Abrams' 25th HR of season puts him and teammate Wood in elite company

WASHINGTON -- When the Nationals didn’t sign veteran position players this offseason, they believed they already had leaders in their young clubhouse.

Shortstop CJ Abrams, 25, and outfielder James Wood, 23, were among those highlighted. And the two have rewarded the Nationals for believing in their abilities both on and off the field.

“The leadership that they have in the clubhouse with how well they're connected with all the guys, and then going out there and performing, it just takes it to another level,” said manager Blake Butera.

This season, Abrams and Wood each earned their second All-Star selections. Individually, they rank atop statistical leaderboards at their positions. Together, they have reached feats that few have done in baseball.

In Saturday’s 5-3 win over the fellow NL Wild Card-contending D-backs, Abrams connected on his 25th home run of the season. With Wood reaching 25 homers prior to the All-Star break, they are the only two players in baseball this season with at least 25 dingers and 15 stolen bases.

Abrams (25 home runs, 17 stolen bases) and Wood (28 home runs, 15 stolen bases) also became the second duo in Major League history to record 25-plus home runs and 15-plus stolen bases in their club’s first 105 games of the season. They joined Francisco Lindor and José Ramírez, who did so in 2018 with Cleveland.

“It’s fun,” said Abrams. “Me and Woody always joke around every day. It’s a friendly competition with homers and stuff like that. We’re just having a good, friendly competition to better each other.”

Taking baseball history one step further, Abrams and Wood became the first pair of teammates aged 25 or younger to hit at least 25 homers in their team’s first 105 games.

Only the aforementioned Lindor and Ramírez; Trevor Story and Nolan Arenado (2016 Rockies); and Bob Allison and Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew (1959 Senators) reached that mark together.

“Unbelievable,” said left-hander Foster Griffin, who improved to 12-2 this season. “I feel like they just never stray from their approach, which is very impressive for such a young crew. They stay locked in to what they know they do well.”

Abrams also drove in three runs on Saturday and finished a triple shy of the cycle, taking the league lead with 79 RBIs this season. His previous career high for a season was 65 in 2024.

“It just seems like he turns it up a notch when there's runners in scoring position or when we need him,” said Butera. “The amount of huge at-bats that he's had for us. … Today, when we needed him, [he hit] the two-strike, two-run double there in the third, and another home run to lead off the inning later in the game.”

The Nationals bounced back from a one-run loss to the D-backs on Friday night, and they will go for the series win on Sunday afternoon as they look to make progress in the standings.

“Definitely enjoying [the pressure],” Abrams said. “It’s exciting. We’ve done a great job coming up to this point, we’re playing good baseball, so we look to continue to do that.”