{"id":908,"date":"2026-05-20T08:05:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T08:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=908"},"modified":"2026-05-20T08:05:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T08:05:30","slug":"dylan-crews-returns-to-the-majors-as-nationals-pull-off-comeback-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=908","title":{"rendered":"Dylan Crews returns to the majors as Nationals pull off comeback win"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a surprising demotion in spring training, the former No. 2 pick has worked hard to improve his game.<\/strong><\/p>

Read more Jalen Brunson leads Knicks back from 22 down in the 4th for 115-104 win over Cavs in OT in Game 1<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
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Dylan Crews made his season debut for the Nationals on Tuesday against the Mets. (Rafael Suanes\/Imagn Images\/Reuters Connect)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Dylan Crews has been here before, making his MLB debut almost two years ago. But when he returned to Nationals Park on Tuesday for the first time this season, it was different.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because this time, Crews had to work for it. For the first time in his professional career, the former Louisiana State University star and second overall pick experienced failure. He performed poorly at the end of last season and in spring training, where he went 3 for 29. The Washington Nationals optioned him to Class AAA Rochester to start the season, wanting to give him a chance to make the necessary adjustments away from the spotlight so when they brought him back, he would be able to sustain long-term success.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, content with the progress he\u2019s made, the Nationals called him back up ahead of their thrilling 9-6 win over the Mets.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great feeling coming back here,\u201d he said before the game. \u201cIt makes you realize it\u2019s special being here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crews went 1 for 4 in the win. James Wood, another former top prospect, stole the attention away in Crews\u2019s return, hitting an inside-the-park grand slam in the second inning, just the second in Nationals history and the first grand slam of Wood\u2019s career.<\/p>\n

The ball carried 379 feet to left-center, where it bounced off Nick Morabito\u2019s glove at the wall and kicked to center field. It was then that Wood kicked up the speed as he realized what was in reach. It took him just 15.1 seconds to round the bases.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hyped,\u201d Wood said. \u201cEveryone was hyped. It was fun, everyone was celebrating.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Nationals, who were losing 5-0 at the time after Foster Griffin struggled in the first two innings, were suddenly down by just one run.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt changes the entire momentum, the entire feeling in the dugout,\u201d Manager Blake Butera said. \u201cIt\u2019s probably the biggest smile I\u2019ve seen on his face since I\u2019ve gotten to know him. I don\u2019t think he could believe what just happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Wood couldn\u2019t hit it out of the park this time, Jos\u00e9 Tena could. He hit a home run an inning later to tie the game. The Nationals also took advantage of the Mets\u2019 mistakes, as three of their runs were unearned.<\/p>\n

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James Wood\u2019s inside-the-park grand slam earned him a soaking. (John McDonnell\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

While one former top prospect returned to the majors, another headed down. Brady House was optioned to Rochester on Tuesday. As with Crews, the Nationals see House as a major part of the team moving forward. But he needs to work on hitting right-handed pitching \u2014 he\u2019s batting .174 against righties vs. .354 against lefties \u2014 and on improving his defense: His eight errors are tied for the MLB lead.<\/p>

Read more Bangladesh beats Pakistan by 78 runs to complete a 2-0 test series sweep<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crummy making the decision because he actually can really help this team right now,\u201d said Paul Toboni, president of baseball operations for the Nationals. \u201cWe don\u2019t think it\u2019s in Brady\u2019s long-term interest, at least right now, to have him be playing just on the short side of the platoon just against lefties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joey Wiemer was also sent down to clear a spot in the outfield for Crews. Andr\u00e9s Chaparro was recalled and is expected to play mainly first base against lefties. Curtis Mead will start in House\u2019s place at third against lefties, with Jorbit Vivas and Tena splitting the duties against righties.<\/p>\n

Crews will rotate between the three outfield positions, giving Wood and Daylen Lile a day off their feet when needed. Crews played center field Tuesday in place of Jacob Young, who suffered a rib contusion Monday.<\/p>\n

To get back to the majors, Crews needed to cut down his chase rate and get back to hitting the ball hard. He changed his approach, standing a little taller now so he\u2019s not getting into his legs as much, and his routine. It\u2019s not fancy, he said, but it\u2019s working, and he\u2019s been able to replicate it every day.<\/p>\n

As he fought through the kinks, he learned to embrace the small wins. Earlier in his life, a hard-hit line drive or sacrifice fly wouldn\u2019t have been anything to celebrate. But if he could stack good days, he learned, slowly things would start to turn his way. It also helped his confidence, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis game will beat you down, and you have to figure out ways to get back up,\u201d he said. \u201cOne day at a time, that\u2019s the main focus.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the Nationals optioned him at the end of spring training, they promised they wouldn\u2019t let him rot in AAA. Hitting coach Matt Borgschulte, assistant hitting coach Shawn O\u2019Malley, Butera and Toboni communicated with him daily, talking through what he needed to work on and giving him space to inject his own thoughts and ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of pressure that comes with being a top overall pick,\u201d Toboni said. \u201cGetting sent to AAA, you feel like eyes are on you. Dylan has been nothing short of amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the past three weeks, things finally started to click for Crews. He hit .308 and slugged .585 in his last 17 games at Rochester, with a strikeout rate of 22.5 percent, far lower than it was earlier in the season. The numbers \u201cunder the hood,\u201d Toboni said, have also improved.<\/p>\n

Now that he\u2019s back in the majors, the Nationals want Crews to just be himself. They know the pressure he\u2019s under, and that it\u2019s probably never going to go away. But as they told Crews this afternoon, the Nationals don\u2019t need him to be a savior. They already have one of MLB\u2019s best offenses, with Wood and Co. continuing to mash. Crews, they hope, will only make them better.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can just be Dylan Crews, and it\u2019s a really good player,\u201d Toboni said. \u201cJust be yourself, we\u2019ve got some really good pieces around him that will obviously help make this offense great.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Andy Pages bests Mason Miller after an epic 9-pitch at-bat in 9th inning of Dodgers\u2019 win over Padres<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a surprising demotion in spring training, the former No. 2 pick has worked hard to improve his game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nDylan Crews returns to the majors as Nationals pull off comeback win - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=908\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dylan Crews returns to the majors as Nationals pull off comeback win - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After a surprising demotion in spring training, the former No. 2 pick has worked hard to improve his game.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=908\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-20T08:05:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1c5f7e0f9144abd12e76b74fe2576d95-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=908#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=908\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Dylan Crews returns to the majors as Nationals pull off comeback win\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-20T08:05:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=908\"},\"wordCount\":1110,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=908#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/83df2972a834f52362bf8d4fd86a0eb2-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=908#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=908\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=908\",\"name\":\"Dylan Crews returns to the majors as Nationals pull off comeback win - 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