<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/washington-nationals/nationals-news-james-wood-ronald-acuna-jr-mike-trout-rare-mlb-history');   ga('set', 'title', 'James Wood joins Ronald Acuña Jr., Mike Trout in rare MLB history');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/James-Wood.jpg"><figcaption>Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>James Wood joins Ronald Acuña Jr., Mike Trout in rare MLB history</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-03T13:03:37-07:00">September 3rd, 1:03pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-03T13:15:05-07:00">September 3rd, 1:15pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Despite playing for a Washington Nationals team that’s 28 games under .500, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/washington-nationals/nationals-news-james-wood-impressive-feat-vs-tigers">James Wood has impressed</a> in his sophomore season. The All-Star outfielder’s two-run homer against the Miami Marlins Tuesday helped power the Nationals to their second straight win after the team had lost eight in a row.</p><p>Wood also joined a very <a href="https://x.com/OptaSTATS/status/1963289889094394183" rel="noopener">exclusive group</a> with Tuesday’s long ball. He’s now up to 27 home runs, 76 walks and 15 stolen bases on the season. Ronald Acuña Jr. (2019) and Mike Trout (2013, 2014) are the only other players in MLB history to reach those heights at age 22 or younger, per OptaSTATS.</p><p>While the Nationals fell out of the division race early. Wood enjoyed an excellent first half of the season. He built on a solid showing in 2024, tying Bryce Harper and Juan Soto for the most homers in franchise history through a player’s first 162 games. All three had 31 home runs after 162 games played.</p><h2><b>Nationals’ star James Wood makes history despite second-half struggles</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/James-Wood-2.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Mills-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Wood established himself as the biggest threat in the Nationals’ lineup. He even made <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/washington-nationals/nationals-news-james-wood-history-not-seen-since-barry-bonds">history not seen since Barry Bonds</a>, drawing four intentional walks in a single game. Opposing teams were determined not to let Washington’s young slugger beat them.</p><p>But Wood has struggled over the second half of the season. He slashed .287/.388/.551 with 24 home runs, 69 RBI and 59 runs scored through July 9. The hot start earned him his first All-Star Game nod. But Wood dropped off over his next 43 games. From July 10 through September 1 he slashed .194/.281/.303 with just two homers, 15 RBI and 14 runs.</p><p>Wood’s strikeout rate also soared over that stretch. He now leads the majors with 187 strikeouts.</p><p>But Wood’s big day at the plate against the Marlins could signal a turnaround. He <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/washington-nationals/nationals-news-nationals-james-wood-breaks-home-run-drought-bomb-giants">snapped a home run drought</a> in August after failing to leave the yard for a full month. After Tuesday’s performance, Wood is up to three home runs in the last three weeks.</p><p>On the season he’s hitting .258 with an .829 OPS. And he’s racked up an impressive 3.5 bWAR in 136 games. Another strong showing in Wednesday’s matchup against Miami has the Nationals on the verge of three straight wins.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

