James Wood had his first career walk-off hit to beat the first place Mets in an improbable comeback
The angst from losing a 3-0 lead in the 8th inning only affected the fans as the Washington Nationals offense never lost hope as they trailed 4-3 entering the bottom of the 9th inning in Nationals Park. First up was Dylan Crews against the Mets’ vaunted bullpen. In a 3-2 count, Crews went oppo on a 99 mph fastball that Juan Soto seemingly had tracked at the wall 368 feet away — and the ball tipped off of his glove for a lead-off triple. A ball that would have been a homer in Cincinnati, Yankee Stadium, and Tampa.
The Mets drew in their infield with Crews on third base and no outs, and Jose Tena hit a 100 mph groundball past the Mets second baseman to tie the game and collar a blown save on the Mets. After two forceouts, CJ Abrams would be the speedster on first base with James Wood at the plate in a 3-2 count. That 3-2 count would allow Abrams to take-off from first base and Wood hit a soft grounder deflected by second baseman Jeff McNeil. The ball dribbled into shallow center field and charged by Tyrone Taylor as Abrams was waved home. Taylor made a weak throw home that hit the mound and bounced again, allowing Abrams to beat the throw home for the walk-off win.
On this day, all of the pathetic umpiring, debatable pitching decisions in the 8th inning, and another bullpen meltdown would be washed away like the earlier rains did with the pollen covering the DMV area. Maybe some of that rain early in the game helped to slow that Wood walk-off single on the outfield grass. The game of inches that saw a bloop triple by the Mets in the top of the 8th inning give them the lead would turn to the Nats favor in that 9th inning in an improbable comeback win against the team with the best record in baseball and end their 6-game winning streak.
“Man, I’ll tell you right now, CJ was hauling ass. He really was. I don’t know how else to explain it, but that was awesome to see.”
— said manager Davey Martinez
The Nats young core of Abrams, Crews, and Wood showed that the prospect stars could be MLB stars — a prerequisite for what manager Mike Rizzo said they needed to see before opening up spending more for new acquisitions. Crews had a terrible first week of his season, but since then, in 17-games, Crews is batting .288 with a .492 SLG and a .803 OPS. He would finish a home run shy of a cycle last night, and he put all five of his tools on display. Crews firmly pushed above the Mendoza line in this game. It took the ROY candidate a total of 23 games to dig himself out of his early hole. He believed in himself while some others did not. For Abrams, he needed this great start to get past his off-the-field mistakes that ended his 2024 season abruptly. With Wood, he is asserting himself as a true star, a community leader, and a role model.
“You have to do what you have to do to sustain greatness. … by having a core group of guys who will be with you through those years. … When your [prospect] stars become [MLB] stars — that’s when you take-off and get your Gio Gonzalez and Howie Kendrick moves.”
— Rizzo said in January to season ticket holders
On the mound to start the game was Jake Irvin, who was brilliant. In his first 7.0 innings, he had only given up 4-hits and no runs on 92 high-octane pitches. Irvin was sent out for the 8th inning to face the lefty McNeil while Jose A. Ferrer, a lefty reliever, was hot in the bullpen. In the end, McNeil got a lead-off single off of Irvin to start the inning and would eventually score off Ferrer to tag Irvin with one earnie. Still, his ERA improved to 3.19, and the Nats as a team have a starter’s ERA of 3.41 for the 6th best in MLB.
Signature wins like this can go a long way for a young team in believing in themselves. On this day, the three oldest players in the lineup combined for an 0-11 while the 24-and-under kids combined for 13 hits and two walks in this one. This game also included a controversial triple-play turned by Nathaniel Lowe in a game started by the Gold Glover who botched a grounder in the first inning. That triple-play made up for it.
What a start to this 4-game wrap-around series that finishes on Monday with these Mets. Today’s game is scheduled for 4:05 pm with more rain in the forecast scattered throughout the day. Last night’s crowd of just under 31,000 saw a thriller.
The Mets fans in attendance were quiet all game until their team erupted for the 4-runs in the 8th inning to take the lead. After the Nats walked-off on them, the Mets’ fans were the ones complaining about the umpires, their bullpen, Soto’s inability to catch the Crews’ flyball, and their managerial decisions. It’s funny how that happens. At least the Nats’ transgressions in this game were vindicated by huge plays that turned this one to a thrilling Curly W as the stadium’s LED lights shined blue in celebration.
