Wood's power, discipline on display as Nationals beat Braves

WASHINGTON -- James Wood continued his torrid start to the season Tuesday, reaching base five times and clobbering his team-leading eighth home run of the season as the Nationals beat the Braves 11-4 at Nationals Park.

Luis García Jr. chipped in with a season-high four hits, Foster Griffin produced a quality start and the Nationals drew 12 walks as a team in what was arguably their most complete game this season.

“I feel like one through nine, everyone was having good at-bats,” Wood said. “The pitching staff did great. Foster was great today, the bullpen came in and did their thing, so yeah, it felt like a great team win.”

Wood drew a leadoff walk in the Nationals’ three-run first inning and led off the second with a titanic 412-foot opposite-field homer. It was Wood’s MLB-leading fifth opposite field homer of the season.

The early damage from Wood and the Nationals came against Atlanta starter Reynaldo López, who lasted just one inning plus two batters in his shortest outing of the season.

The Nationals entered the night with a Major League best 22 first-inning runs and again went to work early against López. The first six Nationals all reached base, with Jacob Young and Nasim Nuñez delivering RBI singles and Daylen Lile drawing a bases-loaded walk. As Lopez labored through a 46-pitch first inning, the Nationals built a 3-0 lead they would never surrender.

Griffin continued to impress in his return to the Majors after a three-year stint in Japan. The lefty pitched a season-high six innings for the Nats, limiting the Braves to three runs on five hits with three strikeouts and a walk. Griffin joined Cade Cavalli (Apr. 1 in Philadelphia) as the second Nationals pitcher to complete six innings in a start this season.

Griffin’s night appeared to be done after he issued a two-out walk to Austin Riley in the sixth. With Braves righty Mauricio Dubón – already 2-for-2 on the night against Griffin – due up and the Nationals clinging to a two-run lead, manager Blake Butera approached the mound. Griffin figured he was coming out of the game. Butera had other plans.

“He asked me how I felt and I said, ‘I feel great,’” Griffin recounted. “He asked if I wanted this guy and I said, ‘Absolutely.’ I didn’t really give him a chance to respond from there and away we went.”

Two pitches later, Dubón grounded to second to end the frame, giving Griffin his first career quality start.

“I wanted to make sure he wanted it right there and he did,” Butera said. “Just told him, ‘Hey, go get him. This is yours, finish what you started.’ If he was a little hesitant, we would have gone to the ‘pen. But he looked good from the dugout, the stuff was all there. He wanted it, so we wanted him on the mound.”

Wood also showed off his range in the outfield, making a diving catch to rob Eli White of extra bases to lead off the third. Wood’s discipline at the plate was on display again in his third plate appearance, as he fought back from an 0-2 count against Braves reliever José Suarez to draw an 11-pitch walk.

Wood was walked twice more in the fifth and seventh innings – once intentionally – bringing his season total to a National-League best 21 free passes.

“He had such a good night,” Butera said. “Our hitters stayed stubborn and made the pitchers come to them. Woody is obviously one of the best hitters in the league, and I think their game plan, they wanted him to chase out of the zone and he was really good.

“There was one at-bat where he [saw] seven, eight pitches off the edge and he fought off some good pitches in that at-bat. He played good defense. Just a really good game for Woody.”

With Wood frequently on base ahead of him, García delivered four hits and three RBIs. García, who entered play in a 4-for-41 funk, finished the night 4-for-5.

“I definitely needed a game like this to regain the confidence that I always have,” García said.

“He was ready to go,” Butera said. “They pitched around Woody a couple of times and he came up knowing they’d have to go after him. He was ready to go from pitch one of the at-bats.”