Washington Nationals: 5 storylines for last Marlins series
By Ron Juckett
OFFENSE? ANY OFFENSE?
The return of Jayson Werth and Trea Turner kickstarted a tired Nats lineup into overdrive at home versus Miami. As productive as Washington looked at home, the Brewers made Washington look sluggish.
Friday night, the Nats fanned 17 times. Saturday, a late rally pushed three runs home to secure a 3-2 win. Only Ryan Zimmerman’s garbage time home run Sunday gave Washington any runs in their 7-2 loss. In four games, they scratched out eight runs, or the total the Nats scored last Tuesday.
Against the Marlins, 23 runners crossed home plate in three days. In their four-game split last weekend versus the New York Mets, they managed 21.
The return Monday of Matt Wieters will help some. Turner’s timing at the plate improves daily and his speed is on display. But, losing Bryce Harper and extensive workloads of Anthony Rendon, Daniel Murphy and Ryan Zimmerman are felt. Howie Kendrick’s playing time is up and he is pressing at the plate.
When thing click, the offense remains a force to be reckoned with. As we saw this weekend when the Nats lose their offense they lose games.
Heading into Sunday, the slash line in Washington wins was .300/.368/.522. In losses, those numbers plunge to .221/.281/.350. A stark difference.