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Nationals’ James Wood accomplishes impressive feat vs. Tigers
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- Nationals’ James Wood accomplishes impressive feat vs. Tigers
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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 pitching around Wood . On Thursday, the Detroit Tigers challenged him and Wood made them pay with a big day at the plate.
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Wood had a career-high five hits against Detroit, going 5-5 in the Nationals' 11-7 win, per MLB.
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.
James Wood is off to a historic start for the Nationals
Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
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.
While some have overlooked his excellent sophomore season, Wood will soon introduce himself to a wider audience. On Thursday he announced that he'll participate in the Home Run Derby on July 14.
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With a strong showing, Wood can join Bryce Harper and Juan Soto as the only Nationals players to win the Derby. Harper finished first in 2018 and Soto won the event in 2022.
Wood already joined the pair in the record books 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.
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 highlight reel plays this season.
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 .
Related: How James Wood can join Juan Soto, Bryce Harper in Nationals history
Related: Nationals' James Wood makes Home Run Derby decision
