When James Wood misread the ball in the sixth inning, the type of mistake the right fielder has mostly avoided as the Washington Nationals have mashed their way to MLB relevance in recent weeks, the day settled on its identity.
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The Royals had already homered over and over and over and, for good measure, over in the first three innings. The misplay by Wood allowed Kansas City’s John Rave to sprint out a triple, which give the Royals a five-run lead after a sacrifice bunt.
As the Nationals finished Tuesday night four games above .500 for the first time since 2019, facility employees debated in the tunnel whether they need to start planning to work in October. A win Wednesday would’ve been the Nats’ fifth in a row, a feat they’ve achieved only four times since that mystical World Series.
But in a 6-2 loss to the Royals on Wednesday afternoon, the Washington never looked quite in rhythm. Not even Wood, who has led Washington’s rise with 20 home runs and a true all-star campaign.
“Every game matters,” Nationals Manager Blake Butera said. “So, leaving here without finishing the series [means] we didn’t finish our business.”
If nothing else, it became clear immediately.
Righty Zack Littell took the mound having allowed only six runs over his previous four starts, a big improvement from the 7.85 ERA he finished April with. Littell left a ball too far over the plate, and Kansas City’s leadoff hitter, Carter Jensen, planted it beyond the right field wall. Rave went deep in the second, along with former Nat Lane Thomas and Michael Massey in the third. The rest of the runs wandered in during the sixth with Wood’s mishap and a botched coverage of a sacrifice bunt.
“You have days like this, you kind of have to just buckle down and say we’re just gonna compete,” Littell said. “Frankly, I’ve been kind of due for one.”
His 20 home runs allowed this year lead MLB, though, which may remain a hitch in the Nationals’ postseason dreams. Their pitching, embodied by Littell’s April to June swing, has massively improved. But it is still in the bottom third of MLB via most metrics, preventing the Nats from sweeping a series since April.
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Still, despite a bullpen that remains shaky and a defense that’s allowed the second-most runs in MLB this year (an eye-popping 5.3 per game) Washington has won nine of its past 11 series. The Nats practice some sort of yin and yang, in which their offense simultaneously leads the majors in runs with 405. They added another 13 in their first two victories against the Royals, and, in a way, those wins were inspiring because of who they didn’t include.
Neither Wood nor CJ Abrams helped their cause with four combined hits this week. Wood went 0 for 4 on Wednesday to accompany his fielding slip-up, grounding into a double play to end his day.
Yet in their wake, the rest of the Nats’ lineup found some footing. After entering the week among the MLB’s worst batters by average, Nasim Nuñez had two triples and three runs on Tuesday and another two hits on Wednesday, all out of the No. 9 hole. Dylan Crews also registered a hit and an RBI and had a would-be double that was reviewed and called an out, to the “Tarp’s Off” band’s dismay.
Otherwise, the Nats’ offense scuttled to a halt with Kansas City starter Luinder Avila pushing 5 2/3 innings and only giving up one earned run.
“He pitched well,” Wood reasoned after the game. “I just don’t think we executed.”
Yet another series victory, no matter its harsh final tune, is noteworthy.
“You want to finish out and close out the series on the line,” Wood said. “But, yeah, I feel like we played two really good games, and I feel we’ll carry that into Tampa.”
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