The Washington Nationals are 1-0 for the first time since 2021 after their victory over the Chicago Cubs.
The team’s 10-4 victory included contributions from Jacob Young, Joey Wiemer and Brady House. Rookie manager Blake Butera was doused with shaving cream and beer after his first career victory.
The game took place at Wrigley Field.
Abrams’ Baserunning Addressed
CJ Abrams hit the ball hard and didn’t run it out, which the manager addressed.
One fan asked about how Butera plans to handle defensive and baserunning issues. The fan noted that Abrams was still in the game after not running a ball out.
Modern managers rarely bench a guy mid-game for something like this, and Butera will probably handle it behind closed doors. His general philosophy is that you help players by teaching them, which indicates further instruction is on the way. He’s also spent a ton of time hovering near Abrams, which should tell you how important the shortstop is.
James Wood’s Performance
One fan asked if they should be worried about James Wood after a lot of strikeouts towards the end of spring training and (four) strikeouts today. They also asked whether the coaches have been asking him to make changes that aren’t working.
The writer said they weren’t worried yet. The biggest thing with Wood has to do with his lower half. He’s healthy and fresh, and despite poor results this spring, was hitting the ball hard.
He told the writer that he feels much better than he did last year, which should lead to fewer strikeouts. The writer noted that if this is a problem all week and Wood continues to chase down and away, as he did against the Cubs, they will follow up.
Fan Frustrations
With a last-minute TV deal and Verizon customer service representatives leading fans astray, a number of fans were unable to watch the game.
Some Verizon customer service representatives asked fans to pay more than they had to in the past.
The Nationals are 1-0 for the first time since 2021.