Top prospect James Wood hits first major league homer as Nationals cruise past Cardinals 14-6

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top prospect James Wood launched his first career major league home run — a three-run shot — and added a two-run double for a career-high five RBIs as the Washington Nationals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 14-6 on Saturday.

Wood’s 383-foot three-run opposite field homer put the Nationals ahead 7-0 in the second inning. He has reached base in all six games as a National, tied with Ian Desmond (2009) for second overall in club history.

“It’s definitely up there for sure, especially in a game you want to get out and get the lead early," Wood said of the home run. "That’s definitely a big moment.”

The five RBIs are tied for second all-time for a Nationals rookie. Danny Espinosa had six RBIs on Sept. 6, 2010.

“It felt good,” Wood said. “I was taking good swings, but a lot on the ground, so it felt good to get the ball in the air.”

In the third, Wood hit a double to the left field wall to score two more. The homer and double are his first extra-base hits at the big-league level.

“He got the big home run for us and then the double when they started making a comeback," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. "He’s been playing really well since he’s been here. I love his at-bats. He’s very patient. He’s trying to get the ball in the zone which we talked to him about since spring training. So, he’s doing well.”

Keibert Ruiz went 3-for-5 with two doubles and a three-run homer off Cardinals starter Lance Lynn (4-4).

The Nationals scored a season-high 14 runs on 15 hits with three homers and four doubles.

Lynn allowed a career worst eleven runs — 10 earned — over 2 2/3 innings on 82 pitches, with nine hits, four walks and two strikeouts, his shortest outing of the season. He allowed three homers in a start just one other time this season (April 4 vs. Miami).

“The first inning, two home runs on first pitches, they did a good job of kind of getting me out of what I do," Lynn said. "They put good swings on balls and then I wasn’t executing pitches either. So when you have all that in one day, it’s a bad day. There’s no other way to say it. I didn’t pitch well today.”

CJ Abrams drilled a solo homer over the right-center field wall, his 14th of the season on the first pitch of the bottom of the first. Ruiz followed with a first pitch three-run shot to the same area, the ball traveling 403 feet.

Luis Garcia Jr. added three hits, including a double, a run and two RBIs. Lane Thomas also scored a run and had two hits, a stolen base and two RBIs.

Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore could not take advantage of the early lead, struggling with control, walking five, allowing six hits and five runs over 3 1/3 innings on 90 pitches. Jacob Barnes (5-2) tossed two scoreless innings for the win in relief. The Nationals have won three of their last four after a 1-7 slide.

“I was behind in the count so when you get out in a long inning in this heat, make it a little tougher on yourself than it needs to be,” Gore said. “This one is frustrating just for that reason. It was kind of on me, the one that was doing it. But we won the game.”

Nolan Gorman had three hits, including two doubles, but struck out in the third with the bases loaded against Gore. Brendan Donovan extended his on-base streak to 19 games.

It was the Cardinals second loss in six games.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Nationals recalled third baseman Trey Lipscomb and designated for assignment veteran third baseman Nick Senzel. It is the fourth time Lipscomb has been called up but this time he will get an extended look. Lipscomb went 1-for-5 with a run scored.

“We felt like it’s time for Trey to come up and play the majority of the time at third base,” Martinez said. “We want to give him a shot. He went down there and checked all the boxes, started swinging the bat really well.”

UP NEXT

Cardinals send right-hander Kyle Gibson (6-3, 3.88 ERA) to the mound against Nationals left-hander DJ Herz (1-2, 4.67) on Sunday.

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

Washington Nationals' Lane Thomas, right, collides with St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn, left, while stealing second base during the first inning of a baseball game at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Washington. The Nationals beat the Cardinals, 14-6. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Washington Nationals pitcher Jordan Weems throws during a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Washington. The Nationals beat the Cardinals, 14-6. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Giovanny Gallegos (65) throws during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Washington. The Nationals beat the Cardinals, 14-6. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Washington Nationals left fielder James Wood, right, is congratulated by third baseman Trey Lipscomb (38) after a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Washington. The Nationals beat the Cardinals, 14-6. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn (31) walks off the mound after being pulled during the third inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Washington Nationals' Keibert Ruiz (20) high-fives with Washington Nationals first baseman Juan Yepez, right, after hitting a three-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn (31) walks off the mound after the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

St. Louis Cardinals' Masyn Winn (0), left, is congratulated by Willson Contreras (40) after scoring on a wild pitch during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Washington Nationals' Lane Thomas, right, collides with St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn, left, while stealing second base during the first inning of a baseball game at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Washington Nationals pitcher MacKenzie Gore throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Washington Nationals' James Wood, right, reacts after hitting a two-RBI double during the third inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Washington. At left is St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (16). (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Washington Nationals' James Wood, left, is congratulated by third base coach Ricky Gutierrez after hitting a three-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park, Saturday, July 6, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The facts emerging from Hurricane Helene's destruction are heartrending: Businesses and homes destroyed, whole communities nearly wiped out, hundreds of lives lost, hundreds of people missing.

Yet this devastation and despair is not enough for the extremist groups, disinformation agents, hucksters and politicians who are exploiting the disaster to spread false claims and conspiracy theories about it and the government's response.

