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Washington Nationals: Juan Soto making the offense tick

By Blake Finney

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 18: Juan Soto #22 of the Washington Nationals celebrates hitting a two run home run in the sixth inning with Anthony Rendon #6 during game one of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees at Nationals Park on June 18, 2018 in Washington, DC. Game one is the completion of a game that was suspended on May 15th due to rain. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 18: Juan Soto #22 of the Washington Nationals celebrates hitting a two run home run in the sixth inning with Anthony Rendon #6 during game one of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees at Nationals Park on June 18, 2018 in Washington, DC. Game one is the completion of a game that was suspended on May 15th due to rain. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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The Washington Nationals had a strange day Monday. They split a series with the New York Yankees and Juan Soto was the star continuing to torture the Yanks.

It was a strange day at Nationals Park. For starters, the road team took the field first and the Washington Nationals hit first. And caught up in the weirdness, was Juan Soto defying the laws of time.

He made his major league debut on May 20th, but now has an appearance and home run in a game scheduled for May 15th. It’ll forever go down as one of the strangest stats in Nats history.

But lately, Soto is the main reason that the Nationals offense has stayed afloat. He’s the team RBI leader in June, knocking in eight runs, and has four long balls.

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With Bryce Harper’s struggle in the heart of the order, Soto has been key to the offense. When he goes, the rest of the team goes.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see him and Harper switch places in the come weeks if Harper’s struggles continue. The nats need consistency with the bats, and Soto is their best chance at finding that.

Erick Fedde with another solid outing

Nationals right-hander Erick Fedde continues to be dealt a tough hand when it comes to opponents facing him. He once again had to face the toughest offense in the league and came out of it respectively.

He went 5.1 innings, allowing just three runs, on seven hits and he struck out four Yankees. The long ball bugged him once again, as a two-run homer from Aaron Hicks did most of the damage.

Fedde should get at least another start with the big league club. And if he does, he’ll face the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend. Thankfully, their offense isn’t on the same level as the Yankees and could give him a chance to shine.

Jefry Rodriguez officially getting the start

It was confirmed after the game that Jefry Rodriguez will get the start on Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles. With the pair of injuries in the starting rotation, he could be up for a couple of starts.

Rodriguez initially impressed against the Atlanta Braves relentless offense when Jeremy Hellickson was injured. He threw 4.2 innings allowing four hits, two walks and striking out three.

Unlike Fedde, Rodriguez has perfect timing in his big league start, facing the struggling O’s. They have scored the fewest runs in all of baseball, and with his fastball-curveball pairing, he has a chance to dominate the Orioles lineup.

Next: Harper should Make Baseball Fun Again

Now the Washington Nationals have a big series against the Baltimore Orioles coming up. They’ll need to take at least two out of three, if not sweep, to get back on track in the NL East race.

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