Wood's 446-Foot Bomb Caps WSH's Stunning Five-Inning Explosion

Washington scored 12 runs in five innings and held on to beat Houston 12-11 on July 6, 2026. The story of the night was a fifth-inning grand slam by James Wood — 446 feet to center — that turned a two-run lead into a six-run cushion Washington would never surrender.

Houston came out swinging. Walker doubled to center in the first to put the Astros on the board, and Jose Altuve made it a statement in the second — a 372-foot homer to left that scored Shewmake and Matthews, pushing Houston to a 4-1 lead. That swing was the single biggest momentum shift of the night in the wrong direction for Washington: the home win probability dropped from 54% to 27% in one cut. Yainer Diaz added a two-run shot to left in the third (389 feet), and suddenly it was 6-1 Houston. Washington's starting pitcher, Miles Mikolas, allowed 9 hits and 7 earned runs across 6.0 innings — a line that looked, at the time, like it might be the ballgame.

Then Washington answered, loudly and all at once. CJ Abrams capped a five-run third-inning rally with a 392-foot homer to right that scored García Jr. and Mead, knotting the game at 6. The fifth inning was where this game was decided. Curtis Mead led off with a 404-foot shot to left-center to give Washington the lead outright. A sacrifice fly by Millas made it 8-6. Then Wood stepped in with the bases loaded and hit one 446 feet to center, scoring Crews, Young, and Nuñez — a grand slam that made it 12-6 and, for all practical purposes, ended the competitive portion of the evening. Mead finished 3-for-5 with a homer, 3 RBI, and 2 runs. Abrams matched him: 3-for-5, a homer, 3 RBI, 2 runs. Wood went 1-for-2 but drove in 4 and scored 3.

Houston didn't quit — that much is worth acknowledging. Brice Matthews hit a three-run shot in the eighth (363 feet to left) that scored Diaz and Shewmake and trimmed the deficit to one, making it 12-11. But Washington's bullpen — Clayton Beeter threw 1.1 scoreless innings — held the line. The Astros stranded the tying run and fell one short. Altuve went 1-for-5 despite his three-RBI homer; Matthews finished 2-for-4 with 3 RBI and 2 runs in a losing effort. This looks like a game Houston will want back — they hit the ball hard enough to win — but Washington's fifth inning was simply too much to overcome.