Brady House Makes Statement in Nationals Dominant Spring Training Win Over Marlins
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The Washington Nationals were back in action on Sunday with some new faces littered throughout the lineup to make their spring training debuts. And many of those players announced themselves in what was a dominating 16-8 victory over the Miami Marlins, that was only that close on the scoreboard because seven runs were scored in the bottom of the ninth.
Brady House was the star of the contest. After an underwhelming rookie season last year where he didn't showcase the power potential that he had in the minors, he wasted little time reminding everyone of the pop he possesses in his bat.
He was a huge catalyst for this dominant win. But he wasn't the only Nationals player who showed well against the Marlins. Below are the takeaways from Game 3 of Washington's spring training campaign.
Brady House Blasts Two Home Runs
Things happened in a hurry for the Nationals and House. After Nasim Nunez led off with a single and then stole a base, James Wood drew a walk and put the young third baseman in a position to get his team on the board first.
He did that and then some when he blasted a 2-2 pitch 415 feet to center field off 2022 NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara. That at-bat saw House foul off three pitches before hitting an outside sweeper over the fence for a three-run homer.
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House wasn't done, though. In the fifth inning -- when he was the leadoff batter of that frame -- the former top prospect hit his second home run of the contest when he launched a solo shot 398 feet to center. That came on a 1-2 pitch where he punished an 81 mph changeup that was left in the middle of the plate.
This was a good reminder from the youngster about what he can do on offense. And following a full offseason to prepare for big league pitching, House could be due for a breakout year during the 2026 campaign where he solidifies himself as the third baseman of Washington's future.
Explosive Fifth Inning
House may have gotten things going to start the fifth frame, but he wasn't the only one who contributed to what became an explosive offensive performance. After House's homer, Harry Ford hit a double that was followed by an RBI double by Keibert Ruiz. That was then followed by an RBI double from Robert Hassell III.
The Nationals took advantage of shaky pitching after that. Following a change on the mound, two wild pitches scored Hassell from second two make the score 7-1 in favor of Washington. Andres Chaparro then drew a walk, Seaver King produced a single, Wood drew a walk and Daylen Lile hit a sacrifice fly. The last bit of damage was done on another wild pitch that scored King.
Stringing those types of innings are together are something that will help this young Nationals team throughout the upcoming season. By putting pressure on opposing staffs with good hitting, staying in the zone and not chasing, their offense has the ability to be explosive.
James Wood Had Two Walks and Two Strikeouts
After leading the majors in strikeouts last season, there was some hope that Wood would adjust his approach at the plate a bit to improve upon that clear weakness of his game. It's spring training, so it's still way too early to make any judgements. But he had mixed results in his first contest.
Wood drew two walks, including one that allowed him to score a run. But his first K came in the top of the second inning where he was rung up on four pitches after fouling off two. And with runners on first and second in the top of the fourth inning, he struck out on five pitches where he didn't draw a single ball.
This will continue to be a work in progress for the power-hitting slugger. And it's unlikely to be solved during the ealry parts of spring training no matter if he had an offseason to make adjustments or not.
Leftovers
Both King and Nunez rolled over their strong closes to 2025 into this spring training contest. Nunez was able to showcase what he could do in the bigs from an offensive standpoint in September, and his 1-for-2 day with a walk and run scored at the top of the lineup was a good way to start on Sunday.
King had to wait until the Arizona Fall League to get things rolling for himself. But after a strong showing in the desert, he also went 1-for-2 in this contest with a walk and run scored from the bottom of the lineup to get his spring campaign underway. He's someone to keep an eye on for a late-season call-up this year.
Warming Bernabel -- who's in the competition for a first base spot -- went 2-for-3 with an RBI triple and two runs scored. Top 30 prospect Caleb Lomavita had an RBI single. And pitchers Bryce Montes de Oca and Zach Penrod threw back-to-back innings where they each rung up the side.
Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai