Nationals end 11-game skid with James Wood's walk-off homer in extras, avoid sweep by lowly Rockies
The Washington Nationals were on the verge of recording MLB's longest losing streak of the season, and against a Colorado Rockies team that started the month by becoming the third-fastest major-league team to reach the 50-loss mark.
That's when James Wood got the Nationals out of the woods.
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With two outs and a man on third in the bottom of the 11th inning, Wood deposited a two-run, walk-off homer to center field on Thursday. Having also blasted a two-run shot in the fourth, the second-year left fielder logged all four of the Nationals' RBI in their much-needed 4-3 victory.
Still just 22 years old, Wood is the youngest player in Nationals/Expos franchise history with a multi-homer game that featured a walk-off dinger, according to MLB.com's Sarah Langs.
Wood now has 20 home runs on the season, and Washington has its first victory in 13 days.
One more loss, and the Nationals would've tied their longest single-season skid ever: a 12-game drought that ran Aug. 8-20, 2008, just four years into the team's history.
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And so the pressure was on Thursday at Nationals Park, especially because of Washington's opponent. The Rockies entered the four-game road series with an embarrassing 14 total wins this season.
Then Colorado rattled off three straight victories over the Nats — featuring a jaw-dropping 12 home runs — extending what turned out to be a four-game win streak following their June 15 blowout against the Atlanta Braves. That head-turning stretch represents 23.5% of the Rockies' wins this season.
Colorado didn't go yard Thursday in D.C., though. The Rockies took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 11th when first baseman Michael Toglia drove in third baseman Ryan McMahon with a single to center.
Wood then rescued the Nationals in the bottom half of the inning, launching a 1-0 pitch 428 feet. The long ball also scored Riley Adams, who was on third base at the time.
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