Wood gets 'in full swing of things' with 1st spring homer, OF action

JUPITER, Fla. -- Finally, James Wood could approach a Spring Training game without considering any restrictions.

After being hampered by left quad tendinitis at the start of camp, Wood was cleared to play both sides of the field for the first time on Wednesday afternoon.

Wood got the start in left field -- and then he homered in the same direction -- in the Nationals¡¯ 8-7 win over the Marlins at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

¡°It just felt more natural. It felt like I was more in the flow of the game,¡± Wood said. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve never DH¡¯d before in the past, but I don¡¯t do it all the time so it¡¯s still a little different when I do it. It felt good to be in the full swing of things.¡±

Wood, 22, had been cleared to hit during the injury, which he sustained during the offseason. He served as the designated hitter on Feb. 28 and March 3. Wood checked the boxes in his outfield recovery work on Tuesday, and manager Dave Martinez wrote him in at left field the next day.

¡°He wants to play the field, it keeps him engaged,¡± Martinez said. ¡°I told him when he was ready, he¡¯ll play the field. ¡­ It was good to see him out there today.¡±

Wood went 1-for-3 with a home run, a groundout and a strikeout. He was replaced in the bottom of the fifth inning by Darren Baker.

¡°Very good, very good,¡± Martinez said. ¡°[Wood] ran a ground ball out fairly well, so that¡¯s a good sign. He crushed the ball to left-center field. Everybody thought it was a double. But we know that he can do that. All in all, he felt good today.¡±

In his first at-bat, Wood saw 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara for the first time in his young career. (The right-hander did not pitch last season because of Tommy John surgery.) In the matchup of the 6-foot-7 Wood vs. the 6-foot-5 Alcantara, Wood grounded out to shortstop on the seventh pitch -- a 99 mph fastball -- of a full-count at-bat.

¡°The first time facing Alcantara was tough,¡± Wood said. ¡°I see why he is who he is. But I felt like I swung at the right stuff, took the right stuff.¡±

The fourth inning, Wood worked a 1-2 count and crushed a fastball from Marlins fifth starter candidate right-hander Valente Bellozo for his first homer of spring. The solo dinger traveled a Statcast-projected 367 feet to left-center field at 110.8 mph.

¡°I faced him last year, and he had a really good start against us,¡± Wood said. ¡°So I kind of had an idea of what he had and what was trying to do. He¡¯s a tricky at-bat, so you¡¯ve just got to stay disciplined and ready for whatever, and he¡¯ll throw everything at you. You¡¯ve got to stay in your approach.¡±

The Nationals will establish Wood¡¯s schedule of game play for the remainder of the week.

¡°I feel good after,¡± Wood said. ¡°So we¡¯ll just keep progressing.¡±