Despite concerns from the pitching staff, James Wood showed signs of turning the corner this week for the Washington Nationals
After drawing criticism in spring training into the start of the 2026 regular season, one Washington Nationals star has shown signs of turning the corner this week.
Right fielder James Wood finished hitless in Wednesday's loss against the St. Louis Cardinals, marking maybe his first blemish, but it also proved to be a deflating game for the Nationals' offense after posting just one run and four hits in a second consecutive loss. The loss also marked the end of CJ Abrams's streak of hitting safely in eight straight games and reaching base in ten straight games, a notable drop in production after an encouraging start offensively. Yet for Wood, the Nationals star enters the off day showing signs of optimism through the week.
After just four hits and 17 strikeouts through his first eight games, Wood posted three consecutive games with a home run including consecutive multi-hit games, combining to go 4-for-7 across the first two games against St. Louis. He also closed the series with just one strikeout.
It wasn't only offense for Wood after posting his first web gem of the season, robbing a home run in the top of the fourth inning to preserve a 2-0 lead in an eventual win in . Wood's catch came on a hit with just an 8% catch probability.
"I just saw it go up and I was just kind of going after it and it was right at the wall so I just kind of went up and happened to land with it," Wood said of the catch postgame.
It's an encouraging start for the Nationals star who is looking to put a complete season together after struggling the second half of the 2025 slate. It also exemplifies comments made by manager Blake Butera last week after opting to not overreact to the first few games with the focus on the complete 162 game season.
The other side of the equation will be whether the Nationals can put a complete product on the diamond with the pitching concerns, whether it be with the starting staff or bullpen, heading back under the microscope after another string of concerning performances. Miles Mikolas pitched just three innings as Butera noted he wanted to get work for Brad Lord, who also pitched three innings while allowing a solo home run.
Whether Washington is able to inch any closer back toward .500 will be a question beginning Friday, but Wood has given fans something to be excited about.