James Wood joins Ronald Acuña Jr., Mike Trout in rare MLB history

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/washington-nationals/nationals-news-nationals-james-wood-breaks-home-run-drought-bomb-giants');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nationals slugger James Wood breaks home run drought with massive bomb vs. Giants');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/James-Wood-cover.jpg"></figure><h1>Nationals slugger James Wood breaks home run drought with massive bomb vs. Giants</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-09T16:02:16-07:00">August 9th, 4:02pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-09T16:02:16-07:00">August 9th, 4:02pm</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He's a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic. In addition to sports writing, he works for Arizona Football in the Player Personnel and Recruiting department and formerly served as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>James Wood wasted no time <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/nationals-news-washington-fans-applaud-rookie-pitcher-3-year-recovery-journey">getting the Nationals on the board Sunday afternoon</a>, launching an opposite-field leadoff homer for his first long ball since July 9. It was just his second game hitting out of the leadoff spot under interim manager Miguel Cairo, but Wood looked right at home, adding an RBI double later to fuel <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/giants-logan-webb-enters-madison-bumgarner-territory-vs-pirates">Washington’s 4-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants</a> at Oracle Park.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Leadoff bomb for James Wood for his first home run since July 9th! <a href="https://t.co/3sZd2bobFX">pic.twitter.com/3sZd2bobFX</a></p><p>— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) <a href="https://twitter.com/TalkinBaseball_/status/1954274917995958479?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Nationals jumped on Giants top pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt early. After Wood’s first-inning blast, Paul DeJong and Josh Bell went back-to-back in the third inning with solo homers, pushing the lead to 3-0. All three long balls came off Whisenhunt’s sinker — a pitch opponents had gone just 1-for-18 against in his first two starts. This time, the Nationals tagged him for <a href="https://www.talknats.com/2025/08/09/postgamer-116-new-ace-nats-win-behind-another-great-brad-lord-outing-and-ferrer-5-out-save-a-recap/" rel="noopener">four hits on the pitch</a> and six batted balls at 103 mph or harder, including Bell’s 107.8 mph shot. Whisenhunt lasted four innings, allowing three runs on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts.</p><p>Brad Lord, meanwhile, delivered another quality outing for Washington. The rookie right-hander worked six strong innings, scattering four hits and two walks while striking out five. Lord navigated traffic in the middle innings but held San Francisco scoreless until Rafael Devers opened the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer — his 22nd of the season.</p><h2><b>Nationals take Game 2 vs Giants</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Carson-Whisenhunt-1.jpg"><figcaption>Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Washington answered back in the top of the frame when Wood roped a line-drive RBI double off reliever Carson Seymour, scoring Daylen Lile to make it 4-1.</p><p>The Giants had multiple chances to close the gap, loading the bases in both the third and eighth innings, but went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Their only other run came on Wilmer Flores’ sacrifice fly in the eighth, which cut the deficit to 4-2.</p><p>That inning nearly unraveled the Nationals’ bullpen. Cole Henry loaded the bases with one out, prompting Cairo to call on left-hander Jose A. Ferrer for a five-out save. Ferrer allowed Flores’ sac fly but struck out Matt Chapman on a 99 mph sinker to escape further damage. He returned for the ninth, working around two baserunners to lock down his second career save.</p><p>“It was a good team win,” Cairo said postgame. “Today they played together and made good plays. They hit well, and pitched well. … [Lord] is going to be a good starter for a long long time. … I put them in their best position to succeed.”</p><p>Offensively, Wood, DeJong, and Bell did all the damage — combining for three homers, three multi-hit games, and all four RBIs.</p><p>The win sets up a rubber match on Monday afternoon, with MacKenzie Gore (4-12, 4.29 ERA) looking to rebound against veteran Justin Verlander (1-8, 4.29 ERA) in a duel of struggling aces. Washington will hope Gore can find his early-season form and help secure a series win on the road.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nationals slugger James Wood breaks home run drought with massive bomb vs. Giants

