James Wood looks to continue his hot streak when the Washington Nationals open a three-game series tonight against the visiting Kansas City Royals.
Wood finished a triple short of the cycle, drove in two runs and scored twice as the Nationals beat the visiting Seattle Mariners 10-1 on Sunday in the rubber game of that series.
Kansas City, meanwhile, snapped a four-game losing skid with a 4-0 home win against the Houston Astros.
The 23-year-old Wood is 11-for-25 (.440) during a six-game hitting streak with three home runs, six RBI and three stolen bases. He hit his fifth leadoff homer of the season Sunday and his 20th overall.
“Saw a couple of fastballs early and was able to lay off a curveball with two strikes,” Wood said. “Was able to get a slider up and put a barrel on it.”
Wood is the only player in the majors with 20 homers and 10 stolen bases. He is tied for fourth in home runs (20) and sits fourth in walks (58), fourth in on-base percentage (.414) and fifth in OPS (.972).
Trying to cool off Wood on Monday will be Royals right-hander Mitch Spence (0-0, 13.50 ERA), who is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Omaha and be opposed by left-hander Andrew Alvarez (1-0, 3.70).
Spence, 28, made his only 2026 appearance April 18 when he gave up six runs in four innings against the New York Yankees. He picked up a relief win despite allowing two runs in 1⅔ innings in his only appearance against the Nationals in April 2024.
After five relief appearances, Alvarez’s last two outings have been starts. In San Francisco last Tuesday, he gave up two runs on five hits and five walks in four innings, receiving a no-decision in a 6-3 win against the Giants.
Alvarez, who turned 27 on Saturday, has never faced the Royals.
Wood was not the only Nationals player to do damage Sunday. Keibert Ruiz had three hits including a home run, Jacob Young hit two doubles, and the team collected 14 hits.
“Our lineup one through nine today, I thought, did a really good job of contributing,” manager Blake Butera said. “Just kept passing the bat back to the next guy. The base running was really good. We put a ton of pressure on them defensively. It was a lot of fun to be a part of.”
Playing on his 26th birthday, Royals All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. had two hits, stole two bases, scored a run and made a diving catch as Kansas City ended a 2-4 homestand on a positive note.
Maikel Garcia had three RBIs and starter Stephen Kolek pitched 7⅓ innings.
“We’ve lost these games recently and that’s been really frustrating, but these guys are competing their butts off,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Every one of these games on this homestand was a tough game one way or the other.
The news off the field was bad as first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino had surgery to repair the hamate bone in his right hand and will be out four to six weeks.
“I just told (Pasquantino) I was frustrated for him, especially because he’s got himself going,” Quatraro said. “It stinks because I know how hard he’s worked to get back and be productive. He’s gone through injuries before and it can be a real grind.”
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