James Wood joined Michael A. Taylor as the only Nationals players to hit an inside-the-park grand slam. Rafael Suanes / Imagn ImagesMay 19, 2026Updated May 20, 2026 12:27 am EDTWASHINGTON — As soon as one of the best young hitters in baseball made contact off one of the best young pitchers in baseball, Washington Nationals third base coach Victor Estévez started to wave his arm around in circles.He did not stop until four batters had crossed the third-base bag. It took James Wood all of 15.1 seconds to round the bases for the first inside-the-park grand slam in MLB since Raimel Tapia hit one in July 2022.
JAMES WOOD. LITTLE LEAGUE. GRAND SLAM. 🤯😭 pic.twitter.com/UDooLAdTfy
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) May 20, 2026With two outs in the second inning on Tuesday, Wood hit New York Mets starter Nolan McLean’s first-pitch sweeper that caught just too much plate. The ball that carried the opposite way, as it so often does off his bat. Wood began a jog, likely thinking it was a homer, before going into a full sprint as Estévez windmilled his arms at third.Meanwhile, left fielder Nick Morabito — a D.C. native, making his debut in front of friends and family — jumped at the wall, but the ball caromed off his glove and kicked into center field. Center fielder Tyrone Taylor appeared to check on Morabito, then realized the ball was still in play.
