WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez wanted to get James Wood off his feet on a chilly night Tuesday, so he plugged the 22-year-old into the designated hitter spot for the first time in his 90-game career.
Wood smashed a pair of two-run homers and matched a career high with five RBIs in Washington’s 8-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“He really doesn’t like to DH,” Martinez said. “I think today was OK because he sat by the heater.”
It was the second multihomer game in Wood’s major league career. He also had two against Miami on Sept. 15.
Unbothered by the 46-degree evening, Wood followed Alex Call’s leadoff single in the first inning by hitting Justin Wrobleski’s first-pitch fastball to left-center to put the Nationals up 2-0.
Three innings later, he hit another first pitch — this time a curveball from Wrobleski — into the seats in right-center.
“I just feel like the game dictates that,” Wood said. “Sometimes you have to be patient and earn your pitch and sometimes it comes early. Today, it was just a little bit earlier than usual.”
Wood has three home runs in the first two games of the series against Los Angeles and four this season. He had nine in 79 games as a rookie last season.
The 6-foot-7 Wood, who was acquired in 2022 as part of the deal that sent Juan Soto to San Diego, also had a bases-loaded walk in the second inning and beat out an infield single in the sixth. In the last two games, he has raised his average from .212 to .275.
“He’s totally engaged when he comes to hit,” Martinez said. “He has a plan every time he goes up there, every at bat. And he understands the strike zone.”
Those seem like the prerequisites of a good DH. Still, Wood doesn’t want to get into a habit of filling the role Washington usually reserves for veteran Josh Bell.
“I have to find out what to do with myself for half the game,” Wood said. “I don’t want to get too used to it, but I didn’t mind it today.”
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Patrick Stevens, The Associated Press
