WASHINGTON -- The second the ball left James Wood¡¯s bat with a full count and two outs in the ninth inning on Friday night at Nationals Park, CJ Abrams was already halfway to second base.
Abrams ran and ran -- helmet falling off, alien necklace bouncing and arms pumping -- and did not stop.
¡°I¡¯ll tell you right now, CJ was hauling ass,¡± manager Dave Martinez said. ¡°He really was. I don¡¯t know how else to explain it. But that was awesome to see.¡±
Abrams did not stop as third-base coach Ricky Gutierrez whipped his arm around like a propeller at takeoff to wave him home.
He did not stop as center fielder Tyrone Taylor scooped up Wood¡¯s ground-ball single -- which had only trickled a few feet out of the infield after deflecting off the glove of second baseman Jeff McNeil -- and fired it in to catcher Francisco Alvarez.
Abrams did not stop until he had slid headfirst into home plate and scored the walk-off run to lift the Nationals to a dramatic 5-4 victory over the Mets.
¡°I wanted to score so we could win and then go tackle James,¡± said Abrams.
A game with a triple play and a swinging lead change ended in a fittingly frenzied fashion. Amid the backdrop of an energized postgame celebration in which the dugout erupted, Wood¡¯s jersey was ripped off by his teammates and Gatorade ice buckets were thrown, the Nats snapped the division-rival Mets¡¯ seven-game winning streak.
¡°This is a big win,¡± said Martinez. ¡°This is definitely a big moment for a young team like ours. It¡¯s awesome.¡±
Wood¡¯s shirt was still damp when he spoke to reporters after the electric hit.
¡°The last two innings of that game were crazy,¡± Wood said. ¡°It was just up and down, all over the place.¡±
A game that was nearly lost by a triple was turned around by one.
The Nationals held a two-run lead in the top of the eighth inning before Mark Vientos lofted a triple off Kyle Finnegan down the right-field line that barely evaded a diving Dylan Crews, who had a 10 percent catch probability and would have needed to cover 101 feet in order to make the play. The Nats found themselves trailing, 4-3, as they entered the bottom of the ninth inning.
¡°The beauty of this game is it¡¯s not over ¡®til it¡¯s over,¡± said Crews. ¡°There¡¯s still opportunities on the board, and we were able to do that in the end.¡±
Crews put the Mets' go-ahead triple aside and led off the ninth with a triple of his own to right-center field off right-hander Ryne Stanek. Jos¨¦ Tena, who has capitalized on limited playing opportunities, drove in Crews with a game-tying RBI single into center field.
The Nats were back in it.
Jacob Young followed by grounding into a force out, bringing Abrams to the plate with one out and a runner on first base. The Mets called on southpaw A.J. Minter, who got Abrams to also ground into a force out at second base.
The 22-year-old Wood calmly approached the plate. He got down 0-2 with two outs, but he patiently worked three consecutive pitches to a full count. Then, he made contact.
Wood jumped on a cutter and sent it up the middle.
¡°I saw it go through, and I was just happy to get the next guy up,¡± Wood said. ¡°Then I see Ricky waving him home, and I was like, ¡®Oh, it¡¯s on.¡¯¡±
Abrams dashed from first to home in 9.82 seconds, which is tied with Luis Rengifo for the fourth-fastest time among all players this season.
He also showed off this level of speed in only his second game back from a right hip flexor strain that sidelined him from April 12-23.
¡°We wanted to make sure it was 100 percent, and it was,¡± said Abrams, who made two Double-A rehab appearances this week. ¡°I was able to run at my full speed, and it showed tonight.¡±
In snapping the Mets¡¯ winning streak, the Nationals have won three of their past four and five of their past seven.
¡°I think we know what we¡¯re capable of, and I feel like the past two series, we¡¯ve been playing really well,¡± Wood said. ¡°It¡¯s just a good start to another series.¡±