James Wood is officially back as the Washington Nationals (7-8) picked up their first series sweep of the 2026 season on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers (8-7). 

Wood and the offense continued to lead the way for the Nationals. The offense is now at 89 runs through 15 games. They are four runs behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lead the MLB in runs scored. But the Nationals' pitching was crucial, giving their best showing and helping secure the sweep.

Wood led the way for the Nationals' bats with a four-hit outing as the Nationals won the opening game on Friday, 7-3.

Jake Irvin made the start on Friday. He gave up three first-inning runs, but would get back on course and pitch scoreless through the next four innings. He finished his outing, allowing three earned runs on two hits and five walks.

The bullpen followed Irvin’s outing with four scoreless innings, allowing the Nationals to take the lead in the top of the ninth inning. 

They would get that lead by embracing small-ball. The Nationals laid down three successful bunts that were followed by a two-RBI double by Wood. CJ Abrams would get hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and Luis García Jr. would hit an RBI single in the midst of the small ball.  

Abrams finished Friday batting 2-for-3 with an HBP. He now leads the Nationals with a .321 batting average following the weekend. 

Foster Griffin would start on the mound on Saturday, where he would put on a pitching clinic. He pitched 5.1 innings and allowed only one hit and three walks. His outing would help the Nationals close a 3-1 win. That is the fewest runs that the Nationals have scored this season in a win. 

Brewers’ pitcher Kyle Harrison pitched cleanly through the first four innings but would be taken out of the game after allowing a two-run RBI double to Wood in the fifth inning, which gave the Nationals a 2-0 lead.

Brad Lord would come out of the bullpen for the Nationals. Lord has arguably been their best bullpen arm. He has a 3.75 ERA through 12 innings pitched and holds a 1.17 WHIP. He performed once again, pitching five clean outs.

Cionel Pérez would take a clean eighth inning, and Clayton Beeter pitched the final inning. Beeter would get the save after allowing one earned run and loading the bases.

Things would not go as smoothly in the Nationals' win on Sunday. Zack Littell started and pitched five innings. He allowed three runs, all of which came on solo home runs. Littell was second in the MLB last season with 36 home runs allowed, and is now tied at first this season with five home runs allowed. 

The Nationals scored two runs in the top of the fourth after a Wood home run and an Abrams RBI. 

They would take a 6-3 lead in the top of the seventh inning. Jacob Young led off with a double that brought him to third base after a fielding error. José Tena, Curtis Mead and Brady House would all finish the inning with RBIs. Wood walked and would score off a double steal, where he stole home.

For the first real bullpen mistake of the weekend, Cole Henry would allow three runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game. This came by way of a three-run shot, for the fourth Brewers home run of the game.

The Nationals would take the lead back at the top of the eighth when Keibert Ruiz hit a two-RBI single that brought home Abrams and Young. 

PJ Poulin pitched the bottom of the eighth, where he would take credit for his second win of the series. He also pitched the eighth inning to Friday’s win.

Gus Varland picked up his first save of the season with a shutout ninth inning, securing the series sweep.

James Wood is on fire. Wood has now stacked two outstanding series back-to-back. Wood finished the series in Milwaukee, batting 6-for-11 with three walks and a home run. He came up clutch in multiple moments for the Nationals. Wood is now up to a .274 batting average after a slow start to the season.

CJ Abrams is playing some of his best baseball ever. Abrams has had a ridiculous start to April, batting .361/.455/.722 with a 1.177 OPS. He has a hit in all but one game through the month and has more RBIs than games played. Abrams came up big for the Nationals in their Friday and Sunday wins this week.

Foster Griffin might be the real deal. Griffin joined the Nationals after a stint in the NPB in Japan and has been dominant to start the season. He has pitched 15.1 innings and holds a 1.76 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP, which both lead the Nationals among pitchers with over two innings pitched. He has allowed just 11 hits, six walks and two home runs this season.

Jacob Young has looked great in the box. Jacob Young has allows shined in the outfield, but could never put it together when it came to batting. That has changed through the first 14 games of 2026. His swing looks completely different, and he is batting .293 with four doubles and a home run. 

Young came up big in the series sweep. He was 1-for-1 with an RBI on Friday’s win, 2-for-4 in Saturday’s win and scored one of their three runs, and 2-for-5 with two runs scored in the win on Sunday. 

Bullpen’s best outing. The Nationals' bullpen looked the best it's ever had in their series sweep. The bullpen combined to allow four runs in the three games played. Three of those four runs came in one inning after Ken Waldichuk was injured. 

This definitely doesn’t mean the bullpen problems are fixed, but it was a good showing that can fill Nationals fans with some optimism.

RHP Orlando Ribalta and RHP Jackson Rutledge were both called up from Triple-A for the Nationals' next series against the Pirates. Waldichuk and Henry both were placed on the 15-day injured list.

The Nationals now look to the Pittsburgh Pirates series, which starts Monday at 6:40 p.m. with Cade Cavalli battling against one of the best pitchers in baseball, Paul Skenes.