With one swing, Abrams slugs himself (and Wood) into MLB history

LOS ANGELES -- Whoever coined the phrase "it never rains in Southern California" would have been proven wrong at Chavez Ravine on Sunday night, as a pregame downpour tapered off just in time for first pitch.

By the time a light drizzle returned late in the evening, the rain felt like a fitting backdrop for a bittersweet conclusion to Washington's trip west. The Nationals dropped a tight one in their series finale against the Dodgers, 7-5, as they were swept in a weekend that featured three consecutive late-inning heartbreaks.

Yet beneath the frustration of another close game slipping away in the eighth, CJ Abrams ensured the franchise left town with something far more lasting than a tough weekend on the coast.

With a solo shot off Dodgers lefty Justin Wrobleski in the fourth inning, Abrams launched his 30th home run of the season, joining James Wood in Washington's 30-homer club for 2026. The milestone marks the first time since 2019 that two Nationals teammates have reached 30 home runs in the same season. Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto accomplished the feat during Washington’s World Series championship run that year.

Even more rare, Abrams and Wood became just the second pair of teammates age 25 or younger in MLB history to hit 30-plus home runs and steal 15-plus bases in a single season. The only other duo to achieve that feat was José Ramírez and Francisco Lindor with Cleveland in 2018.

"It's great," Abrams said. "It shows that putting in the work and staying disciplined pays off. I was on the fastball, and to be able to adjust to the offspeed makes me know I'm in a good spot."

Beyond the physical mechanics, reaching 30 served as a personal lesson in resilience for Abrams.

"[I was] kind of getting down or trying to make things happen when they're not, instead of just taking it day by day," Abrams said. "Just being able to stay even-keeled is probably the biggest thing [I’ve had to learn throughout that time].”

In the end, individual milestones could only do so much to soften another tough loss.

Early on, Abrams' home run provided the spark as Washington built a 4-1 lead with additional RBI hits from Harry Ford and Jacob Young. After the Dodgers rallied to tie the game at 4-4, Washington reclaimed a 5-4 lead in the sixth on Dylan Crews' bases-loaded hit-by-pitch. But that momentum gave way to late-inning volatility.

When manager Blake Butera turned to left-hander Will Dion in the seventh for a high-leverage assignment, Dion responded with a scoreless frame before returning for the eighth. After getting the first two outs, a single by Alex Call and a walk to Tommy Edman brought Mookie Betts to the plate, who turned on an inside pitch for the decisive three-run home run.

"I was getting ahead [in the seventh]," Dion said of what changed between his two innings. "When you fall behind, mistakes happen. I feel like when you get ahead, it's, I wouldn't say easy, but you're more in a pitcher's advantage count. When you fall into the hitter's count, it's a little tough to get out of."

When asked about the pitch execution against Betts, Dion didn't mince words about sticking to his approach.

"No. It's my strength. I'll live and die by it," Dion said. "Again, it's baseball. Sometimes they get you, sometimes they don't. Just gonna continue to stick to what you do best and not stride away from it."

For Butera, navigating late-game situations with an evolving bullpen remains an ongoing evaluation as the team looks toward the future.

"Our bullpen looks a lot differently right now than it did two, three months ago," Butera said. "We have some good arms down there, but we've got to figure out the right time to deploy those guys, how long they can go, what innings they can handle, that type of stuff. As we look forward, we've got to evaluate what this looks like and make sure that we're getting better."

Despite the personal sting of the home run and three consecutive tight losses in Los Angeles, Dion still expressed unwavering confidence in the identity taking shape in Washington's relief corps.

"We're young, but I mean, we got a bunch of dogs in there," Dion said. "Tenacity is going to be unbelievable in the coming future. I mean, it's already unreal. The guys in there, they're young. They're not afraid of high leverage. They're going to face it head on. It's going to be a pretty good bullpen."