MILWAUKEE – The couch area in the center of the Brewers’ visitors clubhouse was packed. Players crowded around each other to find a seat, some sitting on the table or the arm of the sofa to get a closer look.
Joey Wiemer and Jake Irvin approached first. CJ Abrams, James Wood, Drew Millas and Jacob Young followed. They leaned in to watch the next move as Brady House and Curtis Mead pondered their strategies.
“It’s me versus everyone!” Mead said with a laugh.
It’s actually quite the opposite, Mead and his teammates will tell you. Clubhouse chess has become a mind-clearing, team-bonding activity for the Nationals.
They played it before every game of this series. And they played chess on the field, too, with a strategically-managed sweep of the Brewers.
“They played fantastic,” said Brewers manager Pat Murphy. “They played loose, they played free, they’re hungry. They had the right mix today. They hit a bunch of balls hard. They stayed after it. They base-ran. They executed. They were terrific for these three games.”
In a Sunday matinee of lead changes that required focus and meticulous game planning, the Nationals navigated a series of late in-game moves to take an 8-6 victory. The Nats swept the Brewers for the first time since April 15-17, 2011, at Nationals Park, and the first time in Milwaukee since June 2-4, 2006.
"This is one of those back-and-forth games against a really tough team where we just kept rising to the occasion and kept ringing the bell and going back at them,” said manager Blake Butera. “I couldn't be more proud of our group all the way around."
With runners on the corners in the seventh inning in a two-out, 0-2 count at the plate, the Nationals pulled off a double steal. Mead bolted for second base, luring in William Contreras while Wood dashed from third base to home. In spite of Brice Turang quickly firing the ball back to Contreras, Wood dove into home plate. He was initially called out, but the call was overturned to give the Nats a 5-3 lead. Wood became the first player in team history (2005-present) to steal home and hit a home run in the same game.
“It’s another way that we can put some pressure on defense and find a way to score, maybe in a tough spot. Huge tip of the cap to our base coaches, Curtis, Woody for the ability to execute the play when they were called on.”
That same inning, Butera pinch-hit Jose Tena for Drew Millas, bringing Keibert Ruiz into the game in the bottom of the frame. Ruiz, who entered the game batting below .200, delivered the go-ahead single off Aaron Ashby to drive in Abrams and Young.
“Even if they’re not in the starting lineup, there’s a good chance they’re going to get in there,” said Butera. “Seeing them one, be prepared to go in there, and two, execute and get the job done, I couldn’t be happier for all those guys.”
The Nats began playing chess in their home clubhouse. It picked up momentum this week when House was interested in learning, and his teammates joined in. Rather than scrolling on their phones, they are engaged and exercising other parts of their minds.
“You’re super-focused on something that’s not the game,” said Wood, who has a 1.005 OPS, five home runs and a seven-game hitting streak. “So it takes your mind off it.”
The players are at different stages of experience. Millas has long been revered as a team expert, Luis García Jr. played chess for fun in school growing up, and Irvin joined the chess club in the fifth grade.
“I wasn’t any good, but my parents wanted me to be well-rounded,” Irvin said. “We went to tournaments and stuff. I never really played again until I got here. … Trevor [Williams] is big into it, Riley [Adams], Millie, a few of the guys. But I stopped playing because I was losing and it was driving me nuts.”
That challenge of learning a new skill is appealing to the players at the same time.
Wood began playing chess on his phone this offseason. It helped to pass time and stay off social media. Each day, the slugger worked on completing a chess puzzle.
“It’s fun because you can look at other people and be like, dang, [they’re good],” Wood said. “Obviously it’s going to take some time to get there, but it’s not impossible.”
But the player who has garnered the most chess-playing admiration on the Nationals is Joey Wiemer, with Millas a close second. Irvin gave kudos for Wiemer for playing “fast chess,” and Mead observed he is “always one step ahead.”
Back in 2020, Wiemer’s friend wanted to play chess. His initial results motivated him to improve. Now, it has become a mainstay of his daily routine.
“You’ve got to focus all your attention on it,” said Wiemer, who is batting .375 on the season. “When I go home, whether I play good or bad, right before I go to bed I’ll play some chess. It takes my mind off of it, [helps] fall asleep.”
Much like their chess-playing skills, the Nationals proved they are up for the challenge this weekend in Milwaukee.
“You can always connect it to baseball,” said Wood.