WEST PALM BEACH, FL - The Washington Nationals defeated their NL East rival New York Mets by a score of 5-4 this evening on the backs of solid offense from the real starters as well as incredible pitching. James Wood, CJ Abrams, and Trevor Williams led the way against Paul Blackburn and what was mostly the Mets’ real lineup.

Williams took the mound for Washington, looking to bounce back from two rough outings. He was able to do just that, striking out three batters in 4.0 innings while allowing just three hits and one earned run. Former Met Jorge Lopez teamed up with Lucas Sims, Evan Reifert, Clay Helvey, and Daison Acosta to allow just one additional earned run for the rest of the night. Sims gave up two runs, but neither was earned due to an error in left field by Wood with two outs. Ultimately, the staff had a solid night, striking out 10 batters while walking just two.

For the first time this spring, Dave Martinez trotted out the trio of Wood, CJ Abrams, and Dylan Crews together. Abrams, who put on 10 pounds of muscle in the offseason, got the scoring started for the Nats with an opposite-field solo home run, his first since his end-of-season controversy last year. “I just put it behind me,” Abrams said earlier this spring. “Things happen, and you’ve got to move forward. I’m here now, and I'm excited to get going with the team.” Ultimately, he proved this to be the case by hitting what, for him, is a rare homer to left-center.

This spark of hope clearly trickled down the lineup as Crews reached base, allowing Wood to hit a directly opposite-field shot of his own to give the Nationals a 3-1 lead early. Early on this spring, Wood has looked primed for a breakout season as many hoped, as he has hit .333 with two homers through just 12 at-bats.

Abrams also had a clutch game-tying single in to score Alex Call in the bottom of the sixth. With the game still knotted in the bottom of the ninth, Nasim Nuñez walked it off by singling to score Daylen Lile. While that is not a sentence that is ever likely to be typed in the 2025 regular season, it was still a cool moment that gave the Nationals a win over a heated rival.

Ultimately, tonight’s game gave a great preview of what the 2025 season can be. Steps forward from the young core, coupled with grit from veterans, could make this an incredible season. The team has been hanging with incredible lineups, and they have won eight of their first 13 games. If they can play like that in the regular season, they can and will shock many people.

Up next: The Nationals have a 12:05 game at home tomorrow against the 6-8 Cardinals. Veteran Steven Matz will face off against the Nationals’ young star, DJ Herz. The game will be broadcast on MASN. They will play the Mets in Port St. Lucie on Sunday, also on MASN, at 1:10 PM. The Mets have not announced a starter, but Jake Irvin will take the bump for Washington.