Wood homers, triples and scores four runs, and the Nationals beat the Giants 11-5

WASHINGTON (AP) — James Wood homered, tripled and scored four runs, and the Washington Nationals erased a quick four-run deficit to beat the San Francisco Giants 11-5 on Tuesday night.

Wood also walked twice and stole two bases for the Nationals, who have won three of four after losing five straight.

CJ Abrams hit a three-run homer and Keibert Ruiz had three hits including a solo shot for Washington, which finished with 15 hits. Alex Call added a pair of RBI doubles and a walk.

“We went from real gloomy to boom,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “What they did was play hard for 27 outs. They really did. They started working good at-bats and they started driving the ball.”

MacKenzie Gore (7-9) continued his recent struggles but navigated through five innings for his first win since June 14, allowing five runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out six. Over his last nine starts, Gore is 1-4 with a 7.24 ERA.

Three Washington relievers combined to pitch four scoreless innings of one-hit ball to close it out.

Michael Conforto had a three-run homer, double and a walk for the Giants (57-58), who were looking to climb above .500 for the first time since they ended play on May 29 with a 29-28 record.

San Francisco rookie Hayden Birdsong (3-1) was staked to the early lead but couldn't hold it. He was lifted after two-plus innings, allowing seven runs on five hits — two of them home runs. He walked three batters, all of whom scored.

“Today he just really didn’t have command of anything early on,” manager Bob Melvin said. "And they were putting some good swings on him, putting a lot of pressure on him. Never really had kind of a break out there. But not his best.”

Heliot Ramos homered to make it 1-0 with one out in the top of the first. Gore walked Matt Chapman with two outs and hit Mark Canha before Conforto lined a three-run homer to right center.

Wood tripled to ignite a five-run second inning capped by Abrams' three-run drive off Birdsong on a shoulder-high fastball.

“I have no idea how he hit that ball," Birdsong said. "Good for him. That guy can hit. And they can hit fastballs. … I knew that going in. Not very many people are probably hitting that ball. It was impressive.”

And Abrams reaction?

“I was confused about why I swung,” he said. “But I was happy I did.”

Ruiz homered leading off the third inning to make it 6-4 and later in the inning Call doubled off reliever Randy Rodriguez to score Wood with Washington's seventh run.

Wood capped his night with a two-run homer in the eighth as Washington outscored San Francisco 11-1 after the first inning.

“I think just knowing that we’re able to string together some hits and get guys on base,” Wood said of the team's mindset during the comeback. “At that point, it just takes a big swing to get us right back into it.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Giants: CF Ramos returned after missing the past two games with a jammed right thumb. … Manager Bob Melvin said INF Wilmer Flores (right knee tendinitis) will be out the rest of the season after having a Tenex procedure on his knee on Tuesday.

UP NEXT

San Francisco LHP Blake Snell (1-3, 4.29), who pitched a no-hitter against the Reds last time out, opposes RHP Jake Irvin (8-9, 3.56) on Wednesday.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Washington Nationals' James Wood, right, steals second base against San Francisco Giants second baseman Casey Schmitt, left, during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

San Francisco Giants center fielder Heliot Ramos misses a ball that went for a double by Washington Nationals' Alex Call during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Nationals' Alex Call gestures as he stands on second base with a double during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Nationals' James Wood runs towards third with a triple during the second inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Former Vice President Mike Pence will receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for his refusal to go along with President Donald Trump's efforts to remain in office after losing the 2020 election, Kennedy's family announced Thursday.

The award recognizes Pence “for putting his life and career on the line to ensure the constitutional transfer of presidential power on Jan. 6, 2021,” the JFK Library Foundation said.

Trump pressured Pence to reject election results from swing states where the Republican president falsely claimed the vote was marred by fraud. Pence refused, saying he lacked such authority.

When a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, some chanted that they wanted to “hang Mike Pence.” Pence was whisked away by Secret Service agents, narrowly avoiding a confrontation with the rioters.

“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify,” Trump wrote at the time on X, formerly Twitter, as rioters moved through the Capitol and Pence was in hiding with his family, aides and security detail inside the building.

Pence rejected the Secret Service's advice that he leave the Capitol, staying to continue the ceremonial election certification of Democrat Joe Biden's presidential election victory once rioters were cleared.

Two years ago, Pence said Trump's “reckless words endangered my family.”

The Profile in Courage Award, named for a book Kennedy published in 1957, before he became president, honors public officials who take principled stands despite the potential political or personal consequences.

“His decision is an example of President Kennedy’s belief that an act of political courage can change the course of history," Caroline Kennedy and Jack Schlossberg, JFK's daughter and grandson, said in a statement.

Pence said in a statement that he's “deeply humbled and honored” to get the award.

“I have been inspired by the life and words of President John F. Kennedy since my youth and am honored to join the company of so many distinguished Americans who have received this recognition in the past,” Pence said.

The award will be presented on May 4 at the JFK library in Boston.

This story and headline have been updated to correct that the award is given by the JFK Library Foundation, not the JFK Library.

FILE - In this image from video, a security video shows Vice President Mike Pence being evacuated from near the Senate chamber as rioters breach the Capitol, on Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (Senate Television via AP, File)

FILE - Vice President Mike Pence stands to officiate with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as a joint session of the House and Senate convenes to count the Electoral College votes cast in November's election, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - In this image from video, Vice President Mike Pence speaks as the Senate reconvenes after protesters stormed into the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (Senate Television via AP, File)

FILE - Vice President Mike Pence hands the electoral certificate from the state of Arizona to Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., as he presides over a joint session of Congress as it convenes to count the Electoral College votes cast in November's election, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP, File)