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/washington-nationals/nationals-news-james-wood-home-run-derby-out-truist-park');   ga('set', 'title', 'James Wood knocks Home Run Derby dinger out of Truist Park');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Nationals-news-James-Wood-knocks-Home-Run-Derby-dinger-out-of-Truist-Park-2.jpg"></figure><h1>James Wood knocks Home Run Derby dinger out of Truist Park</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-14T18:26:03-07:00">July 14th, 6:26pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-14T18:45:22-07:00">July 14th, 6:45pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Washington Nationals slugger James Wood is introducing himself to a national audience in the 2025 Home Run Derby. Opposing pitchers are already aware of the Nationals’ most dangerous hitter, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/washington-nationals/nationals-news-james-wood-history-not-seen-since-barry-bonds">choosing to pitch around Wood</a> when possible. But the second-year pro had an opportunity to display his power in Monday’s exhibition. And he didn’t disappoint.</p><p>Wood <a href="https://x.com/MLB/status/1944915746447818915" rel="noopener">absolutely crushed</a> a home run in the first round of the Derby, knocking it out of Truist Park in Atlanta, per MLB.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">JAMES WOOD, OUT OF THE STADIUM 🤯 <a href="https://t.co/oOpjZuEfmw">pic.twitter.com/oOpjZuEfmw</a></p><p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1944915746447818915?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>After a bit of a slow start in his first Home Run Derby, Wood eventually caught fire. He tallied a score of 16 dingers in Round 1, including a preposterous 486-foot blast that left the crowd stunned. Six of Wood’s 16 dongs traveled over 450 feet and he maxed out at an exit velocity of 112 mph.</p><h2><b>Nationals’ star James Wood has wowed in second season</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Nationals-news-James-Wood-knocks-Home-Run-Derby-dinger-out-of-Truist-Park.jpg"><figcaption>Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Wood had been one of baseball’s biggest secrets playing for a Nationals team that’s 20 games under .500. But his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/washington-nationals/nationals-news-james-wood-impressive-feat-vs-tigers">impressive performance at the plate</a> this season could no longer be ignored.</p><p>The 22-year-old left fielder is slashing .278/.381/.534 with 24 home runs, 69 RBI, 59 runs scored and an OPS+ of 160 in 95 games for Washington. The excellent first half earned Wood his first All-Star Game selection.</p><p>At the break, Wood is tied for the seventh-most homers in the majors and the eighth-most RBI. He’s second in the National League with 4.4 bWAR, trailing only Chicago Cubs’ star Pete Crow-Armstrong.</p><p>Wood has already made Nationals history this season, tying Bryce Harper and Juan Soto for the most home runs through a player’s first 162 games with 31. And he had a chance to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/washington-nationals/nationals-news-how-james-wood-can-join-juan-soto-bryce-harper-washington-history">join Harper and Soto</a> as the only Nationals players to win a Home Run Derby – Harper finished first in 2018 and Soto won the event in 2022.</p><p>Unfortunately, Wood’s 16 dingers in the event weren’t enough to advance to the second round. But after leaving the stadium with a majestic blast in the Derby, Wood will no longer be under the radar in his breakout sophomore season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

