Madson tossed a perfect eighth inning in Thursday's 8-2 loss to the Mets, striking out one batter in the 11-pitch frame.

EDGE Analysis

Unfortunately for Madson, his strong outing wasn't of much consequence with Washington already trailing by six runs by the time he entered the contests. With the Nationals having played no competitive games since Sunday, manager Dave Martinez was likely just eager to get his top setup man some work following a three-day layoff. The bulk of Madson's appearances are still expected to come in high-leverage situations this season.