James Wood's viral moment somehow wasn't the first occurrence in Nationals history

The Washington Nationals defeated the New York Mets 9-6, giving the team a chance to return to .500 with another win and secure at least a series split. James Wood delivered a major turning point by hitting an inside-the-park grand slam in the bottom of the second inning while the Nationals trailed 5-0. The comeback momentum was supported by the rest of the lineup and by the pitching staff, including a second consecutive subpar outing from Foster Griffin that still resulted in a Nationals victory. Wood’s inside-the-park grand slam was rare, with the previous similar occurrence involving Raimel Tapia and an earlier Nationals instance by Michael A. Taylor in 2017 against an NL East rival at Nationals Park.

"Last night, Wood had perhaps the moment of the season so far for the Nationals, as he hit an inside-the-park grand slam off of New York Mets' righty Nolan McLean in the bottom of the 2nd inning. It was a game-changing event due to the Nationals being down 5-0 at the time, and the viral moment got the Nationals right back into the game."

"While Wood's hit was certainly electric, the rest of the team more than did their part as well, as the Nationals were able to come over a second consecutive subpar outing from Foster Griffin to take the game from the Mets, a much-needed victory to help the Nationals stay around the .500 mark."

"His was also against an National League East rival in the Philadelphia Phillies, and helped the Nationals overcome an early deficit in one of the first few innings of the game. Both instances happened at Nationals Park and were due to misjudgements of the ball by the outfielder."

"It certainly is one of the rarest occurrences in baseball, as it is extremely hard to find yourself at the plate in a situation where it could even come up. The fact that it has happened to the Washington Nationals twice within a decade and twice overall in the team's 21-year history is pretty insane, and definitely something us fans will not soon forget."

Read at District on Deck