtani’s dog Decoy “threw” out the first pitch of a Dodgers game on his own bobblehead night – the figurine featured the three-time MVP and his pup.

Despite Bruce’s inspirational pregame performance, the Nationals would go on to lose to the Marlins 4-3 on Saturday as a ninth inning rally – assisted by a wild pitch and a fielding error – fell short.

The Nationals have now lost seven straight games and 10 of the last 12 as they fell to 30-40 on the season. Washington is 15 games behind the first-place New York Mets in the NL East and nine games back in the Wild Card hunt.

While the Nationals have shown flashes of potential this season, the team appears poised to miss the playoffs for the sixth straight year. Washington last finished with a winning record in 2019 when the team would go on to beat the Houston Astros in the World Series. Since then, they’ve finished last, or second to last in the division each season.

The Nationals will look to avoid a second straight series sweep when ace MacKenzie Gore takes the mound against the Marlins on Sunday. Miami will roll with Eury Perez, who will be making his second start of the season.