Responsible drinking may have proven to be a difficult task this week as the Nationals went 1-4 and fell 3.5 games behind the Braves for the NL East lead. This futility was fueled by a number of firsts for the Nats pitching staff. Max Scherzer lost his second consecutive game on Saturday, which was the first time he had lost two consecutive games in over three years. Justin Miller finally gave up his first run of the season in a 6-5 loss to Toronto, and Ryan Madson gave up his first home run on Sunday in over a year. Unfortunately it took 5 minutes for Madson to give up another home run as the Blue Jays went back to back off of Madson in the 8th inning to break a 6-6 tie and send the Nats home without a win in their trip to the great white north. Speaking of home runs, Nats pitching gave up 12 home runs this week, and they have given up 19 home runs in the last 11 games. That is not a good recipe for success, and something the Nationals need to clean up going forward. The Nationals' pitching firsts this week were a little depressing, but the hitting firsts were a little more joyus, even if it did not translate into many wins.
This week saw the return of Daniel Murphy to the lineup, and while he went 2 for 20 at the plate this week that second hit drove in a run on Sunday and it looks as if he is getting back into form. Juan Soto made some firsts this week as well. Soto hit two home runs against the Yankees on Wednesday making him the youngest National to ever hit 2 home runs in a game, and he is the youngest player to have a 4 RBI game since 1975. Those two home runs also gave Soto his second consecutive week where his OPS was above .900 (.981), and while his batting average is nothing special over that same time frame (.264) he is proving to be the Nats' main producer of extra base hits. If Soto was the extra base hit man then Michael Taylor and Adam Eaton were the ones that padded the Nats' average. Taylor went 6 for 10 this week and had four stolen bases, and Eaton went 6 for 18 with an RBI. Anthony Rendon also did a little bit of everything as he went 5 for 18 (.277), he had an OBP of .333, and he was 2 for 4 with runners in scoring position. Speaking of runners in scoring position, who has had the most RISP at bats for the Nationals over the last two weeks? That's right, it is Wilmer Difo. Difo has had 17 at bats over the last two weeks with runners in scoring position, and with those opportunities he has only mustered 2 hits and one RBI. It may be time for Davey Martinez to move Taylor down to the 7-8 spot and have Difo hit earlier in order to drive in more runs. Difo's struggles, though, are nothing compared to the Nats' biggest hole in the lineup this week.
Bryce Harper continued his hitting woes as he went 1 for 16 (.063), no RBI, and 8 strikeouts. In fact, Harper has struck out 16 times over his last 38 at bats. Luckily he was able to draw three walks, and get hit by two pitches, this week to make his OBP not suck, but Bryce is watching his $400 million pay day slowly slip away. Hopefully he can get back on track this week as the lowly Orioles come to Nats Park for a three game series. Following the O's are the Phillies as the battle for second place in the NL East will take place. Kicking of the week, though, will be the Yankees, who come to town to make up the suspended game from May 16. Hopefully, the Nats can right the ship and close the gap between them and the Braves this week, so enjoy a Low Blow Blonde Ale and hope the Nats can put up better performances this coming week.
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