James Wood

Paul DeJong slides back over to third base. James Wood is batting second behind Abrams in the leadoff spot, which is good to see. Wood, originally the Nationals' No. 2 hitter, was dropped to fifth last weekend before hitting first and second with Abrams out the last two days.

Wood went 3-for-4 with two home runs, five RBI and a walk in Tuesday's win over the Dodgers.

Both homers were two-run shots off Justin Wrobleski. Wood's other RBI came on a bases-loaded walk. He now has three homers in two days after going without one in his first nine games. That stretch resulted in him being dropped to fifth in the Nationals lineup for a couple of days. It should be a long time before he bats that low again.

Seeing Ohtani and James Wood homer as leadoff men in this one was quite a reminder of how the game has changed in recent years. Ohtani knocked in Chris Taylor on his third-inning homer off MacKenzie Gore, marking the first time he's driven in someone besides himself this season. He has four homers and five RBI in 12 games.

Wood, dropped to fifth in the order the previous two games, led off tonight with CJ Abrams out and hit a big lefty-v-lefty homer off Anthony Banda in the seventh inning. It should be enough to keep him somewhere near the top of the order even if Abrams is back tomorrow.