James Wood knocks Home Run Derby dinger out of Truist Park

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/washington-nationals/nationals-news-james-wood-impressive-feat-vs-tigers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nationals’ James Wood accomplishes impressive feat vs. Tigers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/James-Wood-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Nationals’ James Wood accomplishes impressive feat vs. Tigers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-03T20:00:13-07:00">July 3rd, 8:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-03T20:23:25-07:00">July 3rd, 8:23pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Tigers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Washington Nationals left fielder James Wood is in the midst of a breakout season. Despite flying under some fans’ radar on a Nationals squad that’s 13 games under .500, opposing teams are already <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/washington-nationals/nationals-news-james-wood-history-not-seen-since-barry-bonds">pitching around Wood</a>. On Thursday, the Detroit Tigers challenged him and Wood made them pay with a big day at the plate.</p><p>Wood had a career-high <a href="https://x.com/MLB/status/1940944759474081936" rel="noopener">five hits</a> against Detroit, going 5-5 in the Nationals’ 11-7 win, per MLB.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">James Wood is 5-for-5 tonight! <a href="https://t.co/OekmMtd78B">pic.twitter.com/OekmMtd78B</a></p><p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1940944759474081936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Wood hit a solo home run in the second inning off Tigers starter Dietrich Enns and added four singles in Thursday’s game. He drove in two runs and scored three times for Washington.</p><h2><b>James Wood is off to a historic start for the Nationals</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/James-Wood-2.jpg"><figcaption>Jim Rassol-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The second-year standout is slashing .294/.395/.563 with 23 homers, 67 RBI and 58 runs scored. Wood is third in the National League with 4.0 bWAR and he’s tied for the sixth-most home runs and sixth-most RBI in the majors.</p><p>While some have overlooked his excellent sophomore season, Wood will soon introduce himself to a wider audience. On Thursday he announced that he’ll <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/washington-nationals/nationals-james-wood-makes-home-run-derby-decision">participate in the Home Run Derby</a> on July 14.</p><p>With a strong showing, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/washington-nationals/nationals-news-how-james-wood-can-join-juan-soto-bryce-harper-washington-history">Wood can join Bryce Harper and Juan Soto</a> as the only Nationals players to win the Derby. Harper finished first in 2018 and Soto won the event in 2022.</p><p>Wood already joined the pair in the <a href="https://x.com/MLB/status/1937370748512776483" rel="noopener">record books</a> with an excellent start to his career. The 22-year-old outfielder tied Harper and Soto for the most home runs in Nationals franchise history through a player’s first 162 games, per MLB. All three had 31 bombs after playing 162 games with Washington, although Wood reached that total in just 158 games.</p><p>The Nationals have a collection of exciting, young talent on the roster. While it hasn’t translated to wins yet, Washington has provided plenty of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/washington-nationals/nationals-news-jacob-young-steals-home-run-insane-grab-tigers">highlight reel plays</a> this season.</p><p>After enduring an 11-game losing streak in June, the Nationals have since gone 7-6 and the team has won three of the last four games. However, Washington still has the fourth-worst record in baseball. The Nationals are in last place in the NL East and 14 games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nationals’ James Wood accomplishes impressive feat vs. Tigers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/washington-nationals/nationals-news-how-james-wood-can-join-juan-soto-bryce-harper-washington-history');   ga('set', 'title', 'How James Wood can join Juan Soto, Bryce Harper in Nationals history');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Washington-Nationals-outfielder-James-Wood-1.jpg"><figcaption>Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>How James Wood can join Juan Soto, Bryce Harper in Nationals history</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-07-03T12:37:33-07:00">July 3rd, 12:37pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-07-03T12:37:33-07:00">July 3rd, 12:37pm</time><address><a>Zachary Howell</a>Zachary Howell is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints focusing on creating premier MLB content. He is a big fan of the Yankees, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Syracuse Orange. In his free time, he likes to be outside or read.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood is in the middle of a career year. After an average rookie season in 2024, the 22-year-old has taken off this season. His 22 home runs lead the Nationals. He might not be a starter, but he is a lock as an All-Star reserve for the National League. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/washington-nationals/nationals-james-wood-makes-home-run-derby-decision">Wood declared on Thursday that he will participate in the Home Run Derby</a>.</p><p>If Wood comes out as the champion of the marquee event of All-Star Weekend, he would join a small list. According to Major League Baseball’s Sarah Langs, the only Nationals players <a href="https://x.com/SlangsOnSports/status/1940841539527496103" rel="noopener">who have won</a> the Home Run Derby are Bryce Harper and Juan Soto. Both players have become two of the bigger stars in the game, something Washington hopes Wood can replicate.</p><p>Wood enters an incomplete field for this year’s event. As of July 3, the only players who confirmed that they will take part in the Home Run Derby are Ronald Acuna Jr., Cal Raleigh, and Wood. However, players like Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber could add more star power to the event.</p><p>Unfortunately, players like Pete Crow-Armstrong and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/cincinnati-reds/reds-news-elly-de-la-cruz-makes-home-run-derby-decision">Elly De La Cruz believe they lack the power necessary to contend in the Home Run Derby</a>. Wood might not be at the top of the league in total home runs, but he has serious power. His 22 home runs in 2025 rank seventh in the league before Thursday’s game kicked off.</p><p>Harper and Soto rode dominant performances to their Home Run Derby wins. After taking home the hardware, though, they failed to lead the Nationals to the postseason. Unless Wood can spark a turnaround, he will not break that trend, even if he wins.</p><p>Regardless of how Washington finishes in the standings, Wood’s future is bright. If he is near the top of the league when it comes to power in Year 2, there is no telling how good he could end up being.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025 SEASON STATS
BA	HR	RBI	OPS	SB
.261	26	83	0.835	15

2025 SEASON STATS
BA	HR	RBI	OPS	SB
.261	26	83	0.835	15

James Wood

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