Wood snaps losing streak with walk-off homer in 11th (updated)

The Nationals' clubhouse was playing music this morning as it normally does before a game. Traditionally, it’s the pick of that day’s starting pitcher. For Trevor Williams, it was a country/pop-rock combination.

Despite an 11-game losing streak – one shy of the Nationals' club record (2005-present) – the vibes this morning felt no different than it normally does. There wasn’t extra tension. No one seemed to be walking on pins and needles. It was the same laid-back, yet focused, atmosphere this young team typically has.

The question was: Would there be music playing in the clubhouse after the game, signifying a celebration following a victory? It would be the first such occurrence for this team in almost two weeks.

The answer: Yes, thanks to a 4-3 walk-off win in 11 innings against the Rockies to snap the losing streak and get the Nats back in the win column.

“We kept saying the whole game, I said, 'Somehow, someway we'll win this game. We just gotta have the right moment,'” manager Davey Martinez said after the win. “And what a moment for the kid to come up there and lift us like that and really get us out of this funk.”

Of course, it wasn’t going to be easy. And of course the right moment had to include the kid, James Wood.

Needing a big blow in the worst way, the Nationals turned to, who else, their budding superstar. And he delivered it in a big way.

Down to the last out while facing right-hander Seth Halvorsen in the 11th inning and losing 3-2, a 12th straight loss looming, Wood blasted the first walk-off home run of his career over the center field wall, sending the home dugout and announced crowd of 21,850 into euphoria.

Wood’s 20th homer, his second of the afternoon, traveled 428 feet and went 110.2 mph off his bat. But the metrics didn’t matter. The win did.

“It was just a sigh of relief, really," Wood said following a Gatorade bath from his teammates. "I feel like we've been playing hard. Just things haven't gone our way. So it just felt good for things to switch up a little bit.”

With his 20th homer, Wood joined Bryce Harper, Juan Soto and Ryan Zimmerman as the only four Nationals to hit 20 home runs in a season before turning 23 years old.

“For me, it's just about him getting a strike," Martinez said. "For a minute there, I thought they'll probably pitch around him. But he was poised. He took a splitter. But as he always does, he's got that slow heartbeat. He got a good pitch to hit and he hit it to center field. I just was like, 'Hey, man, please go. I don't want to play no more. Let's go. Let's get on the plane and let's win a game.' It was awesome.”

This came after Ryan Loutos gave the Rockies their first lead with a go-ahead RBI single to Michael Toglia in the top frame. But the right-hander ended up as the winning pitcher, the first win of his career.

“I've talked about these guys all the time. How they don't quit, they keep battling," Martinez said. "The universe was lined up today, right? I mean, look, we got our big guy up there with a chance to win the game. He delivers. The bullpen, man, amazing job by those guys coming in.”

Before the bullpen bounced back, the Nats got another solid effort by their starter to keep them in the game early.

Williams faced the minimum the first time through the order. The only blemish being a leadoff bunt single by Sam Hilliard in the third that was quickly erased as he was caught trying to steal second.

The right-hander got himself into danger in the fourth, when he loaded the bases with two outs on back-to-back singles and a walk. But he got out of it, thanks to a ground ball for a force out by third baseman Brady House.

And then something happened that hadn’t since Monday’s series opener: The Nationals took the lead.

Who else but Wood would be the one to deliver the first big blow the Nats had been searching for?

After CJ Abrams hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth, Wood hit the first pitch from Chase Dollander over the wall and into the red seats in center field. The towering outfielder’s 19th home run of the season traveled 110 mph off the bat and landed 403 feet away, at only a 20-degree launch angle.

But Williams gave the two runs right back in the top of the fifth.

After Orlando Arcia singled with one out, he tried to get back to first on a lineout directly at Luis García Jr. But the second baseman’s throw to first ended up in the camera well, resulting in a two-base error. Williams followed that by allowing back-to-back two-out RBI hits, tying the game at 2-2.

But then the 'pen stepped in, with Cole Henry, Jose A. Ferrer, Kyle Finnegan and Zach Brzykcy keeping the Rockies off the board and passing the baton to Loutos in the 11th. It finally ended in a celebration.

“I think it was a special win for us," Williams said. "We knew it was coming. We've been playing really good baseball, albeit 11 losses in a row. But you tip your hat to a team like the Rockies. They didn't play like they've won however many games they've won (a major league-worst 14 entering the series). But their defense was incredible, their pitching was incredible and they were putting the ball out of the yard. So for us to stay together like we have been and stay on it today … thankful that we got on the win column. Winning streak starts with one. And today, we did that.”

There was postgame music in the clubhouse. And it should continue on the cross-country flight to Los Angeles.

“Winning is fun, obviously a lot more fun than losing," Williams said. "And we're a close team. For us to get this win and feel like we're a little lighter-headed going into a series on the West Coast that we know is going to be tough against three really good ballclubs, we're just glad that we could take today. We'll show up in L.A. tomorrow looking for a chance to win two in a row.”

"Winning in the major leagues is hard. It really is," Martinez said. "Winning a game like that after losing so many in a row, what a feeling, right? It's a great feeling. So let's hold on to that feeling. Let's come back tomorrow and do it again.

“We went 1-0 today. A big win for us, so I'm going to enjoy it and then come back tomorrow and go try to beat up on the Dodgers.”

“I think it was good," Wood said. "I felt like the past few days, we've been getting really close. Just taking good swings, making good at-bats. So it just feels good to get back in the win column.

“It makes the flight a lot easier. It was a tough stretch, yeah, but I think ending on a high note into a travel day kind of makes that process a little smoother.”