According to former President Donald Trump, the federal government is intentionally withholding aid to Republican disaster victims. Far-right extremist groups warn on social media that officials plan to bulldoze affected communities and seize the land from residents. A tale straight from science fiction asserts that Washington used weather control technology to steer Helene toward Republican voters in order to tilt the presidential election toward Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

The claims, according to experts and local officials dealing with disaster response, say less about the reality of the widespread damage from Helene than they do about America's fractured politics and the fear and distrust shadowing an election year marked by assassination attempts and escalating global tension.

As rescue work continues and authorities try to separate fact from fiction, the conspiracy theories are not helping. Elected leaders from both parties have had to set the record straight and urge people not to give into fear and rumor.

"If everyone could maybe please put aside the hate for a bit and pitch in to help, that would be great,” posted Glenn Jacobs, the retired professional wrestler known as Kane, who is now the Republican mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. Jacobs' post was intended to rebut rumors that workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were seizing relief supplies from private citizens.

Many of the conspiracy theories focus on hard-hit North Carolina, a state key to winning the White House. Rumors circulated that FEMA was raiding storm donations and withholding body bags, forcing local hospitals to stack the bodies of victims. One claim suggested federal authorities would condemn the entire town of Chimney Rock and prohibit resettlement in order to commandeer a valuable lithium mine nearby.

Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla, X and SpaceX, posted that private relief flights to North Carolina were being blocked by the Federal Aviation Administration, a claim dismissed as false by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Despite the tradition of Democrats and Republicans putting aside politics for disaster response, many conspiracy theories suggest Democrats such as President Joe Biden or North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper are intentionally withholding aid from Republicans. Trump has pushed the claim, as has North Carolina's lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson, the embattled GOP nominee for governor.

“They’re being treated very badly in the Republican areas,” Trump told Fox News, ignoring reports and photo and video evidence of recovery efforts underway throughout the region. “They’re not getting water, they’re not getting anything.”

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones endorsed Trump's fact-free allegation. Jones, the founder of InfoWars, popularized the idea that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut that killed 20 children in 2012 was faked. “Exclusive: Victims of Hurricane Helene Confirm The Federal Government is Purposely Blocking Rescuers and Stealing Aid In an Attempt to Keep Deep Red Areas From Voting," Jones posted Thursday on X.

State-run media and disinformation campaigns run by China and Russia have amplified false and misleading claims about the response to the storm. Both countries have used social media and state news stories to criticize responses to past U.S. natural disasters, part of a larger effort to stoke division and distrust among Americans.

State and local officials from both parties have condemned the conspiracy theories as rumors, saying the focus should be on recovery, not political division and hearsay. Responding to the hoaxes is taking up time that should go toward assisting victims, said North Carolina state Sen. Kevin Corbin, a Republican who urged his constituents not to give into hoaxes.

“Friends can I ask a small favor?" Corbin posted Thursday on Facebook. “Will you all help STOP this conspiracy theory junk that is floating all over Facebook and the internet... Please don’t let these crazy stories consume you.”

After Robinson, the GOP candidate for North Carolina governor, posted that state officials had not prepared for the storm, a spokesman for the governor accused Robinson of mounting “an online disinformation campaign.” North Carolina officials say the response to Helene is the largest in state history, including thousands of members of the National Guard and other recovery workers, millions of meals, dozens of aircraft and more than 1,000 chainsaws.

Trump has tried to tie the hurricane’s aftermath to immigration, a leading issue of his campaign. He falsely claimed that FEMA had run out of money because all of it had gone to programs for undocumented immigrants.

The agency's funding for disaster aid is stretched, but that is because of the many parts of the country dealing with the effects of hurricanes, wildfires and other calamities. Disaster aid is funded separately from other Department of Homeland Security programs that support immigration-related spending.

Bizarre stories proposing that the government used weather control technology to aim the hurricane at Republican voters quickly racked up millions of views on X and other platforms.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., endorsed the idea, posting Wednesday on X: “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”

Far-out tales of space lasers, fake snow and weather control technology -- sometimes tinged with antisemitism — have spread after recent natural disasters, including a snowstorm in Texas and last year’s wildfire in Maui.

Experts who study conspiracy theories say big events like disasters — or the Sept. 11 attacks or the COVID-19 pandemic — create perfect conditions for conspiracy theories to spread because large numbers of anxious people are eager to find explanations for shocking events.

Responding to the volume of false claims about Helene, the Red Cross urged people to consult trustworthy sources of information and to think twice before reposting conspiracy theories.

“Sharing rumors online without first vetting the source and verifying facts ultimately hurts people — people who have just lost their homes, neighborhoods, and, in some cases, loved ones," the organization wrote in a public plea.

Areas impacted by Hurricane Helene near Chimney Rock, N.C., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, can be seen by President Joe Biden, as he flies on Marine One to survey the area.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump talks with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp during a briefing at the Columbia County Emergency Management Agency as he visits areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Evans, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden greets people in Keaton Beach, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, during his tour of areas impacted by Hurricane Helene. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Business are seen in a debris field in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Chimney Rock Village, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)