The New York Mets handed the ball Tuesday to rookie phenom Nolan McLean, the frontrunner for NL Rookie of the Year — then watched the game spiral into chaos when Nationals star James Wood turned a fly ball misplayed by rookie Nick Morabito in his MLB debut into a jaw-dropping inside-the-park grand slam.
What followed at Nationals Park felt less like a normal May baseball game and more like a blooper reel unfolding in real time, with Wood’s bizarre dash around the bases instantly becoming one of the wildest plays of the 2026 MLB season.
In the second inning, Wood drove a ball to left field that Morabito tracked to the warning track, only to watch it glance off his glove and roll all the way to center. Wood, 6-foot-6 and 234 pounds, never broke stride. The throw home wasn’t close.
“This Mets-Nationals game is BONKERS, and it’s only the second inning,” MLB.com‘s Anthony DiComo wrote on X. “James Wood just hit an inside-the-park grand slam off Nick Morabito’s glove. Can’t say I’ve ever seen that one before.”
Morabito’s Stunning First Day in the Big Leagues
Morabito was making his MLB debut. The 23-year-old grew up in McLean, Virginia, and the team bus route to Nationals Park was nearly identical to his old commute to Gonzaga College High School. He collected Nationals bobbleheads as a kid and idolized Bryce Harper and Juan Soto from the stands here, and now shares a clubhouse with Soto.
“I grew up coming to this park, so it’s a pretty surreal moment for me,” Morabito said, according to MLB.com. “Just to be here, it’s very special.”
Called up Monday night after the Mets designated Austin Slater for assignment, the 2022 second-round pick hit .253 with four home runs and 14 stolen bases in 41 Triple-A games this season. Rated by MLB Pipeline as the Mets No. 18 prospect, Morabito swiped 49 bags at Double-A in 2025. Pipeline rates his speed 70 on the 20-80 scale. He joined fellow rookies A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge as manager Carlos Mendoza committed the outfield entirely to youth.
McLean Allows Career-High Seven Runs
The grand slam was only part of McLean’s own nightmare afternoon. DiComo reported that the Mets’ rookie surrendered a career-high seven runs in fewer than three innings, giving up five batted balls of at least 99 mph while also walking two batters and hitting another. The damage was not entirely McLean’s fault. Morabito’s misplay handed Washington four runs. But the hard-contact numbers confirmed the Nationals were consistently squaring him up.
McLean entered the game carrying a 2.78 ERA and 0.90 WHIP through eight starts, with 23 of 39 first-place votes in an MLB.com expert poll for top NL Rookie of the Year candidates, according to Athlon Sports. The 24-year-old Oklahoma State product posted a 2.06 ERA over eight late-season starts in 2025 before arriving in 2026 as the consensus top right-handed pitching prospect in baseball.
Wood has earned every bit of his billing. The 23-year-old Nationals outfielder entered Tuesday hitting .258 with 13 home runs this season, according to ClutchPoints‘ Joey Mistretta, and made his first All-Star team in 2025 after the Nationals landed him from San Diego as the centerpiece of the Juan Soto trade.
Mets Rookie’s Nightmare Leads to Bonkers Inside-the-Park Grand Slam