“I felt comfortable stepping up to the plate, I had seen that yesterday,” Wood said of Reds left-hander Justin Wilson. “Sometimes (the first pitch) is the best you’re going to see all day. You just have to be ready for it.”
As Wood rounded the bases, his mind went blank. In the locker room, however, the teams’ proximity in the wild-card standings was on his mind. With five wins in their last six games, the Nationals have the same record as the Reds: 47-53.
“We’re on their level,” Wood said. “We’re trying to go the extra mile and every game is important.”
“This is the time where things can go two ways,” manager Dave Martinez said. “Go out there with everything and try to work to do something special, or go out with a good exit. I’m glad the guys chose a good exit.”
To say that Baseball America’s top prospect’s moment is a done deal, however, is to understate the leap he’s making from Class AAA. In just his first three weeks in the big leagues, Wood has had plenty happen that could have derailed his season.
Consider that he was batting seventh on Sunday, on the pretext that he might relax the always-relaxed 21-year-old at the plate. Or that, since his first major league homer, he entered the eighth inning 9 at-bats in his last 44 (.205). Or that, between Class AAA Rochester and Washington, Wood has displayed a patient approach that benefited him in the minors but has resulted in plenty of two-strike counts in the majors.
Martinez spoke to Wood before the game and told him to be aggressive.
“Teams come with a game plan and they spot your weaknesses,” the coach said. “But do you talk to him? He’s very intelligent. He understands what he wants to do. That was shown today.”
It didn’t matter that Wood had hit two hard outs the previous Sunday — he’s done it often enough in his young career to have an automatic response of “That’s baseball.” In the second inning, the first ball he put in play left his bat at 107.2 mph, and he barely missed an infield single after it bounced off Reds starter Andrew Abbott. In the fourth, he hit the ball even harder, a 109 mph laser to left field that, with Wood’s speed, might have gone for three bases if not for a diving catch by Will Benson. And in the sixth, Wood was the victim of another highlight-reel moment when center fielder Stuart Fairchild leapt against the wall to rob him again.
He sauntered toward the dugout, expressionless. At least he was hitting the ball in the air and swinging at the right pitches, hitting fastballs. The first pitch Wilson threw was a fastball, at 94.2 mph. Wood sent it at 105.9 mph, 404 feet toward the seats. As he walked toward the dugout, he high-fived shortstop C.J. Abrams, the move knocking “Uncle Slam’s” home run cap off his head.
The Nationals were in that position only because of the excellence of Irvin, who allowed two earned runs in seven innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. After allowing six earned runs in each of his last two starts 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, stay where you are and live in attack mode.”
Irvin is used to getting into trouble early, so a solo homer by Noelvi Marte in the second inning didn’t stress him out. Nor did the pressure of trying to keep up with a depleted bullpen, the usual lack of offensive support he’s received, or a brief visit from trainer Paul Lessard in the third inning after he appeared to have a problem with his right leg while fielding a ground ball. He got better counts and used his four-seam fastball more than usual, drawing weak contact.
The Nationals struck back in the third inning, when a two-out double off the left-field wall by Juan Yepez (1.007 OPS since arriving July 5) pushed Jacob Young to third. A few pitches later, Reds catcher Austin Wynns tried to pick off Young between third and home but threw over Marte at third base, allowing Young to score; Marte was charged with the error. Harold Ramirez, another midseason addition, singled home Yepez to give the Nationals a 2-1 lead before Irvin allowed another solo homer to Fairchild in the fifth. Wood accounted for the final three runs.
“It’s electric,” Irvin said of Wood’s homer. “It’s something special.”