WASHINGTON (AP) — Even though Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and the New York Yankees were in town, Dylan Crews was the main attraction at Nationals Park.
The 22-year-old rookie had a fantastic debut series for Washington, getting his first two hits on Tuesday night and hitting a home run and an RBI double on Wednesday as the rebuilding Nationals took two out of three from the best Yankees in the AL.
“Growing up, I was a little bit of a Yankees fan. I loved (Derek) Jeter,” Crews said. “Playing against them and seeing Judge and Soto on the other side, it was awesome to compete against those guys and be on the same field with them. And, you know, winning two out of three games against them. So it was honestly a great starting week for me.”
With schools in the Washington area reopening and the Nationals out of a chance to make the playoffs, more than 30,000 fans packed the ballpark each night of the series to watch Judge attempt to add to his major league-leading 51 home runs and cheer on Soto, who as a 20-year-old played on the Nationals’ victorious 2019 World Series-winning team.
But Soto went 0 for 12 in the series and Judge had his first three-game series without a home run in more than two weeks.
Crews, who won a College World Series title with LSU in 2023, filled the void with a performance that suggested the Nationals have a young core that could compete in the near future.
“He has this inner energy that he shows every day and it’s fun to watch him,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said.
Crews, the third-best prospect in baseball and the second pick in last year’s amateur draft — just behind teammate Paul Skenes — went 0 for 3 in his debut Monday night. A day later, he hit a loud line drive off the base of the left-field wall for a double in his first at-bat. He later added an infield single. in Washington’s 4-2 victory.
He was the first batter to appear Wednesday, as Martinez gave All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams the night off. James Wood, another top Nats prospect who debuted in July, was second.
Two throws into play, he brought Carlos Rodón far to the left-center and became the second player in Nationals history to hit a career-first home run as a leadoff hitter, following Steve Lombardozzi on June 3, 2012.
In the fourth inning, Crews hit a first-pitch fastball from Rodón at 105.8 mph to left for an RBI double as his father danced in the stands next to his mother.
“They’ve been here all three games. Yeah, it’s been great. They’re having a great time, as they should,” Crews said. “I love the support and the energy they bring every day, so I’ll appreciate that.”
After three games of his career, Crews is 4-for-11 with one home run, two doubles, two RBIs, two runs scored and one stolen base.
“Fortunately, I was able to get some results, put a number next to the average and put it all behind me,” he said.
With Wood in left field, Crews in right and the outstanding speed and defense of fellow rookie Jacob Young in center, the Nats may have found their starting outfield for years to come. The trio combined for six of Washington’s 10 hits on Wednesday night.
“We’ve added a lot of spark plugs to the lineup and it shows on the field,” Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan said. “When you see what Crews has done out there, and of course Woody. … These new players are exciting and just give us momentum.”
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