James Wood's inside-the-park slam sparks Nationals' rally vs. Mets

Field Level Media|published: Tue 19th May, 22:17 2026

May 19, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder James Wood (29) rounds third base on his way home for an inside-the-park grand slam against the New York Mets during the second inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

James Wood's three hits included an inside-the-park grand slam as the Washington Nationals rallied from a five-run deficit for a 9-6 win against the New York Mets in on Tuesday night.

Jose Tena also homered for Washington, which had lost its previous two games.

Bo Bichette hit a pair of two-run homers for New York, giving him three home runs in two games. Juan Soto also went deep and Carson Benge had three hits for the Mets, who had won three straight.

Washington starter Foster Griffin (5-2) survived a shaky start before finishing five innings. He gave up five runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and no walks. Richard Lovelady pitched a perfect ninth inning for his third save.

Nolan McClean (2-3) gave up nine runs (six earned) on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. He had never given up more than five runs in any of his previous 17 major league starts. McLean fanned five and walked two.

Mets left-fielder Nick Morabito, from nearby McLean, Va., went 0-for-3 and was hit by a pitch in his major league debut.

Benge led off the game with a single. Bichette followed with a shot to center and the Mets led 2-0. Soto then singled, went to third on Mark Vientos' double and scored on Marcus Semien's sacrifice fly.

In the second, Benge singled with two outs and Bichette lined a homer to left to make it 5-0. It was Bichette's first multi-homer game as a Met.

In the bottom half, Jorbit Vivas doubled with two outs, Drew Millas was hit by a pitch and Nasim Nunez's infield singled loaded the bases. Wood sent a shot to the wall in left-center that hit off Morabito's glove and rolled past Tyrone Taylor toward center. By the time they located the ball and got it in, Wood was sliding across home plate with his career first grand slam.

In the third, Tena led off with a homer to tie it. CJ Abrams walked and Daylen Lile singled him to third. Abrams scored on a passed ball, and Lile came home on a sacrifice fly by Vivas to give the Nationals a 7-5 lead.

Wood singled leading off the fourth. Tena was safe on second baseman Semien's throwing error attempting to get Wood, and Wood and Tena scored on Abrams' grounder when catcher Luis Torrens missed Bichette's throw.

Soto's solo homer pulled New York within 9-6 in the seventh.

--Field Level Media

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