The Washington Nationals have a 22-year-old problem for the rest of the league, and the New York Yankees are getting the full tour right now.
James Wood hit his third home run in three games against the Yankees on Sunday, and this one came with a piece of history attached. The leadoff shot — a 434-foot bomb to left field on a 3-4 fastball right down the middle — gave Wood his 10th leadoff home run of the season. That’s the most in a single season in Nationals and Montreal Expos franchise history, breaking a record held by Alfonso Soriano (who hit six leadoff homers in his 2006 46-homer season).
Wood now leads the majors in leadoff dingers. He’s two ahead of Shohei Ohtani and four clear of Byron Buxton. But that’s just one layer of what’s happening here.
The kid has 28 home runs through 97 games. He’s already closing in on his career high of 31, which he set last year in 157 games. At his current pace, he’s headed for 46 homers. That would tie Soriano’s franchise record for most home runs in a season by a Nationals or Expos player. The list of guys who’ve hit 40-plus in franchise history is short: Soriano (46), Vladimir Guerrero (42 in 1999, 44 in 2000), and Bryce Harper (42 in 2015). Wood could join that group before Labor Day.
July has been particularly unkind to pitchers. Wood now has seven homers this month alone. The All-Star is simply locked in.
The Yankees, meanwhile, are getting a firsthand look at what might be the next great power bat in the National League. They’ve gotten their own offense going lately — Ben Rice has been mashing — but Wood’s three-game power display has overshadowed everything else in this series.
After his second-inning walk, Wood left the game with the Nationals up 1-0 through three. The Yankees have the lineup to come back, but history doesn’t really care about the final score here. The record is already Wood’s.
And if he stays anywhere near this pace, he’ll own a lot more by October.
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