The Washington Nationals defeated the New York Mets last night by a score of 9-6, opening the door for the team to possibly get back to .500 again today with a victory, and earning a series split at worst. It has been a long time since the Nationals were around .500 at this point of the season, and the recent play of James Wood has been a huge factor into the team's success.
Last night, Wood had perhaps the moment of the season so far for the Nationals, as he hit an inside-the-park grand slam off of New York Mets' righty Nolan McLean in the bottom of the 2nd inning. It was a game-changing event due to the Nationals being down 5-0 at the time, and the viral moment got the Nationals right back into the game.
While Wood's hit was certainly electric, the rest of the team more than did their part as well, as the Nationals were able to come over a second consecutive subpar outing from Foster Griffin to take the game from the Mets, a much-needed victory to help the Nationals stay around the .500 mark.
Wood's slam was the first of the inside-the-park variety since Raimel Tapia of the Toronto Blue Jays hit one a few years back, but funny enough, the most recent time before that was by former beloved National Michael A. Taylor, who hit one back in 2017.
His was also against an National League East rival in the Philadelphia Phillies, and helped the Nationals overcome an early deficit in one of the first few innings of the game. Both instances happened at Nationals Park and were due to misjudgements of the ball by the outfielder.
It certainly is one of the rarest occurrences in baseball, as it is extremely hard to find yourself at the plate in a situation where it could even come up. The fact that it has happened to the Washington Nationals twice within a decade and twice overall in the team's 21-year history is pretty insane, and definitely something us fans will not soon forget.
Hopefully, the Nationals are able to continue their strong offensive output, as the team currently has the best offense in baseball, and moments like these will continue to power their success.
What was your reaction to James Wood's inside-the-park grand slam last night against the Mets? Did you remember the one from Michael A. Taylor? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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