NORTH PORT, Fla. – Major leaguers usually have to learn how to hit the ball the other way. Some never figure it out and develop reputations as dead-pull hitters.
James Wood has already established his ability to crush the ball to the opposite field in a manner few hitters of any age can. Now the Nationals' young star is learning how to pull it, fully completing his offensive game.
And it was all on display the last two days. After launching a first-inning homer to left Thursday against the Rays, Wood pulled a pair of doubles this afternoon during the Nats’ 5-3 exhibition win over the Braves.
“That’s good,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He’s getting ready in time. He’s not really trying to do a whole lot, which is awesome. His hands, he’s staying through the zone a really long time. To see him turn on balls like that, knowing he can do that, it was great.”
Wood’s homer Thursday came on the first pitch he saw from Tampa Bay’s Shane Baz. His first double today came on the first pitch he saw from Atlanta’s Spencer Schwellenbach, and he drove it to deep right-center, the ball caroming off the wall at CoolToday Park.
Three innings later, Wood lined another pitch from Schwellenbach, this one toward the right field corner for his second two-bagger of the day.
“I told him: Every now and then you’re going to get ahead of something,” Martinez said. “But if you stay on top, you’re going to drive the ball and hit a double to right.”
Wood is now batting .346 with a .433 on-base percentage, three doubles, three homers. He just misses qualifying for the spring training leaderboard, but his 1.241 OPS would rank third in the majors.
“So many really good hitters just didn’t learn how to do that early on, and when they figured it out, they became … he’s going to be that guy,” Martinez said. “We don’t want him to start thinking about pulling. It’s going to happen. He had another good day today.”
* With Jake Irvin staying back in West Palm Beach to face hitters on a back field, the Nationals made this a bullpen game. Jackson Rutledge, the former starter now working exclusively as a reliever, actually got the start and went three scoreless innings.
Orlando Ribalta, attempting to make the team’s Opening Day bullpen, also pitched parts of three innings as the team attempts to see how the big right-hander handles long assignments.
Ribalta, who had yet to allow an earned run this spring, got off to a ragged start today. He gave up hits to the first three batters he faced, including a home run off the batter’s eye by Marcell Ozuna. But he responded by retiring six of the last seven batters he faced, much to his manager’s pleasure.
“He bounced back and did well,” Martinez said. “I could see things in the past unraveling on him, but he came back strong. And I wanted to get him out of there on a positive. I told him: ‘I know in your mind you don’t think you did well. But to watch you come back and bounce back and get outs and keep it close was awesome. Great job.’”
* Andrés Chaparro was scratched from the starting lineup with tightness in his left oblique after taking a swing during batting practice. Martinez said he’s scheduled to get an MRI on the muscle Saturday in West Palm Beach.
The 25-year-old is batting a robust .400 (12-for-30) with two doubles, a homer and five RBIs this spring, though he has also run into several outs on the bases. He’s been in a battle with Juan Yepez, José Tena and Nasim Nuñez for the final spot on the Opening Day bench.
“He’s done really well,” Martinez said. “I hope it comes back as nothing. We’ll see what happens.”