WASHINGTON -- Finally, James Wood could savor this grand slam.
The first of his career was an inside-the-park spectacular that had him hustling around the basepaths on May 19. There was no time to celebrate until he crossed home plate and caught his breath.
On Monday night, he had an opportunity to enjoy it.
“[It was] a little bit less stressful,” Wood said with a smile.
Wood swung powerfully at a fastball from Astros reliever AJ Blubaugh and confidently watched the ball fly. This time, it didn’t just leave the park -- it majestically soared a Statcast-projected 446 feet out to center field.
“I liked the one tonight,” CJ Abrams said. “That way, he can jog.”
It was Wood’s fourth-longest career home run, and it came off his bat at 109.8 mph. He tied Michael A. Taylor for the longest grand slam by a Nationals player in the Statcast era (since 2015). Taylor also pummeled the ball 446 feet on May 13, 2015, against Arizona.
“I've been using the word ‘impressive’ too many times already, but I have no other way to describe it,” said manager Blake Butera. “What he does, it's fun to be in the dugout watching him do his thing. When he hits it and then looks in the dugout at his teammates and fires everybody up, it's pretty cool.”
The two-out grand slam was pivotal in Washington’s 12-11 comeback win at Nationals Park. After trailing the Astros, 6-1, halfway through the third inning, the Nats scored five runs in the bottom of the frame. They added on another six runs in the fifth.
Every run counted when the Astros scored four runs in the eighth and Washington was able to edge out a one-run victory. The Nationals recorded their 47th win, their most in the first half of a season since the 2019 World Series champs also had 47 victories before the All-Star break.
“It just feels like everyone’s putting together good at-bats,” said Wood. “The rallies have started anywhere from the top of the order to the bottom of the order. It just feels like everyone’s contributing.”
Wood drove in Dylan Crews, Jacob Young and Nasim Nuñez to reach the 60-RBI mark. Nuñez reached first base safely on an overturned call with a sprint speed of 31.3 feet per second, above his 29.6 season average. He has nine of the Nationals’ 11 fastest runs this season.
“That's the stuff we talk about as a group every single day,” Butera said of Nuñez’s hustle. “Our guys, they run their tails off no matter what. They play extremely hard and put a lot of pressure on the defense. … Who knows what this game looks like if Nas doesn't beat out a slow dribbler to second base? He easily could have coasted. Those small things, they all add up.”
Wood, who earned his second All-Star selection, has hit 24 home runs this season. He leads the Nationals and is tied for seventh among all big league players. But Wood did more than just slug: he drew all three of the Nationals’ walks on the night, stole a base and scored three runs.
Abrams and Curtis Mead also went yard for the Nats. Abrams matched his home run total from last season (19). With Mead connecting on his 15th home run (the go-ahead shot), he joined Wood, Abrams and Luis García Jr. to help the Nationals tie the Dodgers (Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Shohei Ohtani, Andy Pages) for the most players with 15-plus homers on a team this year.
“With how Luis has been swinging the bat, and how clutch Curtis has been, and CJ behind both of them,” Wood said, “I feel pretty good just trying to do my best getting on base and letting them drive me in.”