James Wood, a young rookie for the Nationals, smashed a decisive three-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning, sealing Washington’s 5-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds to complete a three-game sweep.
Wood, recognized as the Nationals’ top prospect at just 21 years old, launched a first-pitch fastball from Justin Wilson 405 feet to left field. This was Wood’s second home run since debuting on July 1, contributing to the Nationals’ fifth win in their last six games.
“Electric. He’s something special,” praised Nationals starter Jake Irvin. “And I’m excited to be a part of it. Excited for him.”
The win comes after Nationals’ general manager Mike Rizzo reaffirmed on Friday their commitment to rebuilding. With this victory, the Nationals (47-53) are now tied with the Reds in the wild-card standings. The Reds, aiming for a playoff push at the start of the second half, have now dropped four consecutive games and slipped to last place in the NL Central.
“We have so much to play for. So much time left ahead of us that that’s the focus now,” commented Reds manager David Bell. “You have to find ways to improve, especially when things aren’t going well.”
Known for his power in the minor leagues, Wood had only two extra-base hits in his first three weeks in the majors before Sunday’s breakout performance. His day included an infield single and two well-hit balls to the outfield before his decisive home run.
“I kind of just kept my head up,” Wood reflected. “I felt like I was making good contact, and I kind of had to trust that, you know, the results will come.”
Irvin and Andrew Abbott engaged in a pitcher’s duel through seven innings. Irvin yielded solo home runs to Noelvi Marte and Stuart Fairchild among five hits, striking out seven without issuing a walk. His performance provided much-needed relief for the Nationals’ bullpen after it was heavily utilized in Saturday night’s game, covering seven innings.
Robert Garcia (2-3) pitched the eighth inning before All-Star Kyle Finnegan closed out the ninth for his 28th save in 32 opportunities. Finnegan secured each of the three victories against the Reds.
“We really take pride in pitching in a lot of games and a lot of close games,” Finnegan commented.
Abbott had a strong outing for Cincinnati, allowing two unearned runs on six hits over seven innings before Lucas Sims (1-4) came in to retire the final out of the seventh. Sims gave up a two-out single to Keibert Ruiz and a bunt single to Ildemaro Vargas in the eighth before Wood’s game-changing home run.
Abbott received support from his outfielders. Left fielder Will Benson made a diving, backhanded catch to rob James Wood of an extra-base hit in the fourth inning, then made another diving catch on a sinking liner by Jacob Young to end the inning. Center fielder Stuart Fairchild crashed into the wall to catch a deep drive by Wood in the sixth inning.
Juan Yepez extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games with a double in the third inning. He has recorded at least one hit in every game he’s played for Washington, marking the longest streak to begin a tenure with a team since David Dahl’s 16-game streak for Colorado in 2016.
Reds All-Star Elly De La Cruz stole his major league-leading 48th base after drawing a two-out walk in the eighth inning, but he was left stranded when Jeimer Candelario popped out.
The Nationals scored two unearned runs in the third inning when catcher Austin Wynns attempted to pick off Jacob Young at third base. Young scored when third baseman Noelvi Marte missed the catch, followed by an RBI single from Harold Ramírez.
“Noelvi missed the ball. It led to two runs. Noelvi knows he missed the ball,” said Bell. “We still had plenty of game left at that point.”
