Nationals vs Red Sox Recap: Wood blasts homer as Boston tops Washington

The Washington Nationals came to Fenway Park looking to stay hot. They had just won their last two games and wanted to keep the winning streak alive. Right away, James Wood showed why he's the Nationals' most exciting young star. On a 90 mile-per-hour sinker from Ranger Suarez, Wood launched a moon shot to right field — a rocket that sailed 441 feet and gave Washington the early 1-0 lead. You could feel the energy shift in an instant. But Boston wasn't about to lay down. Miles Mikolas faced Willson Contreras with two runners on base. Contreras whipped his bat around and crushed a four-seam fastball deep to left-center field. The ball cleared the wall and three runs scored — Boston led 3-1. Then Caleb Durbin made it worse for Washington, blasting another homer. Just like that, the Red Sox had a 4-1 advantage before the second inning even finished.

Miles Mikolas took the mound for Washington trying to slow down Boston's bats. The veteran pitcher had his hands full. In the second inning, Wilyer Abreu lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, and Tsung-Che Cheng sprinted home. That made it 5-1 Boston. One inning later, Carlos Narvaez sent another sacrifice fly to right field, and Anthony Seigler scored. Now it was 6-1. Ranger Suarez was throwing heat for the Red Sox. He needed just six innings to shut down the Nationals' lineup. Suarez struck out eight batters and walked only one. He wasn't giving Washington much to work with. The Nationals' bats went quiet. In the sixth inning, CJ Abrams tried to spark something. He doubled to right field, bringing in Keibert Ruiz and Andres Chaparro. Washington finally scored two more runs and made it 6-3. But it was too little, too late. The damage was already done.

As we headed into the final innings, Boston's lead felt safe. The Red Sox had built their 6-3 advantage through smart baserunning and timely hitting. Garrett Whitlock came on to close things out and recorded the save for Boston. He threw just one inning and struck out two Red Sox batters who had to face him. The Nationals couldn't find any late magic. Washington's bats stayed quiet through the last few innings. The final score read Boston 6, Washington 3. This was Boston's fourth straight victory. The Red Sox moved to 36-46 on the season and kept their winning streak rolling. For Washington, the loss dropped them to 43-42. They had won two games in a row before coming to Fenway Park, hoping to extend their streak. Instead, Ranger Suarez and the Boston pitchers were too strong. The Nationals' young stars like James Wood and CJ Abrams fought hard, but it wasn't enough. Boston's balanced attack won the day.