Nationals searching for consistency, length in at-bats

WASHINGTON -- Almost a full month has gone by since Lane Thomas returned to the field after spraining his left MCL. Since then, he has not stopped hitting.

After hitting three consecutive home runs against the Marlins, Thomas hit his fourth home run in six games to get the Nats first on the board in a 5-2 loss to the D-backs at Nationals Park on Thursday. Jesse Winker followed suit with a second homer in the sixth inning. Despite the two dingers, Arizona kept Washington's bats quiet to win the series.

“I was trying to be aggressive," Thomas said. "I feel like they came out with a lot of fastball this series, and they weren’t in the right location. I finally got one that I could do some damage with."

Thomas remained patient at the dish in his second at-bat in the third inning, waiting for the right pitch to swing at. On a 3-1 count, the right fielder’s bat connected with D-backs starter Ryne Nelson's fastball. Thomas sent the offering a Statcast-projected 411 feet into Arizona's bullpen.

“I love the fact that 3-0 he went up there and took a swing, fouled that off,” manager Dave Martinez said. “I think that set him up for that 3-1 pitch and he hammered it.”

The homer ultimately became Thomas’ only hit of the game in four plate appearances. In the last six games, he is hitting .250 with four homers, six RBIs, one walk and scored six runs.

Nelson held the Nationals to two runs throughout seven innings (70 pitches, 46 strikes). As Nelson continued to get quick outs, starter MacKenzie Gore had to do his best while getting little rest in between innings of a hot and humid afternoon.

Gore held the Arizona lineup to no runs on four hits through the first three innings, but faltered in the middle innings of the game. He allowed four runs in the fourth and fifth frames on five hits.

“I feel like he wasn’t really in sync the whole day,” Martinez said. “The top of the lineup he was really dealing, and like I said, [with] the bottom of the lineup, he fell down a little.”

The southpaw allowed a total of eight singles before his outing ended after completing the fifth inning. He dealt 103 pitches (72 strikes).

“The stuff was good,” Gore said. “We're missing bats, had some strikeouts, and when you do give up soft contact, that means the stuff was good.”

Washington relievers Jacob Barnes, Robert Garcia, Dylan Floro and Jordan Weems each hurled a frame to contain Arizona’s offense well for the rest of the game. Combined, they allowed one run (Christian Walker's solo homer in the ninth inning off Weems) on three hits with five strikeouts. In the Nats' six games, the bullpen has struck out 18, and they also extended their streak of games without issuing a walk to five games.

Winker once more found himself hitting another home run in his second consecutive game, helping the Nats cut the deficit to two-runs in the sixth inning. The left-fielder is hitting .435 with a .536 OBP and has drawn nine walks over his last 15 games.

The Nationals battled trying to lengthen their at-bats for as long as possible and get some more runs on the board. They continued to work the zone to get hits in their favor, but ultimately, the hard contacts amounted to outs.

“We were just missing pitches to hit and we’re getting balls right there and we’ll foul them off,” Martinez said. “We gotta get on them. We gotta try to jump the starters early.”

Now as they enter a three-city road trip to Colorado, San Diego and St. Petersburg, Martinez said that it is about finding consistency in the lineup.

“That’s the key for us. We have to have consistent at-bats and stretch out the game a little bit more,” he said. “We've got to get some length in our innings and try to get some guys on base and knock them around."