Washington Nationals news & notes: Lane Thomas to IL; No James Wood yet, Jake Irvin & Nats lose to LA, 11-2…

Notes and quotes from Tuesday night’s game with the Dodgers in Nationals Park…

LANE THOMAS TO IL WITH MCL SPRAIN:

As of Wednesday morning, Washington’s GM and President of Baseball Ops Mike Rizzo was still hoping for some good news from the MRI on Lane Thomas’s left knee.

Thomas slid awkwardly into second base on a stolen base attempt on Tuesday night, then he left the game a few innings later.

Thomas told reporters the knee stiffened up on as the game went on last night, so he made the decision to leave what was a tie game when he left the field.

• Thomas’s take on the injury: “My cleat kind of just hung on the outside, so just kind of an awkward slide and then my weight obviously has to go on top of it, so a little awkward.”

“In those situations you want to try to act tough and stay in the game,” Thomas explained of his decision to stay in after the injury.

“But the more I was out there, the more I was like, ‘It’s still tied up, I don’t want to be the reason it’s not tied up.’ So I was like, ‘It’s probably better that someone else comes out here.’”

Leaving the game like he did, Rizzo told 106.7 the FAN in D.C.’s Sports Junkies, an IL stint for Thomas seemed likely.

“We’ll see what the extent of the damage is, and hopefully it wasn’t too bad, and even if he has to go on the [IL], hopefully it’s a short [IL] stint. I would probably anticipate him going on the [IL] because you don’t walk off the field like that and get an MRI when you’re going to play the next day.”

Before last night’s game, the Nationals announced Thomas would go on the 10-Day IL with a sprain of the left MCL.

“He’s got a [sprain] of his MCL, his left leg,” manager Davey Martinez told reporters in his pregame press conference. “Better news than — best-case scenario, really. It could have been a lot worse.

“After watching it on replay, he twisted it up pretty good, so we have no timetable.

“He’s going to have to rest a little bit here, and then try to build him up again and get him back as soon as we can.”

“I definitely think it could’ve been a lot worse,” Thomas said. “It wasn’t anything too crazy.

“They haven’t really given me a time frame yet, but hopefully obviously sooner rather than later.”

NOT JAMES WOOD YET:

If you were holding out hope the Nationals would bring James Wood up in the aftermath of the injury to Lane Thomas and the news of the IL stint for the outfielder, GM Mike Rizzo put the brakes on that chatter early on Wednesday morning, while the club was still waiting for the results of the MRI on Thomas’s knee (at least from what they were saying publicly).

But Rizzo was fairly clear that Wood, the 21-year-old, 2021 2nd Round pick by the Padres the Nationals acquired in the Juan Soto trade; who is currently hitting .303 with a .418 OBP and .474 SLG (at Triple-A, as of Wednesday morning), would … probably … not be the one to get the call to the majors to replace Thomas.

“I’m not sure what route we’re going,” Rizzo told Audacy’s The Sports Junkies on 106.7 the FAN.

“I would think if it was today, if Lane had to go on the [IL] today, I would say, no. it won’t be James [Wood], but that’s not to say — when we know the extent of Lane’s injuries, that could change the equation.”

It didn’t change the equation when they got the results.

Trey Lipscomb got the call, and Wood will continue doing what he’s doing in Rochester for now.

“He’s doing well, don’t get me wrong,” Davey Martinez said when asked about Wood before the 2nd of 3 with LA in D.C. on Wednesday. “But we want him to get at-bats in Triple-A, and continue doing what he’s doing. We’re going to see James Wood, no doubt about it. But we just want him to continue to feel really good about himself and get him going.”

IRVIN VS LA AGAIN:

Davey Martinez talked before last night’s game about what he wanted to see from his starter Jake Irvin in a second consecutive matchup between the righty and the Dodgers.

“For him, just pound that strike zone,” Martinez said. “He did such a great job out there [in LA]. He doesn’t really need to change a whole lot.”

Irvin tossed six scoreless against the Dodgers when he faced the NL West powerhouse in Dodger Stadium on the last road trip, but he didn’t fare as well last night in Nationals Park.

Irvin, 27, got knocked around for 12 hits and six earned runs in 4 ²⁄₃ IP, throwing 103 pitches (66 strikes) in the outing before he was lifted (after throwing 73 (54 for strikes) in six innings in Chavez Ravine).

Irvin and the Nationals fell behind early, and the Dodgers added on in what ended up an 11-2 loss for the home team.

“He was off,” Martinez said when asked about Irvin’s outing after the game.

“His direction wasn’t as sharp as it was when we played over there. So, but look he battled.

“I was hoping he’d get out of that [fifth] inning, give us five innings, stretched him out as much as we could.”

In the end, Martinez said, it wasn’t Irvin’s night.

He made some good pitches at times, he just didn’t have any consistency today. He fell behind, and that’s what got him.”

“It’s the hardest thing, man,” Irvin told reporters.

“Going out there and facing a lineup like that. It makes your job a heck of a lot harder when you’re not getting ahead and putting yourself in good positions to pitch in good counts.”