The Washington Nationals just had an incredible night

It has been years since I had this much fun watching a Washington Nationals game

Led by hometown hero James Wood and part time Home Depot worker Brad Lord, the Washington Nationals humiliated the defending champion Dodgers in an 8-2 win. It was a banner night in DC where just about everything went right for the Nats.

On a frigid 40 degree night, I got to my seats and was very concerned about Brad Lord. He had a great year in the Minors last year, but after all, there had to be a reason he was an 18th round pick. Now that 18th round pick who worked at Home Depot is facing off against Shohei Ohtani.

However, Ohtani proved to be no match for Brad the builder. The Japanese superstar was Lord’s first career strikeout victim to start the game. That is a story he will 100% be telling his grandkids.

However, Lord was far from the only Nationals hero last night. The other big star in their 8-2 win was James Wood. While he didn’t hit in the leadoff spot like I wanted, he still produced.

The 6’7 slugger went 3 for 4 with a walk and five RBI’s. That included two impressive home runs. It was a 40 degree night, so he had to get all of the ball to get it out. However, Wood has so much power, he can hit homers in Antartica if he got a hold of a ball.

Wood is starting to really see the ball well. Just a couple days ago, his numbers didn’t look great. However, the beauty of April baseball is that those numbers can look much better in a matter of days. Now his OPS is up to a beautiful .981.

His second home run was also pulled, which was a very nice sight to see. I love how James goes the other way with such ease. However, the next step for him is finding a way to consistently turn on those inside pitches. He did just that with his second home run.

As expected, Lord only went 3 innings, so the Nats much maligned bullpen had to do well. It helped that they were given a big lead, but they still did well. Over their six innings of work, the bullpen only allowed two runs and struck out 11.

Colin Poche started things off by striking out the side. That has to be a big confidence boost for the struggling reliever. Orlando Ribalta came in next and he gave the Nats three solid innings of one run ball. Davey Martinez seems to really like the idea of Ribalta as a multi-inning bullpen arm.

Lastly, Jackson Rutledge came in for two innings. His innings were dicey, but he got the job done, only allowing a solo homer to Kikè Hernandez.

Tonight was the best moment of the Nats season so far. They took the series from the defending champs in dominant fashion. James Wood, Keibert Ruiz, Dylan Crews, and Jacob Young all had multi-hit nights. It is exactly how Davey and Rizzo would have drawn up this series.

The Nats now sitting at 5-6 after their four game win streak. They will look to get to .500 in a late afternoon showdown against the Dodgers. Getting a sweep over the most expensive team in baseball history would be quite the statement for these young Nats. Led by the Rockville kid James Wood and the 18th round Home Depot worker Brad Lord, the Nats overcame the billion dollar Dodgers once again, this time in dominant fashion.