Wood seals Nationals’ win over Rockies to end 11-game skid, avoid tie for team’s worst streak

Manager Dave Martinez had seen enough baseball in the 11th inning of the Nationals’ 4-3 walk-off win over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday. He wanted to leave. 

The Nationals rode an 11-game losing streak into the game and the pressure was mounting. 

“He has that slow heartbeat,” Martinez said of star outfielder James Wood, who had already hit his 19th home run of the season in the fourth inning. 

Wood passed on the first pitch splitter. The second offering found the meat of the zone, and Wood took it deep into center field. 

“I just was like, ‘Please go. I don’t want to play no more,’” Martinez said. “‘Let’s get on the plane and let’s win a game.’ That was awesome. … The universe lined up today.”

The deep drive easily cleared the wall, snapping Washington’s losing streak and narrowly avoiding a sweep against the worst team in baseball. It was the first walk-off home run of Wood’s promising young career. 

“It was just a sigh of relief,” the 22-year-old Wood said. “We’ve been playing hard; things just haven’t gone our way. It felt good for things to switch over.”

The game started fittingly for the final matchup between the worst team in the major leagues and a squad riding a prolonged skid: slowly. 

Both teams sent the minimum nine batters to the plate in the first three innings. Three runners reached base in those innings — two were caught stealing and the third was thrown out in a double play. 

Nationals starter Trevor Williams pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits and two runs with six strikeouts and a walk. 

Wood broke the tie in the fourth with his first home run of the game, a two-run blast into the stands. 

Wood accounted for all four of Washington’s runs with his two homers. 

The early lead didn’t last. Colorado responded with a pair of runs in the fifth to tie the game. A double by lead-off man Jordan Beck sent Orlando Arcia home. A single by the next batter, right fielder Mickey Moniak, scored Beck and tied the game at 2-2. 

Beck finished 1-for-4 with a double, a run, an RBI and two strikeouts. 

The game remained tied as the two squads traded scoreless frames. 

Colorado starting pitcher Chase Dollander took the bench after tossing six innings of two-run ball, allowing six hits with two strikeouts and no walks. 

After shaky performances throughout the series, Washington’s bullpen held up. The relievers combined to throw 4 2/3 shutout innings, allowing the Nationals a chance at a walk-off in the bottom of the tenth.

Pinch hitter Alex Call opened the frame with a sacrifice bunt to send extra-innings runner Brady House to third base. 

But the Nationals couldn’t bring House home. Amed Rosario and catcher Keibert Ruiz grounded out to send the game to the 11th inning. 

A first-pitch single by Colorado’s Toglia scored the go-ahead run in the top of the eleventh. 

Martinez never doubted his club. 

“We kept saying, ‘Somehow, some way, we will win this game,’” Martinez said. “We just got to have the right moment.”

The bottom of the 11th saw Wood step to the plate with two outs and a runner on third base. 

First base was empty. Martinez said he expected Rockies pitcher Seth Halvorsen to walk Wood.

 He didn’t.

Wood responded with a monster 430-foot homer to center field, sending Nationals fans home happy for the first time in weeks. 

The crowd erupted, the exalted celebrations of a group that has become accustomed to blown leads and late disappointments. 

The reaction in the clubhouse and on the field was similar. Wood got covered in Gatorade. Williams was screaming with glee at his locker. The pitcher was still shaking when reporters reached the clubhouse after the game. 

“He’s my favorite player,” Williams said of Wood. “For him to do this in his first full year is insane. It’s impressive. I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes one of the faces of MLB at some point.”

The Nationals’ losing streak ended at 11 games, one loss shy of matching the 2008 squad for the worst skid since the franchise moved to the District in 2005. 

“I love this game. I love this team. I love this city. I love the fans,” a tearful Martinez said. “We’re going to go through some moments, but it’s the adversity that makes us stronger.”

The Nationals open a nine-game West Coast road trip on Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. After three games at Dodger Stadium, manager Dave Martinez’s squad will visit the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Angels.

“I’m glad we could get that 300-pound monkey off our back and go from there,” Williams said.