Nationals vs Red Sox Recap: Wood’s 2-HR eruption fuels 10-2 win

The Nationals came to Fenway Park hungry. They'd won their last two games and now they wanted three straight. Boston needed this win badly—they'd lost their last two and sat at 37-48. You could feel the energy shift in the first inning when Andres Chaparro stepped up against Boston pitcher Payton Tolle. The ball flew off his bat and sailed over the left-center wall. Curtis Mead scored ahead of him. Just like that, Washington led 2-0 before Boston even got a chance to bat. The Red Sox answered quickly in the third inning with a single run, cutting it to 2-1. But the Nationals were just getting started. This game would belong to Washington from start to finish.

The fourth inning was when the Nationals put this game away. Nasim Nunez crushed a fastball from Tolle over the left-center wall for a solo home run. That made it 3-0. Then Ryan Watson came in for Boston, but the damage continued. Luis Garcia Jr. singled to left, and suddenly Millas and Wood both came home. The Nationals now led 5-0. Daylen Lile grounded into a double play, but Mead scored on the play anyway, stretching it to 6-0. Jacob Young doubled to left and Garcia Jr. came across. It was 7-0 after just four innings. Boston's pitching couldn't find any answers. The Nationals' bats were on fire and the Red Sox had no way to stop them.

James Wood waited patiently in the seventh inning. He stepped up to the plate against Boston reliever Alec Gamboa. The slider came in, and Wood's eyes locked onto it. He swung with authority and the ball rocketed toward left-center field. It cleared the wall and Wood pointed as he rounded the bases. Young and Millas both crossed home plate. Washington now led 10-0. Boston finally scraped together two runs in the eighth inning when Caleb Durbin walked with the bases loaded and Nate Eaton grounded out, allowing Contreras to score. But it didn't matter anymore. The final score was 10-2. The Nationals improved to 45-43 and stayed hot with their third straight win. Boston fell to 37-48, losing their third game in a row.