Finnegan faces hitters for first time; Abrams, Wood homer during walk-off win

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Kyle Finnegan woke up early this morning, raring to go. Unfortunately, he didn’t need to report to the ballpark until lunchtime, because the Nationals had a night game against the Mets.

“I woke up early like usual and was just staring at the clock like: ‘When can I go in the field?’” the veteran closer said with a laugh. “Being around for a while now, that’s a good thing to still be super excited to throw in a back field spring training game.”

Finnegan indeed only threw an inning of a simulated game this afternoon, facing a quartet of teammates while coaches watched from behind a screen. Hardly anything to get excited about. But for the 33-year-old, who re-signed with the Nats only a week ago, this was a big deal: the first time he faced live hitters since the end of the 2024 season.

Though he kept himself ready while unsigned this spring throwing off a mound at home in Houston, the only “batter’ Finnegan had faced was a cardboard cutout figure positioned in the batter’s box. Not quite the same as facing Robert Hassell III, Brady House, Stone Garrett and José Tena on Field 2 outside CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

“I was anxious to throw today, super excited,” he said. “It’s that natural progression of taking that next step. No matter what you do in the offseason, nothing can prepare you for that first week of spring training, just how you body responds to it. Today was a big step forward.”

Finnegan threw 21 pitches during his simulated inning. He notched three strikeouts and induced several ground balls. He wasn’t exactly locked into results at this point, but he was pleased with the results nonetheless.

“I wouldn’t say you’re 100 percent in: ‘Let’s get all these guys out mode.’ You’re more thinking about yourself and how your body’s moving and if the pitches are doing what you want them to do,” he said. “From that perspective, I felt really good. And I got a bunch of ground balls and a couple strikeouts, so the results were there with it, which is good feedback.”

Next up? Finnegan said if he recovers well from this session, he believes he’ll be ready to pitch in a game Monday. Davey Martinez is open to the idea but isn’t ready to commit to that quite yet.

Either way, Finnegan says there’s still ample time to make five or six Grapefruit League appearances, including a back-to-back session, and be fully ready for Opening Day.

* MacKenzie Gore also pitched in the simulated game this afternoon, tossing three “innings” against the same group of hitters. The left-hander totaled 66 pitches.

Why have Gore, potentially the team’s Opening Day starter, pitch on a back field instead of a real game?

“You can focus on what you really want to work on, as opposed to here, you’re worried about: ‘Can I really do this right now?’ That’s the big thing,” Martinez said. “When we play these games, you’re there to compete. We’ll work on things when we’re on the back fields, but when you play the game, you’re there to compete.”

* Mitchell Parker, Derek Law and Cade Cavalli all threw bullpen sessions this afternoon. Parker, who had his last turn in the rotation skipped because of a stiff neck, is feeling better and showed no signs of physical ailment during his session. Law, who is purposely being held back this spring to conserve his arm for the regular season, should be ready to face live hitters next before then making his game debut. Cavalli, who is on a tight innings limit this season, isn’t expected to pitch in games for some time.

* The Nationals got four solid innings out of Trevor Williams and a pair of opposite-field homers from CJ Abrams and James Wood during tonight’s 5-4 victory over the Mets.

Williams, making his third start of the spring, allowed one run and totaled 63 pitches, though 27 of those came during a laborious top of the third. The veteran right-hander struck out three, including Pete Alonso twice.

Abrams and Wood each homered during the Nats’ three-run third, each driving the ball the other way against Mets right-hander Paul Blackburn. This was a significant development for Abrams, who pulled all 20 of his home runs last season. Wood, who actually hit the majority of his homers to left field as a rookie, launched this one over the berm and onto the concourse.

Nasim Nuñez delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth, a line drive single to right, with Daylen Lile racing around to score ahead of the throw for the walk-off win.