“I felt comfortable going out there — I saw the guy yesterday,” Wood said of Reds left-hander Justin Wilson. “Sometimes [the first pitch] It’s the best you’re going to see all day. You just have to be ready for it. “
Wood’s mind went blank as he walked around the bases. But the teams’ closeness in the wild-card spot was on his mind in the clubhouse. With five wins in their last six games, the Nationals have the same record as the Reds – 47-53.
“We’re right there with them,” Wood said. “We are trying to press and every game is important.”
“Things are going two ways right now,” manager Dave Martinez said. “You either go flat out and try to work your way up to something special, or you go out with a good run. I am happy that the boys chose to start a good run.
To call at the moment Baseball America’s top prospect Granted, however, it will undercut his jump from Class AAA. Wood had plenty of things that could derail his season in his first three weeks in the big leagues.
Take the fact that he’s batting seventh Sunday, keeping the always-relaxed 21-year-old relaxed at the plate. Or that, since his first big-league homer, he’s hit 9 in his last 44 (.205) eighth-inning at-bats. Or that between Class AAA Rochester and Washington, Wood showed a patient approach that benefited him in the minors but resulted in several double-hit counts in the majors.
Martinez talked to Wood before the game and told him to be aggressive.
“Teams come in, they have a game plan. They will find your weaknesses,” said the manager. “But you talk to him? He’s really smart. He understands what he wants to do. It showed today,” he said.
It didn’t matter that Wood hit a couple of hard outs early Sunday — he’s worked too often in his young career to get the automatic response, “That’s baseball.” In the second inning, his first ball left the game at 107.2 mph, and he narrowly missed hitting Reds starter Andrew Abbott. He hit the ball harder in the fourth, a 109-meter laser to left field that would have gone for three bases if not for Wood’s speed dive by Will Benson. In the sixth, Wood was the victim of another highlight when center fielder Stuart Fairchild jumped over the wall to rob him again.
He returned to the well without a word. At least he was hitting the ball in the air – and swinging at right fields and connecting on fastballs. The first one Wilson threw was a warm-up that hit 94.2 mph. Wood sent it 105.9 mph, 404 feet into the seats. As he stepped into the dugout, he high-fived shortstop CJ Abrams, the move knocking his “Uncle Slam” home run hat off his head.
The Nationals were only in that position because of Irvine’s superior ability; He allowed two earned runs with seven strikeouts and no walks in seven innings. After allowing six earned runs in each before the All-Star break, he was back to his old self.
“I think the break served as a nice little refresher,” Irvin said. “A reminder to stay grounded, keep your feet where they are and be in attack mode.”
Irvin is used to running into trouble early, so a second-inning solo homer by Noelvie Marte didn’t faze him. Whether it’s the pressure of trying to catch a depleted bullpen, or the usual lack of run support, or even a ground ball after Athletics coach Paul Lessard was seen adjusting something on his right leg during his brief visit in the third inning. He got into better counts and He used his four-seamer It creates a weaker connection than usual.
The Nationals struck in the third when Juan Yepez (1.007 OPS since arriving July 5) hit a two-out double off the left-field wall. A few pitches later, Reds catcher Austin Wynns tried to catch Young between third and home but Marte overturned at third base, allowing Young; Marte was accused of wrongdoing. Harold Ramirez, another season addition, singled home Ypez to give the Nationals a 2-1 lead before Irvin allowed another solo hit to Fairchild in the fifth. Wood accounted for the last three runs.
“Electric,” Irvin said of Wood’s homer. “He’s something special.”