Washington Nationals: Anthony Rendon heating up against Mariners
By Ricky Keeler
During this series against the Mariners, Anthony Rendon has hit some clutch home runs for the Washington Nationals and is heating up at the plate again
After scoring 14 runs in the final five games of their road trip, the Washington Nationals offense has heated up against the Seattle Mariners. In the first two games of this series (both wins), the Nats have scored a combined 15 runs and have hit a combined five home runs.
Out of those five home runs, three of them have come from third baseman Anthony Rendon. Last night, Rendon’s three-run shot in the first inning against Sam Gaviglio gave the Nats a 4-1 lead and they never looked back.
While Rendon did have a day off from the starting lineup during the road trip last week, his numbers were not good. In those six games, he was 2-for-15 at the plate with four walks. So far this week, he’s 4-for-8 with three home runs and eight RBI’s.
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When you look at Rendon’s success this season, it’s when he sees a lot of pitches. Last night, he saw 20 pitches in four at-bats, which was the most of any player on the Washington Nationals. It has continued a trend for him this month as he’s averaged about 4.5 pitches per plate appearance.
This series, the Nats have done a good job of getting that crooked inning against a Seattle staff that has been hit with numerous injuries in the early stages of the season. As for the Nats’ staff, they have been great and Tanner Roark stepped up last night. Ron Juckett and Chris Lacey talked about it in last night’s DoDcast postgame
Back to Rendon, one of the things he has done well in this series is taking advantage of offspeed pitches over the plate. All three home runs hit in this series have come on either a slider or a changeup. Maybe, the Mariners will look to throw more fastballs against him this afternoon.
During the month of May, Rendon leads the team in RBI’s with 16 and is now tied with Bryce Harper for the most home runs (five). But, his best stat so far this season is his hitting with men in scoring position. In those spots, he’s hitting .400 with three home runs and 23 RBI’s.
When Rendon is hitting home runs towards the bottom of the lineup, it makes this lineup tough to beat. He had a rough start to the season, but that ten RBI game against the Mets jumpstarted his season. Now, he looks like the Rendon of old at the plate and in the field.
It’s only two games, but Rendon may be heating up at the right time and getting on a power surge just as the month of May is nearing its end.