Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Nationals have struggled all season long to find their offense. Outside of Bryce Harper, no one has hit consistently and the inability to score runs has cost the Nats numerous games in the first month of the year. As we are about to turn our calendars to May, the lineup has started to show some potency over their last two games. The Nationals scored 13 runs in each of their last two games against the Atlanta Braves to win that series two games to one and finally inject some excitement into the ball club.
The most impressive part of the Nationals scoring 26 combined runs over their last two games is that the key cogs in the lineup still haven’t found their groove. Other than Harper, the Nationals have gotten almost no production from the middle of their order. Shortstop Ian Desmond is currently mired in an 0-for-21 slump with eight strikeouts in that stretch. Jayson Werth is batting .154 in 52 plate appearances so far this season. Ryan Zimmerman is hitting .205 in 88 at-bats. It’s been the “other” guys who have done the damage, so if Desmond, Werth and Zimmerman can hit their stride at the plate, the Nationals will be leading the division in no time.
The Nationals enter this weekend’s four-game series against the New York Mets trailing the division leaders by six games. It’s a perfect opportunity for the Nationals to make up some ground after beginning the year so sluggishly. They have owned the Mets at Citi Field over the past two years; in fact, the Mets just snapped a 12-game winning streak by the Nationals in New York in September 2014.
Look for the Nationals to take at least three games this weekend, if not all four. The team found themselves in their 13-12 comeback victory against the Braves on Tuesday night, and the momentum from that game will carry the team for a good while. Watch out in the NL East; the Nationals are coming!
